the old and the new

I have been proactive in my scripture reading lately. Thinking of the old while I read the new. It has been quit rewarding. It says in the scripture that the old testament and those that belonged to it were seeing in a dim light. Kind of like they perceived half of what was to come. That which was in the old, such as the temple or the laws, were reflections of the new. Imperfect copies of that which was perfect. The temple that God layed out for Moses was a reflection of the perfect temple in heaven. The law of the sabbath, which was to rest from your works, was a reflection of the the Lord of the Sabbath, our Sabbath, Jesus Christ, who allows us to rest from our works. Thus the scripture that says " we are saved by grace and not by works, lest anyone should boast.

Was reading Romans Chapter 4 today and everything started to come ALIVE! it says in the last verse of chapter 3, which I refered to in my previous blog "in fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law" Chapter 4 goes on to explain how Abraham was justified by his faith hundereds of years before the law came. Faith came first. In the old testament we have and image of that which is perfect. through Abraham, Faith came first, then came the law. In our relationship with God, Faith comes first, so that we then can fulfill the law. What makes us children of Abraham is not that we were born as a Jew but that we have faith in God. When we have faith in God we are then children of promise and not children of bondage. Which brings me to another point. Maybe the story of Isaac and Ishmael, is not the story of Jews and Muslims but is a story of those who are children of God and those who are children of the world, no matter what nationality they are! After all, if we are friends with God, we are then enemies of the world. mmmmmmm......something to think about.