Holding onto life or death and why it matters
July 24, 2026Hos 13:1-16 While grocery shopping the other day, I saw a woman ahead of me at the checkout buying traditional cigarettes. There was some delay in locating her favourite brand and as I watched the scene, I was startled at the outsized banner on top of the packet that she eventually bought, which read SMOKING KILLS. It struck me how incongruent it was that someone would go out of their way to get what spells death in such large letters. Of course, I noticed the signage because I am not used to it, while for those who habitually buy cigarettes,…
How to exchange toil for rest
Hos 11:12; 12:1-14 During the years I worked in Hungary, I had an ambitious Christian colleague who knew what she wanted and went for it without compunction. One time, there was an overseas trip in the plan for one of…
Lessons from the law of the rebellious son and the death penalty
Deut 21:18-21 As we have seen in Hosea 11, the background to God’s reluctance to eliminate Israel for their rebellion is the law of the rebellious son (Deut 21:18-21). It legislates that parents who have such a son take him…
God’s dilemma and how He solves it
Hos 11:1-11 Many a Christian parent knows the heartache of a child who turned rebellious and walked away from the Lord. Behind the sadness, even resignation, there is often the buried anguish of many years when those parents strained to…
Breaking up fallow ground: The time is now
Hos 10:9-15 My grandmother was born into a well-to-do family and married my grandfather who had an influential job. She had both wealth and prestige and was an immensely proud woman. However, during the siege of Budapest in the winter…
The reality of our heart and what we mourn for
Hos 10:1-8 The house we bought a few years ago came with a beautiful garden including some roses under our bedroom window. All that first summer after our move, it annoyed me that the middle rose produced no flowers and…
The tempting philosophy of ‘God and…’ and its results
Hos 9:1-17 I recently heard the testimony of a Christian woman who raised five children while holding down a demanding job. She was Superwoman, a loving wife, mother and effective worker. Except all this took a toll and when she…
What those who rely on themselves have forgotten
Hosea 8:1-14 I recently visited a historic church from the early days of New Zealand settlers. Wandering around the graves scattered in the churchyard, I came across a more recent tombstone with a person’s name and dates on it, followed…
An anatomy of sin and the painful cost of healing
Hos 7:1-16 At the end of 2019, the effects of the devastating bush fires in Australia were felt even in New Zealand, over 2,000 km away. I remember waking up on New Year’s Eve to an eery yellow glow with…
What it means to know God and why it matters
Hosea 6:1-11 Once upon a time, being a Christian was associated with being ‘a good person’, someone with moral integrity, a diligent and conscientious individual who spoke truth and showed compassion and love to others. Nowadays, Christians are more likely…
Why is God against His own people?
Hos 5:8-15 Many of us know from personal experience, or from those of others, what it is like when we make plans, but it seems that everything conspires against us. It may be the promise of a new job that…