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God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)

Suppose you have been outside in extremely cold temperatures, only then to enter the home of a friend who offers you a glass of brandy. A few minutes after drinking it, you become conscious of a feeling of warmth and attribute it to the alcohol. The fact is, the alcohol will actually make you colder. It has for the moment caused your blood vessels to dilate giving you the impression that your body is producing heat. In point of fact, it is losing heat. You may feel you are warming up, but in reality you are cooling down. Your feelings have led you astray. An observer knowledgeable about the effects of alcohol could tell you what was really happening. But if you are relying on your feelings you would reject his conclusions. So, too, in the spiritual realm, feelings can often deceive us as to the true state of affairs. We must have an external reference point or standard of objective truth by which feelings may be evaluated and judged… All subjective states of mind and emotion must be brought under the searchlight of the objective principles of God's written Word.
Sam Storms

When you feel depressed, it helps to actively change your environment. Go and do something different. Martin Luther conquered his depression by going outside to work in his garden. Surprisingly enough, one of the best ways to handle depression is to go to work immediately on the task you least enjoy. (The chances are your depression is caused by guilt feelings arising out of neglect of those tasks.)
R.C. Sproul

Bible – English_World – Hosea Chapter 4:1-19.

Index: World English Bible

 

Hosea 4

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4:1 Hear the word of Yahweh, you children of Israel; For Yahweh has a charge against the inhabitants of the land: “Indeed there is no truth, Nor goodness, Nor knowledge of God in the land.

4:2 There is cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; They break boundaries, and bloodshed causes bloodshed.

4:3 Therefore the land will mourn, And everyone who dwells therein will waste away. All living things in her, Even the animals of the field and the birds of the sky; Yes, the fish of the sea also die.

4:4 “Yet let no man bring a charge, neither let any man accuse; For your people are like those who bring charges against a priest.

4:5 You will stumble in the day, And the prophet will also stumble with you in the night; And I will destroy your mother.

4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, That you may be no priest to me. Because you have your God’s law, I will also forget your children.

4:7 As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me. I will change their glory into shame.

4:8 They feed on the sin of my people, And set their heart on their iniquity.

4:9 It will be, like people, like priest; And I will punish them for their ways, And will repay them for their deeds.

4:10 They will eat, and not have enough. They will play the prostitute, and will not increase; Because they have abandoned giving to Yahweh.

4:11 Prostitution, wine, and new wine take away understanding.

4:12 My people consult with their wooded idol, And answer to a stick of wood. Indeed the spirit of prostitution has led them astray, And they have been unfaithful to their God.

4:13 They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains, And burn incense on the hills, under oaks and poplars and terebinths, Because its shade is good. Therefore your daughters play the prostitute, And your brides commit adultery.

4:14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the prostitute, Nor your brides when they commit adultery; Because the men consort with prostitutes, And they sacrifice with the shrine prostitutes; And the people that does not understand will come to ruin.

4:15 “Though you, Israel, play the prostitute, Yet don’t let Judah offend; And don’t come to Gilgal, Neither go up to Beth Aven, Nor swear, ‘As Yahweh lives.’

4:16 For Israel has behaved extremely stubbornly, like a stubborn heifer. Then how will Yahweh feed them like a lamb in a meadow.

4:17 Ephraim is joined to idols. Leave him alone!

4:18 Their drink has become sour. They play the prostitute continually. Her rulers dearly love their shameful way.

4:19 The wind has wrapped her up in its wings; And they shall be disappointed because of their sacrifices.