An Exciting Find

One of the Christian ministries I've appreciated for nearly as many years as I've been a believer is Radio Bible Class, now known as RBC Ministries. For years I have read their daily devotional called Our Daily Bread. Well, they just sent me an excerpt from a book published by their affiliate, Discovery House Publishers. The book is titled Adventuring Through the Bible, written by Ray C Stedman. The excerpt that I received covers the first three books of the Bible, Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus. I love this man's insights! I think what I appreciate most is his recognition that we need to read and study the Old Testament, especially the Torah. Mr. Stedman has also written a book just about Leviticus, titled Leviticus: The Way to Wholeness. Now here's one of the really exciting things I discovered today: there is a whole website full of Mr. Stedman's writings which makes it possible for you to read all of these books and much, much more online for free! You can access it right HERE. Even so, I think I will be adding both of these books to my list of books I hope to purchase for our home library.

Let me give you one quick quote from Chapter 2 of Adventuring Through the Bible:

How poverty-stricken we would be without the Old Testament, yet many Christians, tragically, choose to be poor! They ignore the marvelous, preparatory revelation God has given in the Old Testament, so that the rich truths of the New Testament might come alive in our hearts. As we move from the Old to the New Testament in this introductory section of our adventure together, my hope is that you will be challenged and changed in your approach to this great book and that in the years to come, the pages of the first thirty-nine books of your Bible will become as worn, underlined, and treasured as the pages of your favorite New Testament books.

It always excites me when I find something that reaffirms the value of the Torah, indeed all of the Old Testament, to the believer today. Some in the church would have us believe that the Law and all of that Old Testament stuff ended on the cross with the death of Yeshua, but that's just not so! God's Word stands forever. Forever hasn't ended yet that I know of. And yes, I realize that Mr. Stedman didn't teach that believers should observe the Biblical Sabbath or the commanded festivals of God or eating of the clean meats only, etc. Nevertheless, I find it wonderfully refreshing that this man, a genuine believer in the Messiah, with a long and productive ministry for the LORD, acknowledged and taught that Christians have a need to read and study the Old Testament books. That is half the battle right there, as I see it. Once we accept that the Old Testament is for us, for Gentile believers in the Messiah, as well as for Jewish believers, and begin to really read & study it so as to apply its principles and teachings to our lives, it doesn't take much for the Holy Spirit to bring conviction about just how He wants us to apply that Word in our lives.

Blessed are You, LORD God Heavenly Father, Creator and Sustainer of the universe, who has not left us without a witness, if we will only have ears to hear and eyes to see.