This will be short today but I want to explain how important it is to read all of the Bible and not just the New Testament.
As I start off my second semester of my freshman year of college, I have started to read Genesis and Psalms for my Old Testament class. In the last week, I have read the first 26 chapters of Genesis. I have found that many times people don't want to read the Old Testament because maybe it seems like it is just useless stories. We read the stories but we don't look at the main being behind the stories. We don't always think about what God is trying to tell us with these stories.
It's like this: when you look at a box, you know it is a box. You can see the box, touch the box, lift the box, but if you never open the box, you will never know what is in the box. It is the same with the stories of the Old Testament. If we never dive into the story more than just looking at the surface, it is hard to find the characteristics of God that he has inserted into every piece of the Bible.
I would love to be able to delve into every story and pull out the characteristics of God and the messages he wants us to hear, but honestly, as a college student, I don't exactly have time to do that!
Two weeks ago I was talking to my oldest sister and out of the blue she said, “You know what drives me crazy?!” I said what and she continued. “It drives me nuts when people hand out new testament Bibles to new believers.” This made me stop for a second and I thought to myself. “Why is that so bad? Isn't it good to give people Bibles?” What she said next made me understand completely.
“If all they get is the part about Jesus coming back to give us salvation and not the part that explains why then need Jesus then what good does that do.”
Really though, if you only give them the answer, but not the question, it only confuses people more. You can compare it to the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. The people build a super computer to tell them what “The Answer” is. The Computer tells them to come back in 7 million years (or something like that) and when they return the computer says “The answer is 42.”
“42?” they say, “What kind of answer is 42”
“Well,” the computer replies, “It would have been awfully helpful if you would told me what the question is.”
It is exactly like that! If we go up to someone and say “Tacos” and you don't tell them anything else, they are going to go “HUH?” The question could have been, what do you want for dinner, or what is your favorite food, or even what does taco bell sell (Haha tacos duh). But the point is, is that if they don't know what the question is, people won't understand the answer you give them.
So, in order to determine the reason for Jesus, we need to look through the Old Testament. We need to delve deep into the stories and look at the characteristics of God so that we can all have a better understanding of God and why he sent his son to save us. I hope this all makes sense, and if something doesn't, let me know and I will try to sort things out for you!
I hope you have a wonderful week! Be safe and stay warm this winter!
As I start off my second semester of my freshman year of college, I have started to read Genesis and Psalms for my Old Testament class. In the last week, I have read the first 26 chapters of Genesis. I have found that many times people don't want to read the Old Testament because maybe it seems like it is just useless stories. We read the stories but we don't look at the main being behind the stories. We don't always think about what God is trying to tell us with these stories.
It's like this: when you look at a box, you know it is a box. You can see the box, touch the box, lift the box, but if you never open the box, you will never know what is in the box. It is the same with the stories of the Old Testament. If we never dive into the story more than just looking at the surface, it is hard to find the characteristics of God that he has inserted into every piece of the Bible.
I would love to be able to delve into every story and pull out the characteristics of God and the messages he wants us to hear, but honestly, as a college student, I don't exactly have time to do that!
Two weeks ago I was talking to my oldest sister and out of the blue she said, “You know what drives me crazy?!” I said what and she continued. “It drives me nuts when people hand out new testament Bibles to new believers.” This made me stop for a second and I thought to myself. “Why is that so bad? Isn't it good to give people Bibles?” What she said next made me understand completely.
“If all they get is the part about Jesus coming back to give us salvation and not the part that explains why then need Jesus then what good does that do.”
Really though, if you only give them the answer, but not the question, it only confuses people more. You can compare it to the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. The people build a super computer to tell them what “The Answer” is. The Computer tells them to come back in 7 million years (or something like that) and when they return the computer says “The answer is 42.”
“42?” they say, “What kind of answer is 42”
“Well,” the computer replies, “It would have been awfully helpful if you would told me what the question is.”
It is exactly like that! If we go up to someone and say “Tacos” and you don't tell them anything else, they are going to go “HUH?” The question could have been, what do you want for dinner, or what is your favorite food, or even what does taco bell sell (Haha tacos duh). But the point is, is that if they don't know what the question is, people won't understand the answer you give them.
So, in order to determine the reason for Jesus, we need to look through the Old Testament. We need to delve deep into the stories and look at the characteristics of God so that we can all have a better understanding of God and why he sent his son to save us. I hope this all makes sense, and if something doesn't, let me know and I will try to sort things out for you!
I hope you have a wonderful week! Be safe and stay warm this winter!