Know God - Day 31
You made it to the Finish Line...
This is it. The end of the challenge. How'd ya do? Oh but wait - it's not done yet! Pastor equates the old testament as the appetizer and the new testament as the feast - the main course AND dessert! (but if you know me, you know that often I will only order a few appetizers and skip the main course ... don't do that now!)
The New Testament is Christmas and Easter. Forgiveness, hope and resurrection. The fulfillment of prophesies. Jesus himself!!
But Pastor encourages us to KEEP READING!!!!
It takes two weeks to form a new habit (I've always hear 21 days) But we've gained momentum and created new habits/routines these past 4 weeks. Here is a way to keep your faith and journey going... [one day Pastor will have a New Testament version of this study. - or so he has]
Turn to the New Testament and read a chapter a day. This reading will be on your won,,,but you can handle it. :-) Here are some tips from Pastor:
Ask the same questions: 'What does God say?' and 'What, therefore, is God saying to me?'
Make a plan - to keep you accountable - start with the gospels. It's easy - when Jesus speaks (or it is in red) then God is speaking.
Get a good study bible. It will help focus your reading an help answer your questions (unless you're like me and the questions create more questions in an almost never ending cycle of wonder.)
A Verse a Day...
Pastor mentions daily devotions. A quick and tasty snack. Short, pointed and daily. Our own daily reading and study will be the feast. (when he does - I'll try to post here as well.)
You don't have to know everything.
You just need a hunger - and a thirst.
EPILOGUE
The connection between old and new testaments...
People describe the God of the Old Testament as mean, cruel, judgmental. I've called him unforgiving, vengeful, mean-spirited, and wondered many times during the study why he didn't just give up over on us and call it quits. Pastor's impression of God in the Old Testament is that he is patient! Humans are very thick-headed - and it is shown throughout the entire old testament. How many times were the people given 2, 3, 4 chances to make things right with God. To obey and follow his will. The entire Old Testament also shows that God had a plan from the get go.
His plan from the very beginning was to send his Son. He knew (and still knows) several things about humans:
WHY are BLOOD and DEATH the proper payment for sin?
In the old testament, sacrifices were made by killing choice animals and letting the blood pour onto the altar. If God lets us, his wayward bride, live then his holiness, justice and purity are a fraud. If he lets us die, his loving heart is crushed. A penalty must be paid, but God's love can't let us go. So he opts to have his heart crushed by sending his Son. His only Son. To take our sin. our penalty. our death. And his heart is crushed.
After losing a son myself and hearing a story about another mother who lost a son as well. I am at the place where I can truly say and believe the words she expressed, "I can't believe how much God loves us. Now I know how much it hurts to lose a son. How could he do that voluntarily for us?" I have struggled much the past month with the death of my own son 6 years ago. I have asked why, ranted, yelled, questioned. But now I know that God doesn't always answer the why's...sometimes there is no real answer. And I know that his heart was crushed when his son died just like mine was. The fact that He loved us so much to voluntarily sacrifice his son is mind boggling. It shows how selfless and loving he truly is.
What a magnificent love!!!
So... IF THERE WERE GENERATIONS OF SIN .... AND God was going to send his Son anyway ... why did he wait so long to send the Redeemer??????
Pastor's answer, "He had to eliminate all of our excuses!" for example (and I know I am guilty of asking these very same questions and I have been in church my entire life!)
by the way - we do have rules, laws and clear instructions. the bible
Basic
Instructions
Before
Leaving
Earth
WHY DID GOD SEND HIS SO WHEN HE DID?
He had to get rid of all of our excuses. We can't do this ourselves. The old testament shows we need a savior. The new testament delivers.
Now that we Know God a bit better, let us greet the Savior! AMEN!!
This is it. The end of the challenge. How'd ya do? Oh but wait - it's not done yet! Pastor equates the old testament as the appetizer and the new testament as the feast - the main course AND dessert! (but if you know me, you know that often I will only order a few appetizers and skip the main course ... don't do that now!)
The New Testament is Christmas and Easter. Forgiveness, hope and resurrection. The fulfillment of prophesies. Jesus himself!!
But Pastor encourages us to KEEP READING!!!!
It takes two weeks to form a new habit (I've always hear 21 days) But we've gained momentum and created new habits/routines these past 4 weeks. Here is a way to keep your faith and journey going... [one day Pastor will have a New Testament version of this study. - or so he has]
Turn to the New Testament and read a chapter a day. This reading will be on your won,,,but you can handle it. :-) Here are some tips from Pastor:
Ask the same questions: 'What does God say?' and 'What, therefore, is God saying to me?'
