Well, it is Monday afternoon as I write this, and I am sitting at Starbucks enjoying a decaf latte and thinking how much I miss my wife. The old adage of, “absence makes the heart grow fonder,” is silly. I love my wife and I miss my wife, and with Monday being my day off/our day off we do things together. Even the mundane errands to be done on a day off are fun when she and I are together. But, back to my sitting here at Starbucks. I have been reading my Bible and so far, I have had two interesting conversations. One with a person who recently went back to church who shared that with me, with great joy nonetheless. The second person said that it was funny that I was reading it as they had just traveled home from Ireland and the person next to them on the plane was also reading a Bible. Of course, that led to a conversation about why we read the Bible and perhaps the Holy Spirit was directing them to read the Bible. Starbucks is always a great place to engage with the world. A world of many who know Christ, and many who do not know Christ.
As I sat here, I was reading from the Book of Hosea, I highly suggest reading this book of the Bible as the Minor Prophets always have something for us to reflect on. I will reflect on the first two verses of chapter six, as I think in a way my visit to Starbucks relates. If you have never read Hosea, I do encourage you to read it. I think that many questions will be raised by the prophets writing. If you have comments or question always feel free to email me at pastortom@gracebaptistct.com. In the Book of Hosea, we see the judgment of God, but in the first two verses of chapter six the judgment is followed by the incredible love of God. The words are “heal,” “bandage,” and “revive.” Now my tying this into Starbucks is not linking coffee to the word “revive,” that would be too easy. The healing, bandaging, and reviving are seen best in verse two. I am not going to give what is seen there away, I would love for you to read it and focus on the answer. Like many who come to Starbucks, work with us, and are related to us the healing, bandaging, and reviving are needed, and there is only one place to find that. God Bless each one of you and thank you for taking the time to read this.