Hosea 11 – The Half-Baked Bread

Hosea 7:8-16

“Ephraim mixes himself among the peoples; Ephraim is a cake not turned. Aliens have devoured his strength, and he knows it not; yes, gray hairs are here and there upon him, and he knows it not. The pride of Israel testifies to his face; yet they do not return to the LORD their God, nor seek him, for all this. Ephraim is like a dove, silly and without sense; they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria. As they go, I will spread over them my net; I will bring them down like the birds of the air; I will discipline them according to the report made to their congregation. Woe to them, for they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, for they have transgressed against me! I would redeem them, but they speak lies against me. They do not cry to me from the heart, but they wail upon their beds; they gather themselves for grain and new wine; they rebel against me. Although I trained and strengthened their arms, yet they devise evil against me. They return, but not to the Most High; they are like a treacherous bow; their princes shall fall by the sword for the insolence of their tongue. This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.” Amen.

 

The Fear of Preaching a Prophetic Book

Can you imagine what the greatest fear is for a preacher who is expounding on the prophetic books? When I chose these prophetic books for our main Sunday sermon series, what made my heart most uneasy was the concern that, even after the entire Hosea series was concluded, the congregation who heard the sermons might not ultimately be moved to a heart of repentance.

 

The central message of the Book of Hosea, from beginning to end, is ‘Return to your God, repent!’ If this entire sermon series is completed and yet no repentance has occurred, what should be the next step? I wrestled with this deep concern. Should I continue indefinitely with other prophetic books like Joel and Amos until you finally repent? Should we just keep going all the way to Malachi, just like the story of Israel itself?

 

The Hot Oven and the Unturned Cake

As Israel grew wealthier, instead of thanking God, they began to decay even more severely. They became spiritually sick and corrupt. God knew that they desperately needed healing, yet despite this need, they continued to burn fiercely like an oven, as we discussed last week. I mentioned that the fire had been burning for so long that the oven was fully heated, allowing bread to be baked in a mere two or three minutes.

 

We tend to look only at the bread that has been baked, instead of examining the oven—the fundamental cause of all these issues. This phenomenon is consistent, whether in our personal lives, our faith struggles, or the situation of the church. We focus only on the visible, baked bread.

 

We concentrate on whether the bread is overdone or undercooked. However, the Scripture points out that the oven had been burning for a long time just for that bread to be cooked. We were the ones throwing tremendous amounts of fuel into that oven. Our anger, unbelief, hatred, and envy were constantly used as kindling.

 

At this point, we are led to a common question: Why do we keep burning such negative elements in the oven? When there are many good things to use as fuel, why must we live by perpetually heating the oven of our hearts with anger and hatred? Why can we not choose anything else?

 

Although it may not be the complete answer to this question, today’s passage takes the theme one step further than last week. God declares, ‘Israel is not only a hot oven but also a cake not turned.’ In our time today, we will deeply explore the spiritual meaning this ‘unturned cake’ conveys to us.

 

The food translated here as ‘cake’ or ‘unturned bread’ is easier to understand if we use a more familiar term. The food eaten by the Israelites was not the kind of soft bread we usually imagine, but a kind of thin bread cooked on a griddle, which needed to be flipped. A cake that is not flipped will remain raw on the top side, while the bottom side will likely burn black and become inedible. You can think of it as similar to a half-cooked pancake. In Israel, this was called a ‘cake not turned.’

 

The Meaning of the Unturned Cake: Mixing and Idolatry

Even from the passage itself, we can sufficiently guess what this metaphor is explaining. We can infer the meaning inherent in being "unturned" and being a "cake." The text clarifies this fact right from the start in today’s verse, Hosea 7:8:

 

“Ephraim mixes himself among the peoples; Ephraim is a cake not turned.”

 

What, then, does the ‘cake not turned’ signify? This passage indicates that Israel’s mixing among foreign nations caused them to appear like an unturned cake—raw on the inside and not properly cooked on the outside.

 

Upon hearing this, we might naturally assume that God is addressing the issue of intermarriage between Israelites and pagans, which He particularly disliked. However, the core theme of the Book of Hosea is actually not that. Hosea deals with the story of Hosea and Gomer. The heart of the problem is Gomer constantly leaving the home to go to other men. Yet, Gomer’s going to other men is not merely a relationship between people; it appears as her paying money to serve other men.

 

Through the relationship between Hosea and Gomer, we understand their symbolism: Hosea symbolizes God, and Gomer symbolizes Israel. So, who is the husband Gomer goes to serve with payment? It is idols.

