"Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."
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We're living in the days of the new covenant. We don't need to go to a Levite, do ritual cleansing, sacrifice animals, and do whatever else to approach God. We can just go to Him. We can KNOW Him, no matter where we're standing...from the least of us to the greatest of us.
God has given us, promise-breakers/sinners, this new covenant just so we can know Him and be His people. He sacrificed His Son for us. This God, who has already done so much, who has already given us what we needed the most (forgiveness)......wouldn't He also generously fulfill our other needs?
It's easy for me to forget what God has done and only see the things that I'm lacking, the things that I need and want. I think that I live a life of scarcity even though in reality I live a life of abundance. God has been very generous with me.
I read somewhere that God asks us to give thanks, not so that He knows He's generous (that's a given anyways), but so that we are reminded of how rich we are. It's easier to cheerfully give (and give things up) when you realize your wealth. So in light of that, I'm thankful for: a roof over my head, money to eat well and even buy frivolous things (like flowers for myself...I did that this week :T), a dad who works hard so he can support me, a mom who worries about my health, a sister who cracks me up all the time, a job and loans so that I'm not such a financial burden to my parents, friends who make time in their busy schedules to call me and meet up with me, a Christian community that keeps me accountable and supports me, the Bible to guide me and teach me and show me what God has done, the opportunity to study at Berkeley (again), my relatively okay ability to memorize things so that I don't fail classes, weekends to stop and smell the roses/catch up on work/go to church and worship/prepare for the upcoming week. God has been very generous. :)
I hope that everyone had a joyful Sunday! Have a wonderful rest of the week.
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