I need this sometimes...

What is mankind that you are mindful of them,

a son of man that you care for him?

You made them a little lower than the angels;

you crowned them with glory and honor

and put everything under their feet.

Psalm 8:4-6

Who do YOU say I am?

18 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

19 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”

20 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”

(Luke 9:18-20)

It is easy for us to repeat facts about the Bible, Jesus, or God. Facts are impersonal bits of information we an use to sway someone's opinion or prove someone wrong with. That is not at all what God desires for us. Look at the passage above again.

Jesus makes things really personal. "Who do you say I am?"

I believe Jesus is constantly asking you that question. He wants you to know the truth about who he really is.

He also asks, "Who do the crowds say I am?"

You need to be able to distinguish between what everyone else is saying and what you know is true. And we know that God's Word is true. The crowds say that Jesus is...

Just a man

An angry God

Not real

The cause of your problems

Self -seeking

But Jesus proclaims himself as "Savior". This idea of a Savior encompasses every aspect of life. "I came to give you life, real, eternal life." (John 10:10)

"Who do you say I am?"

Is Jesus kind to you? Does he love you? Is he ashamed of you?

"We must pay more careful attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away." (Hebrew 2:1)

Don't just listen to anyone. Listen to the truth of Jesus' grace.

Jesus says, "I do not condemn you."

Jesus says, "Your sins are forgiven."

Jesus says, "You are healed."

Jesus says, "I am not ashamed to call you my brothers and sisters."

Please realize how personal Jesus is. Good things happen to people who know that Jesus loves them.

The Father's Heart

Adoption

I wonder sometimes how people really view their relationship with God. I wonder if they can see clearly the implications of the Gospel (Good News). Over the last 3 years, I have experienced an explosion of faith and love that I previously did not know. It is my desire that other people come to a real understanding of the Gospel (Good News) and see it for what it is.

One of the most powerful aspects that is often missed in the Gospel (Good News) is something called adoption. Most everyone knows what adoption is. Not everyone has had an experience with it though. Let me share with you.

My wife, Brittany, was adopted when she was only 3 months old. When we first started dating I was very aware of this because I had never known anyone who was adopted. So I have learned a lot about how the process works at an emotional level. To start drawing parallels, a lot of Christians celebrate and remember the day they got saved. Her family celebrates not only her birthday but also her adoption day. It is the day she was born into their family. Really, it is the day, in their eyes, that she was born.

The connection into the family was immediate. The day they got her, as they drove home, her dad reached back to touch her and she grabbed a hold of his finger and held it all the way home. You see, the idea of adoption is sort of like a transplant. You bring in a foreign object to a host and hope that it becomes naturally grafted in. Parents receive a random child and they become family.

She is half Mexican and half Polish. Her family is German blooded with a previously Amish background. They were not similar. But in an adoption a person's past is erased, especially in a closed adoption. They are brought into a family, get a new name (first and last), a new father and mother, new siblings, and sometimes they get a new language. It is really a new life. They experience a love they haven't had before.

It is like it says in the book of Hosea, "I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one.' I will say to those called 'Not my people,' 'You are my people.'

This is the idea on hand: We were formerly not in a good family. Really, we were orphans. Most orphans around the world have no hope of experiencing a family. But God wants YOU to be in His family...forever.

Read Galatians 4:4-7 (MSG) - But when the time arrived that was set by God the Father, God sent his Son, born among us of a woman, born under the conditions of the law so that he might redeem those of us who have been kidnapped by the law. Thus we have been set free to experience our rightful heritage. You can tell for sure that you are now fully adopted as his own children because God sent the Spirit of his Son into our lives crying out, "Papa! Father!" Doesn't that privilege of intimate conversation with God make it plain that you are not a slave, but a child? And if you are a child, you're also an heir, with complete access to the inheritance.

Just like my wife grabbed a hold of her daddy right when she was adopted, our spirits, which are from Jesus, cling to the Father (Daddy).

Sonship

This brings me to a new question: Have you ever wondered why Jesus came as God's son? Why wasn't he just God? Or maybe the One sent from God?

