The fulfillment of the OT in the NT

I am so thankful for the privilege to freely listen to teachings any time and anywhere! Today's sermon via podcast was from Alistair Begg. Great Scottish accent, yet even wiser words to be heard. :) It was part 2 of a 2 part series in preparation for Christmas. The part that really stuck out to me from this segment....was a quote from Griffith Thomas concerning the Old Testament: "It is a book of unfulfilled prophecies, unexplained ceremonies, and unsatisfied longings...all of which are resolved in the New Testament's focus on Jesus Christ, who fulfills in His life the prophecies, explains in His death the ceremonies, and satisfies in His resurrection the longings." Wow! I love that! If any unbeliever were just to take the Old Testament...some may think Christians are a bunch of crazy, ritualistic, legalistic weirdos without a cause (depending on where they look!). BUT combine the inspired words of the OT with those of the New? Holy cow! It all makes sense now. What's even more amazing is how God had all that planned out before time began. All the prophecies, all the ceremonies, and all the longings had their place and would be made complete in the gift of Jesus Christ, God's son.

I can't imagine living in OT times with all these incomplete things...yet there was so much faith demonstrated throughout the OT. How inspiring! And then jumping to the NT...where there was so much excitement with the fulfillment of the OT words that many knew well. Yet so many were blinded to the truth...or simply chose not to believe it (but that could be a whole other topic!). But what a blessing that we, in current times, have the Old and New Testament together. The WHOLE BIBLE in one book! So while things may seem confusing, we can study His word and find the answer. Praise God for His inspired words to us :)

Here I am Lord

While listening to the radio on the way to work yesterday morning, a little devotional was shared that I really appreciated. The speaker was talking about preparing our hearts for Christmas and being ready for whatever God has planned for us. She read from the book of Luke, chapter 1. The part she focused in on was when the angel appeared to Mary and told her she was going to have a Son and that He would be the Son of God. Can you imagine, a young, unmarried, virgin girl being told she's about to have a baby! While having a baby is a super exciting event, the situation as a whole must have been very scary and intimidating to her. Although she was engaged to be married, becoming pregnant before the wedding day could mean losing her soon to be husband. Would he still want to marry her? What would happen if he didn't? Would this young teen girl be left to fend for herself with a newborn baby? How could she raise him alone? These are just a few of the numerous questions that would pop into my mind in that scenario....but Mary's response was perfect and showed her faith: "'I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered, "May your word to me be fulfilled."' Wow! She didn't start pouring out questions/fear/concerns...she simply said ok. Ok God, let it be as you say. I'd like to think I have a faith like that, but if I'm completely honest with myself...I can tell you flat out that's not the case. But this is an area in which I'm trying to improve. As a Christian, I am a servant of the Lord, here to do His will, not my own. "Many are the plans of a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." (Proverbs 19:21).

I absolutely LOVE Mary's readiness and openness to do whatever God asks, no matter how preposterous or scary it may seem. She humbled herself to His will because she knew He had a plan and she desired His purpose to prevail. How cool is that. And look at the book of Isaiah! "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here I am, send me!'" (Isaiah 6:8). In 1 Samuel it is written "Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, 'Here I am'." I desperately want that kind of faith. But so often I find excuses, big and small (I'm too busy, that's too hard, I don't want to, I have other plans, I'm not smart/strong/skilled enough, etc). Many times I don't even realize I'm making the excuse until it's too late. Little by little I am getting better at this. But I pray one day my response may be a quick and solid "Here I am Lord, send me"

                                                 

                                                                                                        (LOVE this song! <3 )

Voice of Truth 2

After writing my last post inspired by the song "Voice of Truth", I stumbled across this video. I thought it was pretty cool and thought you may like it as well.

