HOSEA 6 The first three verses appear to be Hosea’s plea to God’s people to return to the Lord from their position of rebellion. Interestingly, he doesn’t say so on the basis of God initially blessing them, but rather God’s recent wounding them, then belief in His upcoming healing. This returning and healing would allow them to live before the Lord with greater knowledge of Him and eventually blessing from Him. This cycle of God’s disciplining us for our own good pops up throughout the Bible but is not frequently taught today. Perhaps these verses also provide a glimpse of the earthly ministry of Jesus: 1) wounded for our sins (vs. 1), but on the third day rising and living forever (vs. 2). 

Starting with verse four, God is figuratively thinking aloud about His people. He laments that both the northern and southern kingdoms remained faithful for only a brief time. This caused God to send prophets with a cutting message to warn them of this mistake. The specific mes-   sage here is consistent throughout the scripture: God desires our complete love and obedience much more than our heartless offerings and lifeless worship. Since we read this so often, it would be wise to evaluate our own lives in light of this oft-mentioned truth.

When God’s people fall into this dead relationship with God, they/we imitate the sin of Adam, which of course led to the fall of the entire universe. This makes it a big deal. God says even the priests of Israel, their supposed spiritual leaders, have been guilty. Let’s pray that our pastors fully follow God’s word in this day when His word is often disregarded.

At the end of the chapter, we see that God makes a distinction in how He will deal with Israel/ Ephraim and with Judah. Israel’s defilement is emphasized with no mention of restoration. God, in His sovereign wisdom and power, promises a restoration for Judah. And as we know by looking back on history, Israel was dispersed throughout the Assyrian Empire, losing its ethnic and spiritual identity. Judah, though, returned from Babylon to its promised land, the rebuild- ing of the Temple, and being the people through whom Jesus the Messiah entered our world.

 MATTHEW 16 This chapter affirms two truths that, if believed, will lead to purpose in life and right relationship with God now and forever:  1) The resurrection and 2) the nature of Jesus.

THE RESURRECTION: The scribes and the Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign before believing in Him. He responded that no sign would be given except for the sign of Jonah. That’s Jesus's code for the resurrection (Matt. 12:40). The late pastor Tim Keller pointed out the central importance of this event. When people told him they can’t accept Christianity because they do not like some of the lifestyle restrictions in the Bible; Keller’s response was, “Does that prove the resurrection did not happen?”  When they said they couldn’t accept Jesus because the exclusivity of Christian truth claims seemed bigoted; Keller asked, "Does that prove the resurrection did not happen? When people reject Jesus because they think Christians are either hypocrites or boring or both; Keller replies, “Does that prove the resurrection did not happen?”  The one vital question for all of us and all skeptics to answer must be did Jesus rise from the grave? if He did, then we must accept all of Jesus by embracing His church, His commands, and His moral values. There is plenty of super strong evidence for the resurrection, but that requires a separate investigation. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       THE NATURE OF JESUS:Jesus asked who people thought he was. Several wrong answers were given: John the Baptist, Elijah, and Jeremiah. Then Jesus asked who the disciples thought he was. Peter's answer was spot on: Jesus is the Christ (Messiah in Hebrew or anointed one in English) and the Son of God. This combination was not expected by the Jews. Yes, they were looking for a Messiah who would be a military/political leader (see Micah 5), hence Herod sought to eliminate the competition. They were not expecting a Messiah who also claimed to be equal with God. This became their stated reason for seeking to execute Jesus(Luke 22:70-71).

THE TEST FOR TRUTH:1 John 2:22-24 tells us those who deny that Jesus is both the Son of God and the Christ are liars and even the antichrist. Jude 1:4 warns about those who “deny our only master, Jesus Christ.”  Study carefully how Muslims, Hindus, Mormons, and Jehovah Witnesses view Jesus. In the case of the last two, look at how they have translated and interpreted John 1:1-3. What about Progressive Christianity? “Jesus was the perfect human who was also the perfect window to God. It’s not as though there was a divine nature in him, but rather that his fully human nature was transparent to the God who inheres all reality”(PROGRESSIVECHRISTIANITY.ORG). Does this agree with Peter’s confession? What do teachers and groups say about Jesus?                        Final points:  

• Jesus said to stay mum about His being the Christ because anything that might thwart His going to the cross is of Satan. Again, there is a direct connection between His mission and being quiet. 
• Jesus expects us to re-enact the sacrificial obedience He demonstrated at the cross.                                           

PSALM 11  David has another one of his authentic heart-to-heart (or more accurately soul-to-soul) chats with God. He feels like evil has a bent bow poised to shoot an arrow through his heart. He feels powerless to be righteous because the foundations are giving way. Sounds like some of us today. We are either going through poor health, mourning the loss or suffering of our loved ones, or are stressed out by watching all the sadness and violence on the news. Fortunately for us, David not only states the problem, but he also gives a solution: THE LORD IS IN HIS HOLY TEMPLE. He seems to be saying, whatever your problem, just remember God is still in charge. Let’s try a technique that David might employ. Name the problem(s) you face and then speak aloud the bigger reality: The Lord is in His Holy Temple. Not only does David remind himself and us about this, but he adds the incredible concept that this Lord who is totally in charge totally loves us. David’s positive understanding of reality has much in common with Ruth’s and Peter’s. How about ours?