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Isn't it funny how a lyric tucked into a song can jump out at you? That's what happened to me this week when I was listening to "Marvelous Light" by Ellie Holcomb. Of course, we'll talk about stepping out of darkness into God's marvelous light, but we'll also tackle the struggle between wanting to be known and afraid of being known.

We never do any of it without plunging into Scripture!

In this episode, I discuss the following:

• Deep down in all of us is a desire to be known
• Deep down in all of us is a fear of being known
• We were designed by God to display God's identity
• Ellie's perspective of not knowing that it was okay to NOT be okay
• The pattern
  • God designed it one way - Genesis 1:26-27
  • We choose another way - Genesis 3:6
  • We hear Him calling out to us
  • We hide in shame (or denial) - Genesis 3:7-8
  • All He wants is relationship - Hosea 2:8, 19-20; Hosea 6:6-7
  • Deep down we want relationship, too, but are in the bondage of fear in the darkness...afraid to walk into the light
• We cannot hide from God - Psalms 139:1, 11-12
• Jesus is the Light - Isaiah 9:2
• He brings freedom - Romans 8:1-2
• Our identity is with God in Christ - 1 Peter 2:10, Hosea 2:23
• All of this is that we may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into his MARVELOUS LIGHT - 1 Peter 2:9

Additional Resources

•  Lyrics and story behind the song - New Release Tuesday
• Story behind the song - Ellie Blogs
• Matthew Henry's Introduction to Hosea - Blue Letter Bible
• John Brown's Outline of Hosea - Blue Letter Bible
• English Standard Version I

This Week's Challenge

Spend some time reading in Hosea this week. The prophets in the Old Testament were often asked by God to do some fairly painful and humiliating things in order to display God's message to His people. Don't get bogged down in the parts you can't understand. I think you will be able to get the big picture even if you don't understand the details of what is happening in the history of the nation of Israel. Be sure to read an introduction to Hosea in a study Bible or online to give you some historical context (see links under Additional Resources). It is only 14 chapters so you should be able to read it in one

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