He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree. – 2 Kings 16:4

Today's Scripture Reading (April 20, 2026): 2 Kings 16

Many years ago, I had contact with a young woman in the church. She had just left a church that she had previously called home, and, as I was talking with her, I seriously wondered if aliens had abducted her. My problem was with the reason she gave for leaving her church. She had attended this church for several years, and her church had a fairly relaxed dress code. People came to church wearing a wide range of clothes. You could see suits and nice dresses, but you could also see jeans and T-Shirts; the church openly accepted whatever dress the person felt comfortable in. It didn't matter what you wore. My friend was one who would show up at church wearing jeans and a T-shirt, which was totally acceptable. Incidentally, her old church had the same dress code as the church that I led. I couldn't care less what you are wearing, I am just glad that you are in church.

As she was telling me she had left her church, she also indicated where she had decided to go, adding that her new church had a strict dress code. Her new church required men to wear suits and ties and women to wear dresses. And when I asked her why she had changed churches, she told me she liked that her new church required a dress code, while her old church hadn't. I mentioned that she could have worn a dress to her old church, but she wanted a place that would demand it of her, not one that would let her come as she was. The whole thing seemed strange, almost alien, to me. It is usually the ones wearing the suits and dresses who want people to dress like them, not the t-shirt crew wishing someone would tell them how to dress.

Ahaz became king. His fathers had walked in the ways of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But Ahaz looked out at the world and realized that there were other gods who might demand more of him. So, Ahaz started to sacrifice, not just to the God of his Father's, but to every other god he could conceive of. It wasn't that he made too few sacrifices; it was that he made too many. In his mind, he wanted to make sure that he covered all of the bases. And in covering all of the bases, he actually missed them completely.

God makes this statement throughout the Bible. I desire your obedience more than I desire your sacrifice. I desire your respect more than I desire to dress you in a particular way. And the reality is this: being obedient is much more demanding than making many sacrifices because it occupies all of who we are. It is much easier to follow many rules than to build a relationship with God. My friend wanted the rules more than she wanted the relationship. It is easier to dress in a certain way than it is to give God all of who we are. But God desires the latter more than the former. Giving God all that we are is the life path that honors him.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 1

See also 2 Chronicles 28:4

Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD. – 2 Chronicles 28:1

Today's Scripture Reading (April 19, 2026): 2 Chronicles 28

The "Manifesto of Race" or "Charter of Race" was published on July 14, 1938, by Benito Mussolini's Fascist Party. The "Manifesto" was anti-Semitic in nature, stripping Jews of their Italian citizenship and, with it, any position in the government or the professional positions which many Jews had previously held. Depending on how you look at the events leading up to the release of "Manifesto," it could be considered both a surprise and a very predictable event. As for the surprise, Mussolini had never shown any interest in racial politics. But the "Manifesto" was predictable because it helped cement relationships between Mussolini's Italy and Hitler's Germany. Hitler had privately confessed to looking up to the Fascist Leader, but throughout most of his career, Mussolini had absolutely no interest in the German dictator. However, by the late 1930s, things were changing. Hitler's star was definitely on the rise, and Mussolini decided to try to hitch a ride. And so, the "Manifesto" was intended to show solidarity with Germany's cause. Historians have examined the document as evidence of the extent of Hitler's influence over Mussolini. But it was more likely evidence of Mussolini's thirst for power, a thirst so strong that he was willing to change even his own strongly held beliefs.

King Ahaz of Judah had no positive attributes. If Jotham was the perfect king, his son Ahaz was his negative image. While Jotham had pursued the things of God, Ahaz had become a student of the religions of the countries surrounding Judah. Ahaz not only became an expert on these foreign beliefs and gods, but also a follower of them. Ahaz became an imitator of the surrounding nations. He was a man without restraint; he believed every myth with which he came into contact.

Even in rough times, Ahaz refused to follow God. Until the last beat of his heart, Ahaz believed that the gods of other nations would come to his rescue. His heart was never attracted to the God his father had faithfully served. While other kings had returned to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in times of tragedy, even in trouble, Ahaz's heart increased in rebellion against God.

