NLT Hosea 4,1b “There is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God in your land. 2You make vows and break them; you kill and steal and commit adultery. There is violence everywhere—one murder after another. 3That is why your land is in mourning, and everyone is wasting away. … 4′Don’t point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame! My complaint, you priests, is with you. 5So you will stumble in broad daylight, and your false prophets will fall with you in the night. And I will destroy Israel, your mother. 6a My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me.‚“ Another translation (NKJV) says: „My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.“

Harsh words, God spoke to Israel; especially its priests. Unfortunately, these words are true today and they are spoken to us believers as His „royal priesthood“ (1 Peter 2,9).

Not knowing His laws, which God gave to Moses – laws talking about not to kill, steal,  or to commit adultery, and so on – isn’t actually the issue. It is about the lack of kindness. It is about the lack of knowing who God is, and what His character is. Ultimately this is leading to not understanding who we are in Jesus Christ. We lack the knowledge of our identity.

The more I am serving others in prayer, the truth of Romans 10,17 comes to live: „So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.“ Words of God’s love, how He sees us, and how precious we are to Him, being spoken through me to the people being served let my own faith grow. The more my own faith grows, the more I am able to speak these words of love to others. Even to those not knowing God … yet.

I pray it will become a habit among those confessing Christ to speak words of love instead words of insult, words of encouragement instead of condemnation.

Don’t get me wrong. I am all for correction, if I somebody (including myself) is walking an un-biblical path. These corrections though need to explain the biblical path. Correction without showing the right path is condemnation.

To make it practical: check out The Father’s Love Letter:
http://www.fathersloveletter.com/text.html

Read it to yourself! Read it to others!

Have a blessed day!