The Debris

 Hosea 4:6 reads, "My people are being destroyed for lack of knowledge." True then, just as true, perhaps even more so now.

We have a distinct lack of knowledge about the things of God. His character, His ways, and His Word. Much of how we relate to Him, if we can even use that word, is through hearsay. Other people tell us about Him but we never seek Him in order to know if what we've heard is what is true. In a world of fast food and grocery store express lines, super high speed internet, and EZ pass toll booths, this is an easy path to take. We can get soundbites and tidbits about Him here and there. We may grab a verse in the morning and run with it, but in truth, we're running on empty....and it's destroying us. Another translation of Hosea 4:6 says, "My people are perishing (dying)" as a result of this lack. We are as well.

There are seemingly endless reasons for this, but I think a very apt one is found in 2 Kings 22. Josiah has become the king, following the godless reign of his grandfather Manasseh and his father Amon. The Temple, the center of His Presence, has fallen into disrepair and unuse. Josiah orders work to begin on its reconstruction. In the midst of this, the priests find the book of the Law, which had been hidden under much debris. It was brought to Josiah, who ordered it read to him.The Scripture he heard was from Deuteronomy 28, where God told the people of all the blessing that would be upon them if they would heed His word and will and follow Him, but all the misfortune and hardship that would be theirs if they refused.

This pierced the heart of Josiah, and he began to order his life before God and His words, he ordered the nation to do so as well. As a result, Josiah and the people were blessed. God's words, buried under all the debris, had been unleashed in the life of the king and the nation. The question for us is, how much debris covers and hides His Word from us and from our hearts and minds? How much has accumulated?

The debris of busyness, jobs, family, relationships, and our agendas, even the agenda of ministry. All of these cover and keep His Word and life from us, The witness of too much of the church is that we're being destroyed, perishing because of it. In the center of the life of the nation, the Temple, His Word lays hidden. No one, king, priests, or people knew that. They were unaware of His Words and worse, unaware of Him. How close to that reality are our lives, churches, and ministries? We miss His blessings for sure, but worst of all, we miss Him. 

Is it time for a restoration project in your life, your church, your ministry? Time to excavate that which has for too long been buried. Clear the debris that covers His word and presence. In the Bible, Satan is often called "The Destroyer." One his favorite weapons is using our own ignorance of the things and ways of God to destroy us. We overcome and destroy the Destroyer with His Truth. Let us clear away the rubble, raise up His Word, and cease perishing. Let us live....to the full!

Blessings,
Pastor O