FLASHDEVO - 2nd Samuel 8-11

This is an important part of scripture, because you see how God works. He chooses people who are in sin, and who have made mistakes to be the greatest of all people. David has messed up SEVERELY. In chapter 11 of 2nd Samuel, you see his actions in which he has an affair with Bathsheeba, and arranges to have her husband Uriah killed. David is an example of what sin is like, at the time, we feel that it is a good idea to go through with our actions because it is good for us, and it gives us "pleasure" in some sense to commit a sin, but we don't think about the consequences until after the deed is done. This is why God is a mighty, powerful, and completely un-understandable God. Bathsheeba gave birth to a son, his name was Solomon. Solomon built a temple for worshiping God, and it is through him, that the line of David traces it way all the way down to Jesus, the Messiah. Mary married a man named Joseph, who was from the line of David. The complete line can be found in the Gospel of Matthew, 1:1-16.

David wasn;t always the person who sinned, he had done great things. Despite everything that Saul had done to him in 1st Samuel, he chooses to be good to Saul's family. Saul's grandson, Mephibosheth (ME-FIB-O-SHEETH), It's like Lord of the Rings, the people have names that are like impossible to pronounce, anyway, this man is lame, and he feels he doesn't even deserve what David does for him. He arranges for his family to have servants and invites him to live in the palae in Jerusalem. David did all of this, and sinned against God.

I have problems sometimes where I spend a great deal of time dwelling on sins because in a way, I have displeased God and feel like i haven't done enough to earn his love or his respect, and I think of how foolishly I am trying to do this because, as I ahve been told by people in the past, "There is nothing I can do to make God love me any more or any less" God is love, he sustains all things because of love, and our sins, as horrible and shameful they are to God, he chose to love us anyway. God's goodness is shown throughout scripture, because he uses people who aren't the greatest and turns them into people who make the greatest difference in history...It is absolutely astonishing to me that this is the God we worship.

Pictures to come later...
GRACE AND PEACE