Hello First Family!

Today’s Code word is Picture. Cell phones have changed everything about the way we live. They have changed the way we communicate, the way we get information, the way we spend our free time and the way that we remember moments through digital pictures and videos. I was in a meeting yesterday when one of our amazing committee members made a reference to taking pictures. The committee is planning on taking pictures of our ministry leaders and displaying them so everyone will know who they are. This committee member dated himself when he cautioned that we would need to pay for the cost of the film and processing. However, as the way that we process and store photos changes, the reason for capturing moments is the same, we want to remember.

Conversely, O.S. Hawkins uses the word picture in a different sense. He states that the Old Testament gives us a picture of the Messiah in the New Testament. In a sense, the Old Testament stories and episodes, give the reader a picture of life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Scholars call this process foreshadowing. One of the most valuable aspects of the Old Testament for contemporary readers is the preparation of the heart for the expectation and realization of the advent of the Messiah. This process of preparation can be seen in the foreshadowing episode of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22:1-14. Abraham was commanded to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac. But, at the last minute, God provided a substitute and the boy was saved. God provided a Messiah, a substitute sacrifice, to take our penalty for sin. And through faith in Jesus, we too are saved! Praise be to God! Today, look around for pictures in nature, in your relationships, and in your quiet time that may give you a greater glimpse at the heart of God. Today’s verse is from Hebrews 11:6, “ But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Diligently seek Him today!

Pastor Kevin