So we’ve come to the end of our 30 Spanish verses.  We didn’t do it in 30 days – there was a break in the middle.  But that’s all right.

Here’s an introduction to the project – A New "30 days" Project! (Want to join me?), explaining why I did it the way I did.

Every verse is listed in order below.  There’s an added feature – if you hover over the title, you should see an excerpt from the post.  And if you are on the blog, you’ll be able to hover over the verse and see it too.

I got most of them memorized, but I’m not satisfied yet, so I’m going to keep working on them until I really have them down.

However, I’ve found it very useful already.  It helped with my Spanish.  It taught me a lot about these verses.  And yes, I’ve already used my knowledge of the verses in real life, and I’ve been able to quote parts of them when the situation called for it.

As I said when I started, I found that 30 verses wasn’t very many.  There are so many very familiar verses that were left out.  Although I chose carefully, I could just as easily have chosen a whole different set.

If you would like to memorize these verses in Spanish, here are the pdf sheets to make cue cards with RV60 on one side and NBLH on the other:  Set 1, set 2, and set 3.

1. How could Jesus be Begotten?! (John 3:16)
2. The First and the Great (Deuteronomy 6:5)
3. Ancient and Compact! (1Corinthians 15:3)
4. Time in the Tomb (1Corinthians 15:4)
5. Is Cephas really Peter? (1Corinthians 15:5)
6. Rejected by His Own (John 1:11)
7. A counter-cultural goal (John 1:12)
8. John’s Surprising Theme (John 1:13)
9. Everyone’s Problem (God’s Solution) (Romans 3:23)
10. The Bible’s Least Known Most Important Passage (Romans 4:4)
11. I’ve Got It – But It’s Not Mine! (Romans 4:5)
12. Better just to admit it… (1John 1:9)
13. What is "this"? (Ephesians 2:8)
14. Boast, no. Praise, yes. (Ephesians 2:9)
15. The Focus of History (Luke 24:46)
16. This is the Gospel (Luke 24:47)
17. Anywhere (Matthew 28:18)
18. It’s hard to GO (Matthew 28:19)
19. A Commanding Presence (Matthew 28:20)
20. The Nature of the Scriptures (2Timothy 3:16)
21. Every Good Work (2Timothy 3:17)
22. We’ve been deceived (Jeremiah 17:9)
23. How to Worship 101 (Romans 12:1)
24. Want to Know the Will of God? (Romans 12:2)
25. Incomplete = More Complete? (2Corinthians 12:9)
26. Are You Pulling and Pushing? (Hebrews 10:24)
27. So why do we meet together? Hebrews 10:25
28. God has struck us down? (Hosea 6:1)
29. Who can stand before Him? (Hosea 6:2)
30. The Grand Finale (Hosea 6:3)

This is an old post card from our mission talking about the need in Mexico.  It’s old, but it still applies (at least until CAM changes its name!) – so here it is!

Here are some more opportunities in Mexico.

• Through security and ready to fly. Things going well so far. #
• Sad, especially in light of further evidence that girls are being "weeded out"…‘Create the family you want: Boy or Girl’… #
• ¡Feliz Día de las Madres! ¡Gracias a todas las mamás maravillosas! Happy Mother's Day! Thanks to all the amazing Moms! #
• Still no water to shower with. And the roof is leaking. Wait! I have an idea! #
• The Gospel is NOT – "Good news for a few privileged classes" #
• Please pray for us as we go to an important meeting (regarding our visas) in Puebla this morning. Thanks! #
• The Big Day is here! Please pray for the first elders of the local church in Jesús María and their families. #

Once again there’s a lot more here than meets the eye.  It seems to me that to know the LORD is more than just to know who He is.

You know the old expression, to know him is to love him.  In this case, knowing the LORD means acknowledging Him – recognizing who He really is.

In refusing to let the people of Israel go, Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and moreover, I will not let Israel go." (Exodus 5:2)

The ruler of Egypt knew the claims that Moses made about God, but he didn’t recognize God’s authority.

