And It Begins

So I've decided to leave my livejournal behind and join the blogger world.It's a new year and truly a new beginning.This is just one small way I'm starting new.My goal is to use this blog as a way to share my insights on God and what He is teaching me.

I'm taking a J-term class right now on the book of Hebrews.Some of the things that we've been talking about reminded me of a hymn that we used to sing in college a lot.Here are the lyrics:

Approach, My Soul
by John Newton - 1725-1807
1. Approach, my soul, the mercy seat Where Jesus answers prayer;There humbly fall before His feet,For none can perish there.
2. Thy promise is my only plea,With this I venture nigh;Thou callest burdened souls to Thee,And such, O Lord, am I.
3. Bowed down beneath a load of sin,By Satan sorely pressed,By wars without and fears within,I come to Thee for rest.
4. Be Thou my Shield and Hiding-place,That, sheltered near Thy side,I may my fierce Accuser face And tell him Thou hast died.
5. O wondrous Love, to bleed and die,To bear the cross and shame,That guilty sinners such as I Might plead Thy gracious name!

One of my favorite verses from Hebrews is 4:16: "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." It seems paradoxical in some ways.While we are to approach with confidence, there is also the need to approach with humility.There is a huge difference between human confidence and confidence in the faithfulness and power of our God.I think that without this element of humility, we run the risk of approaching God with human confidence that in the end can only be our downfall.

Another verse that has caught my attention is 9:22 where the author says that "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." The Old Testament Law did require the blood of bulls to be offered as a sin offering, but this happened year after year.Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice, sacrificing his own blood to offer forgiveness once and for all.It frustrates me to no end when day after day, this amazing grace is cheapened by own stupidity and cheap thrills.Why is it so easy to cheapen the grace of a God who gives abundantly and fills thirsty and hungry souls? The reality,I know,is that I cannot be perfect in this lifetime.I just have to keep seeking Him and honoring Him with my gifts, giving back to Him but a portion of what He truly deserves.

The fact is,I am so hungry and thirsty right now.The prospect of what another new year could hold is exciting to me.So I stand here,my cup raised high, knowing that it's already overflowing!