 

Ultimately, the central theme of Hosea is not intermarriage or national mixing, but idolatry and spiritual betrayal. The root of Israel's spiritual problem starts at this very point.

 

A God for Self, The Fuel of Idolatry

And this idolatry becomes the answer to why we constantly burn the wrong kind of fuel in the oven. Why do we ignore so many good things and still live by burning the anger in our hearts? It is an act that even we ourselves sometimes find difficult to understand. However, the Scripture clearly declares: the reason is that we are not serving God, but idols.

 

That idol signifies a god for oneself. Even if the name Yahweh (LORD) is attached to it, if we create a god not for that God but for ourselves, that is an idol.

 

Let us assume we are sitting here for worship. We may be calling upon God’s name, but if we are not calling upon Him to praise Him, but for a god who exists for ourselves, that is idolatry.

 

We very easily create a god for ourselves. Yet, we don't completely abandon God. Israel might have thought that the more gods, the better. Since it is all for me, I will try this and try that. If I don't get caught, fine; if I do get caught, I will just find another god. Any god will do, as long as it grants my wishes. It is truly a god for oneself.

 

Therefore, we seek the fuel that satisfies our hearts. The fuel that satisfies my emotions is hatred, and the one that satisfies my greed is jealousy and envy. That is why we constantly burn those things in our hearts.

 

However, it is very difficult to overcome those emotions with love and conquer them with grace. In contrast, expressing anger and bursting into fury feels easy and natural because it instantly relieves my feelings. In that moment, we act without even realizing how much our hearts are crumbling. Most of us regret it later. Even though we know what is right, we choose the nearer fuel for ourselves because it seems the most natural and beneficial at that moment, instead of seeking the right fuel for spiritual growth as children of God.

 

The Fuel of Faith: Love, Humility, and Patience

For example, we pray, “Lord, make me into Your image,” but I have rarely seen people pray that they will fully submit to being cut away or thrown into the fire of refinement for that image to be shaped.

 

Instead, many people pray, after being thrown into the fire, “Save me, Lord, I cannot endure this. Get me out quickly.” But it is not easy to pray, “Lord, to shape me according to Your will, please cast me into this path. I will walk it with gratitude.”

 

Why is this difference so stark? It is because we are not interested in the fuel God desires. Virtues like love, truth, kindness, humility, and patience are actually unfamiliar to us. What is closer to us is rather anger, hatred, jealousy, and greed. Hatred is much easier than love and is closer to our innate nature.

 

The path of genuinely loving ourselves, the path God has prepared for us, is precisely the use of fuels like love, patience, and humility. Yet, these things are not immediately visible before our eyes. What appears easier and faster to satisfy is our emotions, greed, envy, or pride; therefore, we naturally choose the fuel that is closer to our self.

 

The Church That Serves 'A God for Self,' Not God

When it comes to serving a god for oneself, even invoking the name of God is not difficult. Then why do we criticize that the church has fallen into corruption and worry that it is losing its proper form? The reason is simple: We are not genuinely serving God.

 

This is why people often ask, “Are they not afraid of God?” They wonder, “How can someone who believes in God act as if God does not exist?” But look closely. The object they believe in is not the true God. It is an idol.

 

Because it is a god for oneself—a god merely labeled with the name of God—there is no fear. It is a god that can be controlled as I wish. There is no awe or holiness that should be felt before the true God, and no consciousness of dedicating one's life to the Lord. A god for oneself is a god who caters to my convenience. When things are hard, this god just says, “There, there,” offers no interference, and is merely expected to quickly hide me and give me an inheritance.

 

This allows us to act shamelessly and illogically even within the church. This is not because we do not believe in God, but because we have created and believe in a wrong kind of God.

 

However, anyone who knows the true God even slightly realizes how difficult such a path is. God is not passive; because He loves us, He absolutely will not leave us alone. Those who know the true God experience Him intervening in their lives—sometimes through their conscience, sometimes through the Word, and sometimes through their circumstances and close relationships—to set them straight.

 

That is the true evidence of a blessed person, one whom God loves. If we fail to see or experience this, that is the very point over which we should grieve and pray earnestly.

 

The Problem of Unreturning Worship and Prayer

The prophet Hosea declares, “You do not seek God.”

 

Upon hearing this, we are easily led to misunderstand, thinking, “Ah, they no longer pray, they don't attend worship, they are living as they please.” But this is not the case.

