Shadow and Image

Heb 10:1a  For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things.

Shadows don't tell you much about the object throwing the shadow.  Depending on distance from and the angle of the light, it can be either small or big.  The shadow blends into the surroundings at dusk and at night.  As for what the object looks like, you can't usually tell its parts.

The Bible says the law is a shadow of heavenly things.  The law tells us right from wrong, but it does not tell what to do in a specific situation where there are many choices.  The law talks about praise offerings, but it doesn't tell us what songs we'll be singing in heaven.

What we do see is like a painting by an artist.  In a landscape, features are left out because the land is just too big to include everything.  The tree in the painting may be just a brush stroke, but it isn't the exact image of leaves.

Just as the picture is not the exact image of the land, the law is not the exact image of what it is like in heaven.  Jesus added some details when he said to love our enemies and the thought of lust is the same as doing it.

We are only getting a glimpse into the plan God has for us.  When we see answered prayer (especially several at one time), we are getting a peek into God's will in heaven.

What To Do With Frustration

1 Tim. 2:8 "without wrath and doubting" (KJV)

Lately it seems like I've been frustrated a lot.  We need a second car and the ones we have looked at were several thousand dollars with over 100,000 miles.  We have a water leak we couldn't find and we couldn't get a plumber to call us back or come out for an estimate.   My daughter's a mechanic and she got frustrated at trying to put on four springs all at once for the brakes.  She had to walk away from it for a time.

Anger easily follows. Are car dealers being greedy? Are plumbers jerks because they won't call back? Was someone overpaid because they couldn't design it better?

We have been praying for these things for a long time and it seems things are not getting better. It is very easy at these times to think of God as being unfaithful.  There are plenty of people in the Bible that were frustrated too.  Abraham "staggered not" in his faith for a child. (Heb 4:20, KJV).  Hannah, Samuel's mother, was frustrated by being barren, which in turn made her husband frustrated. (1 Sam 1:8)  King David expresses his frustrations in the Psalms.

I prayed for Brenda.  She calmed down and got the job done.  Hannah prayed and she gave birth to Samuel. Abraham talked to God and got his promise of a son. Psalms is a mixture of emotions, but always ends up with praise for God.

The only thing I know what to do for frustration is to pray, claim verses about God's faithfulness, and know that it is important to believe the Bible rather than your feelings.

Right Tools for the Job

Have you ever tried to open a can with your teeth?  Of course not.  You need the right tool, namely a can opener. Verses in the Bible cover any situation  that arises.  The catch is Jesus is who needs to be the one to choose  the tool/verse.

The right verse to claim for someone who is tired and overwhelmed by problems might be  Isa. 50:4 "I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary."  (KJV)  The verse that meant a lot to me when I was saved, was John 6:37 "him that comes to me, I will in no wise cast out." (KJV) For someone like me who was always chosen last for games, this verse sounded pretty good to me. The man with palsy that was lowered through the roof needed to hear his sins were forgiven, before being healed.  (Mark 2:1-12)
The right verse is like finding the right tool for the job.  It is a temptation to use a verse about not stealing to a man in jail, but that is not necessarily what he needs to hear.  He may actually need to first hear John 3:16 that God loves him before he is able to receive other verses.
Spending time in the Bible daily keeps the verses fresh in your mind where Jesus can use them.  Luke 21:15 says "For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist."  (KJV) This is a verse that not only covers the verse to say but also the words.  

God's Children

Many people do not like the idea that not all people are the children of God. But that's what the Bible says in Roman 9:8, KJV. That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for seed. Jesus said Satan is the father of liars. (John 8:44).

Good news!  We don't have to depend on our works to go to heaven.  Jesus has done it all.  He took our punishment (Heb 10:12) .  He made peace between God and man (Eph. 2:8-9).  If we believe Jesus has died for our sins and rose again from the grave, we become the children of God. (John 1:12-13).

Jesus is the only way.  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Acts 4:12, KJV.

Paul uses the example of grafting a wild olive branch onto a good olive tree (Romans 11:17).  An example I like better is adoption in Gal. 4:5, KJV To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. With forgiveness of sin, comes all the blessings of being a son.  We have a close enough relationship with God the Father to call him Daddy (which is what Abba means).  We are joint heirs with Christ. (Rom 8:17). We are His workmanship.  (Eph 2:10).

Don't take my word for it.  Check it all out in the Bible for yourself.