Basic #3 The Old Testament isn't relevant to us anymore.

How to build a deck, no need to read the instructions!

Wow, it's hard to believe July is almost over and school is starting in just a few days.  Where has the summer gone?  Teachers are quickly preparing their classrooms and writing lesson plans eagerly awaiting that first day.  Some await with anticipation and others possibly with a slight fear of the unknown, but one thing is for sure, all teachers will hope they can prepare their students for the next level in life.  Elementary teachers prepare their students for middle school.  Middle school teachers prepare their students for high school.  High school teachers prepare their students for life and / or college.  Each teacher builds on the teachings of the previous teachers.  If one teacher does not do his or her job, well we have a problem or if the student doesn't or isn't able to learn during a particular year then a step is left out of the process and this missing step can wreak havoc for the rest of their life.

There is always a process to everything in life.  A process in growth from conception to adulthood:  leave out a step and a human being (or animal for that matter) is either born with a birth defect or has a shortened life span due to an abnormal growth pattern.  The manufacturing process of a vehicle: leave out a step and either parts don't fit together correctly or as we have seen with vehicles in the news, lawsuits occur due to deaths or injuries.  There is a process to building a building and yes, even a process to our legal system.  Everything has a process that must be followed.

6 + 2 (5 - 9 x 8r + 4z) - 1 = y  try working that equation without following the proper order and I guarantee you will not get the correct results!  Now, could you even begin to work that equation if you had never learned to add, subtract, multiply and divide?  You see, even in mathematics there is a certain order in which we do things.  How many of you remember High School Chemistry class? If you do not follow the correct order.....BAD MISTAKE!    Were there any of you who weren't paying attention when the teacher told you what order to added the chemicals in the test tube?  Come on now...fess up!  Some recipes are also like that, girls you know what I'm talking about!

The point to all of this rambling is to drill home a VERY important point.  So many Christians do not want to hear anything about the Old Testament.  I have heard numerous times, "I don't care anything about all that stuff.  Those stories are for the kids, it has nothing to do with today's times.  I only want to hear what's relevant for me today."  I'll even have to admit that I kinda thought the same thing myself earlier in life.  I only wanted to hear sermons and lessons from the Gospels and the New Testament, but friends nothing could be further from the truth!

Just as everything in our lives has a process, so does the very Word of God, Himself!  Is the Old Testament difficult to understand at times, YES, but not impossible to understand.  I want to give you a new perspective for a moment.  Think about the time during which Jesus lived.  (Okay here's one of those WWJD moments....)  What would he have read? (insert Jeapordy music) The only things He had to read......The Old Testament, better known today as The Tenach (The Law, The Prophets and The Writings).  He would have also had the Oral Traditions better known as The Oral Torah (which would not be in written form, but only passed down orally) and The Targums - which are much like our Open Bible today, a paraphrase of the Tanach in written form.

So when Jesus was quoting scripture, what was He quoting from?  Well, Paul of course, NOT!  Let me clue you in on a little secret.  Every single word that is attributed to Jesus in each of the Gospels and in Revelation is a quote from one of the three citations I listed above.  I would bet you, like me, thought that most everything Jesus said was original to Him, didn't you?  Well, I guess in a way it was since He was the Word made flesh it all came from Him to begin with, so we are trivializing here, but Jesus was quoting The Old Testament or a paraphrase of it or a commentary on it with each word He spoke.  Now can you see why the Pharisees were amazed at His knowledge of the scriptures knowing that He was not one of them?  They knew He had not been accepted by a Rabbi as an understudy, so who was this man?  They were perplexed by Him, but also intimidated for sure.

I want to give you an example of what I am talking about in reference to Jesus words being either a direct quote or a commentary on the Tanach, Oral Torah or Targums of His day.  The following link is to an online Bible with many translations and paraphrases.  The one I have linked to is the Orthodox Jewish Bible.  I know it is very hard to read due to it's use of Hebrew wording and I am not asking you to understand what you are reading.  It is the scripture reference for John 8.  I am asking that you look at all the cross-referencing to the Old Testament in parenthesis.  I think you will find it very interesting!  (Just for reference: Bereshis-Genesis, Tehillim-Psalms, Vayikra-Leviticus, Shemot-Exodus, Yeshayah-Isaiah, Mishle-Proverbs, Devarim-Deuteronomy.  You will even see a reference to a Targum thrown in there and something else special....a reference to something to come....Hisgalus following verse 52 is referring to Revelation 21:8.)

