And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
20 the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
In my early days as a Christian, I started reading the Bible cover to cover, only to find that I struggled with the Old Testament and rather preferred the New Testament for its readability and succinctness. This is a trap. The Bible is one story in two testaments and it is the story of Jesus, beginning in Genesis 1:1. Take this passage from Acts 2 for instance. Peter gave the first sermon and he began with these words. They are taken directly from Joel 2:28-32. Only by reading the Old Testament will the New Testament make sense.
We are sinners since the Fall, but God promised a Conqueror in Genesis 3. God made covenants in Genesis 12, Exodus 19, and 2 Samuel 7. Most importantly, he promised the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all of them. He defeated death with his perfect sacrifice and Resurrection. He fulfilled the law for us. He is enthroned at the right hand of God because he is the Great High Priest of a New Covenant in his blood. Today, after clicking the link to read all of Acts 2, read Joel 2 as well. It is a great story.
Dear Lord, thank you for the story of Jesus that has not ended. Help us to open the word of God to find him everywhere. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church