Memo From the Mann

What A Dad We Have

It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, ~ Hosea 11:3(Hebrew Ephraim, refers to the northern kingdom of Israel)
I became a father for the first time in my mid-thirties, and I was more than ready for it ...and yes I was probably what we’d consider a doting parent. I cherished the gift of my new born child, and couldn’t do enough for her. My days were filled with her first words, her first steps, her first smile and laugh. I still see and hear them.
It’s this parental love that’s revealed in Hosea 11. In context we read - It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,taking them by the arms;but they did not realizeit was I who healed them.
We see God as a doting parent. He’s obsessed with his offspring. He’s preoccupied with us. God rejoices when one of us takes a step in obedience, or cuts a tooth on the truth. 
If we’re parenting correctly our goals should be the same as His...He wants to teach his kids how to walk by faith,  in the power of the spirit, and in holiness. He’s not pushy ...he pulls instead of pushing. He motivates us with love, not with fear, or with hate. He doesn’t expect more than we can deliver. He’s gentle and patient. He removes rather than creates burdens. He’s willing to get down on our level to meet our needs.What a Dad we have!
Two things here - One, let’s remember what kind of Father is lavishing love on us. And two, let’s in kind, pour out our own love into this world.
Pray on...Scripture: Hosea 11:3Song: Love One Another

Connect (with Your Friend)

I wrote for them the many things of my law, but they regarded them as something foreign. ~ Hosea 8:12
Most of us as children didn’t like being in the dark. We were afraid of what we couldn’t see. Now, even as adults we’re not fond of being in the dark ...as in not knowing what’s goin on. 
No one likes to be in a situation where they feel out of control, it’s uncomfortable. We get that uneasy feeling, it’s unsettling. 
The unknown is a daunting place, a place where we’re prone to being surprised ...where at any moment that Jack-in-the-Box is gonna jump into our path and make its unwanted presence known.
Let’s be honest , I think most of us will admit we’re some kind of control freak. Yet we’re living a life that’s being controlled by someone else. Fortunately for us, it’s the God of love ...whose plans for us are good and perfect. So we need not fear the future.
In Hosea 8:12 we read where the Israelites are living in the dark, where all of God’s previous writing, his laws, were regarded as forgiven, as strange. They had broken God’s commandments, and they had turned aside from their covenant relationship with the Lord. They wandered away from him ...sound familiar?
This is why we need to stay in God’s word everyday ...there are constant distractions pulling us away, pulling us into the darkness. We need to stay connected, we need to stay close, when it comes to God and his word, we need to be like familiar friends.
You see familiarity breeds confidence, security, and a sense of calm. Now who doesn’t want to live in that space? Let me leave you with this thought from Pastor Sandy Adams.
Rather than a stranger, the Bible needs to be a familiar friend. ~ S.A.
Hey, don’t put off that connection to your good, life-long friend, stay in touch, don’t become a stranger.
Pray on...Scripture: Hosea 8:12Song: What A Friend

Turn...

They do not turn to the Most High; they are like a faulty bow. ~ Hosea 7:16
When speaking about appeasing God I often refer to myself as coming up short. In other words, not being able to measure up, or hit the mark. 
The breakdown is in my turning away from God, when I don’t turn to him for help, for direction, for council. How can I hit the mark when my aim isn’t true. I can be really stubborn, really foolish ..okay, really dumb. Can you relate to this, am I describing you from time to time ...I bet I am. 
Sandy Adam’s put it this way, “Israel missed the mark not because her aim was off, but because the bow itself was bent and incapable of shooting straight.”
He goes on to say, “our sin is not the result of an occasional slip, or a bad aim. Our very nature is warped ...and you can’t repair a warped bow, it has to be replaced ...and this is what Jesus does for us. It’s called regeneration (the new birth).”
Hey, let’s remind ourselves to turn to the Most High for all of our help, for all of our direction ...and for all of our council. Let’s remember what Jesus has done for us.
Pray on...Scripture: Hosea 7:16Song: Listen to the Spirit