But maybe the saddest part of the story is that Ahaz found himself following the gods of a nation that no longer even existed. Ahaz followed the gods of Israel. But Israel had already been destroyed, and her gods had done nothing to save her. Still, Ahaz seemed willing to follow Judah's sister nation into obscurity.

Late in his life, Mussolini reportedly confessed that he wished his "Manifesto of Race" had never been written. For Ahaz, that was a level of awareness he had never mastered. While Hitler's star had been on the rise when the "Manifesto" was published, Mussolini also recognized Hitler's deep decline. By that time, it was too late to change his own path, but it was not too late to admit regret. But, to the very end, Ahab was convinced that the god who had failed Israel had the power to save him.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 16

Jotham waged war against the king of the Ammonites and conquered them. That year the Ammonites paid him a hundred talents of silver, ten thousand cors of wheat and ten thousand cors of barley. The Ammonites brought him the same amount also in the second and third years. – 2 Chronicles 27:5

Today's Scripture Reading (April 18, 2026): 2 Chronicles 27

One of the questions of the day is "What exactly is going to happen with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)?" It is an interesting question. Can NATO survive if the United States decides to pull out? I have my own beliefs, but I admit I don't know the answer.

NATO was born out of a need to stand up to the Soviet Union in the aftermath of World War II. The United States' immediate hope after the war was to withdraw its soldiers from Europe. The thought was that, within six months of Germany's defeat, American presence might no longer be needed. It was men like General Holland Smith, who had the great nickname "Howlin' Mad," who realized that the threat the Soviet Union posed to Europe meant the United States had to have a presence. That presence has kept peace in Europe for the past 80 years, a phenomenal achievement. And a lot of credit goes to the American continued presence. But now, the United States has begun to wonder whether it needs to leave, which in turn raises questions about the future of NATO. Does the world still need NATO?

My answer is an emphatic yes. Even a NATO without the United States is still needed. And it is needed on both sides of the Atlantic. It may be surprising to learn that the United States, which shares a northern border with Russia despite the American government's belief that an ocean separates the two, does not want an alliance. At the same time, Russia seems intent on regaining the prestige and territory it possessed during the Soviet era. Maybe we have begun to believe the lie that our flat maps tell us, that says that Russia is a great distance away, but it isn't. And the United States, with its cry that it needs to possess Greenland, would seem to understand the world as it really is, not as it is shown to us on a flat map hanging on a wall. At the very least, Canada will need to be part of a northern alliance. And the northern country will need to strengthen its defenses along its northern borders. An alliance is still needed, not just for the defense of Europe but for all northern-hemisphere countries.

Ammon was a nation that existed due east of the southern portion of the Kingdom of Israel, essentially where the Kingdom of Jordan is today. To the south of Ammon, and due east of Judah, was the nation of Moab. During the reign of King Jehoshaphat of Judah (870-849), Ammon and Moab, along with some other minor tribes, formed an alliance against him (Jehoshaphat) and his expansionist tendencies. But the Ammon-Moab alliance couldn't last. The nations began to backstab and wage war against each other until, a hundred years later, King Jotham of Judah marched into Ammon, defeated them, and demanded a heavy tribute. As long as the nations stuck together, they were okay, but once they allowed conflict to separate them, they were easily defeated by anyone who wanted to march against them.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 28

Return, Israel, to the LORD your God. Your sins have been your downfall! – Hosea 14:1

Today's Scripture Reading (April 17, 2026): Hosea 13 & 14

Alice Cooper admits there is a period in his career that is basically a black hole; he simply doesn't remember it. In a 2009 interview, Cooper made this comment.

Well, there's three albums that were basically my blackout albums – Zipper Catches Skin, DaDa and Special Forces. I wrote them, recorded them and toured them and I don't remember much of any of that (Alice Cooper, The Quietus, 2009).

A year earlier, he actually added a fourth album to that list: Flush the Fashion. All of the four recordings were made between 1980 and 1983.

