Today's encouragement comes from Hosea 8:14a, where we read these words:
"For Israel has forgotten his Maker, and has built temples . . . "At first glance, this is a strange couplet (above). Israel *forgets* God; and then goes out and *builds temples*. Here, we see the incurable religiosity of all people everywhere. Just because sinners choose to dishonor The True God, this does absolutely nothing to alleviate their insatiable need to worship *some* god, of some sort.
Let us seek to keep in mind that every lost person we talk to today—be they allegedly as "irreligious" as they want to pretend to be—are all about building temples for their false deities. They are every bit as “religious” as we are, if not more so. All of us who are now known by God, and redeemed in Jesus’ blood, were also fully stuck in this same predicament, as well. In Christ’s grace and gospel let us seek the best of lost, idol-worshipping souls.
[Puritan quote of the day: "He that enjoys much of God in this life carries heaven about him. . . . The enjoyment of God's sweet presence here is an earnest [downpayment] of our enjoying Him in heaven.” —Thomas Watson, in, "A Body of Divinity"]