 

Hosea is not pointing out that they failed to worship, nor that they failed to pray. He is not even saying they did not worship with sincerity or pray from the heart. They still worshipped, prayed, and likely studied the Word. They might have done so with genuine sincerity and with all their heart.

 

However, when we encounter the Gospel, there is one thing we must always remember.

 

Christianity is not a religion of sincerity. Christianity is not a religion of genuine feeling. If it were a religion where we prove ourselves through our sincerity or zeal, it would be merely a ‘religion.’ Christianity, in that sense, is not a religion; it is a relationship.

 

Christianity is the path where God first loved us, and in response to that love, we seek to follow God’s Word and crave the Lord’s grace. In other words, it is not our sincerity that draws us to God, but God’s sincerity that saves and guides us.

 

When you look at examples of cults, do their followers lack sincerity? No. They are often more zealous and sincere than we are in their faith. But the problem is that the direction of their sincerity is wrong.

 

What is important is that when you stand in the true Truth, you know how that Truth sets you free, who God is, and how He saves and loves you. Because it is not our sincerity, but God’s sincerity that saves us, and God’s love that guides us.

 

The Danger of the Unturned Cake

Ultimately, no matter how sincere we are in our faith life, if we constantly remain self-centered and refuse to turn away from that position, we end up worshipping ourselves, not God. That is precisely the “cake not turned” that Hosea is talking about. It is a cake that is burned on one side and raw on the other—appearing complete, but still raw inside.

 

This can happen within the church in the most seemingly holy form. Devout-looking people can gather and offer the most fervent, self-centered worship in the world, all in the most sacred name. This is the most frightening trap for the church. We may believe we are doing our best and offering our very finest, but in reality, we may be offering worship that has nothing to do with what God desires.

 

All your actions—coming to church, giving offerings, meditating on the Word, reading the Bible, and striving to live according to the Lord’s will—are certainly precious and beautiful acts. However, those efforts themselves cannot be the sole evidence of your faith before God.

 

The kind of heart that pleases God is clearly stated in the Scripture. It does not mean that all our efforts or our wholehearted love for God are useless. Rather, they must be offered to God as expressions of gratitude and should spring from a heart that rejoices and delights in God.

 

That heart is not ours; it is not achieved by our strength or ability, so we cannot boast, and it is not earned by our merit. Therefore, we must approach God relying solely on the cross of Jesus Christ.

 

“Lord, I am a bruised reed, a smoldering wick, and a person who cannot live without You.” This is the heart that pleases God.

 

The Heart That Seeks God's Grace

My dear friends, if your faith this week is one that thinks, “I came to God, I attended worship, I punched my attendance card, and I fulfilled one duty as a believer,” how lamentable is that? It is truly a poor faith.

 

In contrast, the heart that approaches God in this way is genuinely pleasing to Him:

 

“Lord, I want my whole life to be one of gratitude and joy towards You. Despite my weaknesses, I am imperfect and constantly stumble, yet You uphold and receive me now. Have mercy on me, restore me to wholeness, and hold me fast with Your love.”

 

This, my friends, is the heart that pleases God.

 

Knowing this heart, we rejoice and praise, knowing this grace, we pray together, and we long to hear God’s Word. The heart we must have in this place is precisely this one: approaching the Lord with humility.

 

If we fail to do so, we can still perform the most holy worship externally, while practically demonstrating a worldly life. This is the characteristic of the cake not turned. It is the state of not fully turning to God, but only continuing to burn on one side.

 

The Invisible Idol: Worldly Values

An idol does not just mean a visible object of worship or a divine being we commonly imagine. In most households today, few people specifically enshrine or worship an image. However, in this era, invisible idols are far more dangerous.

 

The moment you make worldly values your life’s goal, it becomes difficult to escape the influence of idols.

 

If worldly values are used as a tool in life to understand that I know the Lord, that I am loved by the Lord, and to grasp where my eternal hope lies, that is good. But the very moment that worldly value becomes the ultimate purpose itself, you become the most secular person. Thus, anything and everything can become an idol.

 

Therefore, we can be engaging in the most sacred work while simultaneously being in the most secular state. This is the reason why couples can fight fiercely on their way home after attending early morning prayer. While it is true that such incidents happen due to human weakness, the primary reason is that they did not worship God and realize they were sinners, but rather mistook themselves for being superior. The feeling of “Why won't you listen to me!” is precisely how worldly values surface within us.

