Old Testament

A couple weeks ago, I finished 1 Corinthians and I didn't know where to go next. One would think 2 Corinthians, but I wanted to read something that I wouldn't normally read. I think many people like New Testament better because it most easily relates to us, but I decided to go "Old-School."

It's been a couple weeks since I've cracked open the book of Deuteronomy and I've been surprised at what I've been learning. It hasn't been very pertinent as far as learning about something like patience or anger or something that can be applied directly, but it has been great to look back and see how God was active in the lives of Moses and his people. I don't read regular books for personal pleasure or entertainment, but I am finding myself hooked to some of the stories. I don't have them memorized or referenced, but they are pretty basic themes. God tells Moses to tell his people something, the people don't listen, and God punishes them. Or, God tells Moses to tell his people that they will not be harmed by an army much bigger than theirs, and the people are scared, but then God protects them as he said he would.

The other day I was thinking about what it would be like to be in those times. When God's voice is audibly heard and when you have people like Moses, David, Abraham, etc. What do these great men of God look like? What's it like to be around them? Do they have this aura to them? A shining light around them? haha But in all seriousness, I wonder what it would be like to be around them. I can't help but think of my buddies that I live with or my friends that I hang around. Are we like these great men of God? I can only speak for myself, but I know I'm not at that point. I don't I know if I will ever get to that point, but it is just something that I've been thinking about. If God were to call on me to stand up like Abraham or David, would I do it? Do I have enough faith? Do I trust God completely, to the point that I would drop anything I am doing in order to follow God's path? Which brings me back to a post from a while ago. One of my best friends from home is getting surgery to remove a tumor from his sinus region which could cause damage to his sight, his brain, his hearing, and many other things. But it is a lot more complicated than that, but the main point is what he told me one day. He said, "Ya know, I've come to the point of trusting God. It doesn't matter what God takes from me. God, if you want to take me away from school, then take it. You can have school. If you want to take away soccer, go ahead, have it. If you want my sight, my hearing, my senses, take it. I trust that what will happen will glorify You."

That was one of the most real, powerful, and impacting statements I have heard in my life. A man at the age of 21, giving up his comfortable and enjoyable life in order to follow God. Now don't get me wrong, not that a comfortable and enjoyable lifestyle is bad, but just the fact that he was trusting God in what God was doing with him, is a challenge to me. Would I react the same way? What if God took track away from me? Would I be like Job saying, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh. Blessed be the name of the Lord."? Or would I be angry and confused with God?

Obviously, these men in the Old Testament had a very different lifestyle compared to today, but just because we can't "relate" to them doesn't mean it can't impact us. As I dive into this book, I realize the stories and the lifestyles that I'm getting into. Like a Disney movie, I'm just into the pages and seeing what it was like back then. There have been some chapters that I haven't really been able to connect with, but that's always going to happen. It was written thousands of years ago. Something is going to get lost in translation.

I don't really know what this post was for, but I just wanted to let you know what's going on in my head. Stay tuned =)

G