God promises that someday they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest. (Hebrews 8:11)

Hosea calls the people over and over to know the Lord, to repent, to return to Him, and experience His healing.

In chapter 4 he writes:

Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.  There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed…

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…

And later in chapter 6 he says:  For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

This knowledge is a recognition of who God is – and the natural response – repentance, and thankfulness for His forgiveness and healing.  Do you notice how, in both of these passages, love is parallelled with knowledge?  They’re not opposites – they’re intertwined.

We must get back to the topic of the resurrection, which we touched on yesterday.  Even in the early days of the church the connection was made between this verse and the resurrection.  After the mention of the third day in verse 2, the going forth of the Lord is as sure as the dawn.  Of course, early in the morning, Jesus did go forth from the tomb.

I still say we shouldn’t be hasty to make a direct connection here to the resurrection.  But the Lord’s triumph on resurrection Sunday was certainly the start of something.  Something that Hosea longed to see.

Jesus’ triumph over the grave was the beginning of the end of sin and death and pain.  He then ascended into heaven and poured out the Spirit – another important coming.

And Jesus will come again, to put all wrongs right.

This is then, I think, a verse that can be applied to the small things, and the big things.

The small things are like when we return to the Lord, when we repent and seek Him in His Word, and He brings forgiveness and healing.  Or when He meets us in our difficult circumstances.  See Lamentations 3:22-23.

And the big things are things like – well, the thing – when He returns.

Jesus will come to us, with healing, with love, and with forgiveness.  There’s no doubt.  It’s as sure – more sure – than the regular seasons of the earth, or the sunrise itself.  In fact, Jesus calls Himself the morning star – the first sign that a new day is dawning.

Our sorrows can only be temporary.

"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches.  I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."

The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come."  And let the one who hears say, "Come."  And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

…He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon."  Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus!

(from Revelation 22:16-21)

Believe it or not, we are on our way to Canada!  But we’ll only be there a few days.

Since returning to Mexico in November, we’ve been working on issues related to our visas.  A number of things have changed, and so we’ve basically been starting from scratch with a number of documents.

Our work on this has been in some ways a comedy of errors.  Emails didn’t arrive, information was lost, there were meetings about things that don’t concern us and yet impacted some document somewhere, changes in Mexican law…

The work goes on, as we try to get documents from Canada and documents from Mexico and figure out legal issues.

To make a long story short, our visas are expiring and we are required to leave the country – and then come back.

It’s not what we would have chosen.  However, we can see some good things in all this.

First of all, we will be able to briefly visit Shari’s parents and my parents.  Obviously this is not something we are able to do very often!

Secondly, we do have some business to do in Canada, and this may actually save us a trip down the road.  So we’ll try to make the most of our time and deal with some things while we’re there.

Some of the things we’re planning to do should actually save us some money, so thankfully it’s not a 100% drain on the wallet!

As an added bonus, we get to see our Mothers right around Mother’s Day, and the Grandparents get to see the Grandkids right around their birthdays!

So we’re off for a few days.  If you think of it, do pray for us as this will be a challenging trip in many ways.  Also, pray for our visa situation.  We had an encouraging meeting on Monday, and hope that we’ll be able to get the final documents in order very soon.

All right, gotta run.  We have a plane to catch.

No doubt one of the first things that will pop into your head when you read this is that somebody is being raised on the third day… and that that sounds very familiar!

Well, let’s not be hasty – there’s no direct description of the Messiah here.  We’re talking, of course, about people that have repented – or at least hypothetically what will happen if they repent and return to the Lord.

God will heal, and God will in fact revive and raise up his people.

The use of two and three days here is probably an expression referring to a short wait.  It will take time – but the time will pass quickly, and God will raise us up.  Why?  "That we may live before Him".

This is also an expression that says a lot more than it seems at first glance.

When anything is before the Lord or in front of the Lord it’s out there in His full view.  One of two things are going to happen.  Either judgement, or acceptance.

