GOD WANTS US TO GET INTO A LOVING RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM...

"Therefore the law was our tutor to bring
us to Christ, that we might be justified
by faith" Gal 3:24

A lot of people don't like the Old Testament. I can
understand that. In many cases it is filled with
difficult names. It supports the death penalty.
Animals suffer as they are sacrificed to cover
the sins of man. Prophets speak in mysterious
phrases. Many of the pages are covered with blood
and guts stories. It's easy to want to ignore those
39 books of the Bible.

But they are there for a reason -- and that reason
is to lead us all to Jesus. Think about it. In the
first pages we learn of the God of creation -- the
God who was lonely and wanted a man with whom to
fellowship. We learn that He created man in His own
image. Man looks like God. Shortly thereafter, we
find that man sins (he had but one law, don't eat
of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil). He
is driven out of the Garden of Eden. With this know
ledge, we know why we are sinners. We received a
predisposition to sin from our ancestral parents.

From that point on, God is working to bring man back
into a loving relationship with Himself. God chooses
a family to work with -- Abraham. From Abraham he
builds a nation which will be the vehicle He will
use to bring a world Savior. He dictates the Law to
this people so that they will know beyond a doubt
when they have sinned. If there is no law, there
can be no knowledge of sin! The law is the line in
the sand which we cannot cross without disobeying God.

Once sin is established, man becomes aware of his
true nature. Man tries many ways to overcome that
nature, but fails in every effort. God, through His
prophets, tells man that a Messiah, a Redeemer, is
on His way. Finally, God is silent. For four hundred
years God does not speak to His people other than
through His written Word. There are no prophets.
There are not visions. Even dreams cease to have
any significant spiritual meaning.

All of this leads us to John the Baptist -- the
voice crying in the wilderness "prepare the way
for your Messiah!" See the importance of the Old
Book? It is our instructor. It is our teacher. We
can learn a lot from those dull, bloody, confusing,
mysterious pages. We can learn who Jesus is, why
He came, and what we need to do about Him.

As this new season begins, take a look at the Old
Testament. Let God teach you about Jesus through
it! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.