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You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me… John 5:39
All of the Bible speaks of the Saviour – Jesus Christ. Don’t forget Luke 24:44-45:
Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures…
So if Christ is in all of the Old Testament, how can we look for Him? If it is our passion to really see Him – then we all want to see Him clearer in all of Scripture!
A few months ago I developed this little tool in Spanish, and since then I’ve found it very useful. In fact, we’re using it in our Sunday school class right now. So I’ve translated it into English for you – along with a bookmark that you can print out and put in your Bible.
So here is a brief explanation of all 7. (By the way, this is basically an expansion of #4 in How to Study the Old Testament.)
1) PresenceDoes this text speak of the presence of Christ? (Example: Joshua 5:13-15 – There are good reasons to believe, as you’ll see in this passage, that “the Angel of the LORD” in the Old Testament could be Christ Himself.) 2) NatureIs Christ similar or different from someone or something?(Example: Genesis 45:4-8 – Jesus was forgiving of those who hurt Him.) 3) Path¿Is this a step closer to the coming of Christ? (Example: Esther 9:1-2 – Without the chosen people, the Messiah of Israel never would have come!) 4) BetterIs Christ better or more perfect than someone or something? (Example: Deuteronomy 18:15 and Hebrews 3:1-6 – This is, of course, a major theme of Hebrews!) 5) NeedDoes this text show us why we need a Saviour? (Example: Genesis 5 – What a shocking difference from the paradise of Genesis 1 & 2! Death, death, death – we need a Saviour!) 6) PromiseIs there a promise here about Christ? (Example: Psalm 22:16-18; John 19:23-24) 7) PraiseHow does this lead me to praise the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? (Example: Genesis 1:1-3 and Colossians 1:15-17; John 1:1-5)
If you would like a copy of the bookmark for your Bible, just download and print out the pdf below.
Some of you may have heard that we had an unexpected candlelight service on Resurrection Sunday. Or maybe I should say, candlelight-cellphone-light service.
It was going to be a sunrise service, except that we were inside the virtually windowless cement box that is our temporary sanctuary, and the night before the power went out and did not come back. Resurrection Sunday 2015 – music team In the end, it turned into an especially memorable service, because we don’t usually have that much ambiance on a Sunday morning.
Now the electricity that we normally use (except when it doesn’t work) is provided due to the generosity of a neighbour. In actual fact, the property doesn’t yet have power. Before that, we used a generator.
And water? Well, we don’t have that either. We do fill up a tank so that there’s something on the property, and we use an elegant bucket-carry-and-dump method to flush the partially-functioning toilets.
As you might guess, these inconveniences do not mean we can no longer enjoy our time together worshipping God. However, they are time-consuming problems that we hope to solve, one of these days.
You could pray that we could get the water and electricity hooked up soon. It’s a matter of getting them hooked up from the city, which actually shouldn’t be too difficult – we have a lot of paperwork, legal paperwork, and after all we’ve been meeting there for – how long now? Over a year.
I’m not sure how long it takes in the country where you live, but that seems a little extreme to me.
So, we would appreciate your continued prayers that obstacles would be overcome and that we would soon have these little things that make a meeting place functional.
And now, a reflection about the most important Light…
In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Some of you may have received an email about the change of address for the Camino Global office in Canada. Since this is the place we receive mail as well, I thought I’d better highlight it here too.
You can find the new address and other information about contacting us right here on our contact page.
If you are sending donations to our ministry in Canadian funds, this is also the new address for that purpose. Learn more on the Canadian donations page.
And now, an odd note about the Camino Global US office. No, the address has not changed – you can find all the same information about donating in $US right here.
But strangely enough, during the week of November 16-22 2014, the US Postal Service lost some of Camino’s mail. That’s right, a day or two of mail just vanished off the face of the earth.
So if you sent in a check that was never cashed, or you sent us a letter around then, you might just want to double check.
Weird, I know.
Thanks again for your letters and donations and all the other ways that you are a part of what happens here!
Last month I started teaching Sunday School for the older youth at our church. We were continuing the study that they had been doing before, on the life of David.
After getting some feedback from them, we’re going to be starting a new series for the next four months on teens and young adults in the Bible (otherwise known as jovenes).
It was the idea of someone in the class, and it’s interesting, partly because sometimes it’s hard to tell how old people were. For example, we picture David and Jonathan as two teens, but really Jonathan was old enough to be David’s father. Jacob fleeing from his brother Esau was likely long past his young adulthood.
Anyway, I’ve narrowed it down to ten people who were likely in the 12-25 age range, and we’ll be focusing on their lives during that time (no, of course I won’t tell you who they are. That would spoil the surprise! But David isn’t one of them; we just finished with him for now).
Coming to the Bible, whether it be a specific passage or character, is always a surprise. You just never know what God has hidden in His Word!
Do pray for the teens in our church. Many of the challenges that they face are the same as those in the rest of North America. But they are also dealing with things that are probably quite different from what you may experience in Canada and the USA. But our foundation is the same, and our hope is the same, even if the details and strategies of everyday life may be different.
I don’t think any of us need another “how-to” list – not unless it starts with “It is Finished!”, and continues and finishes with the same supernatural power of God. But from that starting point, I have a feeling I have a lot to learn from some of the good … bad … and sometimes all over the place … people we find in the Bible.
Anyway, I need to go and study person #1 – a woman from Genesis, whose life, I’m sure, was not turning out as she had expected…
Anyway, I’ve narrowed it down to ten people who were likely in the 12-25 age range, and we’ll be focusing on their lives during that time (no, of course I won’t tell you who they are. That would spoil the surprise! But David isn’t one of them; we just finished with him for now).