 http://biblehub.com/ojb/john/8.htm


The Old Testament is SOOOOO relevant to us.  Without it we would really be totally lost.  If we never learn our alphabet, how will we learn to read?  If we never learn how to hold a pen, how will we learn to write?  If we never learn our numbers, how will we learn to add and subtract?  If we do not know what God said in the beginning, how will we know what He says in the end?  To quote a very famous passage of scripture which in itself quotes scripture, Romans 10:14-15:

"But how can they call on someone if they haven't trusted in Him?  And how can they trust in someone if they haven't heard about Him?  And how can they hear about someone if no one is proclaiming Him? And how can people proclaim Him unless God sends them? - as the Tanach puts it, 
'How beautiful are the feet of those announcing good news about good things!'" (Isaiah 52:7) JNT

Do you see how this passage reverses the order showing that there is a process to even proclaiming God's Word and the Good News!  God sends people, those people proclaim to others, the hearers trust and call on God!

I know this post cannot fully explain that fact so I will be expounding on that in the future.  This post is one of the foundation blocks.  Many of you have told me that for you my posts were like trying to put on a roof when there were no walls, frustrating and confusing, so I have backed up and started over in order to lay a very firm foundation.  It really appears there haven't been very many foundations laid in the Church unfortunately, and I am afraid that fact is why we aren't retaining our young people when they reach adulthood.  Without a firm foundation, a house cannot stand when even a small storm comes along.  Gee, where have I heard that story before?



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Basic Lesson 2 Never Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch!

Don't think it really is, but I'm calling this one; "Blue Moon over Kentucky!"

Whew!  It has been a long three weeks since I last posted anything and I have been as busy as a bee!  I was fortunate to have had three weeks of vacation which were used to get those once in a blue moon projects done at home and fine tune some others.  Now I have had one week under my belt back at work and I am plum tuckered out!!!

I hope I don't rub any of you the wrong way with this post and I ask that you not, jump the gun in your thinking process.  Please don't change your tune about my blog.  I haven't just pulled something out of the air, there is a point to this rambling no matter how it sounds and although it is late, I'm tired and it is raining cats and dogs outside right now.

Have you been able to understand anything I have said so far?  If you are a southern American you know exactly what I'm talking about, don't you?  Each of the phrases in italics are what is referred to in language as idioms.  An idiom is a word or phrase that is not taken literally and is peculiar to a group of people.  In fact, just as I started to write this post I overheard a line from an old Western on television (which my husband was watching) that said, "Well, we can kill two birds with one stone with this one."  What perfect timing!  Ain't God good?

In America we use them every day.  I will never forget several years ago when I worked in an office and we had a young man working with us from Finland.  A co-worker, named Mike, in our office was dieting and every day he would bring a few small potatoes which he would microwave and then mash with a fork and top with lemon juice.  Our Finnish visitor asked Mike one day what he was eating to which Mike replied in his best southern voice, "smashed taters."  Tim rebutted, (imagine this in your best Arnold accent) "Smashed taters, never heard of such!"  We all had a good laugh!

I was suddenly awakened to the fact that the rest of the world was not as well versed on mashed potatoes as was West Kentucky and the rest of the Southern United States.  That fact can be reversed as well.  Tim taught us that fact all too well.  Another co-worker's college aged daughter stopped by one day and after she left Tim called this gentleman on the phone and simply said, "How much for the girl?"  After a long string of @##%$'s from the receiver, the phone slammed down on the other end and Tim looked perplexed.  We all began to scream, "No Tim!  You can't say that!  You can get arrested for that here!"

 Later we all had a good laugh when we found out what he really meant!  That phrase in Finland meant nothing like our thoughts on it in America!!!  To him it simply meant what would it take to get a date with the girl, nothing more or nothing less and it meant you ask the father first before asking the daughter.  The absolute opposite of what we had in mind!