The passage we just read clarifies this. Notice that "...God sent the Spirit of his Son into our lives..."

God's idea was for us to not just be his friend, not just "a man after God's own heart", but His children. Ephesians 1:5 (MSG) - Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!)

Look at Matthew 3:17 when God said, "This is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

Please get this: God sent the spirit of His son, whom He loves and is well pleased with, into your life so that you could relate to the Father (Daddy) in the same way Jesus did.

The power of the knowledge that YOU are in God's family will drastically change how you view Jesus (Your Brother), God (Your Father), and yourself (You are in the family!). Family is God's idea and plan for the whole world.

The idea that God would ignore you after He went out of His way to adopt you into His family is as heinous as parents who would go through the 9 months it takes to have a baby and then just decide they want to leave it at the hospital.

My friend, Levi, and I were talking about these things as we were studying through the Book of Galatians in our Life Group. He is the father of a 2 year old, Libby. He said, "I love Libby so much. I would do anything for her. It makes me realize how much God loves us as his children."

I hope this is a new perspective for you. If you already had this view, I hope that it has deepened your understanding and love of/for God. It is time to let go of what you thought you knew about God and began to take a hold of God's true nature as your Father. All of this is possible only by the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus. Amen.

This song is beautiful.

Can you sleep?

Here is a recent teaching I did at Oasis Granger.

Enjoy!

An Egocentric God?

"Humans exist merely to glorify God."

Perhaps you have heard this statement before. I don't know who first said it nor do I care. In my opinion it is at the heart of religion and legalism.

Let me just say that this statement is false. Not true.

But really, this statement diminishes every personal relationship with God to a meaningless, zombie state of mind. It is as if God needs to be worshipped or else He will become sad and angry.

Here is the problem with this statement: it contradicts the whole New Testament and really the whole Bible.

We know it says in 1 John 4:8 that "God is Love" and in 4:10 "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice as the one who would turn aside his wrath, taking away our sins."

Hmm.

If God is love, His nature is not to be self-seeking or egocentric. His nature is to be life giving. Paul shows us the nature of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 - ⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸Love never fails.
I know you have heard this a million times at weddings but it really has more to do with the character of God. He is love. Look at it this way.
⁴ God is patient, God is kind. God does not envy, God does not boast, God is not proud. ⁵God is not rude, God is not self-seeking, God is not easily angered, God keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶God does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷God always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
⁸God never fails.
That is the nature of God. And it changes the meaning of our existence drastically.
I know people have different experiences in life but your experiences do not define who God is. Jesus Christ is the exact representation of God (Heb 1:3). If you read the Bible you see Jesus healing, forgiving, and preaching the Good News. If you recall Mark 10:45 he said that he "didn't come to be served, but to serve..."
Religion just got flipped on it's head.
How about this...
"Humans exist to be in perfect relationship with God through Jesus Christ, having their needs met by Him alone."
You can quote me on that.

New Creation

The Gospel is Good News. We need to focus on the Gospel of Christ and it alone. People get carried away talking about the Law, prophecy, curses, sinning, and all sorts of other things. But the whole Bible points to one Savior, one Healer, and one truth: Jesus Christ.

He tells us in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me and find rest." This is rest for our whole being, spirit, soul, and body. He can give this because He is the fulfillment of the Law, He has broken all the curses, and is the healer of all. Why waste time talking about all these other things out of context or rather out of the context of Christ.

What is truly important? For a glimpse, let's look at 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 (Paraphrased)

-Christ died for all

-We can now live for God (without fear)

-God has made us a new creation through Jesus

-God isn't counting sins against us

-God is reconciling the world back to himself

-We get to carry this message of love and Good News to people

In Romans 5:12-20 we see this truth: Righteousness isn't what you do, it is who you are because of what Jesus has done. If you are a new creation, what has changed about you? You are now righteous. It is who you are now.