Make a plan - to keep you accountable - start with the gospels. It's easy - when Jesus speaks (or it is in red) then God is speaking.
Get a good study bible. It will help focus your reading an help answer your questions (unless you're like me and the questions create more questions in an almost never ending cycle of wonder.)
A Verse a Day...
Pastor mentions daily devotions. A quick and tasty snack. Short, pointed and daily. Our own daily reading and study will be the feast. (when he does - I'll try to post here as well.)
You don't have to know everything.
You just need a hunger - and a thirst.
EPILOGUE
The connection between old and new testaments...
People describe the God of the Old Testament as mean, cruel, judgmental. I've called him unforgiving, vengeful, mean-spirited, and wondered many times during the study why he didn't just give up over on us and call it quits. Pastor's impression of God in the Old Testament is that he is patient! Humans are very thick-headed - and it is shown throughout the entire old testament. How many times were the people given 2, 3, 4 chances to make things right with God. To obey and follow his will. The entire Old Testament also shows that God had a plan from the get go.
His plan from the very beginning was to send his Son. He knew (and still knows) several things about humans:
- If he created humans, he would love them. God IS love! It's just who he is.
- If he created humans, they would rebel and sin. We aren't God, we are imperfect.)
- Therefore, God in his love would have to redeem himself. due to our innate humanness, we ill always fall back into sin.
- This redemption would cost God personally, and he knew the cost - blood. death.
- To pay this debt, he would send his Son.
WHY are BLOOD and DEATH the proper payment for sin?
In the old testament, sacrifices were made by killing choice animals and letting the blood pour onto the altar. If God lets us, his wayward bride, live then his holiness, justice and purity are a fraud. If he lets us die, his loving heart is crushed. A penalty must be paid, but God's love can't let us go. So he opts to have his heart crushed by sending his Son. His only Son. To take our sin. our penalty. our death. And his heart is crushed.
After losing a son myself and hearing a story about another mother who lost a son as well. I am at the place where I can truly say and believe the words she expressed, "I can't believe how much God loves us. Now I know how much it hurts to lose a son. How could he do that voluntarily for us?" I have struggled much the past month with the death of my own son 6 years ago. I have asked why, ranted, yelled, questioned. But now I know that God doesn't always answer the why's...sometimes there is no real answer. And I know that his heart was crushed when his son died just like mine was. The fact that He loved us so much to voluntarily sacrifice his son is mind boggling. It shows how selfless and loving he truly is.
What a magnificent love!!!
So... IF THERE WERE GENERATIONS OF SIN .... AND God was going to send his Son anyway ... why did he wait so long to send the Redeemer??????
Pastor's answer, "He had to eliminate all of our excuses!" for example (and I know I am guilty of asking these very same questions and I have been in church my entire life!)
- How come God didn't just make everything perfect? -- God says, "I did. The Garden of Eden. And they still managed to find a way to rebel.
- How come God didn't make everything like one big happy family? -- God says, "I did! but Cain still killed Abel in the first family."
- How come God doesn't just start all over again? -- God says, "I did! But even the most righteous man in the world couldn't get off the boat, stay sober and not humiliate his family."
- How come God doesn't choose one group of people and work with them so closely that they follow his will? -- God says, "I did! But is didn't work any better for ol' Abe and his descendents then and it doesn't work very well for us and the church now either."
- How come God doesn't give us a sign? -- God says, "I did! the people of Israel had 10 signs in a row and an entire sea parted for them. However, 3 days later they were complaining again. A three measly days and the effects of the signs and wonders had worn off!!"
- How come God doesn't send kings, prophets, teachers, warnings? -- God says, "I did! but my people ignored them." [an we aren't so different. we are stubborn, bull-headed, and would likely ignore them still]
- If people could only learn to work better together. -- God says, "They did! And got into trouble. When people build things together, like the tower of Babel, they revel in their accomplishments and think they are God."
- How come God doesn't just give us rules, laws and clear instructions to follow? -- God says, "I did! [can you sense his exasperation with us?] but my people ignored them for the first thousand years. Then when they did start following them, they turned them into the legalism of the Pharisees."
by the way - we do have rules, laws and clear instructions. the bible
Basic
Instructions
Before
Leaving
Earth
WHY DID GOD SEND HIS SO WHEN HE DID?
He had to get rid of all of our excuses. We can't do this ourselves. The old testament shows we need a savior. The new testament delivers.
Now that we Know God a bit better, let us greet the Savior! AMEN!!
Labels: Know God
posted by Chris K at
17:43
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