Hosea the prophet:

At the beginning of Hosea's prophetic ministry, the Lord told him to get married and announced that Hosea's chosen bride would be unfaithful to her marriage vows. her adultery would vividly illustrate Israel's unfaithfulness to her covenant Lord.

Hosea chose Gomer. the daughter of Diblaim, as his wife and they had three children. because of Gomer's adulteries, the marriage disintegrated, and she eventually became the slave or concubine of another man. however, the Lord instructed Hosea to buy back his wife. Hosea's act of mercy towards his wife was a striking picture of the Lord's great love for Israel.

thea rahmen just related this story to me. it really struck me, this parallel God drew between His love for israel and the love of a husband for his unfaithful wife. sometimes we cannot fathom the extent of God's love for us, but when this love is illustrated in the human context, its unconditional nature stands out like a bright light in the midst of pitch-black darkness.

and i was really encouraged by the conversation we had. after she finished telling me the story of Hosea we talked about this load of random stuff and she reminded me to look back to God and trust. knowing that everything is in His hands. knowing, that things will work out exactly the way He planned it to. (: thank you rahmen. hugs.

this morning, t chun peng showed us a video clip of a song that really struck me.
often times we forget.
i cried early in the morning when he screened the video.
alot of times we forget what easter really means.
its just another event on our calendar.

but watch this


MY JESUS

Which Jesus do you follow?
Which Jesus do you serve?
If Ephesians says to imitate Christ
Then why do you look so much like the world?

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant
So which one do you want to be?

Blessed are the poor in spirit
Or do we pray to be blessed with the wealth of this land
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness
Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sand

Cause my Jesus bled and died for my sins
He spent His time with thieves and sluts and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the rich
So which one do you want to be?

Who is this that you follow
This picture of the American dream
If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side or fall down and worship at His holy feet

Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion
Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins
But the Word says He was battered and scarred
Or did you miss that part
Sometimes I doubt we'd recognize Him

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and the least of these
He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable
So which one do you want to be?

Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet would stain the carpet
But He reaches for the hurting and despised the proud
I think He'd prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd
And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud

I want to be like my Jesus!
I want to be like my Jesus!

Not a posterchild for American prosperity, but like my Jesus
You see I'm tired of living for success and popularity
I want to be like my Jesus but I'm not sure what that means to be like You Jesus
Cause You said to live like You, love like You but then You died for me
Can I be like You Jesus?
I want to be like my Jesus