Stop disqualifying yourself. Lose the condemnation. If you have accepted Jesus, you are a new creation in God's eyes. Start viewing yourself the same as God sees you. If you have a bad habit that you need to get rid of, praise God, Titus 2:11 says that the grace (His Favor) of God will teach you and lead you. Grace gives time.

This is the message that will give people joy, happiness, and peace. Truly there is freedom in it.

This is the ONLY Gospel. What Gospel do you believe in?

Check this video out.

New Creation from Pace Hartfield on Vimeo.

Sorrow

Proverbs 10:22 NLT - "The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it." What an interesting concept... God isn't the one bringing sorrow into your life. Could God be nicer than you think?

May blessing (praise, laudation, and eulogy) be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual (given by the Holy Spirit) blessing in the heavenly realm! - Ephesians 1:3 AMP

Here is a spiritual litmus test to see if something is from God: Does the situation or issue you are dealing with bring sorrow or grief?

If it does, (Here is a bold statement) it is not from God. Jesus says himself in John 6:37 that he would never drive away or reject anyone who comes to him. Giving someone sorrow and grief (which is usually associated with pain and sickness) will cause someone to leave. If I inject my best friend with a deadly virus, they won't want to be my friend anymore!

Why is it different for God? "Because He is sovereign and cancer or trials could be His will!"

We need to learn that God does work all things (even bad things) for the good of those who love Him. This doesn't mean those things were sent by God.

God will not violate His Word. If we being merely human know how to give good gifts to our kids, how much better do you think God's gifts are! (Our spiritual Dad)

He is the giver of every perfect gift.

Generational Curses?

Let me just say this off the bat- You are either cursed or you are in Christ.

Many people like to talk about the curses in the old testament as if they apply to people who have been saved or call Jesus their Savior. They don't. It is a lack of knowledge that destroys you.

But you will ask, "What about when it says that God will visit the sins of the father to the third and fourth generation?"

To clear that up, look at the context -

‘The Lord is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. But he does not excuse the guilty. He lays the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.’ Numbers 14:18

Notice that God is in the business of loving people and forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. But He does not excuse the guilty. Who are the guilty? In this context the would be the people who didn't make atonement for their sins through the sacrifice system that God created for them. If you made sacrifices, your sins would be forgiven. But for the rebellious who wouldn't listen to God, they would be punished. The curse is death. That is THE curse. It was put into effect by the Law.

But I said earlier "You are either cursed or you are in Christ."

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." Galatians 3:13

This is an interesting concept. If Christ redeemed you (made you right with God) then can you be cursed by God? No.

"Yet you ask, 'Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?' Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him. Ezekiel 18:19-20

This passage in context of the Law but the principle still applies to us under Grace. When we turn to Jesus and accept his free gift of salvation which brings righteousness, God doesn't remember our sins and we are not cursed. We cannot be! Can Christ curse himself? Aren't we the body of Christ?

When you are saved, you are saved.

Rest and Worship

If you have read the Bible or been around Christians or Jews you may have heard of a term called "Sabbath". This is a day observed often times by many different sects of Christians and Jews.

What is Sabbath? Well, it started out pretty simple: it was a day for rest and worship. A day to relax and spend time with the Lord. Sounds pretty nice. But things get complicated, not because God makes them complicated but because we complicate them.

A lot of Christians view Sunday as their Sabbath. It is known as the "Lord's Day." Just one day a week. We have made it a law though. This is what Sabbath has been boiled down to, "Go to church and fear God or else you are an unsaved pagan." Really, I guarantee if "non-Christians" were honest, they would tell you that this is the vibe they get from Christians. This is a major turn off to a stuffy religion.

In Mark 2:27-28 (NLT) Jesus talks about the Sabbath.

"The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath."

WHAT?!

You see, in the context of this, Jesus and his disciples were being accused of breaking the Sabbath (There were 39 things punishable by death on the Sabbath. If you want to preach Law, you better check yourself.)

But Jesus reveals a new concept: Rest (even though the Sabbath was a day of rest).

