The Lord is Like A Green Fir Tree

 

Hosea 14:8

Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From Me is thy fruit found.

    The blessings of God are found in God. The repentant soul has turned its back on the idols which it had created (vs. 1-3) and finds itself now in the covering, the branches, of The Lord God. Though under His wings we are sheltered (Psalm 91:4), under His branches we find ourselves being nourished and strengthened and protected (Ezekiel 17:23; Matthew 13:32). 

    It is our Faith, our Trust, in God Himself that keeps us under His branches. It is more than knowing what He can do for us, what we have seen Him do in us and around us: it is being aware of and completely enthralled with Him because we KNOW beyond a  shadow of a doubt that THE LORD GOD LOVES US. 

    We know because we have heard the gospel of salvation through JESUS CHRIST and we have believed that it is TRUE. We know because we who believe in The Name of The LORD for our salvation have seen the chains of addiction fall away from us. We have seen alcoholics delivered, not just recovering. We have seen the chains of sexual immorality broken and cast aside because the BLOOD of God's perfect Lamb has washed away the stains of sin and the chains with which we were bound are no more. 

     We are so totally enamored of our LORD GOD that we have chosen to follow Him anywhere He leads us. We are aware of danger on every side (Psalm 23:4,5), yet we have set our hearts on Him knowing He walks with us. Our mouths open and we speak THE WORD which our GOD has placed in our hearts to bring THE GOOD NEWS, GOOD TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY, to all who seek the kingdom of GOD and His righteousness. For all who truly seek will surely find and all who find will be saved, delivered, filled and join the army of God, which moves on its knees. 

    There is room for everyone under this mighty tree which God has raised up. For it is not the tree itself which is mighty, but He who once hung on a tree. Under that tree is room for all who believe that He Who died on the cross, the tree of humiliation, is the only begotten Son of God, Whom God chose to fulfill His plan of salvation for all mankind to receive. The only ones not under that tree are the ones who choose not to believe that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD. 

    There's room under that tree for a wretch like me and there's room under that tree for you.

GLORIA - Chris Tomlin 

Heart & Soul - - All That Is Within Me

 

Mark 12:20

And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 3650

All: the whole, complete, entire

From the Greek word 'holos' (pronounced hol'-os): wholly, where all the parts are present and working as a whole – i.e. as the total, which is greater than the mere sum of the parts.

EVERYTHING THAT IS WITHIN ME

Deuteronomy 6:4, 5

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

    Abraham had God's promise that through the son he would have with Sarah, the son not yet conceived, would come many nations. The promise came before the test. Abraham had faith that God would restore life to his son. For he knew that God keeps His promises. (Genesis 17:1-18:15; 21:1-8; 22:1-15). Abraham fulfilled the first commandment.

    Hosea, under God's command, married a prostitute and had children with her. He was God's prophet and his actions may have seemed crazy to his contemporaries, yet God had placed a great love within Hosea's heart for her: a heart that forgave her whoredoms (fornications and adulteries) and loved her back into a right relationship. This great romance is not only a historical fact, but an allegorical relationship of God wooing His people back to Himself. Hosea fulfilled the first commandment.

    Jesus' mother, Mary, fulfilled the first commandment in a simple reply to the angel who spoke the prophecy to her: Luke 1:38 "“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it happen to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her." Fully surrendered to God, Mary submitted to the Word spoken over her. 

    The widow, who gave God everything she had, fulfilled the first commandment. (Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4). She placed all of her finances in the Lord's treasury: she gave all that she had. Though wealthier people had given some of their riches, she out of her necessity gave it all to God. 

    These people are but a few Biblical examples of giving everything within them to the Lord God. Because their hearts were filled with a desire to please God, they were able to serve Him in such a way as to glorify Him. Are we? We have current contemporary examples who show us how to love God first and foremost, by their outspoken faith: Brock Purdy. Tim Tebow. Joyce Meyers. Elisabeth Elliot.

    Worshiping God is more than singing, more than playing a musical instrument. God wants our everything, our all. And He wants it when He asks for it. To worship God is to obey God when He speaks. And He's still speaking today. 

    We hear Him speaking when we pray while we study out His Word for ourselves. Before the many comes the individual. Adam walked and talked with God before anyone else existed. He was intelligent and able to speak clearly. He could think for himself and make decisions on his own. He was no caveman as junk science would have us believe, but a man with whom God could converse, as friend to friend.

    We hear God speaking when we spend quality time with Him and Him only. In whatever space or room we have set aside for just being alone with Him, our prayer room or prayer closet: a smallish space that leaves no room for anything else. We make a decision to do so and stick by it, regardless of outside discord, which threatens our alone time with Him. 

