Reading through the Bible... take 2!

So Nate and I had the big plan to read through the Bible.

Nate made it (I'm pretty sure). I had a pretty good start. Then I got my teaching job (which sadly, didn't last), wrapped up tighter than a fly in a spiderweb in work, and didn't keep up with the readings which require an hour to 90 minutes of study. Excuse? Completely, utterly, totally lame. That said... I'm going for it again. Because I want to do it. Badly. I gained some perspective this summer while working with all my kids. I learned plenty about the Old Testament this past spring. But... I want to know more.

And I've gained more already. I remember reading about the sacrificial system that Moses wrote down from God in Exodus and into Leviticus (and beyond), but something really interesting that stuck out to me was how, beyond the idea that many people are familiar with (burnt, sin, guilt, grain, and peace), something that caught my attention was how there were daily offerings given at morning and evening JUST so the people could meet with and hear from God.

That's a LOT of sacrifices. A lot time, energy, and love invested in those animals given as offerings. It's expensive, and although it's most definitely worthy to give them as sacrifices to the Maker of Heaven and Earth, that had to be tough. It makes the 90 minutes I couldn't put in even more sad to think about it. But, it also makes me realize HOW much the gift Jesus gave us meant.

No more killing animals. No more purification rituals. We can have a relationship with God because He's saved us.

I like reading stuff in the Pentateuch a lot, actually. Slogging through the rituals is tough sometimes, but the introduction to Leviticus gave a good reminder why Christians should and NEED to read it - it gives a sense of perspective of WHY Jesus was needed. Why we don't do sacrifices anymore. What the big deal is. And though we might have developed the technology to make shirts of two fabrics (cotton/polyester blend is nice and it works now!), there are still plenty of relevant laws right now from the Pentateuch for Christians. Like loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And loving your neighbor as yourself. Jesus himself talked about that.

We've been tested. But not forgotten.

<sup>Psalm 66:8-10, 16-20

8</sup>Bless our God, O peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard,
⁹who has kept our soul among the living
and has not let our feet slip.
¹⁰For you, O God, have tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.

¹⁶Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
¹⁷I cried to him with my mouth,
and high praise was on my tongue.
¹⁸If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
¹⁹But truly God has listened;
he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

²⁰Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me!

I've felt tested. I've prayed. I've asked others to pray for my family and me too. Because I don't enjoy being tested. It's tough.

I don't think we're done. Not yet. But after today, I also look and believe that God is hearing our prayers. And He has not forgotten us.

And what else can I do, as any other time, but rejoice that God is God?

It hurts. BAD.

My senior year at Hope, Trygve once taught during The Gathering about Jeremiah, and how incredibly alone and miserable he felt amidst myriad pain and suffering. In short, the question he was asking was, "God, where ARE You? Where is God in the midst of all this?"

[18] My joy is gone; grief is upon me;
my heart is sick within me.
[19] Behold, the cry of the daughter of my people
from the length and breadth of the land:
“Is the LORD not in Zion?
Is her King not in her?”
“Why have they provoked me to anger with their carved images
and with their foreign idols?”
[20] “The harvest is past, the summer is ended,
and we are not saved.”
[21] For the wound of the daughter of my people is my heart wounded;
I mourn, and dismay has taken hold on me.
[22] Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
Why then has the health of the daughter of my people
not been restored?
[9:1] Oh that my head were waters,
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
that I might weep day and night
for the slain of the daughter of my people!
Jeremiah 8:18-9:1 (ESV)

[42:1] As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
[2] My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
[3] My tears have been my food
day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
Psalm 42:1-3 (ESV)

It hurts. It hurts DEEP to watch my family hurting.

Trygve said this question of "God... where ARE YOU?!" keeps God at the center. THAT'S what I want, what I need, and what my family needs.

I need God.
We need Him. RIGHT NOW.
And I will pray.
I will pray AUDACIOUSLY!!!!
For just that.
For Emmanuel. God with us.
And His peace. Which passes all understanding.
And I will rejoice. Because He's already here.