My entire point in this story....idioms.  If you are from the south, we call them sayings.  Every culture, every people group, every country has them, even Jews.  And every people group uses them in their writings.  Yes, even in the Bible and do you remember the definition of an idiom?  A word or a phrase that is not taken literally?  So, how do you know what is an idiom and what isn't if you aren't familiar with the language?  You need a local who is familiar with the jargon of that area or people, right?  If that is so, then why have we been interpreting the Bible for thousands of years without a Jewish guide?  Could there be things we have taken literally that were actually idioms?  Could you imagine someone who is just learning English reading the first two paragraphs of this blog and taking everything I said, literally?

Well.....there are lots of idioms in the Bible and we have misinterpreted many of them and taken them literally.  Let me give you an example or two. Abolish and fulfill.  Jesus said in Matthew 5:17 "Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the words of the prophets.  I have not come to abolish but to fulfill."  I have always been taught that this verse is interpreted to mean that Jesus did not do away with the Law, but that through His death He fulfilled the Law so that we do not have to adhere to the Law any longer.  Hmmmmm that interpretation leaves lots of holes and questions, but no time to go there now.  The truth is that abolish and fulfill are legal terms.  Abolish refers to false teachers of the Torah or someone who is teaching heresy. Fulfill refers to someone who is teaching the truth of Torah and bringing honor not only to their Rabbi, but the Lord God Himself in doing so; they are said to be the Word in the flesh.  Goodness, does that make a great deal more sense to you in the context of that scripture?

Alright let me give you one more.  Old and new.  We have read the words in John 13:34 "I am giving you a new commandment: that you love one another."  Was this really something brand spanking new?  No!  Old referred to the original way something was viewed, such as Torah and new referred to looking at that same thing from a fresh new perspective.  Now, can you look at Matthew 26:28 the same; "Drink from this, all of you, for this is my blood, the blood of the new covenant,....."  this is actually a quote from Jeremiah 31:31-34.  It is not a NEW covenant, but a fresh perspective on the old covenant with God's people.

Let him who has ears, hear and him who has eyes to see, see!  Jesus said in John 8:31-32; "If you hold to my teaching you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free."  Jeremiah 29:13 tells us: "You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart."  You can find the truth, but it must be sought.  The choice is yours.  Sometimes the difference between a truth and an untruth lies in a minor idiosyncrasy.  Perhaps it is something so small as the one and only letter which differentiates between the two words idiom and idiot!

Independence Day! Freedom! What does that actually mean?

Yesterday was the 4th of July.  Independence Day in the United States.  WPSD-TV in Paducah, KY had a little trivia on their local news about some things connected with Independence Day we might not realize.  They went on to list a few things the American public is often mistaken about or misunderstands.  Every now and then it is necessary to go back over the facts of a matter in order to re-align our thoughts with the truth.  This keeps us on the right track.    

Like the general public, I too must make sure I am on the right track and after talking with some of you, it has become apparent that my writings are difficult to understand.  I deeply apologize for that fact.  I had hoped I was giving enough illustration to explain the difficulties of the subject matter, but I suppose not.  With that thought in mind, I will re-direct my writing in order to help more of you understand the things I am trying to teach.  That re-direction means going back and starting over with some basics.

Basic #1:  Why should we study God’s Word on such a deep level?  Isn’t it enough that I have given my life to Jesus, I go to church and I read a little devotional most days?  I know several verses of scripture and I know how to find references to scripture in the Bible, so why learn all of this Jewish stuff?  We aren’t Jews and we don’t live under the law anymore, just read Galatians 3:25!

A)     Galatians 3:25 is an absolutely perfect example of WHY we should be studying God’s Word from a Jewish perspective.  In fact, it is one of thousands of examples I could give on why we should study God’s Word on a deeper level.  Most likely you, along with me, have been taught that Galatians 3:25 means that with Christ, the Law was done away with, but that could not be further from the truth!  The problem with my saying this is that many of you will call me a heretic and say that I have just said that Jesus was not who He said He was.  WRONG!  I am saying He is even more than we have ever believed He was!!!!

In Galatians you must first understand that Paul is answering a question for the Church in Galatia.  It is imperative that you know the question before interpreting the answer.  If you see this scripture from the Jewish side you can easily identify the question and interpret the answer. 

B)     By studying the Word on this deeper level we come to know the truths of the scripture that can answer questions the scientific and atheistic world have been throwing at Christians for years.  It also enables our children to not be those waves tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine.  

