Old Testament Wonders :)

I love studying the Bible with children! It is a blessing to see their excitement over the texts that we are studying, their eyes are full of wonder as we read together and discuss. This month we have been in the book of Exodus, learning about God's strategy in His glorification. My mind has been stretched :) 

Two weeks ago we wrestled with chapter 9 and God's purposes in sending the plagues upon Egypt. Check out these straight forward declarations: 
"Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me, ¹⁴ for at this time I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your people, that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth. ¹⁵ Now if I had stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth. ¹⁶ But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth." WOW!!! 

Last week we came to the final plague and were blown away at the correlation of the lambs blood on the doorposts and the blood of the lamb, Jesus! My tears came with these kids as their little hearts grasped what incredible saving power has been washed over our sin, cleansing us, protecting us, and giving us hope and a future! Jesus is in the Old Testament, so clearly, it is beautiful! 

This week we have crossed the Red Sea and our minds have been blown away, yet again! God caused the depths to writhe and made them stand up, blowing the land dry for His people to walk through!! That is not normal, even if it is familiar :) We read Psalm 77 at the end of the week and I wish you could have seen their faces, it was pure delight! They were shocked that the Psalmist had written about the events that we had just studied, it was wonderful! 

Next week we will be in chapters 15-18 and witnessing God's bread from Heaven, the manna and the bread of life, Jesus! I am excited :) Tonight I have been preparing to teach and John 6 has become so much more powerful to my spirit! Check out these verses, "²⁸ Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” ²⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” ³⁰ Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? ³¹ Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” ³² Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” ³⁴ Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” ³⁵ And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." 

Vulnerable

Three years ago I had my life somewhat figured out, I had plans, dreams, hopes, etc. I left my home and lived 10hrs away attending a Bible college, and broke up with the man whom I almost allowed myself to love for the rest of my life. Not even a week into my new surroundings, I realized one thing very quickly that I needed to understand, "surrender." I was fragile and needed some hard core Holy Spirit refreshment. I had planned myself into a corner where reality did not fit...and now, three years later, I am facing those same empty walls of disappointment, fear, and unknown. I see lovely pages in my journal in which I wrote eloquent aspirations and no seed was watered by the Word to germinate...I am just like these nasty scientists who are making genetically modified crap that we eat. I try and make things work in my own power and strength. I resist praying and even wise counsel. Why? One word: SELFISH.

Grace is offensive to this sinner. I want to be able to have to work for this gift of salvation and earn this love that I have yet to understand. I understand a little bit of the Psalmist cry when he says "Where can I flee from your presence?" It is aggravating to not have you confined in one place! But I really don't mean that, it is just that sometimes I wish you could be blinded to my flaws, fears, and fully exposed vision of who I am. 

In this intimidating state I know this: God is, I am. My kids and I have been studying about Moses in Bible class and my faith is being tried! ha. Today we got to the nitty gritty and asked ourselves a hard question, "Do we think of God as more of a concept or reality?" It was a wonderful discussion and led me to think about many analogies that I could use to help better teach this truth. I am currently sitting in with my preschoolers as they nap and there is a globe in my view :) This globe is such an illustration for me. Bear with me as I try and explain. God is like this globe, not in looks, certainly, but in the sense that He has many distinct characteristics, kind of like cultures. In some ways I see Him as very boisterous and funny, easy to be around and full of joy and laughter, kind of like a South African! At other times I see Him as quiet and distant, hard to read and very introverted, like a Saudi woman when you first meet. The more I travel in this life or learn of cultures, I experience different aspects of God-who He has made in every part of the world is a reflection of Him, even in culture! It takes time, energy, and cost to experience the places of this world. It takes just as much work to experience Christ, to really be able to say "I have tasted and I have seen!" God is becoming more and more real to me, and my excitement and joy come whenever I choose to explore His nature, what He is like, Who He is! Relationship, this is the word we all too often attach to God and us, but real relationships in my days are often much more maintained than this one I am seeking to believe and live and learn from :) When I went to India this summer I had some very fresh sights, sounds, and smells, they were overpowering, as in, it was impossible to ignore them all. I want this to be true of Jesus, His character should be just as overpowering in my life, that this world should have a very difficult time ignoring His presence!