Advent Reading Reflection (12/19)

God keeps his promises and although I am continually changing he remains changeless.

When reading today's scriptures, there is a lot of talk about David. Admittedly, I sometimes get lost and confused when reading about descendants and bloodlines in the bible. In Psalm 89 the author writes about God talking in a vision to his people, "I will maintain my love to him (David) forever and my covenant with him will never fail. I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure (v 28,29)." God kept his promise through Jesus, as Jesus was in the same bloodline as David.

David's decedents did not always obey God and follow his laws, and life for the Jews was challenging, however God kept his promise and reestablished his covenant with us through his son, Jesus.

Okay, so what does that mean? As I think and pray about this, I am reminded that God never changes. This is hard for me to understand as life is always changing, but I have a firm foundation to stand upon, Christ. God knew that the Jews were going to fail, he knows that I am going to sin everyday, but he remains changeless and promised his love, mercy and grace, specifically through his son Jesus. Yes, I need to, with the help of the Lord, work to be free from sin, but what I am learning to understand and apply to my life is that my righteousness does not come from me completing my "to list" or even doing what I think pleases God, like loving others. My salvation and "my righteousness comes from my faith in God and then my righteousness will flow out of that faith in Christ (Paul talks about this in Philippians 3:9)."

I do believe that God gives us "tools" to help in growing our faith in Him. I think one of the best tool is the Holy Bible. The more I spend time reading it, actually more than just reading it. The more I spend time dwelling in it, the more God reveals himself to me. Dwelling is reading it over and over and asking the Holy Spirit to help you to understand the passage, memorizing it, or talking about it in a small group or using it as a devotional. I am starting to understand the more I take the time to read the Bible, the more I am spending time with God. Other "tools" I think God gives us are opportunities to serve him by loving others. I often miss these opportunities, but when I am open to God's work, I am able to seize these opportunities and God grows my faith.