You've heard of lost weekends—well, those were my lost years. I ambled through those albums and tours in a foggy haze. By the summer of 1983, I was drinking hard, rail thin, malnourished, and knocking on death's door. Again (Alice Cooper, Golf Monster, 2008).

Cooper at least recognized his problem, worked hard to get clean, and is still rocking his audiences forty years later. But if he hadn't recognized his problem, he might have never made it out of the 80s.

There is a song in the Alice Cooper catalog that has been called a bit of a historical curiosity. The song tells the story of a singer who is listening to his own music and doesn't remember ever writing it. It is a song that perfectly describes the lost years of Alice Cooper. The song is "I Never Wrote Those Songs." The opening words of the song say this:

My tape recorder, it must be lyin'
'Cause this I just can't believe
I hear a voice that's cryin'
That's not me
The wheel goes round, I hear a sound
It's comin' out all wrong
And I swear to you
I never wrote that song

The historical problem? The song was included on Cooper's "Lace and Whiskey" album and was written in 1977, before Cooper's black hole. It is almost as if Cooper knew where his life was leading him before the black hole that convinced him he needed to take a different path.

I have to admit that "I Never Wrote Those Songs" has long been one of my favorite Cooper compositions. And it is a good reminder that our actions have consequences. And it is not just politicians who sometimes want to distance themselves from the past; we often want to do the same thing.

God has made the argument that Israel has suffered because of their sin and the things they have done in the past. Now, he offers the solution. Return to me. James would sum up this concept for all of us.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up (James 4:7-10).

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 27

It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. – Hosea 11:3

Today's Scripture Reading (April 16, 2026): Hosea 11 & 12

In a Department of Defense news briefing on February 12, 2002, U.S. Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld attempted to explain the lack of evidence linking Iraq to weapons of mass destruction. In explaining the situation, Rumsfeld distinguished between what he called three categories of knowledge. First, there are the known knowns, which encompass everything we know we know. I know where my house is and can find my way home. I know I love my wife, children, and grandchildren. I know that God wants us to love each other. Many things would fit into this category of things that I know I know.

Rumsfeld's second category was known unknowns. These are the things that I know I don't know. I am not a brain surgeon; I don't know how to do that, and because I don't know, I would never try. My granddaughter was diagnosed with hip dysplasia when she was two, and I am thankful for the medical staff who operated on her because I know that procedure was beyond what I know. Both of these first categories are easy for us because we either know or we know that we don't know.

Rumsfeld's third category is the most troublesome: unknown unknowns. These are things we don't know that we don't know, or things we don't even know we should know. Sometimes I know I can be a bit of a government apologist, but these are the areas where I believe our government often makes its most serious mistakes; they simply don't know what they don't know. Maybe they should have, but I know from my own life that my actions have definite consequences, and some are very unexpected because I don't know some things. Confused? I know the feeling.

God speaks through Hosea and is speaking to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, or Ephraim. And maybe we would be excused if we thought that God had given up on them. They had rebelled against the house of David, rejected the Temple in Jerusalem and the worship that took place there, and exchanged it for the worship of the Golden Calfs set up in Bethel and Dan. Their kings had decided to follow different religious practices, and often resorted to murder to accomplish regime change; they seemed to love doing evil.

But God says that he hadn't given up on them. They didn't know that they didn't know, but in the days of Jeroboam I, he taught Ephraim to walk; in bad times, he took them in his arms; and when they were sick, he healed them. But Ephraim didn't know that God was still with them. It never occurred to them that God would stand by their side, even though they had chosen to walk a different path.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Hosea 13 & 14       

Samaria's king will be destroyed, swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters. - Hosea 10:7

Today's Scripture Reading (April 15, 2026): Hosea 10

Hosea's ministry in Israel was a long one. It would seem unlikely that the writing that bears his name was written at one particular time. His time on the stage of Israel probably began late in the reign of Jeroboam II. The Bible describes Jeroboam II as an evil King; however, he reigned for over four decades and chose to protect the Prophet Amos. While the poor and weak were both marginalized and taken advantage of during his long reign, that could be said of other Kings of that time. Probably the best we can say about this king is that Jeroboam II provided a stable environment for the people of Israel during his reign, something his successors were unable to do.