Voice of Truth

I am so thankful for God's Word, it brings LIFE and HEALING. It is full of truth and quickly dispels any lies Satan eagerly tries to whisper to our hearts. He is always waiting, always searching, for ANY opportunity to slip us some kind of  deceptive poison. 1 Peter describes it well, as he says, "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8, italics mine). Yikes! Since we do not readily see or hear the devil, it is very easy for us to minimize his presence in the world (especially in our lives), despite the pain and suffering we see all around us. But Peter refers to him as a ROARING LION, PROWLING around looking for someone to DEVOUR!! While at first glance that may seem overwhelmingly scary (I wouldn't want to meet a hungry lion anywhere!), we can find strength in the book of James: "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7, italics mine). He will FLEE from you. The big, hungry, prowling, roaring lion will FLEE from YOU! Miriam-Webster defines the word "flee" as follows: "To run away from danger or evil", "To hurry to a place of security", "To pass away swiftly." Once he sees the spirit living in you as a Christian, he's gonna skedaddle! Going back to James, God calls us to 1. submit to Him and 2. resist the devil. It is important not to separate the two! For it is only due to the Holy Spirit living inside of us that we are able to resist Satan and cause him to swiftly run away from danger to a secure place.

Having the Holy Spirit living inside of us is the primary defense we have against Satan. However, if we are not actively seeking God or just not as close to Him as we should be, it's easy to let those lies slip in here and there. Believe me, I've been there! It can be ever so dangerously subtle and will most likely come from the most unexpected place. So "be on your guard; stand firm in the faith (1 Corinthians 16:13)." Ok....be on my guard and stand firm...I think I can do that! Oh be careful my friend, because many of us think we can do this on our own, and that's exactly where Satan wants us. It is only through CHRIST we can succeed in this. We must seek His truth in the Word He gave us."I can do all things through HIM who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13)

Psalm 119:11: "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."

Ephesians 6:11-17: "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

Last but not least, I want to share a song that I absolutely love! It is the reason for the title and part of the inspiration for this post. It is entitled "Voice of Truth" and is by the band Casting Crowns. God uses music in a special way in my heart and is constantly speaking to me through the words he has fed others in writing these songs. Enjoy! 

Prayer

Thank you so much to those who have checked out my blog! I appreciate it and truly hope it can be an encouragement to you in some way. Before I get too carried away with posts, I would like to ask each of you to say a prayer for me as I set out on this blog journey. It is something that God has put on my heart, but I tend to be a very quiet and timid person...someone who doesn't like to rock the boat. While I don't think many of my posts will make huge waves, speaking my mind can be intimidating for me at times. But God has been teaching me that He has given me my voice for a reason and that I do have something to share. I feel I don't have much to offer, as I am young and not an educated theologian, but I will give Him whatever I can and share whatever He puts on my heart. Above all, my first prayer is that this blog truly is all about HIM, pointing to Him and His glory in everything that is shared....that He would genuinely be the inspiration and voice behind all shared. He is my Lord and Savior, I would have nothing without Him.

Philippians 4:6

One day at a time

Just like every other American, I am always on the run! Full time job (for which I commute 1.5 hours per day!), active in my church, exercise regularly, spend time with family and friends....run run run. But with a recent break up leaving me with new found time, I have LOTS of plans, ideas, ways to serve Christ! It's so exciting!! (Just to clarify, I was not excited about the break up, but how I could use the time to serve Christ :) In fact, it's so exciting that I tend to get carried away and jump from one idea to another, without letting them reach their full potential. "I feel called to work with college students. Well surely God would rather me do work with highschoolers! Oh, or what about little kids, they're so cute!! Can't forget Habitat for Humanity. I love missions, maybe I should be a missionary to China?!?" You get the idea...and I'm sure many of you (especially women since we tend to be more "spaghetti brained") can relate. Well I think God had enough of this crazy thinking cycle (I can just see Him thinking, "women" while shaking His head). Today at church I felt God whisper to my heart, "breathe my child...take it one day at a time." Breathe?? But there's no time! I want to serve you to the best of my ability and be everything you created me to be and...."no my child, just breathe. Just take one day." ....wow, He's right...yes yes, He's God, of course He is! But seriously, all these ways I want to serve Him are great! However, it all starts with today....how can I show His love and praise Him and serve Him TODAY. Not tomorrow, or the next day, or next week...or even next year...but today. Yes, He may lead me into some of those amazing ministries I've fallen in love with, but I need to remember to step back, honor Him TODAY, and let Him guide my steps after that. "...not my will, but YOURS be done" (Luke 22:42).

"The heart of man plans his ways, but the Lord establishes his steps" -Prov 16:9

"We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work" -John 9:4

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." -Prov 3:5-6

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." -Prov 19:21

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it's own." -Matt 6:34