People have made Rest & Worship a chore. People have made it so you have to serve Rest & Worship. This is an oxymoron! Like a solar powered flashlight! You can't serve rest. How is that possible? If you were serving it, you wouldn't be resting. Therefore it is no longer rest! The whole idea of Rest & Worship becomes a pointless chore.

It says in Hebrews 4 that the promise of entering God's rest still stands for those who have faith in Jesus. Anyone who enters God's rest, rests from his own work.

As Jesus says in John 6:29 (NLT) "This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent."

The only way you can have rest is by believing in Jesus. You were not made to meet requirements on a set day. Actually, you were made to have your needs met by God himself. Rest & Worship are just a means of experiencing His goodness. They are not ways for you to impress God.

So what system have you been following? Are you rested or stressed? Really, think about it.

Simple. Sufficient? Supreme!

Here is an audio file of my teaching at Oasis Granger. I hope you enjoy it. I have provided the pictures I used during the teaching so that you can see my examples and understand what I am talking about.

Picture 1

Picture 2

Confession of Sins

1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

This is a hard topic sometimes. It is really important to always read the Bible in context. If you read from the beginning of the chapter, you will see that John is writing partially to unbelievers. He says, "We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write to this to make our joy complete." 1 John 1:3-4

From their he basically gives a gospel presentation - We are all sinners. If we confess with our mouths and believe with our hearts we will be saved.
It is important to know the preceding verses to 1 John 1:9.

In 1 John 1:7 he says, "...the blood of Jesus, his Son purifies us from all (or every) sin."

In Hebrews 9:25-26 it says, "Nor did he enter to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself."

The key there is "once for all". If he has to forgive you every time you sin, he would have to make a new sacrifice every time.
If I have to confess every time I sin then it is no longer a free gift. I have to do something to earn it.

In Hebrews 10:10 it says, "By the will of God, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

Again, it says, "Once for All". "We have been made holy". That means you are holy all the time. It is your nature to be holy.

This is why we say, "It is a finished work." Because Jesus finished all the work.
If you continually confess your sins, you will just remind yourself of how sinful you are and you will stay trapped in your sins. You will think that you cannot come before God.
But when you confess that God HAS made you righteous and holy, you will "boldly enter His throne room of Grace" (Hebrews 4:14-16). There you will find the grace to always overcome every obstacle.

Strong Men

Jesus makes everything practical.

In Mark 3:20-30 Jesus is accused of driving out demons by the power of another demon. He refutes this by using logic.

"How can satan drive out satan?"

"A kingdom divided cannot stand."

He then switches His focus to the gospel by using a parable, something practical to describe what will happen.

"In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house. I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin."

He said this because they were saying, "He has an evil spirit."

(This unforgivable sin is essentially this - Rejecting Jesus and the Holy Spirit)

But the focus of this parable is on the gospel. The devil has taken people captive and caused destruction. The devil is the strong man. What does it take to tie of a strong man?

A stronger man.

Jesus came to proclaim freedom for the prisoners (Luke 4). Jesus is the stronger man! When you see the forgiveness Jesus offers, your heart will be free and your conscience clear.

Jesus does not carry empty words. His words have power and authority and he shows this parable in action.

Mark 5:1-20 -There was a demon possessed man. No one could subdue him because he was too strong. He even broke chains that people tried to shackle him with. We was out of his mind and naked because of the demons .

But what happened when he saw Jesus? He ran and fell on his knees in front of Jesus!

What does it take to tie up a strong man? What does it take to make a strong man bow down?

A stronger man.

Jesus sent the demons out of the man and set him free. Once he was in his right mind he sat calmly at Jesus' feet clothed. Jesus told him, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."

What does it take to empower someone to be strong?

A stronger man.

This newly freed man left and proclaimed what the Lord had done for him not just to his family, not just to his city, but to 10 surrounding cities.

That is the power of the stronger man. He is Jesus.

Jesus in Context

Many people like to quote verses like, "I have not come to abolish the Law but the fulfill it..." (Found in Matthew) or "It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law."

They use them to say, "See, we need to be preaching the 10 Commandments." But when you look at the context it isn't so.

