1God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. 3And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.
Hebrews 1:1-4
Recently, I had a friend staying with me for a short time who is a missionary to China. She told me about the people group she is working with and the deep passion that God has instilled upon her heart for these people to know the Gospel and to have a relationship with Jesus. She told me a story about a man who studies art and during an art history class there is one particular image that is constantly being painted throughout history. This image is of a man. The man she was speaking with told her that he wanted to know this man. When asked who the man being painted was he stated it was Jesus! This clearly opened the door for her to share the story of Jesus with him.
When reading the scripture above, it reminded me of the story of this man who wanted to know who the man everyone was painting. The Hebrews Scripture is saying something deeper than just a painted image of Jesus; it's telling us that Jesus is God's exact image and God's exact character. Am I the only one who is slow to catch on to that? Thank God for this scripture to help me understand such simple truth.
I encourage you today that if you have children reveal to them Jesus. Read the Bible daily, if possible, to your kids. Show them who God is through Jesus.
Leviticus 9:23-10:3
"Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out and blessed the people, the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people.Then fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD has said, 'Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.'"And Aaron held his peace."
What an incredible piece of scripture! I had no idea it was there. For some time now I have been reading through Genesis, Exodus, and now Leviticus and its interesting to read through these ancient pieces of literature not "really" knowing who wrote them and realizing that I have not been taught but a few chapters out of these books. Leviticus of course is the hardest book to read due to its "this and that" about burning up animals for different types of offerings to the Lord. Reading it can be monotonous, but I read every word hoping there is something worthwhile to learn or in selfishness just interesting. Finally, arriving at Leviticus 9 &10 this story makes me take a step back and say "Whoa!". Stunned at the severity of this scripture I ponder its significance and how there is much to learn. This is the first time since the temple has been built, the offerings are explained and the priests are given their jobs that the Glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. It was as if He was initiating it, blessing it and letting the Israelites know He was now there. Then Nadab and Abihu decide to do their own thing and the same fire that consumed the offering consumed them. Moses then reminds the people the Lord will be glorified.
What do you think a child would think about this story? At what age do you think a child is ready to hear this? When telling the story should we censor it or keep it as is?
These questions are my challenge. Writing a book for children there is more to take into consideration than writing a book for adults. The age of a child is important because their cognitive ability is different at each age, but I like to believe that children are smart because they are creative, they see the good in most people, they see can see through people, and they are resilient. Teaching the Bible to children doesn't have to be dumbed down or incomplete, though it should be taken into consideration what age is being written to. But, one thing confuses me, children watch TV everyday where they see violence and sex graphically when they are not ready. Why then do children's Bible books seem mute of details that the Bible has? Or why do we allow children to watch TV?
What do you think? At what age do you believe a child is ready for this story? Should I attempt to write this story for children?
Titling a blog was a difficult task or at least for me anyways. I do not always find myself very creative or original so the naming of a tool used to manifest these very characteristics was a challenge to say the least. I believe the title should stick out in people's minds and be relevant to the entire blog. A few years back I went to a Coldplay concert where I had this amazing experience with God right in the middle of a concert. It was dark, solemn, and almost magical as Chris sang the words to the song "Yellow". The words to this song will serve as a foundational framework in which I will try to process and build ideas in a real, relevant and theologically challenging way.
Yellow by Coldplay
Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And everything you do,
Yeah they were all yellow,
I came along
I wrote a song for you
And all the things you do
And it was called yellow
So then I took my turn
Oh all the things I've done
And it was all yellow
Your skin
Oh yeah your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful
D'you know you know I love you so
You know I love you so
I swam across
I jumped across for you
Oh all the things you do
Cause you were all yellow
I drew a line
I drew a line for you
Oh what a thing to do
And it was all yellow
Your skin
Oh yeah your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful
D'you know for you i bleed myself dry
For you i bleed myself dry
Its true look how they shine for you
look how they shine for you
look how they shine for you
look how they shine for you
look how they shine for you
look how they shine
look at the stars look how they shine for you
Yellow can be used to describe things that create light such as the sun, fire or light bulbs. Biblical writers use light to describe God or who his followers are to be. In Genesis God breathed light into existence and called it "good". Later, in the New Testament Jesus said His disciples were to be "the light of the world". The desire of this blog is to bring the Good Light of God into the world so his Kingdom may continue to come on earth for those living in darkness. I challenge you to not only become a part of this simple blog about writing but to be a part of bringing His Kingdom on earth as He has called his disciples to be.
Note: I do not claim to know all truth about who God is but I only can attest to what I have experienced in my own life and what I am learning about being saved by God on a daily basis.
Recently, I have become unemployed with good reasons, but it has been a struggle. Living in a small town with nothing to do for someone my age, no jobs and little money to do anything and a personality that thrives on social life and people, I have begun to slip into depressive thinking. My husband tells me daily that he loves me and I have great potential but I don't feel that way when I spend all day by myself doing nothing but watching TV or cleaning or just staring into the nothingness. So, I began to think about what to do with my time and my life while I am literally doing nothing. My husband suggested writing and I found it to be an intriguing idea. What more does a writer want than time!
This is my first blog in which I will attempt to communicate with the outside world as I develop my writing skills in hopes of possibly writing a book some day. It would mean the world to me if you would correspond with me about what I am writing about, especially with criticism and suggestions.
I would like to write something about the Bible or God or the Christian faith. I also think it would be fun to write a children's book on these topics. I know there are many books on these subjects but since college I have realized that what I learned about these growing up were not very comprehensive. For example, Genesis is a book that has a lot of meaning; but growing up it's 7 days of creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Able, Noah and the flood and Abraham had many children.I wonder what I would have thought about the Bible if I knew that there were stories in the first book about rape? I wonder what would happen if we started teaching children about the gross details about the Bible in a way that didn't scare children? Can it be done?
I know that parents want to protect their children from bad things in the world but what about the Bible? Do we protect children from the Bible? That seems to be backwards to me. So with this said I would like to discuss writing a children's book, to combat the idea that the Bible is to be censored or protected, especially from our children.
What do you think? Good idea, bad idea?
Call it Yellow
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