Some Gems from Day 2

There were two sessions that I found particularly applicable to my circumstances of late. Both of them centered on the fact that I can trust God in any and every issue that I face. In this post I'd like to share some insight that I gleaned from John Niemela, a returning speaker who shed a lot of light on some troubling passages of Scripture.

In the Jewish culture of the day (when Jesus was on earth), when a person would write a missive to explain some point of theology, he would take an entire passage of the Old Testament and write only the prominent verse from it, knowing that his readers would know the context and content of the passage and understand the point the writer wanted to convey.

The Apostle John used this method in his gospel and Mr. Niemela pointed to two passages to show us how. First, in John 12:38, after Jesus had predicted his death in the verses just prior, John quotes Isaiah 53:1, "Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" This was to explain why, in verse 37, many did not believe in Him. The expansion of the Isaiah passage, however, reveals the prophecy of the death of the suffering servant. So, to those who did hear, the message was one of fulfillment of prophecy.

His second example was from Mark 16:34, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?" I have never been satisfied with sermons or explanations of how God could turn away from Jesus at the cross. But, looking at this passage as Mr. Niemela showed us, when Jesus uttered this statement, He was in effect proclaiming all of Psalm 22 which is prophetic, not only of His crucifixion, but also of His triumphant resurrection! From verse 22 to the end, the Psalmist is praising God, for He has not hidden His face from Him, but heard Him when He cried to Him. Jesus knew that God would be with Him through death and all the way to the resurrection.

That, my friends, was worth the price of admission! Now, here are some highlights from our group.

George & Viva, LaRue & Graham, listening intently.

Doug was getting a kick out of Kathy & Lois having a little too much fun!

Jo, LaRue & Graham appreciate the last speaker.

Graham spoke in Room 237 in the last time slot.

He's at his best when someone asks a question.

In the next post I'll try to share from one of the last messages of the conference. It was about having compassion, from Hebrews 5. I'll leave it at that, get my thoughts straight, and bring that with more pictures next time.