I am excited to share my thoughts and notes from a new spiritual book "From Shadow to Reality," by John Oakes,PH.D. This is the perfect time too as we get closer to the celebration of Jesus' birth,Christmas! The celebration of Jesus is more than Christmas is the reminder of the fulfillment of the Old Testament, the law, our salvation. He is the truth of all the hidden secrets from the Old Testament;this truth helps us to trust in God's word and have a relationship with Him!

I will share different examples as I read along,which connects and answers mysteries from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Trust me is fascinating and so surreal!
Like John Oakes said himself about his book:

"The theme of this book is that Old Testament is a mystery. Its teachings, events, people, statements, ceremonies and celebrations, from the smallest detail to the broadest themes, are foreshadows, symbols, prophecies of the greater reality which is revealed in the New Testament and its chief character, Jesus Christ. Is this all coincidence and luck?"

Here is an example to compare between the bronze snake up on a pole and Jesus Christ crucifixion:

 ^"Then they traveled from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people wanted to give up because of the long way.  They spoke against God and Moses, saying, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? For there is no food and no water. And we hate this bad food.”  Then the Lord sent snakes with a bite of poison among the people. They bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.  So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and you. Pray to the Lord, that He will take away the snakes from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.  The Lord said to Moses, “Make a special snake and put it up on a long piece of wood. Everyone who is bitten will live when he looks at it.”  So Moses made a brass snake and put it up on the long piece of wood. If a snake bit any man, he would live when he looked at the brass snake." Numbers 21:4-9.

^"As Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up." John 3:14. 

Coincidence or luck, I don't think so....it's all part of the plan....it's like the Old Testament is performing a play of mysteries for us to be revealed in the New Testament!  More to come....

 

I hope everyone had a cozy and gracious day at Thanksgiving, I was in awe of the love and care of the people around me,specially at the firehouse as I was not feeling well, and I felt their compassion that drives in them to be a firefighter, like my husband. Truly, the best of the holidays is to see the reflection of the spirit and the hearts of people, who are made in God's image. 

Well, now, here is more of Ezekiel:

• "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This is an illustration of what will happen to Jerusalem. I place her at the center of the nations, but she has rebelled against my regulations and decrees and has been even more wicked than the surrounding nations."5:5-6
• "But I will let a few of my people escape destruction, and they will scattered among the nations of the world. Then when they are exiled among the nations, they will remember me. They will recognize how hurt I am by their unfaithful hearts and lustful eyes that long for their idols. Then at last they will hate themselves for all their detestable sins."6:8-9
• "Go in, he said and see the wicked and detestable sins they are committing in there! So I went in and saw the walls engraved with all kinds of crawling animals and detestable creatures. I also saw the various idols worshiped by the people of Israel."8:9-10
• "Then he brought me into the inner courtyard of the Lord's temple. At the entrance to the sanctuary, between the entry room and the bronze altar, there were about twenty-five men with their backs to the sanctuary of the Lord. They were facing east, bowing low to the ground, worshipping the sun!" 8:16

Before I go to continue baking sugar cookies here is one of my favorite quotes lately:

"My love for you,notwithstanding, I love to make you smile."Russell Miles.

One of the best ways that I could understand a book in the Bible, specially the Old Testament, is by highlighting my impressions. Then, here it is my highlights on the book of Ezekiel(base on NIV translation):

Chapters 1,2,3

• "Above this surface was something that looked like a throne made of blue lapis lauzli. And on this throne high above was a figure whose appearance resembled a man. From what appeared to be his waist up, he looked like gleaming amber, flickering like a fire. And from his waist down, he looked like a burning flame, shining with splendor. All around him was a glowing  halo, like a rainbow the Lord looked like to me. When I saw it, I fell face down on the ground, and I heard someone's voice speaking to me." 1:26-28.
• "Son of man, do not fear them or their words. Don't be afraid even though their threats surround you like nettles and briers and stinging scorpions. Do not be dismayed by their dark scowls, even though they are rebels. You must give them messages whether they listen or not." 2:6-7.
• "The voice said to me, 'Son of man, eat what I am giving you, eat this scroll! Then go and give its message to the people of Israel.' So I opened my mouth, and he fed me the scroll. 'Fill your stomach with this,'he said. And when I ate it, it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth." 3:1-3.

To be continued...


*Here is a poem that I got from the book that I previously mention about writing sentences:

"One day the Nouns were clustered in the street.

An Adjective walked by, with her dark beauty

The Nouns were struck, moved, changed.

The next day a Verb drove up, and created the Sentence."

               (Kenneth Koch. Permanently 1960)

Yes, I did it! Welcome to my blog.....my mission is to inspire you with notes or summaries from inspiring books like the book of life: 'The Bible.' My hope is to give you a different twist on understanding God's word that it's living and active!

Well, now, as a good blogger(I guess)I am reading 'How to Write a Sentence'by Stanley Fish, an artist on technical writing, who is inspiring me on understanding the beauty and power which sentences can make! Something that comes to my mind: 'I Want to Paint Heaven'; that's a beautiful sentence to me.....

Happy life!