 

Ultimately, we are shaken not because we are chasing after God, but because we make worldly values our goal, or because we are tempted by them.

 

Conflict with Neighbors Caused by Worldly Values

Let me tell you a story about two families. These two houses were neighbors, sharing a wall. They moved in around the same time, became friends, and their children were middle-school students of the same age. The mothers, in particular, were very close. When one child ranked 37th in the class, the other was 38th, and their scores were similar, like 60 points and 59 points, so the parents always comforted each other and lived happily.

 

Then, one day, one of the children suddenly got serious. He studied furiously and ranked 10th in the class. How happy the mother must have been! When they came together, report cards in hand, to rejoice, that was when the rift began to form between the two families. As time passed, the child went from 10th to 5th, and eventually to 1st place. The mother constantly talked about this achievement at home. They used to joke, "When will your son and my son ever amount to anything?" But now, one mother boasted daily, “My child studied until 1 a.m. last night.” The other mother felt hurt, and her heart began to burn with resentment.

 

The relationship that started with praise eventually led to the two families distancing themselves. That was not all. An avocado tree grew between the two houses, with branches extending to both sides, and they shared the fruit every year. But one day, the resentful mother thought, 'The only way to get revenge for this annoyance is this,' and she cut down the avocado tree branches. She chopped off all the branches that crossed into her yard, declaring, “I won't give you any!” The neighbors were dumbfounded. They couldn't believe a person could be so petty.

 

Next, a dispute arose over a water pipe. When it was claimed that the neighbor's water pipe ran through her property, she vehemently opposed it, saying, “Absolutely no trespassing.” Eventually, the two became mortal enemies. They went to court, and although those around them tried to stop them, they would not cease. The case ultimately went all the way to the Supreme Court. The attorney fees must have been astronomical.

 

As the case neared its end, the avocado-owner mother, feeling so stressed and frustrated, decided to go out to pray. As she started her car to go to early morning prayer, she saw the neighbor's mother coming out, carrying her Bible. It turned out that both women were devout churchgoers. How could they have reached such a disastrous point?

 

While I have slightly adapted parts of the story, the part about the water pipe going all the way to the Supreme Court is a true story. It happened in England, and the legal fees amounted to 350,000 pounds. We find this absurd, but this is humanity. Even God's people, who should be the holiest, can feel envious when their child succeeds more than their neighbor's child. That is the power of worldly values.

 

The reluctance to share and enjoy things together, the envy and hatred triggered by a small success—if all this begins to burn as the fuel of hatred, what will be the consequence? It ultimately leads to them burning each other and bringing about their mutual ruin.

 

Spiritual Stagnation and Gray Hair: Strength Lost Unbeknownst

My friends, we realize how dangerous invisible idols are in this era, and we know how difficult it is to fight them. This is because faith is not something achieved by simply believing in Jesus once, feeling good once, crying once, studying the Bible diligently once, or completing discipleship training once.

 

It is a life of constantly examining ourselves before God’s Word, continually wrestling with who the Lord is, and daily realizing that our faith is far from complete and that the path to the Lord is long and arduous. Even as we enjoy the joy of drawing closer to the Lord every day, we must live a life of turning back, turning back, and turning back again.

 

How difficult this is! How wonderful it would be if we could climb all at once, change all at once, rejoice all at once, and praise all at once. But such singular experiences, in faith, actually hold little ultimate value. As the Book of Hebrews says, even tasting the gifts of the Spirit, participating in the work of the Spirit, seeing the light from heaven, and experiencing extraordinary events are not the absolute proof of faith.

 

When you and I talk about what faith is, a sudden realization leading to the confession, “I finally understand. I am a different person today than I was yesterday,” is certainly a change, but it is not the final completion. To use our analogy, we may have flipped by only 0.001 degree. We still must live a life of turning, fighting idols, and constantly repenting. The Apostle Paul also urges, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God.” This is not easy. It is a time of constant choice, where we must deliberate and resolve to “choose and live according to what God wants and is pleased with.”

 

This state can be connected to the gray hair mentioned in Hosea. The passage states that foreigners have devoured Israel’s strength. Yet, Israel is unaware, even when gray hairs are abundant. Here, gray hair is not a positive sign. It indicates that they have lost all their strength but fail to realize the seriousness of their condition. In other words, it signifies a state of spiritual apathy and stagnation—a life where time passes without repentance.

