The next 5 weeks concentrate on Jesus the Saviour from an Old Testament perspective - anticipated, praised, spoken of in prophecy and, this week, the need for a saviour.
Starting Monday 11th February, the readings for days 6 to 10 are:
Genesis 3
Exodus 32:1 – 33:6
Psalm 14
Isaiah 59
Amos 5
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Hi folks; this is us blogging for the first time this year. Like the new book; think we'll all learn a lot and perhaps rethink our ideas about Jesus in some new ways. Today it's about why we need him in the first place, and totally essential! I can't bear to imagine life without Jesus, but today's lesson is that we absolutely NEED him from day one, as sin is congenital and without Jesus we are stuck, living with sin forever. I can really relate to Eve, and Adam too, and can understand their fall from grace so well. We do it all the time, even when trying to live the right way. Thank heaven for Jesus; without him, the thought of being barred from God's presence forever is too awful to think about.
Happy reading everyone, and have a good week.
Todays reading really helped me come to grips with sin or rather a sinful attitude. Its not the act itself, its knowing what God wants and doing something else. It struck me, not for the first time, that I sin everyday. Thank God For Jesus.
I think that sometimes when I sin I'm like Eve. God is there for me and I know I'm not to sin but sometimes these little doubts creep in and I wonder for a few moments if it is ok, of course it isn't and afterwards I feel dreadful. I know that I must not question what God knows is right and is best for me. How crafty was the serpent, he very cleverly re-worded what God said. I think that happens to us all but thankfully we have Jesus and HOW we need Him!!
It struck me that what made Moses a great leader while Aaron was not, was that Moses was not prepared to compromise his faith but Aaron was. It made must have made him unpopular at the time but we have much to thank him for now. It makes me think of the times when I should have said and done things differently.
Moses willingly volunteered to take God's punishment (a just and holy God) for the sin of the children of Israel. This reminds me of the verse in 1 Timothy 2 (v5), which says, 'There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all men'. Thanks be to God for His amazing gift of salvation in our Saviour, His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Their are several challenging things in Gods encounter with the Israelites. The quickness with which they abandon God and Moses reaction.
Presumably what we have here is the edited highlights as they drift away fairly quickly. It does however make me think of times where I put my trust in others things before God. A relationship with God is like any other relationship. We must work at it daily.
Like many of us they knew God is real through how he had worked in their lives,freeing them from Egypt. To deny him by their actions so soon after seems bizzare to say the least. On a smaller scale though I think I often do the same.
Moses offer of self sacrifice is challenging not just because it parrallels Jesus' eventual actual sacrifice but because it come from Moses. I'm very used to Jesus' sacrificial attitude,he's the son of God. It challenging to see a servant of God, like me, exhibiting the same attitude.
Pslam 95 is a terrifying condemnation of mankind but if there seems no hope, the beginning and end of the chapter show that there is a way out.
This chapter (Isaiah 59) is so compelling, so graphic, it reads like the judgement of a court on a particularly wicked person or society. It is so bleak.
Although its easy to apply this to parts of the world which really are bleak with evil and violence, like Darfur at the moment, the reality is that sin has blighted every life. Every society has dark corners, harsh edges, injustice. Truth is often twisted. This reading keeps us grounded in how God views sin, how he hates it, how much we need his intervention.
The last few lines end in hope: God is not indifferent, but gracious and takes initiative to save. God sending his Spirit, pointing the way forward, the way to life. This has echoes with Galatians 4:4-6, that God acted by sending his Son and his Spirit.
And no matter who we are, how much we need to know him, and receive him. And his presence can change any heart. What started as a bleak reading ends on an encouraging high!
What a condemnation of ritual Amos 5 is. It cannot be that God rejects all ritual because he instigated it in the first place. But I must question wether what I do aids or hinders my faith. Indeed what does the church do. For example does it only elect its officers because they have have undergone the right rituals? I don't know.
I was struck by yesterdays prayer, how simple yet so powerful. 'Thank you, heavenly Father, that you've always had a plan for me to find forgiveness from my sin and a new relationship with you through Jesus'.
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