Have you not ever wondered why so many young people walk away from the Church when they reach adulthood and many NEVER wander back in?  Perhaps it is because what little depth they have seen taught is so irrelevant to their life.  They need roots!  DEEP ROOTS!!!!  The Church is not giving them those roots, but a mere social place to gather until something better comes along. 

C)     God expects us to study His Word!  Deuteronomy 6:4-9

“Hear, O Israel:  The Lord is our God, the Lord is the One and Only.  You shall love The Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your resources.  And these matters that I command you today shall be upon your heart.  You shall teach them thoroughly to your children and you shall speak of them while you sit in your home, while you walk on the way, when you retire and when you arise.  Bind them as a sign upon your arm and let them be ornaments between your eyes.  And write them on the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.”

The “matters that I command” began with what we refer to as the Ten Commandments, but known to the Jews as the Ten Words.  These Ten Commandments or Words are actually the chapter headings for many more words from God.  How can they be taught, if not first studied?  We cannot teach something we do not know anything about and even if you disagree with me and believe we are no longer under the law, does this mean we have the right to murder?  Do we also have the right to lie or steal or commit adultery?  These still apply today and we should know everything we can possibly know about God’s Law.  In fact, do you really know what God’s Law is?  

Jesus, Himself, said in Matthew 5:18-19;        

 “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.  Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” 

Last time I checked, heaven and earth haven’t disappeared yet.  I think we need to keep studying so we can show ourselves approved unto God, don’t you?  Just a little tidbit of trivia:  some sects of Jews teach that if you don’t like to study Torah (the Bible) on earth, you will be studying Torah continually for all of eternity.  You will then have the ability to see the truth of who God is and who you were and are. You will be sorrowful over the life you spent on earth and want to repent, but it will then be too late to do anything about it.  It is here that two scriptures become very clear to me now.  The scripture in Matthew 25:30 which says,

“And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

This will be the hell for those who have been presented with God’s Word, but never thought it was a matter of importance.  They think about God from time to time, give Him a little credit every now and then for a beautiful sunset or an escape from danger and go on with their lives.   

The other scripture is from Revelation 21:4,

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes…”

And this seems appropriate for those who were given the Word, read it, considered it important, but didn’t make deep study a priority.  These are people with a true relationship with Him.  They do study the Word, but they are content with understanding on the surface and never keep seeking the deepest hidden truths.  They will see the entire truths of His Word, mourn the fact they take His Word so lightly and never understood them while living and then not only weep, but grieve over that fact.  Moved with compassion at their grief, God will look at their heart and knowing the heart, as He does, He sees their brokenness and wipes away their tears which will never return. 

This, my friend, does not give us an excuse to say, “Well, He will forgive me then for not studying all this difficult stuff, because I really don’t have time for it.”  Is that the excuse you are seriously going to give God, the maker of the universe?  You don’t have time for His Word?  Have you forgotten that He created time and that your life is in His hands? 

In that same story from Matthew 25 there were three men.  All three were given “talents,” which is an amount of silver, by their Master.  A talent, or kikkar is approximately 45.1 pounds of silver and in today’s times would be worth approximately $600,000 (depending on the current market value of silver).  Each man in this story was given a differing amount of talents. 

When the Master returned he asked for an accounting of those talents.  The one who had been given five talents had invested his and returned them with five more.  The Master replied, “Well done!  You have been entrusted with a little, you will be put in charge of much.” 

The man who had been given two talents invested those and returned the two along with two more.  The Master replied, “Well done!  You have been entrusted with a little and you will be put in charge of much.”

The problem was with the man who was given one talent.  He didn’t invest it, but hid it.  When he came before the Master he simply gave Him back the one talent saying, “I know you are a hard Man and require a lot of things from your servants.  Here is your money.  I wanted to make sure nothing happened to it.”  This is the man who was, “thrown into darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  He is called a worthless servant.  

What have you done with that “talent” you have been given?    If you truly love the Lord, your God with all your heart, soul, mind and resources you will want to know everything there is to know about Him.  And if you don’t love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, strength and resources?   I’ll let you seek and find the answer to that question.   The answer is hidden in the story that follows this one in Matthew 25.  I am willing to believe you may see it with different eyes now.  Have fun!