 

Lost Strength, The Lesson of Samson

Foreigners devoured Israel's strength. What, my friends, is Israel’s true strength? Is it their territory, the Temple, or their military power? No. Israel's strength is God. Our strength is the same. Our strength is God.

 

Therefore, the phrase "foreigners have devoured their strength" does not merely refer to a historical event, such as the Temple being captured or land being seized. The more significant lesson is found in the story of Samson.

 

Everyone knows that Samson had strength. Many people were taught that Samson's strength came from his hair, but this is a misunderstanding. The strength was not in his hair; it was the strength that came from God’s promise and His power.

 

However, if Samson was led to believe that his strength came from his hair, he became like he was. He lived believing that God protected him and gave him strength, but in reality, he treated God’s Word lightly and lived as he pleased. Consequently, his strength was not lost because his hair was cut; it was lost because God departed from him.

 

When the Bible mentions that Samson’s hair began to grow a little, we should not think, “Now that his hair has grown a little, he has his strength back.” If that were true, it should have grown much longer. This is because the greatest feat in Samson’s life—pulling down those pillars—required far greater strength. The meaning is, rather, that when his hair had grown to that extent, he repented and realized that God was his strength, and he offered his final prayer: “Lord, please give me strength just this once more, that Your glory may be revealed.”

 

My friends, the story of Samson is so much like the unturned cake Hosea is describing. Hosea declares, “You have lost your strength, and you do not know it. You have gray hairs, and you are unaware.” This is the very image of the cake not turned.

 

If we forget what we rely on as the source of our strength, we are like the unturned cake. It is raw, tasteless, and ultimately inedible.

 

Spiritual Stagnation: Unawareness and Unwillingness to Turn

My friends, in our lives, we often allow our own strength to become our foundation, we keep forgetting what we should live by, and we lose sight of what we should depend on. Our strength is still God only when we come to church on Sunday to sing praises. Outside of that time, your strength becomes your doctor, your medication, your money, your career, and the position or success you desire in the world. Only then do you call upon God. But that is already a state like Samson, who had lost his strength.

 

Consider again the Israelites who went out to fight the Philistines with the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark itself did not hold the power; the power was present when God was with them.

 

However, the Israelites were continuously defeated even while carrying the Ark, because they did not live according to God’s will or worship Him. Ultimately, they lost the Ark itself. This is the state of being like Samson, who had lost his strength but did not know it. Living this way is like living as a cake not turned. Like an unturned pancake, we live uncooked and spiritually tasteless.

 

This is what we call spiritual stagnation. The problem is that we are unaware of it. We do not know that we are powerless right now, that we are relying on the wrong things, and that we lack the ability to overcome the current situation. This is the essence of true spiritual stagnation.

 

Spiritual stagnation is not necessarily caused by external circumstances such as hardship, tribulation, pain, difficulties, job problems, testing, or a lack of joy. In fact, the Bible says that such hardships and difficulties are the very way to spiritual growth and completion. The moment one falls into spiritual stagnation is characterized by one thing: not knowing it is stagnation and refusing to turn. Not repenting, not heading toward God, and not flipping the cake—this is the core of spiritual stagnation.

 

Pride: Not Relying on God

The problem is that you know it, I know it, and everyone experiences it. The cause may be external—sometimes a specific person, sometimes a group of people, and sometimes it is due to ourselves. But the point is that we already know the causes. When people come for spiritual counseling, most already know the answer.

 

What they desire is for the pastor to nod and confirm the answer they already have. “Ah, the pastor thinks the same way I do.” They want that confirmation. In most cases, they know the answer, and they often leave after stating the solution themselves. They come, talk about things as if the world is collapsing, and after a long discussion, they say, “You’re right, Pastor. I should just pray and endure,” and then they leave.

 

Why did they come? Because that is our human nature. It is not that we do not know the answer. But the reason for being in a state of spiritual stagnation is that they do not repent. They know they are proud, but they refuse to repent, refuse to turn back, and refuse to flip the cake. If they do not flip when they should be flipped, they inevitably end up living in the world like the Israelites carrying the Ark, or like Samson who had lost his strength.

 

They vaguely think they are holding onto God, that they are in the faith, but in reality, their faith has lost its strength. If you stand before God, facing Him but refusing to turn, there is no alternative. Since only one side of the fire continues to burn, only one side will get cooked, and consequently, though we are in pain, hardship, and difficulty, we are compelled to keep getting hotter.

