New And Improved

I recall my very first computer!  It was huge.  It had a large tower, a separate key pad and a massive monitor.  Just getting the boxes in the house was a challenge!  As time passed, each was replaced by a system that was consistently smaller.  I am now down to a small laptop that is more capable than my original computer that was much, much larger.  This one is amazing and so much improved!

Internet originally needed to be connected right to the computer and a telephone to enable transmission.  Now our Wi-Fi enabled computers allow for no wires to the telephone, nor to the printer associated with the device and can even be shared between devices! Further, Wi-Fi enables us to chat via face-time from computers to iPhones, another technical device that has morphed into something amazing.  

My first contact with a telephone in a car totally astounded me.  It was a large handheld device, which a friend had in their vehicle.  They encouraged me to make a call, and I did, but my mind couldn’t wrap around the idea that I was in a moving vehicle making a telephone call.  That device, the telephone, is now in almost everyone’s—from a very young person to the elderly-- possession at all times and small enough to fit in my back pocket. 

It seems every day there is a product I use regularly, which has a new and improved version!  As noted, certainly in the technology field; but it’s in the kitchen appliances, make up, automobile capabilities in general, drinks and food, and in almost every conceivable area in our lives.

With all that said, how does, ‘new and improved’ affect God’s Word?  There are those who will ask if God gave us the Old Testament, why’d he see the need for the New Testament?  Does the New nullify the Old?  In a word, no!  God’s Word is consistent throughout both the Old and New Testaments. 

The Old Testament consists of history, examples of who God is, laws and principles, rules and rituals, all which still has profound meaning.  There is nothing bad about the Old Testament, but the in the New Testament, it got better!  The New Testament gives us Jesus!  It provides the means of salvation.  Jesus even references the Old Testament countless times in the New!  He validates it, over and over again!

We are a fallen people.  Since Adam and Eve, we’ve sinned.  For hundreds of years, animals would be sacrificed to cleanse the people of their wrongdoing.  No one was, or is, exempt of a need to be cleansed.  But Jesus takes away our sin, once and for all when we accept him as Lord and Savior.  The animals had to be sacrificed over and over again, because they were incapable of complete forgiveness and righteousness.  They were animals.  Jesus is God!

The impact Jesus' blood on the cross made in our lives, as the one, true and perfect sacrifice is beyond understanding.  The sacrifice God made of asking his Son to take the sins of the world on his shoulders, because he loved us, even as we were sinners, is beyond comprehension.  God wanted reconciliation with the very people he created!

I’m grateful for a God who loved me this much.  He is the BEST!  There is no one, or no thing that can compare to our God!  Rejoice with me over this thought!