"The Law and Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law." (Luke 16:16-17)

Let's ask a question right here...

Why is everyone forcing their way into the kingdom?

Look at the context. The Law is stiff. It does not bend. When people understand how difficult it is to keep the law they will gladly choose the alternative: The Gospel. The Good News.

Why did Jesus say that the Law and Prophets were no longer proclaimed?

Because he came to fulfill the Law. When something is fulfilled, ("It is finished.") there is no need to strive to complete it.

Finally, right before Jesus ascends to heaven, he reiterates this point. "...repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his (Jesus) name to all nations..." (Luke 24:47)

Don't you think Jesus would have said, "Oh yea, start proclaiming the Law with that too," if he wanted us to proclaim the Law? He didn't, though. Preaching the Law is back-tracking. Paul backs this up again in 2 Corinthians 3 (Summarized) "Everytime Moses (Old Covenant Law) is read, a veil covers the hearts of those listening."

He is saying when the Law is read as a means of self-righteousness and is cheapened, people are blinded to the simple truth of the Gospel: God has chosen to forgive and forget our sins through Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 8:12)

When people finally do hear this simple but powerful truth, it will be the best news they will ever hear. And you will see them run to the King - Jesus.

Reigning in life to bring the Father glory

"...how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ." Romans 5:17

I have heard people say that they received an illness or affliction from God (or God allowed it) so that they could suffer and it would bring them closer to God. In fact, I just read an article in a Christian magazine about a young man who wasn't sure if he should pray for healing for his cancer-stricken body because he was not sure if it was a gift from God and did not want to go against God's will. People think that they receive these "gifts" in order to barely struggle through so that they can "encourage" people who are going through the same things.

How sick is that? We can't even understand our own "loving" God. Wasn't it Jesus who said, "I have come to give life, but not just life, life to the full." Didn't he also say, when accused of driving out demons by the power of another demon, "A kingdom divided cannot stand." Don't you think that this applies to God's kingdom too?

You see, Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit are one. The same. So you can say that God came to give life to the full or abundantly.

Show me the verse where Jesus says, "I'm not going to heal you right now but don't worry, you will eventually get better after a couple years of struggling through. Then you can encourage others that are suffering that this is my will and that ultimately I love them but they don't need to be healed because it is my will."

I am not trying to put condemnation on anyone who is sick or hasn't experienced healing. I am wanting to show that God wants you well! I am not trying to be mean or rude but this mentality has to leave the church. Aren't you tired of being poor, sick, and unproductive? We are preaching poverty and sickness to a dying world!

What did Jesus die for? For you to die too?

No! I will live and not die and proclaim what the Lord has done! Psalm 118:17

We are called to reign in this life! Look in John 14:12 -

"Anyone who has faith in me will do the same things I have been doing and even greater things."

He continues, "I will do anything you ask in my name, so that the son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it."

1. God gets glory when miracles happen or when Jesus gives us gifts.

2. He tells us to ask for anything in his name.

The problem is that people don't accept God's free gift of righteousness and the abundant provision of his grace as a gift. They read verses like Romans 5:17 and don't fully grasp the promises made.

Righteousness is a free gift from God. Your forgiveness is totally given by Jesus Christ and not earned by what you do. Rest in that. Grace (God's ability and favor) comes to you abundantly so that you can reign in all areas of this life. He doesn't give you this so that you can soon die after. He wants you to live and proclaim what the He has done for you and what he can do for other people! And it all comes through one person (who isn't you). Jesus.

So I am saying today to change your thinking! Change how you view God! He is good.

Jesus' First Miracle - Water into Wine

Was it a party favor or something deeper?

Have you ever thought about Jesus' first miracle? Seriously, really think about it. This is his first chance to make an impression on people in a miraculous way, so he should probably do something awesome, right? Yet, he turns water into wine.

I mean, on the surface it just looks like a nice party favor and I think that's how most people take it. He felt bad for the wedding party and wanted everyone to have a good time. Maybe he was just trying to please his mom?

