Sowing Righteousness

Scripture:
"Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you." (Hosea 10:12)

About 4 years ago I went to a Men's breakfast at the church where we were members. We had been there for about 1 year and I was beginning to develop some friendships. This Saturday morning we ate a breakfast and one of my friends was bringing the devotional thought.

At first his message started like any other message and then about halfway through my friend became more and more animated that it startled some of us. He was preaching about the importance of holiness in our lives and it was very evident that he believed what he was saying by the passion he expressed as he preached to us.

I had heard similar words before but for some reason his words stuck with me. As I continued with my daily life of doing the same old things, I began to notice things in my life that I had just accepted as "normal" and I began being annoyed that these things were in my life. Little by little over the next two years, I began "extracting" things from my life that could be considered as "questionable" or "undesirable" as a Christian and began striving to obey I Peter 1:15-16 "be ye holy". (Thank you Rick)

In Hosea chapter 10 we read about how Israel was an empty vine (v.1-2) and had an empty throne (v.3-8). And why? Because Israel had deceitful hearts (v.2), false oaths (v.4), idolatrous priests (v.5) and wooden idols (v.6). And I see these things as analogous to the things that creep into our lives and poison us without our really noticing it.

I know that I do not want to be one who depends on my own strength (v.13) because I will fail but I also know that I need to continually guard my heart from "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life which comes from the world (1 John 2:16). I think we should continually sow righteousness in our lives and in due season we will reap fruit. "It is time to seek the Lord until He comes and showers righteousness on us." (v.12)

Prayer Request:
That we actively and diligently seek to remove things from our lives that would not be considered as holy and does not glorify God.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, You are holy and you sent your Son to die on the cross paying for all of our sin. Without this sacrifice we could never do enough, to be holy enough to enter into your presence. So we thank you Lord and ask you Holy Spirit to teach us for the Word of God how to be holy and to give us strength to diligently persue those things that sanctify us in Christ. Amen.