http://pathwayvineyardva.org/get-connected/#post-2787

New Series Coming Soon!!

Luke 10:38-42: “Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Sitting at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word is what Jesus calls the “one thing necessary?” Really? Is that true? That seems too simple? Too obvious? I mean, isn’t there something more important that we should be doing to build the kingdom? Wasn’t Martha doing something “good?” After all, she was serving! She was preparing a meal for Jesus! Doesn’t God want us to be “active” in our walk with Him? Why would Jesus correct Martha for serving?

Martha was distracted with “good” things. But Mary recognized the one thing necessary. She chose “the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” I wonder how often I allow the good things in my life to crowd out the best? It’s a daily choice, isn’t it? I have to choose over and over again to say no to other things in order to say yes to the one thing necessary…

Lord, thank you for Your Word. Forgive me for being distracted. My heart is to obey You always… but I know I fall short. So Lord, help me to recognize my most basic need – to sit at Your feet and listen to Your Word. Show me what is hindering me from spending time alone with You. I choose You first and above all else. You alone are worthy of my worship. Amen.

 If you answered “YES” to these questions, we invite you to join us for our new teaching series “Being There” as we learn (and put into practice) how to strengthen our relationships

This 6-Week Series begins April 1^st

God called on Hosea to prophesy to the Northern kingdom of Israel in the mid to early 8^th century B.C., but prior to that, he was a family man….at least, of sorts.  He married a woman named Gomer who, by all accounts, was promiscuous.  It is unclear whether she was one of the religious prostitutes who acted out the fertility rituals required of the Baal cult of that day or if she was a woman who had multiple partners that provided for her livelihood, but we know that her marriage to Hosea did little to turn her from this lifestyle.  They had three children, two sons and one daughter, but the circumstance around their birth is also unclear.  Hosea may have fathered all of the children, but it is possible some were fathered by one of Gomer’s many illicit liaisons.  For all we can tell, Hosea may not have even known.  Overtime, Gomer became so entangled with her promiscuous lifestyle that she left the marriage and Hosea was forced to divorce her.  Eventually, Gomer found herself held in servitude by one of her lovers.  Now you ask, how could God have a man whose life was such a mess be one of His spokesmen?  As it turns out, Hosea was exactly the man God needed.

The scenario leading up to Hosea’s prophecy starts several centuries earlier.  The nation of Israel, God’s chosen people, had been living in Egypt at the request of Joseph.  As time passed, the Israelite population began to outnumber the Egyptian’s causing the Monarchy concern the Israelites might want to overthrow them, so they brutally enslaved them to a life of excruciatingly hard labor.  Additionally, in an effort to quell their growth and strength, the Egyptians passed a law requiring all newborn Israelite males to be executed.  Israel’s situation was dire.  They cried out to God to be delivered from their harsh reality.  Through Moses, God delivered them from the hands of their brutal masters, established a covenant of exclusive love with them, and led them to Canaan where they were to become a mighty nation—to be the world’s example of God’s love and provision, the nation of Israel.  Under the circumstances, one would expect the Israelites to be eternally grateful, but that was not the case.

When the Israelites began settling in Canaan, the land was already occupied by several nations who practiced a religion that opposed Israel’s exclusive worship of God.  They worshiped Baal, a fertility god who, as it was believed, would ensure great crop yields provided certain rituals were followed.  Even though Israel was commanded to not become ensnared by Baalism, they did anyway.  Overtime, worship of God was completely replaced with the immoral rituals of Baal.  The Israelites chose to ignore worshiping the Creator God who delivered them from slavery and to chase after the sensual desires surrounding the worship of Baal.

This is where God used Hosea is a beautiful way.  Drawing metaphors from his experiences, his wife and children representing the Northern kingdom (Israel) and the pain experienced from his failed marriage, Hosea weaved together a powerfully emotional story of God’s covenantal love for Israel.  He painted a picture of first love and the joy of fatherhood.  Hosea describes God holding his infant child in the way a father does to steady them on their infant legs teaching them to walk.  You can literally feel the innocence of a child interwoven with the unique feelings that only a father understands.  You can see the smile on God’s face; everything is perfect.  But then, it all came crashing down. 

We all know of those rare songs in which the artist uses their art to express a painful personal experience; we are drawn into partnering in their emotion.  In a unique, unexplainable way, we can feel the singer’s heart, even if only a glimpse.  In like fashion, the reader can feel Hosea’s heart, even nearly 3000 years later, as he draws on the emotions of his broken marriage to express God’s pain of Israel’s infidelity as they shared their exclusive love and became entangled in an illicit affair with Baal.  Hosea’s story conjures up images of God crying out to win back His bride, but she ran further and further away.  God poured out His heart, but Israel crushed it and threw it in His face.  Over several hundred years, God tried to woo Israel back into the marriage, but He finally proclaimed their divorce.  The pain Israel caused was so deep, God tells them there is nothing they can ever do great enough to win mercy from His retribution.  The anguish of the loss so great, He pronounced the severest of punishments, destruction

One might expect the story to end here, bot not this one; There’s a surprise!  One metaphor has yet to be explained. God, in this story, is represented by Hosea, and Hosea does something extraordinary.  When He discovered his wife living in the destitute condition she so likely deserved, he could have easily left her there.  It’s not hard to imagine most would, but Hosea was no ordinary man.  Instead, he faced public embarrassment and humbled himself, paid for her redemption to deliver her from servitude, and took her back as his wife.  Again, this was no act of an ordinary man, given all that Hosea went through.  This is exactly the message God translated through Hosea’s life.  God could have left Israel to the condemnation they so deserved, but just as quickly as He pronounced His judgment, he relented.  Even though His bride had left Him for others, even though Israel could never earn mercy, God does something extraordinary.  He gave grace.  In the face of utter destruction, Israel hears God say, “My compassion overflows…I will not completely destroy Israel….For I am God and not a man…and besides me, there is no savior” (Hos. 11:8, 9; 13:4 [NLT, ESV]).

What a beautiful story.  But it does not end here.  You see, this story intersects with each of our own.  Hosea’s wife and children weren’t just metaphors for Israel; they also represent every single one of us.  Just like Hosea’s wife, we turned our backs on God and chose to chase after our own desires only to find ourselves living in servitude (John 8:34; 2 Pet. 2:18-20), and our only hope for freedom is through the saving act of a redeemer.  Moreover, the Bible tells us that we face the same punishment as Israel for our infidelity, destruction (Rom. 6:23; James 1:15), and that we are so far gone, that we can do nothing to ever earn mercy from the punishment we deserve (Rom 3:23; Eph. 2:8).  But yet, God, again, relented.  By sending His own Son, Jesus, to live among us, live a sinless life, and to take our place in judgment, He paid the redemption price.  In the face of our own destruction, God gave us the gift of grace.  But a gift implies action on the part of the recipient, acceptance.  Whether to accept this gift is a choice we all must make, and for all who do, they will hear “My compassion overflows…I will not completely destroy you….For I am God and not a man…and besides me, there is no savior.”

“For God loved the world so much that He gave His only son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 [NLT]).

So, would you like to be part of this story?  I know that anyone from our church would love to share a moment with you; we never underestimate the power of a story.