No. I believe if you look a little deeper you can see that Jesus was really intentional with this miracle, just like he was with the rest of his ministry.

So look in John 2 where this story is found.

Jesus is at a wedding, which we know is a symbol of the church (or people) being reconciled to God. This is important to realize. Jesus tells the servants at the wedding to fill some water jars with water. What is interesting is that these water jars are used for ceremonial washing so that the Jews could be outwardly clean. This is a symbol of the Old Covenant.

When the jars are filled to the brim, the water turns into wine. Wine represents the blood of the New Covenant, which was shed for the forgiveness of sins (Matt 26:27). The wine is then given so people can drink it. The master of the banquet says to the Bridegroom (who represents Christ), "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink, but you have saved the best till now."

Jesus is showing us something important with this miracle. God saved the best wine (Jesus' blood) for the final drink (or sacrifice). This wine comes out of the ceremonial washing jars to show us that this new wine will cleanse us on the inside.

Jesus wanted to show God's plan from the start. We would be reconciled by His blood through the forgiveness of sins.

God's grace is for every area of your life. Accept his grace today.

Ammi & Ruhamah

The Bible is so cool. It really is a commentary on itself. It also supports itself. There have been times when I thought that it contradicted itself but when you read things in context it all makes sense.

Anyway, I want to show two sections in two different books in the Bible that talk about the New Covenant before Jesus showed up in his physical body.

The first is Hosea 2:14-23
¹⁴ "Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the desert
and speak tenderly to her.
¹⁵ There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
There she will sing as in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
¹⁶ "In that day," declares the LORD,
"you will call me 'my husband';
you will no longer call me 'my master.'
¹⁷ I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;
no longer will their names be invoked.
¹⁸ In that day I will make a covenant for them
with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air
and the creatures that move along the ground.
Bow and sword and battle
I will abolish from the land,
so that all may lie down in safety.
¹⁹ I will betroth you to me forever;
I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,
in love and compassion.
²⁰ I will betroth you in faithfulness,
and you will acknowledge the LORD.
²¹ "In that day I will respond,"
declares the LORD—
"I will respond to the skies,
and they will respond to the earth;
²² and the earth will respond to the grain,
the new wine and oil,
and they will respond to Jezreel.
²³ I will plant her for myself in the land;
I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one.'
I will say to those called 'Not my people, ' 'You are my people';
and they will say, 'You are my God.' "

When it says 'Not my loved one' in verse 23, it says 'Lo-Ruhamah' in the Hebrew.

When it says 'Not my people', it says 'Lo-Ammi".

So when it 'You are my loved one' it actually says 'Ruhamah' ('Lo" essentially means 'not') and when it says 'You are my people' it actually says 'Ammi'.

Next I want to look at Hebrews 8:8-12 (Which also appears in Jeremiah 31:31-34).

"The time is coming, declares the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.

⁹It will not be like the covenant
I made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.

¹⁰This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.

¹¹No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,'
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.

¹²For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more."

Again in verse 10 He says 'They will be my people'. Ammi.

What am I saying here? If you read both descriptions of this covenant it is all about what God will do.

He will marry us in righteousness, love, justice, faithfulness, and compassion. (Hosea 2:19-20)

He will be faithful because we can't be. (Hebrews 8:9) (Hosea 2:20)

He will allow us to lie down in safety. (Hosea 2:18)

He will speak tenderly to us. (Hosea 2:14)

He will turn trouble into hope. (Hosea 2:15)

He will restore us. (Hosea 2:15)

He will renew our youth. (Hosea 2:15)

He will make the covenant. (Hebrews 8:10) (Hosea 2:18)

He will call us His loved one. (Ruhamah). (Hosea 2:23)

He will call us His people. (Ammi). (Hosea 2:23) (Hebrews 8:10)

He will forgive and forget our sins and show us grace & mercy. (Hebrews 8:12)

And we will say, "He is our God"(Hosea 2:20), and we will know Him (Hebrews 8:11).

So I am telling you that you are Ammi and Ruhamah - God's loved people.