Following many words about sin in Hosea 5, we have a call to
“return to the Lord.” The people hear God’s call, and they say, “Let’s
return to the Lord” (Hosea 6:1). This call to return to the Lord comes
to us with the promise of His healing - “He will heal us” (Hosea 6:1),
His revival - “He will revive us” (Hosea 6:2), and His life - “He will
raise us so that we may live in His presence” (Hosea 6:2). We hear the
bad news of our sin so that our hearts may be prepared by the Lord to
receive the Good News of His great salvation. Once we have returned to
the Lord, we are called to give ourselves to him in loyalty - “I want
your loyalty, not your sacrifices” (Hosea 6:8).
"The Son of Man came to save the lost" (Matthew 18:11). In Matthew 18:12-13, Jesus speaks about sheep. He's really speaking about us. He is the Shepherd. We are His sheep. Sheep wander away from the shepherd. We wander away from the Lord. The shepherd looks for the lost sheep. Jesus has come to seek for us and find us. He brings us home to God, our Father. Through His saving grace, we receive new life - a life in which we rejoice in our great Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. He delivers us from the condemnation, which our sin has brought upon us. He brings us into the knowledge of His forgiveness. This Gospel of salvation changes us. It teaches us to live in the power of God's love. Jesus speaks about "the Kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 19:12,23), "the Kingdom of God" (Matthew 19:14,24) and "eternal life" (Matthew 19:29). Jesus' way of thinking and living is so very different from the world's way of thinking and living. He chall...
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