Hosea 8

Hos 8:2-7
2 Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee.
3 Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him.
4 They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.
5 Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?
6 For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.
7 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.
KJV

As I was reading this passage of scripture, verse 2-7 really grabbed my attention.
It states, in verse 2, that Israel will cry unto the Lord, and that they know Him.
Israel then cast of the thing that is good. We as men of good must take the whole counsel of God. We can not afford to pick and choose what we like in living for God. Proverbs states in Chapter 3, "My son despise not the chastening of the Lord... For whom the Lord loveth He corrects."

Israel also began to set up kings and princes to have the rule over them. We must be on guard that we do not let the culture and the things of this world set up their kingdoms and agendas in our hearts and home. It is a scary place when we get to the house of God and we can't even engage in a service because there are ungodly kingdoms and strongholds in our hearts and minds.

You find out what you value by how you spend your time, treasure and talent. You will discover who or what you are really serving. We sometimes can become so involved in working for God that we do not take the time to live for God. It's not so important what you are doing for God, than what are you becoming in God.

Israel was sowing to the wind and reaping storms. Men, we must always remind ourselves that whatever we sow, we will also reap. Let's make sure we praying and spending quality time with our families so that, in the end, we reap the benefits and the blessing of God in our lives.

It always pays to live for God. No, we may not be the richest people on this earth, but we are storing up treasure in a heavenly home.

Rev. Chad Mooney