Reading through Old testament
I have never read through Old Testament before. Till this year when our church embarked on reading OT together through the year. I felt like giving up so many time. But with Pastor Roger doing a summary of each book, I managed to get through 3/4 of OT not completely lost.
It was tough. It really was. Alot of the same thing. Over and over again. But it is through these tedious repetitions that I began to understand abit more about our amazing God.
He used alot of illustrations to give understanding of His love for Israel. The love of a husband to a wife. The love of a father to his son. The untiring, relentless, never ending love. Regardless of the waywardness of the son. No matter the infidelity of the unfaithful wife. God flew into jealous rage and anger. He punished because He is righteous and there is no way He could let sin go. But at the end of the wrathful rant, He will always always end off with a way out. There is always always grace to be found.
Ultimately, before the start of the world, God has already prepared a redemption plan. A way of escape for those whom He elected. Because of our sinfulness, because of our inability to go to Him, He came down to die for our sin. He came down for those He loves. He gave himself up so we can be with Him again. This time with sin completely forgiven.
I have been telling Charlotte how much God loves to have us intimate with Him. He doesn't need our prayers, He doesn't need our sacrifice in Temple, He doesn't need our money. He is all sufficient. But He loves for us to be near Him. Liked when Adam and Eve walked with Him in Garden of Eden. They fellowshipped together. No sin to tear them apart. We go to Him and enjoy Him. For He is love. For He is goodness. For He is our ultimate joy.
Some weeks back, I was so deeply touched by Pastor's sermon on Ezekiel. I told Charlotte what I read when she asked to hear more Bible stories. I told her how God was so heartbroken when His people worshiped other gods in His very own temple. Because of their sins, God had to leave the temple. But He lingered at every step He took away from the temple. At the threshold. At the courtyard. At the gate. At the mountain. He paused as if to turn back to take a another look at the people He dearly loved. Charlotte burst into tears and in my surprise, I teared together with her. Heartbroken with God.
Oh God, how often we grieved You the same way. In our rebelliousness, we seek our independence from You. We forget Proverbs 16:9 as we pursue our own achievements. The ultimate idols we always fall back to worship is ourselves. Our autonomy. Our ego. Our glory. We often drag our feet to pray to You. Thinking it as a chore rather than communion. We read Your word but we fail to delight in You.
In the same way, we couldn't help ourselves even if we want to. We find no strength to go to You. That is why it is all the more sweet to know Jesus is our Savior. To know true love; He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Charlotte said it well. After her bawl, I reminded her again why we hope in Jesus. She wiped her tears and told me, "mommy, knowing this makes me want to repent and go back to God." Bless her soul. God, thank you for the precious understanding You gave her. Oh lord, please preserve her faith in You and may this seed blossom as she grows. In understanding of Your word, in love for You, in the giving up of her life for Jesus Her savior. May she knows you intimately and may you be with her every step of the way. Oh lord, Salvation is a gift and I pray lord you will bless Charlotte and Claire with your precious salvation, that Jesus will be their lord and savior.
It was tough. It really was. Alot of the same thing. Over and over again. But it is through these tedious repetitions that I began to understand abit more about our amazing God.
He used alot of illustrations to give understanding of His love for Israel. The love of a husband to a wife. The love of a father to his son. The untiring, relentless, never ending love. Regardless of the waywardness of the son. No matter the infidelity of the unfaithful wife. God flew into jealous rage and anger. He punished because He is righteous and there is no way He could let sin go. But at the end of the wrathful rant, He will always always end off with a way out. There is always always grace to be found.
Ultimately, before the start of the world, God has already prepared a redemption plan. A way of escape for those whom He elected. Because of our sinfulness, because of our inability to go to Him, He came down to die for our sin. He came down for those He loves. He gave himself up so we can be with Him again. This time with sin completely forgiven.
I have been telling Charlotte how much God loves to have us intimate with Him. He doesn't need our prayers, He doesn't need our sacrifice in Temple, He doesn't need our money. He is all sufficient. But He loves for us to be near Him. Liked when Adam and Eve walked with Him in Garden of Eden. They fellowshipped together. No sin to tear them apart. We go to Him and enjoy Him. For He is love. For He is goodness. For He is our ultimate joy.
Some weeks back, I was so deeply touched by Pastor's sermon on Ezekiel. I told Charlotte what I read when she asked to hear more Bible stories. I told her how God was so heartbroken when His people worshiped other gods in His very own temple. Because of their sins, God had to leave the temple. But He lingered at every step He took away from the temple. At the threshold. At the courtyard. At the gate. At the mountain. He paused as if to turn back to take a another look at the people He dearly loved. Charlotte burst into tears and in my surprise, I teared together with her. Heartbroken with God.
Oh God, how often we grieved You the same way. In our rebelliousness, we seek our independence from You. We forget Proverbs 16:9 as we pursue our own achievements. The ultimate idols we always fall back to worship is ourselves. Our autonomy. Our ego. Our glory. We often drag our feet to pray to You. Thinking it as a chore rather than communion. We read Your word but we fail to delight in You.
In the same way, we couldn't help ourselves even if we want to. We find no strength to go to You. That is why it is all the more sweet to know Jesus is our Savior. To know true love; He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Charlotte said it well. After her bawl, I reminded her again why we hope in Jesus. She wiped her tears and told me, "mommy, knowing this makes me want to repent and go back to God." Bless her soul. God, thank you for the precious understanding You gave her. Oh lord, please preserve her faith in You and may this seed blossom as she grows. In understanding of Your word, in love for You, in the giving up of her life for Jesus Her savior. May she knows you intimately and may you be with her every step of the way. Oh lord, Salvation is a gift and I pray lord you will bless Charlotte and Claire with your precious salvation, that Jesus will be their lord and savior.
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