    Have you asked yourself, "Why am I here? What is my purpose?" God knows. In fact, God is the only One Who knows exactly why He created you. But in order for us to fulfill our purpose in Him we need to seek Him out and ask Him what is our specific reason for existing? Besides the basics.

CREATED TO

>We are created to commune-listen to, hear from, speak with-with the God Who created us. 

>We are created to worship God and Him only. Deuteronomy 6:5.

>We are created to love God, to love Him above all other loves. Exodus 20:1-5.
>We are created to be God's hands and feet, carrying the gospel of salvation wherever He sends us. Mark 16:15. John 15:16.

>We are created to be productive. As He set Adam and Eve up in the Garden of Eden to take care of all that was in it, so we, too, are expected to work in God's kingdom. Everyone has a job to do. Genesis 1:26-31; 2:4-24. John 4:34-38. Acts 1:8. 

>We are created to love all other people in the same way in which God loves us: unconditionally (no strings attached, no quid pro quo, without measure or merit). Mark 12:31. John 13:34; 15:17.

>We are created to conquer, to overcome, to rise above every obstacle in our path. Psalm 18:32-35. Isaiah 40:31. Ephesians 6:10-20.

>We are created to endure, to outlast our enemy. Hebrews 12:1.

>We are created to persevere, to continue on, to move forward regardless of what tries to grab our attention and focus. Proverbs 4:27. 

    These are some of our most basic reasons for our existence. If we have not attained some of them, there's still time. Only three things can prevent us from accomplishing God's purpose for our lives:

1. Death. After we die, there are no more opportunities to love God and fulfill our purpose in Him.

2. Christ's Second Return. When the Father sends His Son back to this earth to collect His bride, all of the people who make up this bride (the church) will leave. After that you'll have seven years to make up your minds whether or not you will choose God to be your God. 

3. Unwillingness. Ignorance is not your friend, nor is it available to you after you have been reading these studies with me. You cannot say, 'I did not know'. Apathy is not your friend, either. To hear the Word of the Lord and not receive is to have an 'I don't care' attitude towards God's Word. It is to be unwilling to surrender your all to His all. 

    Can I say I have done my part up to this point in sharing the gospel, in testifying of God's amazing grace to me, to us? Yes. Can I do more? Always. The Holy Spirit takes me where God wants me to go. And right now, that's here. All that is within me desires all that He is. 

DESIRING GOD'S PRESENCE 

Guard Your Heart - - Understand His Ways

 

Hosea 14:9

Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right, and the righteous walk in them but the rebellious stumble in them.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 1870

Ways: commandments, journey, manner, distance, road

From the Hebrew word 'derek' (pronounced deh'-rek). This word 'ways' has a few definitions, but in this Hosea 14:9 the translation is "commandments".

    Hosea 14 is a call to Israel, to God's people to repent: to repent of their idolatry, their faithlessness (apostasy); to confess their wrongs to Him and to return to Him. It is a call to remember that their blessing lies with God; it is God who makes us fruitful, but only when we are faithful to Him.

    HIS WAYS ARE JUST 

Justice of God

Deuteronomy 32:4 "He is the Rock, His work is perfect; all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He."

Revelation 15:3 "They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: “Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!"

    HIS WAY IS PERFECT

Perfect: Sound, wholesome, having integrity; without blemish or defect

Genesis 17:1; 2 Samuel 22:31; Psalm 18:30; Psalm 19:7

    Matthew 5:48 "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." It is a call, a commandment, to be people of integrity. People of integrity have a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Perfect: Entirely in accord with Truth and Fact

Job 1:1; Deuteronomy 10:12

Joshua 24:14

"Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and Truth; cast aside the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and serve the LORD."

    HIS WAY IS RIGHTEOUS

Psalm 145:17 "The LORD is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works."

    HIS WAYS ARE EVERLASTING

Everlasting: of long duration, from antiquity to futurity, from ancient times to times not yet, continually existent

Habakkuk 3:6 "He stood, and measured the earth: He beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: His ways are everlasting."

Revelation 1:8 "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."

    HIS WAY IS STRENGTH TO THE UPRIGHT

Proverbs 21:15; Isaiah 40:31; Psalm 1:6

Proverbs 10:29 "The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity."

Ephesians 6:10 "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might."

    HIS WAYS ARE TAUGHT

Micah 4:2 "And many nations will come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion and the Word of the LORD from Jerusalem."

    THE LORD SHOWS US HIS WAY

Psalm 25:8 "Good and upright is the LORD; therefore He shows sinners the way."

John 14:6 "Jesus answered, “I am The Way and The Truth and The Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

    HIS WAYS ARE TO BE WALKED IN

Walk In: Live in, be obedient to, follow after

Isaiah 30:21 "And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is The Way. Walk in it.”

2 John 1:6 "And this is love, that we walk after His commandments. This is the commandment, That, as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it."

