Can I encourage you today in the Holy Love of God? Let me explain! In my study of Hosea this week, I came across chapter 11, verse 9, where we read of God Himself saying, "I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy one in your midst, and I will not come in wrath." Now I won't take the time or space to lay out for you the entire context of Hosea, but in brief, God is speaking of His erring people (Ephraim, you, me, really). While He will and does discipline us, He will not totally give up on us. Why? It's precisely because He is holy. He is holy in His love. What that means in this context, is that His love is utterly different than any other kind of love we will ever experience from anyone else upon this earth.  Sometimes we speak of His love as "unconditional" (a misnomer, really, in some ways). At other times, we might say His love is "conditional".  While this is not the place to debate the conditionality or unconditionality of God's love, I only want to assert here that His love is Holy. God loves  you and me with a love that cannot always be understood, never managed or packaged, and, I will add, can never ever be deserved.  The Apostle Paul was so taken up by the love of God, he said it was a love that "surpasses knowledge" (Ephesians 3:19). God's holy love then, is not irrational, but supra-rational! My prayer for you and for me, is that we wouldn't try to necessarily try to "understand" God's love, which in effect at times, makes us try to earn or manage it, but to simply receive the love of God. Will you stop running from Him? Will you stop saying things like, "I don't deserve the love of God?" No one does! No one ever will. Yes, like Israel/Ephraim of old, we keep running from God, worshipping other gods ("gods" like your bank account, libido, reputation, what others think of you, need for approval, family, children, intellect, status, achievements, etc.), but He keeps on loving us. Even His expressions of discipline are a loving thing.  My prayer for you, again, is that you would settle deeply into the holy love of God. It's like nothing else you will ever know!

P.S. - If you are a reader of this blog, could you please email me at IPastor@aol.com? I'd like to know if these "reflections" are meeting any kind of need out there, or, if there are folks who are reading/enjoying them. Just want to know if this is a wise use of my time. Thanks!