"My God would never do that!"
This makes me shudder, for I know those people who say this often do not know the Bible and they are viewing God from their own thinking, or by images created by tradition of men or by their own church groups, rather than by searching for the truth in examples in the Bible of what God actually did in these areas.
What is our rule book?
In golf or tennis we go by the rules of the game which are printed in rule books.
In spiritual matters, we must also refer to a rule book, and that is the New Testament Bible for the church today.
The Bible is our only valid rule for today's church. Each of us have the responsibility for spiritual truth. We cannot depend on another human but must refer to the Bible, especially to the New Testament Bible, for truth.
For many churches today have established their doctrines on that which humans think rather than on that which God shows us in the Word of God, the Holy Bible.
And many churches are set up to please humans and do not reflect what the Bible says.
Often these church doctrines today are exactly opposite to the instructions in the Bible.
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In this series, we will see examples from the Old Testament, and in many cases, compare that law or rule with that which we are told in the New Testament.
By doing that, you should have a valid basis for making some extremely critical decisions today.
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Volume 1, covers the way God viewed: Adam & Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph
Volumes 2 & 3, shows the way God used Moses to deliver HIS people from Egypt and to lead His people (more than one million combined men, women, children) to the promised land and their many victories over the enemies of God.
Volume 4, we see Joshua taking the promised lands and settling the children of God in their new habitations with many conflicts from those who opposed them in the way.
Volume 5, are the Judges appointed by God, Deborah, Gideon, Samson and others ... and the rulings given by God for the children of Israel, which were more than one-million people at that time: men, women, children
Volume 6, shows the work of the prophet Samuel, and king Saul and the reason for his downfall, and the anointing of Saul's replacement, king David.
Volume 7, is David and some of his psalms and his many victories.
From there we have: Solomon, the kings of Israel, the prophets
And sprinkled in with each of these individuals, we will also view concepts from the New Testament and show the similarities and the differences between the Old Testament and this current time in the church.
Nothing is more exciting than some of the stores given us in the Old Testament. We see great victories at enormous odds, all because God led His people and God fought for His people, just as God does today for HIS church.
Look for the volumes published at this time and for future volumes during the coming months. We expect to have each of the volumes in this series completed by the end of the year 2020.
I believe each person of God will delight in the chapters in Volume 1, offered now, in both e-book and paperback through Amazon.
The only thing important for us, the church, is to structure ourselves through the view God gives of situations of this present life, and we see that view by comparing examples in both the Old and the New Testaments of the Bible.
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(Pam: try this for cover)
God in His image:
"My God would never do that."
...Really?
Volume 1:
Adam & Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph
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(Pam: other descriptions which I might use starting in Volume 2 ... I will try to write these but am temporarily keeping the following fragments for use in those descriptions.)
In the Old Testament the priest had to supervise the sacrifice of animals for sins, and God set up a temporary way of appeasement in the old covenant. And over and over the priest paid for sins during the old covenant by shedding of blood of bulls and goats.
With the sacrifice of Jesus and shedding of HIS blood, the new covenant, we no longer follow the Law of Moses. But we still have rules in the church today as shown us in the New Testament of the Bible.
We have another way in the new covenant church today. The blood of Jesus paid for our sins and by faith, today, we enter into communion with God and holiness.
The purpose of this series is to view God by examples of the written word of God and the way we see God dealing with various people in both the Old and New Testaments.
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In October, 2019, I began having the thought to re-read the Old Testament .
This thought, which I believe to have been from the Holy Spirit, came to me several times over the next few weeks .
So I began reading the Old Testament again, not thinking in terms of exhorting the church but just thinking in terms of working with myself.
When I got into reading it, I would see things and think.. "Well I should write that," to our church group and on our blog ...so I did.
At some point I realized I needed to go into depth on these Old Testament passages writing them for all the church.
(We put these writings on our blog. Jesus Ministries Exhortations ... and then later set them in book form with multiple volumes since there are so many excellent examples in the Old Testament for us to consider today.)
As I published these writings on blog, I began thinking of how really bad things are in the church world today and how distorted their image of God has become and I felt like these Old Testament passages, for those of us who could read it, would put some realism into our image of God that is shown in the Bible.
For it has disturbed me greatly for many years, that the current church displays God in their own image .
I have often heard them say, "Oh. my God would never do that!" ... and I have shuddered.
I became very interested in writing about the Old Testament and comparing it to the New Testament.
The Old Testament is where God started with me after I was born again in 1975, to show me the work of a prophet, and to show me respect for what HE tells me, and to show me, in a vivid way, how I needed to really obey what I heard from Him
We live, of course, by the New Testament but the Old Testament presents a deep image of God and how HE really views things.
But I am reminded of that which the apostle Paul said: "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men." II Corinthians 6:11
I believe these books show an image of God that might turn some in the churches to God before the great tribulation from God which deals with the sins of this present world. For most surely the wrath of God is coming upon the sins of today as displayed before our eyes.
The only thing important for us, the church, is to structure ourselves through the view God gives of situations of this present life.
Joan Boney