We need a new season of renewal:-
Where we see humility, v1-3; the surrendering of man-made power, v4; where God becomes everything, v4-6; where results take place, v7; the development of purpose, v8-9; where there are seasons of increase and enlarging, v10; and the rebuilding of holy altars, v11-13; which does not cause us to walk from the Bible but submit to it, v12; and finally, when God is given the glory, v14.
“Israel has forgotten their Maker and built palaces; Judah has fortified many towns. But I will send fire on their cities that will consume their fortresses.” (Hosea 8 v 14)
There it is. The reason why it all went so badly wrong for both kingdoms. For Israel, they simply turned their back on God. They built for their own glory and not for God. Judah did the same as they built for their own security.
It is so easy to start with the Spirit and then end with the flesh (Galatians 3). Renewal reorders the glory to make sure God gets the whole of it.
Some may not like reading the Minor Prophets but we need them more than ever today as they call us back into the seasons of renewal. For if we ignore the call then there is nothing God will not do to bring His people back home. That includes ‘fire on the cities’ that we have built and being overrun by some enemy and taken into a place we were never created to be in, our exile.
We need a new season of renewal.
Missions Paul 