So in order to live before Him, it’s assumed that we’ve been accepted by Him.  We’re not being struck down – we’re living in His presence.

For example, Abraham wanted Ishmael to be accepted by God – so he said Oh that Ishmael might live before you! (Genesis 17:18)

Paul says in Ephesians 1:4 …he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

God saw the innocence of Daniel, which is why Daniel says My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm. (Daniel 6:22)

The people of the world have nothing to say in their defence, therefore Habakkuk 2:20 says …the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.

But in order to be accepted, we must repent and allow the Lord Himself to give us life.

Of course, although this verse isn’t speaking directly about the Messiah, it’s not so far from Him.  He was the One who took our sins, and therefore took God’s punishment on Himself.

From Isaiah 53 – the Messiah grew up before Him as a tender plant.  He was wounded for our transgressions, he bore the sin of many, and with His stripes we are healed.  But He would be raised – after being sacrificed He shall prolong His days.

The Messiah, like the people of Hosea 6:2, would be raised to live before the Father.  But there’s one difference.

The Messiah didn’t need to repent, He was innocent to start with.

Maybe that’s why it says He grew up before him in Isaiah 53.  He grew up with the favour of God (Luke 2:40,52).

And because the Innocent paid the price, we can be raised up.  He was the first to rise (Colossians 1:18) that He may be the firstborn among many brothers (Romans 8:29).

We’re on the home stretch now.  The last three verses are right here in Hosea 6:1-3.

Before we dive into this, one of my favourite passages of the Bible, let me address one interpretation on these verses.

Hosea 6:1-3 really jumps in out of nowhere, and so commentators have speculated about who is actually speaking.  Could it be the prophet Hosea?  Could it be the people themselves?  Or the leaders of Israel?

It would be a sudden departure for the prophet, who is speaking words of judgement.  But it would also be a huge departure for the people, who are fickle and faithless.  As a matter of fact, verse 4 says

With all due respect to The Apologetics Study Bible, I’m not buying it.

Why?  For one thing, Hosea 6:1-3 too closely reflects the heart of God.  And hopefully I can show that as we talk about it.

For another thing, it’s not unusual to have a plea to return to the Lord and enjoy His mercy in the middle of passages about judgement.  This fits a normal pattern.

In spite of the wickedness of the people, God kept reaching out to them – and this fits perfectly with the rest of Hosea’s message.

I tend to think this is the prophet himself speaking.  Much like is recorded in Zechariah 1:4 – Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’  But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the LORD.

But whoever it was, it reflects God’s heart.  So let’s briefly look at verse 1.

It’s a common message of the Bible that God brings judgement in order to bring His people back to Himself.  He starts by warning them of the consequences of sin (think of the blessings and curses that went along with the Law).  When they disobey, He sometimes shows mercy, and He sometimes brings judgement.  He calls people to return to Him to be healed.

Similar language can be seen elsewhere in the prophets.  For example, Amos chapter three.  Take this verse as an example:  "I struck you with blight and mildew; your many gardens and your vineyards, your fig trees and your olive trees the locust devoured; yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD. (Amos 4:9)

Isaiah 60:10:  Foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you; for in my wrath I struck you, but in my favor I have had mercy on you.

In Lamentations 3, the prophet affirms:

And in Joel 2:12-13:  "Yet even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments."  Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.

The point is not that every problem in life is a sign of God’s discipline or judgement.  Very often we do not know God’s purpose.

Neither does God always send disaster when people sin – He is, as we saw in Joel, slow to anger.  Most often He shows His patience and mercy.

But it’s crystal clear that one of God’s purposes for "bad things" is to call people back to Himself.

The Psalms also are full of examples of the songwriter acknowledging that God has brought pain (though we often don’t know why) – and yet we look to God for salvation.

In the Psalm with the famous verse "This is the day that the LORD has made" the Psalmist also says "The LORD has disciplined me severely" (Psalm 118).

