In Righteousness We Will Live

According to our Bible Dictionary, Hosea was the only prophet in the Old Testament from the northern kingdom that left written prophecies (1). He lived during a time of great societal decline, not unlike ours perhaps. Yet his entire message seemed centered around the strength of God's love for His people, inspite of their pagan and wicked activities.

Throughout Hosea's chapters, he teaches of the Lord's patience for Israel:

"For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.

"And in that day will I make a covenant for them....I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.

"And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies....

"And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God" (Hosea 2:17-19, 23) (emphasis added).

Our youth need to understand the beauty of the Lord's love for them. They need to understand the Lord's willingness to forgive and forget. This graciousness on His part will always come if and when our youth turn to Him in righteousness.

Notice the Lord does NOT say, "in perfectness." No, instead the request is "in righteousness."

When we look up the definition of "righteous", we can read that this refers to living in a moral or virtuous way.

Thus we see, the Lord does not expect perfection (although that is an eventual goal); for now He simply requires that we set aside the things of this world (which destroy us, anyways) and seek a virtuous lifestyle - which is essentially what Jesus Christ modeled for us while here on this earth.

What are you doing to teach your youth this very thing? It's something which has been on my mind for a time and I'd love to hear your thoughts. If Hosea could preach of God's love during the wicked time in which he lived, we certainly can do the same.

Here are some simple suggestions. We can:

1. Obtain a testimony of this ourselves.
2. Notice examples of the Lord's gentleness as we go throughout the year, either in the scriptures or in our personal lives. We can point them out and use the examples in our lessons.
3. Lead our youth in research activities in the scriptures, specifically asking them to find examples of the Lord's loving kindness, inspite of the people's wicked choices.
4. Have our students show each other examples in the scriptures of how quickly the Lord turns to His people when the people turn to Him.

We can be as Hosea for our youth--steady voices of truth, proclaiming God's love for His children. We must do this, for who else will? May the Lord bless us to have the strength to do this, in wisdom and truth.

Warmly,

C.S. Bezas


(1) Bible Dictionary, p. 705.

The Sacrifice Required

'POWERFUL TIPS' Book News:
The Editor is finished with the manuscript and it is being sent off today to the printers! I'm so excited to get this out to you and pray it may bring you great comfort as you read it (once it arrives in bookstores, that is!). :0)

Other Thoughts:
I heard the other day a parent comment that early-morning seminary should be discontinued because it asks too much. This really gave me cause for pause. Does it ask too much from us to get up very early and at times feel sleep deprived as seminary teachers? Does it ask too much from the youth to get an hour or two less of sleep than their peers?

The same might be asked by a mutual teacher who works with unappreciative youth or by a parent who has their hands full with a rebellious child. Do our sacrifices really matter? Are they needed...because they sure require a lot from us! (well, I guess that's the whole point of "sacrifice," but I think you know what I mean :0).

This has been on my mind much, since hearing the comment mentioned above. Then we sang the following hymn in church on Sunday and I knew the answer.

REVERENTLY AND MEEKLY NOW
Text by Joseph L. Townsend, 1849-1942

Rev'rently and meekly now, Let thy head most humbly bow.
Think of me, thou ransomed one; Think what I for thee have done.
With my blood that dripped like rain, Sweat in agony of pain,
With my body on the tree I have ransomed even thee.

In this bread now blest for thee, Emblem of my body see;
In this water or this wine, Emblem of my blood divine.
Oh, remember what was done That the sinner might be won.
On the cross of Calvary I have suffered death for thee....

Just reading those words out loud brings the spirit in force to me. And so as I contemplate the sacrifice required to teach of His Sacrifice, is it really too much? Or have I just not learned yet how to balance what it is that I need to do to carry this off well?

So sacrifice? Yes, sacrifice is required to teach early morning seminary, to work with unappreciated youth (without anger), or to continue to extend the hand of love to a rebellious child. In my case, there have been seminary teaching days in the past for me, with my chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia, that I couldn't even sit up in bed without my husband's help. But once I got to a stand and got ready, got to class and taught the lesson, I would invariably feel the necessity of my sacrifice. For it brought me to a place of undeniable joy and a sense of satisfaction that cannot be feigned.

I WILL continue to teach these youth as I have been asked. The Lord has placed me in this position. He has placed you in yours. May we be blessed as we go forth, teaching of the One who literally bled and died so that we might live and know joy in the process.

What an amazing gift.

Warmly,

C.S. Bezas