Jeroboam's son, Zechariah, assumed the throne of Israel upon his father's death, but his reign lasted only six months. King Zechariah was murdered by the captain of his guard, a man named Shallum, who then took the throne for himself. For Hosea, this act likely ended the reigns of the legitimate kings of Israel.

Shallum reigned for one month before the captain of his guard, Menahem, killed Shallum and once again took the throne for himself. Menahem provided a little more stability to Israel and reigned for 10 years over his Kingdom. Menahem died of natural causes, and his son, Pekahiah, replaced him on the throne. But what had become an ordinary occurrence in Israel since the death of Jeroboam II, Pekahiah reigned for two years before he was assassinated by another military officer named Pekah, who then became king as had the murderers who preceded him.

Pekah reigned for eight years, but they were eventful. One of the major events during the reign of Pekah was the rising threat posed by Assyria to the nations in the area. Pekah and Israel (Samaria) decided to ally with Aram-Damascus against Assyria, and they invited Judah to join the alliance. However, Judah was not interested in allying with Israel. King Pekah refused to take Judah's no as an appropriate answer. So, with the backing of Aram-Damascus, Israel went to war with Judah. Assyria had been watching developments to the south of its territory and decided to enter the war on Judah's side. Judah, with Assyria's assistance, won the war, but at a high price: Judah became a tributary of the Assyrian Empire.

It is probably during this time that Hosea writes this prophecy. He probably didn't live long enough to see Israel fall to the Assyrians in 722 B.C.E. and disappear into the pages of history. Still, he was present during this war and witnessed King Pekah's assassination by a close friend and advisor, Hoshea. In 722 B.C.E., Hoshea became the King who was destroyed and "swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters" (Hosea 10:7). Hoshea disappeared from the pages of history, and the reality is that after 722, we don't know what happened to the last King of Israel (Samaria).

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Hosea 11 & 12

Threshing floors and winepresses will not feed the people; the new wine will fail them. – Hosea 9:2

Today's Scripture Reading (April 14, 2026): Hosea 9

I like the idea of repurposing some buildings. There was an old grocery store not far from where I live that remained empty for a long time. The problem, admittedly, was the price the owners wanted for the building and the cost of recreating something different within it. I thought the property would have made a good church. It had ample parking, which is often the nemesis of any church, and I often wished I were wealthy enough to buy the property and donate it to a church organization.

Churches are often forced to move to the suburbs and outskirts because undeveloped land is available there, and it is often cheaper to build on. But the flip side is that it leaves inner-city neighborhoods without nearby churches. Churches in the suburbs are often driven to rather than walked to. Admittedly, that is another problem of the contemporary church. We are creating churches that serve a particular niche rather than a community. I think the best solution to the problem is to repurpose buildings in the inner city. A local example is an inner-city theater that has been transitioned to a city-center church. It can be done, but it is never easy.

But that is not the situation about which Hosea is speaking. The threshing floor and winepresses have been repurposed into churches; however, these worship spaces were dedicated to honoring false gods. The problem was that there was a purpose to worship on the threshing floor. The hope was that the worship service on the threshing floor or winepress would increase the harvest. Maybe in contemporary times, it would be like holding a spring church service in your barn, hoping the worship would translate into a better harvest the next fall.

I have to admit that holding a worship service in a barn might be fun, but it would not guarantee a good harvest, even if the God of Israel were the one being worshiped. Jesus spoke directly to this situation in his "Sermon on the Mount."

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:44-45).

Hosea's concern is the purpose of these worship events. It was not Yahweh who was being worshiped, but instead, the local false gods. As far as Hosea was concerned, they might as well have hosted a local hootenanny or dance, because that would probably at least encourage the neighborhood. But worshiping false gods would not increase the harvest, even if the worship was taking place on the local threshing floors and winepresses.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Hosea 10