I’ve gotten several emails asking if I am currently open to hosting. The answer is:

NOT RIGHT NOW When people reply back, they point out that I’m already hosting one person and why can’t I host another. The answer is: I have to pay for any extra subdomains beyond what I currently have and if you want to pay me that $5 a month, be my guest. For those who ask why Brianna is so special, read both of our journals and compare them. You can figure it out. I also invited Brianna to be on my domain because she needed a place and when I prayed about taking on a hostee other than my husband, I felt a positive answer from God. Her journal is a blessing to read whenever she posts and not many journals do that to me. It also doesn’t hurt that she reminds me a lot of me in that she is also a convert, an IVCF chica, an Anglican, and into music that is theologically sound.

Now to my main point…..

In her most recent journal entry, Brianna writes:

One thing I touched on was my opinion that knowledge of the Old Testament is vital for all Christians, and as important as knowledge of the New Testament. You can’t understand one without the other, as far as Christian theology is concerned. It’s like trying to see through one eye. Your perception is completely thrown off, incomplete and confusing … I find that every time I read the prophets, I learn something new — usually something major — about God’s character. These epiphanies often help me understand the thornier aspects of theology, such as why evil exists if God is good and loving. The Old Testament helps me understand that God’s definition of things like love may not match my or my society’s definitions of those things. … The completeness of the Word is a beautiful thing.

I totally agree with her. The Old Testament (or Hebrew Bible or First Testament) is very essential to the understanding of God’s character. I hear from a lot of people that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are completely different and that isn’t true. It *is* the same God and it is a God of love. Granted, Israel is exiled but this comes after God sends them warnings that what they are doing is completely wrong. Read Amos 5. Through Amos, God sends the message that He hates their religious festivals and will not accept their offerings. He asks that “justice roll down like a river and righteousness as an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24). If Israel would just humble themselves and put justice and righteousness into action, they would not be exiled. This isn’t a hating or merciless God. He says later on in Jeremiah that He will bring them out and He does. The example of Ruth and Deborah and Sarah and Rebecca and Rachel and Miriam and Hagar and Huldah and other women also doesn’t hurt. I’m identifying strongly with Sarah right now as I am embarking on a journey to a somewhat unknown land (i.e. Jon’s Internship and then transferring seminaries) and it is encouraging to see how God protected her and Abraham.

I also agree that God’s definition of love may not match society’s definition but it has made all the difference in my life. The hesed (Hebrew for mercy or steadfast love) of God is what Jesus showed during His ministry and what existed in the church in Acts 2:42-47. The purity standards for marriage were hard to keep (especially in our society which is very sexualized) but made for a wonderful start to marriage as Jon and I could truly enjoy ourselves and know that it was something that had been set in marriage for us that we might truly know the satisfaction of being one with each other. The Song of Songs talks about this kind of love and I think is a good way of looking at marriage love.

I so cannot wait until my copy of Daily Texts shows up…