“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.” (John 10:10 BSB)
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.” (John 14:1-11 NKJV)
“And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.” (John 12:47 NKJV)
I think somebody out there will benefit from me sharing a conversation that I had with my Heavenly Abba Father (Daddy)…
My question…
…”Daddy, why do You look so angry and bent on destruction in the Old Testament? If you were that mad at us why didn’t you just wipe out everyone, and everything, and start over?”
His answer…
…”Oh Eric, you’ve got it all wrong. I was never mad at anyone. You already know that the first thing that I did when Adam and Eve sinned was to make a blood sacrifice on their behalf pardoning their sin and covering their nakedness. Then I sealed off the garden to protect them from eating of the Tree of Life and trapping themselves in their current state. The entire Old Testament record was unfolding my plan of redemption that would culminate in the life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of my Son Jesus in order to reconcile everyone to me. All of the acts that you are seeing as angry acts of judgment were actually acts of love done to keep the human race from wiping itself out to the point of extinction. I was forced to do these things in order to preserve the bloodline needed for Jesus to enter the world. In every case I waited until the last possible moment before I took action. Remember it has never been my desire that anyone perish. Try to see the things like Sodom and Gemorrah and the flood as a surgeon who has exhausted every possible solution and is forced to amputate in order to save a life. Jesus demonstrated the anguish that I went through prior to every surgery when He sweated drops of blood in the garden just before going to the Cross. Each and every time I was forced to take action was excruciatingly painful.”
My next question…
…”So how should I read the Old Testament?”
His answer…
…”Read it through the accounts I recorded for you about the life, ministry, and words of Jesus. We are One. We do not conflict, or contradict, each other. I am the same yesterday, today, and forever. Read it through the revelation knowledge that I have given you of my love and goodness. Read it through the filter of my desire and design for my children that are clearly seen in the written accounts of the original garden, the New Jerusalem, and Heaven. Read it knowing that all of my plans for every person are to bring blessing and life. And again remember that I AM Love. I AM Good.”
Thank you Daddy!
I hope this blesses someone out there. Maybe even read it again…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 507: Conversation with my Daddy