A not very original thought about the Old Testament

Have you ever wondered why God has treated His people differently throughout the ages? I mean, He does not deal with us in the exact same way He used to. Now, I'm sure there have been many theories and reasoning's presented, many by men far smarter and wiser then I. The reason this is coming up is that I've been reading a blog. You see, there is this man, David Plotz, who earlier this year finished reading through the Bible. Now, David, a nominal Jew, had never read through the entire Old Testament. As he read, he blogged. Somethings delighted him; he found the imagery fascinating and some of the advice profound and changing. Other findings horrified him. He found God in the Bible to be "awful, cruel, and capricious" (http://www.slate.com/id/2212616/pagenum/2). This was not the God he was looking for. I know I also sometimes have wondered why God has treated people differently throughout the ages. Now, I do not claim to know the mind of God, but I do have a theory. What if part of the reason is to show that His way of salvation is best?

What I mean is, what if it's sort of a giant object lesson. Proof for us that there really is only one way to Him (through Jesus Christ on the cross). You see, if we did not have the Israelite wanderings, people might question God's methods. Not that they don't, but by doing what He did with them He proved that Miracles and personally showing His power will not automatically save anyone. You see, people might go "well, if God just proved that He was powerful" or "If He just showed how much sin displeased Him" or "If he just worked one more miracle." No matter how much God did, it was never enough. The Israelites in the OT always turned their back on Him. No matter what God did, mankind ALWAYS rebelled. If He gave mercy, they rebelled; If He punished sin harshly, they rebelled. Whether He promised Judgment (the majority of the prophets) or spoke tenderly (Hosea 11) they were never faithful for long. The OT is in many ways a giant testimony to the Failure of Man and his own inability to earn salvation. Even the best and blessed ultimately fail (David, Samson, etc.). Is it any wonder that God sent His Son to die for us (John 3:16)?

I am not saying that God didn't know what He was doing (Gen 3:15 shows He did know what would happen from the very beginning) but in a way the OT is a one large essay by God. His proof and His way of saying "See, you can't do it on your own!"

Happy 2nd of July!

Hey,


It is officially the second, which of course, means absolutely nothing. Well, it's actually closer to the third by now but anyhoo....

At work today I cleaned the Spanish church. Well to be more precise, I cleaned the floors of the Spanish church with some kind of carpet cleaner. I will have to take a picture of said cleaner sometime soon, but truth is....we don't get along exactly. You see, just when I think I have him figured out, he goes and does something weird. I already have to redo the hallway in the Office building due to some very long and very ugly dark streaks left by yours truly when he thought he was cleaning. Well, I think I have him or it figured out.

You see cleaning the carpet is a multi-step process
1. You have to vacuum the floor area wished to be cleaned. Dyson, I love you!
2. then you have to spray a SMALL area with this special cleaner. It's called Citrus Gel Floor Cleaner or something like that. It comes in a tube about the size of a tube of caulk, and it looks like a wet toothpaste. You dilute it in a ridiculous amount of water and then you clean floors with it. The good news is that it is possibly the best smelling cleaner ever invented. Like a combination between lemons and oranges....but mainly lemons.
2b. You have to becareful not to spray to much. If you do, you leave black streaks. Not good.
3. then you scrub the spots that are really bad. Like coffee
4. Then you run cleaner over the spot. The cleaner is a floor shampooer....it works just like when you wash your hair. It sprays water on the carpet, then it vacuums it up....it's sort of like a combo Shop-Vac and a Sprinkler with a spinning brush. On the first run you put water down. Then you do a second run and try to pick up as much as the water as possible, hopefully loaded with cleaner and dirt.
5. Repeat

And that's how you do it. I did the Spanish church on Tuesday and Today. Half on one side and half on the other. Then I put all of the chairs and stuff back that I moved. Just for the record, Piano's are kinda hard to move by yourself (it was on rollers so it wasn't "too bad" but felt like I was going to break it's legs off. I didn't but they were kind of wobbly.

Have a happy 4th and I will try to write tomorrow!
Jeremiah

For all of those out there who may have been interested in what I've been up to.

To all my faithful readers (or lack there of)

So I realized that the vast majority of people out there probably have no idea what I've been up to. This post is designed to get you all up to date. :-) It won't be horribly detailed. But it might be a good, general update.

I am doing a church internship down in Winter Garden Florida at a Calvary Baptist Church. The Senior pastor's name is T.J. Klapperich (for all you Troy-based Michiganites out there). So far, it's been great. In fact, it's been amazing. I have an office (how cool is that?), and I get to be in sunny Florida for the summer (bonus no. 2!) plus random other perks. I do have responsibilities. Teaching a Sunday School each sunday, helping set things up for Neighborhood Bible Time, and keeping the church clean. I'll be down here untill August sometime.....

Oh! Pictures coming soon! Be patient, I'm still trying to figure this whole "blog" thing out.

Cheers,
J. Petersen

The First Post

Hi!

In all likely hood, you won't know about this post when it's posted. you will look back at all of the posts and then you will see this. I don't really have anything to say other then to kind of describe what I want to do with this blog.

1. I want to let everyone who is interested know what I'm up to.
2. Provide an outlet for any random creative impulses.
3. Give my my brother some competition (he's indisposed right now, so it's not really a fair fight [he's in Alaska, fishing. Salmon do not believe in wireless internet. They obviously do not stay at Best Western]
4. If ever I produce something of any note.....
5. Kinda use it as a devotional diary or something.

ok....that's probably good for a first post. If all goes as planned, you will hear from me again!
JmP