Today at Gods Woven Truth we will kick off our Study of Hosea. I will try to post every Monday to keep y’all in the loop as time allows. This is a 7 week session Bible Study. If you chose you want to do this study along side of me or even after you learn little bits and pieces throughout the next  7 weeks you can purchase the study here Hosea Bible Study. This Study is going to be an adventure for those of us who seek our identity outside of God. When we feel enslaved, God frees us. When we wander away, God brings us home. No matter where you are, God sees who you are and loves you faithfully. His unfailing love changes everything.

Let’s begin talking about some things that we can find our identity in outside of God, and then we will get to the introduction of Hosea and Gomer and the rest of the cast.

• Some of us find ourselves finding our identity in our families, churches, or friends or even ministry.
• Some of us find our identity in the places we work and the skill set God has given us.
• Some of us find our identity in our upbringing, whether it be good or bad. The  things of our past can have huge impact on who we view ourselves as today.
• Some of us find our identity in what and who the world thinks we should be.
• Some of us find our identity in what we see in the mirror.
• Some of us find our identity on the names we have been called.

Through this study we are going to see that God calls us His own.

Our identity list can certainly go on and on. Now let’s talk about things that make us feel enslaved.

• We can be enslaved to our addictions, whether it be drugs, alcohol, food, sex, caffeine etc.
• We can be enslaved to jobs, appointments, expectations, quotas, etc.
• We can be enslaved to Grief, of a loved one, an old way of life, an old job, a relationship or friendship etc.
• We can be enslaved to our families.
• We can be enslaved to our illness, depression, anxiety, diabetes etc.
• We can be enslaved to doubt and fear.

Through this study we are going to see God break the Chains of slavery and free us. 

We each know our enslaved list could continue on and on depending on where we are in life.

All of us were created for one purpose and one purpose only and that is to worship God. When God created man, He created us in His image and according to His likeness. He created us to worship Him. Each person that is on this planet has a Devine purpose to fulfill for the kingdom of God. When we aren’t fulfilling the purpose we were created for we feel lost, we feel like there is no purpose for our lives, and no matter what we do to fill the void, it continues to be there and continues to never be satisfied. We may Feel satisfied, but it’s only  a short time until we are searching again. I know I’ve been here. I have experienced this full force in my own life. In fact every one has. We all wander off from the very purpose we were created for and don’t even realize it!

Through this study we are going to see God bring us home. 

Now lets quickly meet the cast of the book of Hosea!

We have Hosea Himself. Hosea was a prophet who served in Israel in the eighth century, B.C. We are going to see God call Hosea to marry a woman named Gomer. Gomer was considered to be a prostitute. We will see next week the influence parents have on their children and what it can do to their future. We also are going to see Gomer betray Hosea time and time again. We will see Hosea love Gomer endlessly! If you are anything like me you are probably wondering why in the world would God call one of his Prophet’s to marry a prostitute? We will see through this study that this is a Devine picture of God and His relationship with us His chosen people, which bring us, YES! You and I into the Cast! I can’t forget to introduce you to the main character!!! The main character in Hosea is God himself. God is the heart of Hosea. We are going to see God get mad at His people and forgive His people, we are going to see God lavish His unfailing love, grace and mercy on us through this study. Each one of us are broken one way or another and some worse than others. God can fix us and make us into what only He created us to be. We are the ones God chose and loves. We will see that God is bigger than our circumstances! 

With all of this being said I pray that you will enjoy this Devine picture throughout the next seven weeks! My prayer is you will see God’s purpose and see that you don’t have to define yourselves by the circumstances that surround you on a day to day basis.

Sow with a view to righteousness, reap in accordance with kindness; Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek The Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you.    

  Hosea 10:12           

With Christs Love,

Jessica