Memo From the Mann

No Exceptions

 Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so? ~ Amos 3:3
I’d like to share some common agreed upon thoughts about this statement.
Persons do not walk together unless they have agreed to meet; lions do not roar unless they have captured some prey; birds do not fall to the ground for no reason; alarms don’t sound without causing fear. (Indeed, our natural disasters come not from happenstance, but from God’s governance of the world,)
Now for you and I, and anyone else, to walk together - We need to have a strong mutual agreement (a healthy understanding) We need a shared vision, a common purpose (common ground) We need to have compatible goals, and a mutual respect (a realistic path) Does this sound like you and God?
 Amos’s question is for us to consider... Can two walk together unless they’re agreed?
 (*Keep this in mind when you go to choose a spouse,  a friend, a business partner, or even a church.)
So ignore God’s warnings if you like,  think the rules don’t apply to you if you’re foolish enough, but (Amos 3 makes it quite clear that) in the end  you’re going to find out the hard way, that God makes no exceptions.
Pray on...Song: It’s A Cold War (Album: Trio)

A Country Boy, Called By God

Amos 7:14 (NIV): 14 Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.
Has the Spirit ever got you attention in an uncomfortable way? You know, you feel like you should say something, or do something that’s outside of your comfort zone?
We should take care to listen, and to trust, and to respond to such callings. The Bible is full of ordinary folks who did extraordinary things.
In the Old Testament book of Amos (A Minor Prophet) we’re introduced to someone who didn’t hang out with the religious leaders in Jerusalem, but with the sheep breeders in Tekoa (like a small borough outside of the city).
He was vocationally and culturally from a different neck of the woods (actually the back woods).  *Amos was a non-prophet organization ~ S.A.
Ministry to Amos wasn’t a career, it was a calling. It was a profession, it was a passion. It wasn’t just a job, it was his joy.Amos wasn’t a pro pastor, he was an amateur. *Amateur means - for the love of it. Amos served God because he loved God.
Amos was both a rancher and farmer... as we read in chapter seven...Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. ~ Amos 7:14
Amos was a country boy who wore jeans and drove a pick-up truck.Amos was a country boy who was called by God  to serve the urban jungles of the northern kingdom.
Could that be you? Are you ready and willing to respond? Are you ready to serve God because you love him?
Are you a country boy ... being called by God? 
Pray on...Song: We Are the Body of Christ (Album: Re:Prize)

Kiss the Son

They kiss calf-idols! ~ Hosea 14:2
To whom are you expressing your loyalty, your devotion, and your love?Now you can answer in any number of ways, but ultimately it’s your life that will express
the truth when it comes to your loyalty, your devotion, and your love.
Here in Hosea 14 we read that Instead of seeking life from God, Ephraim sought it from the fertility rites of baal worship, which was probably a small molten image, modeled after the bull of Bethel, which was made of bronze and overlaid with silver. Kissing the idol was part of the ritual of such worship.
What does your lifestyle say?
What do your purchases say about you?
Has your life revealed a side of compassion? ...a giving nature?
What does your history say?
How have you reacted to problems when they’ve occurred?
...to disappointments when they’ve appeared?
...to darkness when it unexpectedly dropped in?
What does your prayer life say?
Have your prayers been centered on wants or needs?
Have your prayers been centered on you or others?
Have your prayers been centered on expectations or doubts?
Have your prayers been centered on dependency?
Psalm 2:12 warns us -
”Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction,
Take the time to reflect on your life, to step back and see a clear picture ...get a glimpse of the whole story that you’re telling the world, and then ask yourself...
To whom are you expressing your loyalty, your devotion, and your love?
Pray on,
Song: Kiss the Son (Album: IHS)

Turn And Return

Turn & ReturnBut you must return to your God... ~ Hosea 12:6
All of us have guideposts that mark our journey, and some of them we’d no doubt like to remove ... but then that’s an impossible feat, they’re posted there indelibly, we lived them, and we can’t undo our history ... we can only learn from them. They’re reminders, not only to grow by, but also not to repeat.
In Hosea 12  the Lord admonishes Israel to live no longer in sin (as Jacob did), but to return to God and act with love and justice. The full verse reads -6 But you must return to your God;maintain love and justice,and wait for your God always.
And that’s exactly us... when we wander away, when we stumble, when we fall, God says turn away, turn around and return to me. We are firmly reprimanded to act with love and justice. That requires us to step back, get a clear picture, and to make the needed changes ...and maybe more importantly, we’re told to wait for Him always.
Yes he said wait, what a dreaded thing it is to wait ...but in waiting, we have to put our actions aside and that can be an uncomfortable place ...we’re in stand-by (most often impatiently) until something else happens ...in this case a response from God.
Lord, enact in us a habit of waiting for you; help us to return to you when we wander; and to maintain love and justice in our daily lives. 
Pray on,
Song: I Remember (Album: IHS)

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