Isaiah 38-40
Read these short chapters now with the BIBLE READER widget to the right of this post or at http://www.bible.com/.
THAT'S A LITTLE HARSH...
I felt the need to explain what's happening in the reading we read today. Actually, all of the Old Testament can seem a little harsh sometimes. It's like "if God is so loving and wants to have a relationship with me, why is He so mean?"
I just wanted to try and explain why it seems a little... harsh. I mean... back then, when God wanted some one's attention, He killed a whole city! What?
So first off, there was no Messiah. I guess He might of existed up there in heaven somewhere, but no one knew of a Jesus. No one really understood you could pray to someone in person. No one knew there was an example from God, and a person who could wipe our sins away, or ANYTHING.
It must have stunk, to start off.
In all seriousness, some people are still living as if the Messiah hasn't come yet... even in today's times. Most Jewish people believe God DIDN'T send Jesus to save the world, and they're waiting for a savior. I don't know how they didn't see how Jesus was doing miracles, or how Jesus died on a cross and then rose from the dead....
But oh well. It's not my place, I guess. My POINT is, sometimes the Bible seems a little harsh. But it just reminds me of how life can be without a Savior. Think about it-- if Jesus wasn't our sacrifice, we would still have to be killing all sorts of animals when we sinned.
Back then, the people didn't know that Jesus saved them. They didn't ask for forgiveness, probably because it was so hard! So, in result, they were sinning all over the place. Granted... we sin today, as Christians. But we have someone to live by. Back then, they didn't... and were doing all sorts of bad things.
So don't think that God is some evil guy who is heartless and cruel. Once Jesus came, He showed us how to live, and that we can be forgiven. Once He came, everything changed. Everything. People had a reason to carry on. People had someone they could pray to, someone they could talk to, someone they could confess their sins to.
That's what Christianity is about, folks. It's about having a personal relationship with God, and loving others in the process. It's about remembering what God did for us when He sent His SON to die horribly on a cross just so we could be forgiven.
That doesn't mean the Old Testament is WRONG, though... because the same God that we worship today was instructing the people back then. So everything that God instructs us to do (aside from what Jesus has instructed us otherwise) is true. All the things about who God is, and what He wants for our lives is true.
Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever.
But hey-- don't take my word for it. In fact, you don't have to read a single word of what I think God is. Read this below, and be sure you're correct:
Isaiah 40:28-31
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
These words are great.
Peace.
Read these short chapters now with the BIBLE READER widget to the right of this post or at http://www.bible.com/.
THAT'S A LITTLE HARSH...
I felt the need to explain what's happening in the reading we read today. Actually, all of the Old Testament can seem a little harsh sometimes. It's like "if God is so loving and wants to have a relationship with me, why is He so mean?"
I just wanted to try and explain why it seems a little... harsh. I mean... back then, when God wanted some one's attention, He killed a whole city! What?
So first off, there was no Messiah. I guess He might of existed up there in heaven somewhere, but no one knew of a Jesus. No one really understood you could pray to someone in person. No one knew there was an example from God, and a person who could wipe our sins away, or ANYTHING.
It must have stunk, to start off.
In all seriousness, some people are still living as if the Messiah hasn't come yet... even in today's times. Most Jewish people believe God DIDN'T send Jesus to save the world, and they're waiting for a savior. I don't know how they didn't see how Jesus was doing miracles, or how Jesus died on a cross and then rose from the dead....
But oh well. It's not my place, I guess. My POINT is, sometimes the Bible seems a little harsh. But it just reminds me of how life can be without a Savior. Think about it-- if Jesus wasn't our sacrifice, we would still have to be killing all sorts of animals when we sinned.
Back then, the people didn't know that Jesus saved them. They didn't ask for forgiveness, probably because it was so hard! So, in result, they were sinning all over the place. Granted... we sin today, as Christians. But we have someone to live by. Back then, they didn't... and were doing all sorts of bad things.
So don't think that God is some evil guy who is heartless and cruel. Once Jesus came, He showed us how to live, and that we can be forgiven. Once He came, everything changed. Everything. People had a reason to carry on. People had someone they could pray to, someone they could talk to, someone they could confess their sins to.
That's what Christianity is about, folks. It's about having a personal relationship with God, and loving others in the process. It's about remembering what God did for us when He sent His SON to die horribly on a cross just so we could be forgiven.
That doesn't mean the Old Testament is WRONG, though... because the same God that we worship today was instructing the people back then. So everything that God instructs us to do (aside from what Jesus has instructed us otherwise) is true. All the things about who God is, and what He wants for our lives is true.
Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever.
But hey-- don't take my word for it. In fact, you don't have to read a single word of what I think God is. Read this below, and be sure you're correct:
Isaiah 40:28-31
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
These words are great.
Peace.
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