   To understand His ways is to know His ways AND be obedient to His Way. Many will say they knew Him, but because they refused to obey Him, He will know they are lying. 

Matthew 7:22, 23; Matthew 25:41; Luke 13:25, 27.

    The born again believer not only pursues understanding but follows the blueprint of obedience and blessing which The Lord has laid out for those who love Him. 

    I do not want to know everything about The Lord now. Knowledge is responsibility. Knowing what little I do know of The Lord Jesus Christ, I know that He saved this wretched sinner from everlasting death and brought me into everlasting life. So, I, too, encourage you to get into His Word, follow His Way and obey His will for your life. 

    Let us walk the walk and talk the talk: in the Love of God, in the Way of The Lord. 

Understand - Jeremy Camp

The Worth of Knowing You - Austin Bratton

I Have Decided To Follow Jesus - Lydia Walker

Simple Pursuit - New Wine

The Green Fir Tree

 

Hosea 14:8

"..... I am like a green fir tree, from Me is your fruit found.'

God is the source of all our blessings and benefits. We are to turn to no other entity in prayer for communion with wood/crystals/metals/nature cannot answer our prayers, cannot speak with us. 

God created the universe and everything in it but the universe cannot communicate with us either. Only in God can we find everything our heart desires for He is our desire.

When we grasp hold of His outreached hand and cling to Him, He will take us with Him wherever He goes. 

But why does He compare Himself to a green fir tree? The fir/juniper/cypress tree is home to birds, who nest in their branches or use their needles for nest building. It's shadow spreads across the land and covers all who live under it, not just draw near for shelter from the heat of the day. 

Psalm 91:1

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 

Both Israel and the Church are God's extension of Himself to a lost and dying people who need saving, saving on God's terms. We are not here to judge each other's sins, nor to condemn each other for sin. John 3:17

For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

As representatives of Christ we are to be like Christ. God is Judge, we are not. We are the body of Christ: His hands, His feet, His eyes, His heart, etc. With our hands we hold, with our arms we cradle or embrace, with our legs we stand and lift, with our eyes we see what He sees, with our heart we love with His love.

John 13:34

A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another.

Only then will our families, our friends, our strangers and our enemies know that there is, indeed, a God who loves them. We are not to hate each other, for in hate there is no love; therefore the love of God cannot be extended to another when it is not in us in the first place.

1 John 4:20

If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

We cannot love each other properly unless we have the Holy Spirit, for it is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that our love is truly an extension of God's love and mercy towards all of us. Think of Him as being the sap in the fir tree.  God is the Gardener: He not only created the Tree, He planted it. Christ is the Trunk. We are the branches. 

Unacceptable Worship

Some studies are harder to teach than others, but I believe those are the ones that need to be reinforced the most. Such is this. 
Hosea 8:13-14

Tho they offer sacrifices given to Me, and eat the meat, the LORD does not accept them. Now, He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins: they will return to Egypt.

Israel has forgotten his Maker, and built palaces; 

Judah has multiplied its fortified cities.

But I will send fire upon their cities,

and consume their citadels.

     Hosea is the story of God wooing Israel back to Him, but they refused time and again to return and be faithful. And the consequences of not choosing God over their idols and idol worship. Though the telling of this seems to be in the past, the Word of God is alive and speaks to us even now, if we will only listen. 

     We must turn from the wickedness of following after things that are not of God and turn back to God and follow Him. He leads us through His precious Holy Word when we faithfully seek Him out and ask Him to reveal Himself in His Word: Daily. 

     Choosing to follow God the Way He wants us to follow Him is an act of Love for Him and Service to Him. It is a choice each of us must make on an individual basis, though the promise is for all who turn away from idolatry and wickedness, it is also for the individual who makes a life-changing choice to be obedient to God, regardless of the cost to himself or herself. 

     Verse 13 reinforces this when God says, I will not accept your worship. You only think you are worshiping Me, but I see your heart, I know the intent thereof, and you worship what you see and hear, but you do not worship Me. Therefore, the worship you think you are giving Me is unacceptable to Me. 

      Verse 14 reminds us that when we build to strengthen ourselves militarily, we are not putting our trust in God to defend us. Everything we do to protect, defend, resist our enemies will come to nothing. It is God who is Defender. It is God who is Protector. It is God who will fight our battles when we place our trust in Him. 

    But when our trust is in our own strength, we will fail. When we refuse to place our trust in Him time after time, it is God who will judge us with fire and nothing shall remain. 

    Now is not the time to be self-centered and pigheaded. Now is the time to surrender our hearts to God and submit to His will on our lives. Now is the time to repent of our sins, and seek His face and His forgiveness for the things we have done against His Word. 

    Now is the time. Not later. Later is not promised. To morrow is not promised. Now is not promised. 

NOTHING ELSE (song)