Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Old Versus New

Previously when I read through the Bible in a year, I always read straight through, Genesis to Revelation. And I'm not gonna lie, theNew Testament is easier. There is some horrific stuff in the Old Testament, hard to get through. Most likely because the story of redemption isn't a pretty one. First off anything that needs redeemed is in a bad place to begin with. And, I suppose, every redeemer has to do some self-sacrificing in order to accomplish his or her mission. Think of an antiquer restoring a valuable piece, or an architect renovating an old house, or a construction worker shoring up a dilapidated barn. How much harder to redeem a fallen, falling apart, sinful person. Let's face it, the human race (my people and yours) are scoundrels -- not totally our fault. God gave us this self-centered heart and then (what was He thinking?) He gave us free will. The picture in the Old Testament is clear, people don't choose well and even the best of them do some terrible bad things. King David for example.

All that to say, I'm glad to be following a reading program that mixes Old readings and New, Psalms and Proverbs added in. Today, I finished Genesis, continued in Matthew, read Psalm 14 and Proverbs 4:20-24. Good words from Proverbs to meditate on today, "...give attention to (God's) words...keep them in your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to their flesh."

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