Remember

Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears. ~ Hosea 6:4
Have you, in your life time, found love to be fickle? 
As a young man I certainly experienced my share of heartbreak ... and yes, I probably dished up a bit of my own, but it seems that love has always blown hot and cold. There one day, and gone the next.
I’ve known, and or seen, friends and family that have had life altering events awaken them to God. I’ve seen them realize Jesus in their life ...only to see them time and again, wander away over a period of time. Day by day just being pulled slowly, almost impercievably away.
In Hosea 6:4, God laments that the Israelites love disappears like the morning mist and dew. The Old Testament reads like a Lifetime movie of love gone astray. Like many things in our life, what you put in, is what you get out, and love seems the perfect example. The more time you spend nurturing your love, the stronger and long lasting are the results.
Under appreciating love is a regrettable mistake. It will weaken and eventually fade away. Now in God’s case, it’s not God that’s fading away, it’s our focusing on earthly, worldly loves, that divide our time, and inevitably our relationship with him.
Remember him today, visit him today, talk with him today, love on him today ...and return tomorrow, and everyday thereafter. 
Remember.Remember his commands.Remember that love lies in his hands.
Pray on...Scripture: Hosea 6:4Song: I Remember (IHS)

Well, That Wasn't Good

(‘I will go back to my husband as at first,)...for then I was better off than now.’ ~ Hosea 2:7
Have you ever found yourself regretting a change. Maybe you thought switching your job would bring you more money and happiness. Maybe you bought a new car or home looking for a better life. Maybe you moved on from a relationship and were sorry afterwards. Have you heard yourself say, “well, that wasn’t good.”
In Hosea 2:7 we read where Hosea’s wife, Gomer, an adulteress (who represents Israel in this passage), realizes that she was better off with her husband (God).
She (Israel) wants worldly things, material goods, prosperity, the multiplication of her population—in short, she wants the good life. In this way, Israel mirrors those in our day who turn to religion to gain success or wealth, political office or social approval.
God, in Hosea’s time as in ours, desires a people who love him, as a faithful wife loves her husband, or as an obedient son loves and admires and adores his father. God wants communion with us ...heartfelt, trusting, unwavering communion with people who love one another to the deepest depths.
Turn from your disruptive and dishonoring thinking, and return to the wanting embrace of your loving Father in heaven, who wants and provides for all of your needs ...out of a never weakening posture of a love.
Turn to all that is good and perfect!
Pray on...Scripture: Hosea 2:7Song: Once Again Lord

Don't Be Alarmed

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. ~ Mark 16:7
 
The angel’s message is still comforting today. When Jesus doesn’t appear to be around you, when he doesn’t appear to be close, when he doesn’t appear to be in your midst ...he is.
He’s never behind trying to catch up with our lives. He’s never too busy to know what we’re living through. He’s never deaf to our calling, our crying, or our prayer.
We’re told that he has gone ahead of us ...our way has already been prepared, our freedom has been lovingly won, and our purpose has been fully laid out.
I was blessed to have two earthly parents that prepared a way for me in this kingdom. It was because of their love for me that a path was designed for me to succeed. Now granted I had to make many decisions, as I still am today, and they surely weren’t always the right ones ...but loving parents provided for me.
Likewise our Father in heaven has done the same, but on a much higher level. He has purposed a life that is designed for good. Joy is there to be had, strength is there to be had, and yes an abundant never-ending supply of love is to be had.
So the angel’s message is still comforting today. When Jesus doesn’t appear to be around you, when he doesn’t appear to be close, when he doesn’t appear to be  in your midst ...don’t be alarmed, he is!
Pray on...
Scripture:Mark 16:7Song: I Never Walk Alone

