Hosea 4:4 & 6 and Hosea 6:6 (I want... know me) from the New Living Translation (NLT)

Hosea 4:1-3 and Hosea 6:6 (I'm after... religion) from the Message Translation (MSG)

John 17:3 from New International Version (NIV)

Italics by author. Verse 1: Me orig God

In the summer of 2024, I heard God say, "I want you to write a song about Hosea 4:6."

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." (Hosea 4:6 NKJV)

At first, I thought, surely I must've misheard; He must've meant Hosea 2 (it so happens I have an epic version of Hosea 2 I've been eagerly waiting to put my hands on, you see. ;)

So I suggested, "Dear Spirit, if I heard right, then please give me a sign today."

Later that day, I was a guest on a talk show. While we were talking, the hostess suddenly quoted Hosea 4:6. I was perplexed. I told her what had happened that day, and we were both filled with awe and joy!

The day after, I looked up Hosea 4. Usually, the Spirit gives me the melody and arrangement, but this time… nothing. I still tried to write a song with this verse, but it just didn't speak to me. So, eventually, I parked it and forgot about it.

Until three weeks ago. In my quiet time, I checked with the Spirit which songs (verses) He'd like me to write, and it felt like a big, bold neon sign switched on in my head, spelling: HOSEA 4!

I can take a hint.

But this time, I checked it in the NLT.

And it says:

"My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me."

All pieces fell into place! This is talking about an intimate relationship. Not religion, not theology, not even knowing the Bible inside and out. Think about the Pharisees; they knew the scriptures inside and out but failed to recognize the Word when He stood before their very eyes.

Then I got more verses:

“No one is faithful. No one loves. No one knows the first thing about Me." (Hosea 4:1-3 MSG)

And if you think this is about everybody else but you, verse 4 says:

"Don’t point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame!"

These verses are so relevant, so current, it's scary. In a broader sense, they talk about the state of the world. The people who walk in darkness who don't know Jesus. But "my people" is about us; we are His people, His priests. Don't point your finger at the world. Don't even point your finger at your own brothers and sisters. This is about you and me.

Jesus says to love your enemies, but we can't even bring ourselves to love the people from another political party or denomination. How can we be the light of the world if we don't have a relationship with THE Light of the world? How can we love our fellow man if we don't really know the source of that Love?

I get emails from Christians all over the world. A lot of them are filled with paranoia, fear, and distrust. We are looking for false prophets. We categorize people and put them in boxes. Without the Holy Spirit, there is no discernment, only paranoia and fear.

We are offended all the time. We are so busy with ourselves that we forget we are supposed to be a blessing to others.

We promise things, then break those promises. We lie. We cheat. We constantly criticize our brothers and sisters. Just look at the state of the world. Look at how we treat creation and the animals.

So what do we do?

"I want you to show love. I want you to know me." (Hosea 6:6)

We are not the conscience of God. We are not the wrath of God. We are supposed to be bringers of the Good News. Salt and Light. We are supposed to bring the Love of God.

Without that, nothing we do will ever make sense.