 

And the final characteristic of this unturned cake, this half-cooked bread, is what the Bible calls Israel's pride. Pride is not merely about showing off or boasting. In fact, knowing who you are is not pride. However, when your self-knowledge causes you to look down on someone else or to envy someone, that is when it becomes pride.

 

In today’s passage, that pride is specified: not returning to God and not seeking Him—this is pride. If you do not rely on God, who will you rely on? Yourself. That is how you become the cake not turned, the half-cooked bread.

 

Yet, since a cake is still a cake, it is easy to think, “I have a cake,” “I have faith.” When in reality, it is only an uncooked, strengthless cake.

 

The Laodicean Church and ‘Gold Refined by Fire’

My friends, please remember the verse from Revelation 3 that you know so well:

 

“For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing,’ not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.”

 

God warns the Church of Laodicea: “Your gold is just a stone. It might contain a little gold, but it is worthless.”

 

Of course, your profession of faith, the faith you hold, and all your devotion are not entirely without value. The ability to call Him Lord, the thought that you can lean on the Lord—even that is a great blessing.

 

But the problem is that we are currently insisting that a stone is gold. We hold a stone, thinking it is gold, and say to God, “This is my faith, I have this much faith.” The Lord places it on the altar, melts it down, and refines it. We should have the confession, ‘Lord, let Your will be done. You are right, Lord. You are just, Lord,’ but we lack that certainty. You are standing there without that conviction. You remain only in distress and frustration. It is difficult to find a way forward.

 

My friends, if you cannot figure out what and how to act best before God, since you are holding a stone, you must quickly undergo refinement. You think your clothes are clean, but they are actually filthy, and you think you can see, but you are actually blind. When you are in that state, do you truly believe you are walking the right path? Or are you simply standing there, insisting that a stone is gold?

 

Turn Towards God

My friends, what is truly lamentable in the life of faith is that while we think, “I am heading towards God. I am living for God,” we are actually still walking the path we desire. And we often only seek God briefly when we encounter difficulties on that path. It often ends with the plea, ‘Lord, I am walking this path now, so please help me a little.’

 

My friends, it must be an act of precisely turning towards God, looking to God, and advancing toward Him. The unturned cake is inedible. You can call it a cake, but it is not cooked, and it might soon be burned to ashes.

 

Just as the address and street name are crucial for finding your way in the world, I, too, was once so directionally challenged that I couldn't find my way home without a map. I know how difficult it is to distinguish between east, west, north, and south, and to remember the way. I often wondered while driving, “Am I going west or east?” But everything was solved with GPS. Even if I don't know the way or look at the signs, I just follow the GPS. I drive, but the GPS knows every route. If I just follow it, I can reach my desired destination.

 

My friends, as you reflect on yourselves while listening to this sermon, do not be distracted by thoughts like, “Is my path right? Is someone else walking a better path? Have I learned enough?” God is sovereign over all our ways, the end of our lives, and all our history. Therefore, you simply need to hold onto God. You need to turn toward God.

 

Do not waste time thinking, “The path looks faint; should I erase it, write it again, and try to make it a better fit?” The wisest way is only one: ‘The path walked with God is the right path.’ Look to Him and turn. It is futile to spend time wondering, ‘How can I burn less? How can I cook it more deliciously?’ without turning. My friends, you must turn.

 

The Right Way: A Life of Holding Onto the Lord

We must repent and turn back. The life you lead should not be based on the way or address you think you know, but one where you seek the Lord, ask for His will, and are moved by the grace and love of God who holds you fast.

 

The way of relying on the hand that holds you securely, the path walked holding that hand—that is the right way, and that is the true address. The path you think you have experienced, or the way you think you know, is not the real way or the true address.

 

Do not worry if the path is hard to see or appears faint. Do not focus too much on yourself walking or be distracted by thoughts like, ‘Am I doing well? How well am I doing?’ Focus only on God who is holding you. The more you focus on Him, the more you will know who you are, and the more you focus on Him, the more you will realize what strength you walk this path with.

 

My friends, you cannot walk this path to the end with your own two legs alone. You cannot complete this journey with any talent or temperament you possess. Only God who holds your hand, the Father God who sees you through Jesus Christ, can enable you to walk this path to the very end.

 

Let us pray.

 

Lord, we thank You for allowing us to look to You, who are our peace. Turn our eyes toward that peace, and guide us so that we may also understand Your peace and walk in the way of that peace. Grant that we may understand today, as we share the bread and the cup, that we are not the cake not turned, but that Jesus Christ, who overturned Himself for us eternally, is our true bread. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.