A reader ask how he can enjoy the Old Testament


Any tips on how I could enjoy reading the Old testament? I find hard and boring. All I could get is God getting angry all the time and Him saying do this, make this, etc. Help please!

Great question, I’ve been longing to blog about how to make your Bible reading exciting. Here is a tip that might change the way you look at the Bible forever. I call it the INDICATIVE and the IMPERATIVE.

What does that mean?

IMPERATIVES are the to do list in the Bible. The Bible is full of imperatives or Christian obligations. Be holy, be pure, do good, be filled with the knowledge of God, forgive one another. Imperatives are good but if all you see are imperatives in the Bible you will end up frustrated because you see the Bible as a book of rules and laws. Sometimes our mistake is that when we read the Bible we use our imperative glasses. We see the Scripture as a bunch of laws for us to follow.

Here is where it gets interesting: THE INDICATIVES.

The INDICATIVE is the principle behind the imperatives. Even if the Bible is full of imperatives, all imperatives in the Scripture are backed up by INDICATIVES. Say for example the book of Exodus:

We read about how God was mad when people went to idolatry. We highlight the ten commandments which all human have failed to obey. We read this and we feel bad. We think we can never measure up. With the IMPERATIVE glasses this is all you will see but with the INDICATIVE lenses you will see EXODUS as a story of REDEMPTION. One of the best books written in Scripture about a God who set the Israelites free from the slavery of Egypt and who continually forgives and be faithful to the unfaithful Israelites. An amazing story of God’s love and forgiveness.

So the next time you read the Scripture, get your indicative glasses on and see the Scripture in a new light.

Got questions? Post it at my formspring site, http://www.formspring.me/askpastordennis


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