The Unconfirming

Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him. ~ Mark 15:32
Have you ever witnessed a small child get set in their ways. They perceive a situation through their very young eyes and mind and you can’t persuade them any different. They normally have to act out with some form of intolerance. They cry out, they stamp their feet, ...holding their breath, that’s a good one ... they usually do this until they tire out and then either fall asleep or forget why is was they were so upset.
At the crucifixion in (Mark 15) there was a group of people that also perceived a situation and had their minds set. Pilate attempted to reason with them, but they weren’t gonna hear any of  it. Their eyes and mind were set on a decided conclusion.
Petulant behavior isn’t just a youngster’s condition. There are plenty of adults that haven’t figured out how to negotiate not getting their own way. It’s the reason why we witness road rage, unprovoked violence, and a world that’s so impatient.
The way we perceive a situation will determine how we react to it. In Romans 12:2 we read, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
At the gathering before Pilate we learned of a group of people who had become conformed to the world they were living in, and as for the young child, they may very well need to be taught of God’s way before they can mature in their faith, but as for our present world, the unconforming begins with ...a transforming and renewing of the minds, and a discerning of God’s will,  would certainly be a welcome change, and a start to recognizing what is good and acceptable, and perfect.
Pray on...
Scripture: Mark 15:32; Romans 12:2
Song: I'm Willing to Do Your Will (Album: Worship)

A Gethsemane Wink

The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ~ Mark 14:38
I admit right here, and right now that I am weak, that I have moments where I lose control, that I have a dark secret, that I have an addiction ...to dark chocolate. Yes, I also have other food addictions, but not withstanding them, I continue.
My spiritual life has been in good condition these past number of years. It’s been a steady deepening of understanding, and a closer relationship with God, but saying that, I have to be clear that my flesh has not been in lock step. It has, and continues to be a deterrent to my lifestyle, it is a biblical thorn for sure.
Jesus says in Mark 14:38 that the spirit is willing to avoid temptation, but the body is vulnerable, that it’s weak ...and so it is as late in the evening I hear the dark chocolate calling, and it tempts me to no end, until weakened, I make my quiet, slow, guilty walk, to my downfall.
Now some perspective would be good here. Dark chocolate is not what some of you would think to be a serious breach of temptation, but it is because it’s part of a human condition that we have to be aware of, and one that we prayerfully must deal with.
As I wrote in my song “I’m a prayer whisperer in need of a Gethsemane Wink.
Pray on...
Scripture: Mark 14:38Song: A Gethsemane Wink (Album: Love Strands)

Awaiting and Anticipating Our Arrival

Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 
~ Mark 13:33
Our demise here on this earth is a guarantee, it’s a definite, you can bet your life on it. (Sorry for that little play on words there).
Knowing that, we find ourselves in a place where we don’t have any idea when and or where that day will happen. We don’t have a single clue!
Now in context, this verse (Mark 13:33) is speaking Biblically of the end times, but when are days come to an end, that in itself is our personal end times.
And yes, we should be on guard, and we certainly should be alert to the chance that it could happen at any moment, but that doesn’t mean we should be living in a state of fear. But it does behoove us to be living in a state of awareness.
Are our hearts right? Are we experiencing each day to its fullness? Are we walking in the footsteps of Jesus? Are we acting on the opportunities that are presented before us?
Through our faith are we eagerly awaiting, and anticipating our arrival before God?
Pray on...
Scripture: Mark 13:33Song: Stars Under My Feet (Album: Stars Under My Feet)

One's Province (Walk of Life)

but she, out of her poverty, put in everything ~ Mark 12:44
I often foolishly offer that my happiness is in opposite proportion to my lack of debt. That is to say that I carry no debt, and believe that I live a happier, more content, and stress free life because of it.
Now the premise is that I don’t have money problems which relieves the weight, and stress, that accompanies them. My wife and I make our purchases in cash. We have learned to wait until we can afford an item before we bring it home.
Then again, we were brought up in a time when our parents paid over time and after the last payment brought home a brand new sparkling product. Today we bring home the product and by the time we pay it off, it’s old and needs to be replaced. Backwards huh?
But it hit me today that I’ve got a bit of it wrong. Yes, I have no worldly debt, and I love that, but I DO have a world of spiritual debt.
Everything I have is by grace. Just for clarity’s sake, the monies we save for the things we need are eyeballed to us by God’s grace, It’s really just borrowed from God, I don’t own it ...it could very easily be taken away by God at any moment ...in reality, I’m actually nothing but in debt to him.
Truly I tell you, this poor soul owes absolutely everything to his gracious father in heaven ... and so do you!
Pray on...
Scripture: Mark 12:44Song: You Give to Me (Album: The Twelve)