There is nowhere else to go for salvation.  Only in God do we know there is purpose in pain, rescue from evil, loving discipline, and the certain hope that He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. (Revelation 21:4)

This is the next part of verse #26.  I was a day late posting a verse, so I’m catching up today.

Hebrews actually has some pretty important instructions for the church.  For example, we should meet together, as we see here.  Later in the book, the author tells us to obey our leaders because they keep watch over our souls (Hebrews 13:17).

Sometimes people email me and tell me they want to become missionaries.  One of the first things I suggest is that they talk to the leadership of their church.

More than once it has turned out that this is a problem.  It could be that this person has no relationship with any leader (which could make it difficult to obey Hebrews 13:17).  But it also could be that this person has the habit of not meeting together with other believers at all.

In those two verses – and excuse me for joining them together like this, but – in those two verses there really is a lot to learn about the assembly – the local church.

How many people really have any opportunity to obey a leader?  How many leaders are truly keeping watch over souls?  How many people really feel the urgency to meet together ("all the more as you see the Day drawing near")?

And perhaps sadest of all, how many "go to church" all their lives, and hardly ever encourage – or receive encouragement?

How many are never thinking about how to help their fellow believers to love more?  To do more good works?

These aren’t verses long in instructions and programs and procedures and regulations – and yet how many of us are missing out on the wonderful basics of the family of God?

So let’s not get in the habit of avoiding fellow believers.  Or the habit of just … doing other things.

Instead, let’s get together and spur each other on to great things.  Time is short.

Once again, this command comes after a whole lot of Gospel.  The book of Hebrews draws us to Christ by showing Him in the Old Testament alongside His coming in the flesh.

The author has just said:

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
(Hebrews 10:19-23)

This is a summary rich with symbolism that has been explained throughout the book.

Now, as believers, let’s consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.

The word here for "stir up" has also been translated stimulate or provoke or spur on.  It’s a positive push, you might say.

As opposed to what we often focus on – pulling.  Trying to give people some freedom, but intervening when we see sin, and trying to pull them back.

And turning someone from sin is a wonderful thing to do!  See James 5:19-20 on that topic.

But if that’s all we’re doing, there’s a problem.  There are so many passages that talk about the positive things – the spurring on.  Encouraging, helping, building people up.  We should be thinking about how to do things like that to our fellow believers.  Not just correcting them if they get out of line.

I’m a day behind on my verse posts.  I have been studying the verses of the day, but I haven’t memorized them as well as I want to either, so I’ll keep working on that.  Writing about them actually goes a long way towards learning them.

Actually, perhaps this was a very appropriate verse for yesterday.  I was weak, no doubt about it.  Sick enough that I hardly got out of bed for half the day.

It was a migraine attack.  And I was fighting all night long, and continued throughout the day.  We were supposed to pick someone up at the airport (leaving at 2:30pm), so I reserved every ounce of strength for that trip.

I made it, by the way – got up at 2pm… we had no water for a shower, so I had a sponge bath and went.  Although I probably wasn’t the enthusiastic welcomer I should have been.  And Shari did drive home.

But enough about me.  I think the Holy Spirit kept Paul from mentioning what this particular weakness was, because so many people can now relate to what Paul wrote.  Paul could have been proud – "conceited" says the ESV in verse 7.  So he was given a thorn in the flesh.  From Satan – and yet really from God.

Paul pleaded that the thorn would be taken away, but God’s final word is here in verse 9.

My grace is enough.

It doesn’t matter what the weakness is – God’s grace is enough.

More than that – God has a purpose, even in weakness.

So in a strange way, we are more complete because of our weaknesses – because of our incompleteness.  Because we know that it is a part of God’s purpose, and God completes us in Himself.

No wonder Paul glories in his weakness!

And he concludes in verse 10 – when I am weak, then I am strong.

When I no longer rely on my own strength (which really is weakness anyway), I can see the strength of God filling the gap.

And Paul himself expands the application in verse 10 – and I’ll let him have the last word.

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.