A blank page

I've continued thinking about Judas, and prophecy. Prophecy in the bible is sometimes something that WILL happen, or sometimes a warning of what COULD happen if the people continue to act in the way they do. In the Old Testament when the Jewish people are slipping into the sinful cultures of the people around them who worshipped other Gods and did awful awful things like sacrificing children, God would send them a prophet to remind them that they were his people and warn them what he would do if they continued to ignore him and hurt themselves and others.

God's priority is our relationship with him.
(I sort of wrote about this before, related to bin bags and sledging, in a note which can be found here http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150115041339158)

God does some seriously extreme things in the Old Testament to bring the people of Israel back to him.

Does God still do things like that?

I write a LOT of notes during in sermons and session, because otherwise I get distracted and daydream. Very rarely do I read my pages and pages of notes but they help me concentrate at the time. Somehow though as I was flicking to find the right page recently, something caught my eye which really fitted in.

'The new sensitivity of Judasim'

Ever wondered why the God of the Old Testament seems different from the God of the New Testament?

Here's an idea:

See it?
Just above this.
Blank page.
Nothing.
Silence.

Between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament was about 400 years.

No record of God talking for years and years and years.

After countless attempts to get through to his people with dramatic displays of his power and love, He turns to quiet.

But they weren't quiet.
During this time the Jewish people were living ... breathing ... thinking ... changing.

The Jewish people of Jesus' day were different to the Jewish people of the past.
And we today are different too!

Perhaps God doesn't bring earthquakes, or genocide, or break our legs to get us to stop rushing around and listen to him. Maybe he seems to act differently in the Old Testament because that's what made people stop their bad things and turn back to him. It worked! This is what happened: they would be all good with God. They would be tempted away by sin. God would allow a neighbouring army to take over. They would turn back to God for help. God would free them. Repeat x a million. (slight exaggeration - but it was a lot of times. God was very patient). The people forgot about God SO quickly, and only remembered him when they got desperate. But during the time of the blank page, maybe people changed. Maybe they became more aware, more thoughtful.

God used storms and plagues to get people to listen to him. Jesus didn't act like that. He ate dinner with people. He healed their sicknesses. He talked with them in the temple. He demonstrated his love and power through fishing, and farming, and sheep; things the people would understand.

Jesus and God are the same person. HE didn't changed. WE changed.
And I believe he knows you and me personally.
God in his wisdom and love speaks to us in a way we will understand.

God loves you.
He longs for you to come close to him.
He comes to you where you are, and speaks.
Are you listening?