a way with words
"Your piety is like a morning cloud, like the dew that early passes away. For this reason I smote them." —Hosea 6:4-5
Is your commitment to Jesus unstable and changeable? Does it pass away like the dew or a morning cloud? The Lord will patiently draw you to Himself. But, if you do not respond to His gentle promptings, His Word states that He will smite you through the prophets and slay you by the words of His mouth (Hos 6:5).
Jesus does not do this to harm you but to save you. The Word of God can gently trim you (Jn 15:2), or it can kill you. It can judge the thoughts and reflections of the heart (Heb 4:12) and open the door to repentance, or it can judge us fit for eternal damnation (Jn 12:48). God's Word can be a scalpel by which the Holy Spirit operates on us and heals us, or it can be the sword of destruction (Rv 19:13-15).
We cannot chain God's Word (2 Tm 2:9). God's Word is going to work on us whether or not we want it. But we can decide whether to let God's Word work as a scalpel or sword on us. Repent this Lent.
Prayer: Father, deal with me now. Do anything You want without delay. (Expect an immediate response to this prayer.)
Promise: "This man went home from the temple justified but the other did not. For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled while he who humbles himself shall be exalted." —Lk 18:14
Praise: St. Patrick couldn't help but share the freedom he found in the Lord with his enslavers (see Acts 4:20).
Reference: (For a related teaching, order our tape on The Necessity of Confession for Renewal on audio AV 70-1 or video V-70.)
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, July 29, 2011
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