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GLEANINGS FROM THE WORD Experiencing an extraordinary God in ordinary life Issue #929 October 9, 2003 Why Bother I was taking a broken part of a new futon back to the major international Swedish home furnishings store yesterday morning. I arrived a few minutes before they opened so I popped over to the donut shop and grabbed a coffee to go. As I was leaving with my coffee, a comment caught my ear. Two elderly gentlemen were discussing the Bible rather loudly (I don't think either of them heard very well). The one fellow said to his friend, "Why bother with reading all that Old Testament junk? We have Jesus and that's all that matters." I would have loved to have been able to hear the response. I've often heard Christians make similar comments. Without the Old Testament we'd have no understanding that there would even be a Jesus to come. We'd have no basis to evaluate His claims to be God on. Much of our acceptance of Christ as Saviour, instead of the many false Messiahs that have come and gone, is based on the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. While doing some research for a paper I'm writing, I read that the odds of the events prophesized for the last 24 hours of Christ's life (leading up to His crucifixion) being fulfilled in one person are 1 in 537,000,000. I also read that the chance of the more than 300 Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah to come true in one individual exceeds 1 in (84 followed by 100 zeros). Without the Old Testament, or references to it, we'd have to remove more than 1/3 of the New Testament (and I think I'm being generous about the amount that would remain), especially from the words of Jesus. We'd have to toss out the book of Revelation because it makes more than 400 citations or references to the Old Testament. We'd have to get rid of any mention of Moses, Abraham, David, the law, the prophets and more. It's true we live in an era of grace not law, but to even understand what that means requires an understanding of the Old Testament. Why bother? Because Scripture tells us it is all important. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV By all means read and study the New Testament. It is foundational to our understanding of the faith. On the other hand, don't neglect the Old Testament. An understanding of it will enrich you understanding of the New and give you a deeper understanding of who our God is. The more you read both, the more you'll understand and the clearer the picture becomes. After a while you'll find that even the "boring" genealogies and long bits of the law are actually important and in many way relevant to you and your faith walk. We're not under the law, but understanding it helps you appreciate the marvel of God's grace all the more Until next time, may ALL of Scripture be part of your reading. Be blessed Hallelu Yah (Praise God)! Kevin YOU ARE Once you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour you have been cleansed, given a new heart and filled with the Holy Spirit. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Ezekiel 36:25-27 NIV Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. You have value in the eyes of God so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that heaven will not be complete without you. HELP FOR THE HURTING Perhaps you believe that there are many ways to heaven. Perhaps you believe you have no hope of ever getting there. I suggest you read your Bible (an despite what I jut said, START with the New Testament, the rest can follow). You'll find that Jesus is unique and that there is forgiveness, hope, love, joy and salvation available to you if you only ask. You can simply begin the relationship by honestly and completely opening your heart, admitting you need God's help, and saying a prayer along the lines of: Jesus: I have made many mistakes in my life and done things I am not proud of. I have sinned. I need your love and forgiveness. I believe that you came into this world and gave your life on a cross to pay for my sins and that you defeated death and rose again. Please forgive me, and be the Lord of my life. I give my life to you Lord. Amen If you pray this prayer for the first time let me know so I can rejoice with you. Did you know that at Gleanings, we have a dedicated team of prayer warriors and all prayer concerns are kept strictly confidential? Your comments, your questions and your joys are shared with the prayer team, to keep me accountable as the head of the ministry and to encourage them as they see God at work in your life. As with prayer all these things are kept confidential within the Gleanings team. To share your questions, comments, thoughts, prayer concerns and praise reports email us If you enjoyed this issue of Gleanings From The Word, email it, in its entirety, to a friend. For information on use of Gleanings in your church newsletter or other situations please visit the permissions page . You can write to us at Gleanings From The Word Ministries International 114 Oak St Sherwood Park, AB Canada T8A 0V8 © 2003 K.F. "Kevin" Corbin Gleanings From The Word Minististries International - All Rights Reserved
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