In this verse, Hosea is making an appeal for believers to listen, learn and benefit from the Word of God. Here is what he says: “Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the Lord are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.” My brother, my sister, this means that when we receive the Lord’s message in our hearts, we should be able to make the difference between life and death, and make the choice to either follow God by listening to what He says in His Word or refuse to walk along His path and follow your own direction that inevitably takes you to total darkness for “The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble” (Proverbs 4:19). This brings us to our main point today: as long as you follow Jesus, you are freely offered God’s mercy. The main problem about many believers is that they have not really understood what God’s forgiveness is all about. To understand it we need to remind ourselves of the fact that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Therefore, today, when we stumble and sin, all we have to do is to come back to our senses and return to Him because now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). Yet, and this is what people always forget, GOD IS JUDGING OUR SINS! In other words, because we are in the time of grace, when God forgives us for what we have done wrong, He actually judges the sin but shows mercy to the sinner! That is the reason why in this time, we should never be afraid to come to God for a renewed life, no matter how big our sin may be. But, also know that, the time is coming soon when He will not longer judge the sin, but the sinner… So make sure you are always ready and watchful to avoid being surprised like the ten virgins (Matthew 25), because that time will come like a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:2). Stay blessed in Jesus’ name. [facebook] [retweet]