Tag: promises of God

When We Lose Sense of the Promises of God through Jesus Christ

John 16:31
Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?

The apostles spent three years with Jesus. Yet when He was ready to leave them, He had to take a lengthy amount of time explaining to them who He was. When He completed His explanation, He posed a question to them, “Do you now believe?”

Are we not just like the apostles? Even though we have spent years in prayer, years in the reading of the Word, years in worship and years in serving God, we manage to lose our sense of who Almighty God really is and the certainty of all the promises that He has given us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Sadly, as if Jesus Christ left the earth and left us to our own wiles, we turn toward the world for answers. We somehow find ourselves overlooking that our all-sufficient Lord provided us with a Wonderful Counselor who stands ready to supply our every need.

Let us be reminded that Jesus promised that His Holy Spirit would be with us and would comfort and guide us. To believe otherwise is to have a complete lack of faith. To believe otherwise is to deny what Jesus said He came to earth to do. “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Let us take courage as Jesus commands us. Let us believe fully in the promises of Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the comfort and guidance that You provide through Your Holy Spirit. We bless the name of Jesus who came to earth so that we may have peace and we may overcome the tribulations of the world. We pray, Father, that Your Holy Spirit will help us to dig deep into our relationship with You. May we dig so deep that we never again turn to the world for counsel without having gone to You first. Help us, Lord, to believe for more than we can imagine is possible through our own efforts. Teach us how to wait on You for Your good and perfect timing in all things. We ask these things in the name of the One that is with us until the end of the age, Jesus Christ.

Trusting in God’s Timing

Psalm 46:10
Be still, and know that I am God! I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

Almighty God is omnipotent. He is able to deliver us from the most extreme trials. Almighty God is omniscient. He knows every little detail about us and our troubles. Almighty God is unchangeable, forever faithful to His promises. He makes all things work together for those that abide in Him. So why is it that we are so impatient when it comes to waiting on God?

Is there anything that we have learned to hate more than waiting? What is it about traffic lights, grocery lines, call centers, etc. that create such angst? Has patience disappeared completely in our lives? Is there anything that frustrates us more than lack of success when something we are working on is in stall mode? Even when we know we are doing everything right and in the right way, the results become more important to us than the process. When did we lose sight of the fact that God is in control of everything?

The frustration of waiting for something to happen and the pain of waiting on success both stem from the same issue. We are focusing on self gratification and not focusing on the plans that God has for our lives and His perfect will for our lives. In our impatience, we foolishly rush ahead of God in our efforts to make things happen on our timetable.

Let us reach out to the Holy Spirit for guidance and instruction when we are so anxious to move before God moves. Let us learn to trust in God’s timing. Let us rejoice as we reap the unimaginable rewards of waiting on God’s divine will for our lives.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the good plan for our lives that You promise us in Your Holy Word. We praise You for Your Holy Spirit who guides us and strengthens us so that we can overcome the desires of our flesh that are not in accordance with Your plans. We pray, Father, that You renew our minds so that we will know Your will for our lives. We pray that the Holy Spirit will teach us to learn to be still and wait on the all sufficient grace and provision that You promise us. We ask all these things in the name of Our Blessed Hope and Assurance, Jesus Christ.

Breaking Through When Our Troubles are Overwhelming

1 Kings 19:5
Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”

Elijah was on the run from his troubles. He was so depressed that he asked God to take his life. Then he fell asleep. God sent an angel to pull him out of his despair.

It is very common for all of us to want to go into a shell when troubles seem overwhelming. We do not always have the faith that we need when things are not going our way. At times, we may feel like we should just give up. This, however, is the messaging that we are receiving from our enemy.

God knows everything about us. He designed us. He knows our daily work and he knows our daily trials. He has promised that if we have faith in Him, His grace will be sufficient for us to overcome the attacks of the enemy.

It is amazing how simple acts of love or service can lift us out of the darkness of depression or despair that we may be experiencing. The angel instructed Elijah to get up and eat. Through his simple act of obedience, Elijah was quickly on his road to recovery. He was back to a place where he once again trusted in the care that God promises all of us.

When we are feeling down, a quick look around to find others who are in need may be our way out from the darkness to the light. A simple gesture of kindness to the person in need could be all that we need to get us going again.

Let us learn to listen to the Holy Spirit in our times of need. Let us be aware of His calls for our obedience even in very small matters. Let us consider being angels of mercy to those around us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that Your Holy Spirit is always with us to lift us up in our times of struggle. We pray that Your Holy Spirit will urge us to inquire how we can serve You when we feel so needy. Inspire us, Lord, to do the simple acts of obedience that You set before us. May we learn to comfort the world around us with the comfort that You provide us in our times of trouble. We ask that You use us as your angels of mercy in our times of overwhelming trouble. We ask all these things in the name of the Angel of Mercy, Jesus Christ.

A Lifetime Journey Toward the Throne of God

1 Thessalonians 5:23
Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.

Once we are washed clean by the blood of Our Savior, the Holy Spirit dwells within us to assist us in our journey toward complete sanctification. We will never reach complete sanctification in this life. Our full transformation is reserved for the time when we stand in the presence of God in His throne of glory and hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant”.

Until that time, the Holy Spirit will take us through an intense narrowing of our interests. Less and less will the things of the world call us. More and more we will hear the voice of Our Savior as we press toward complete holiness.

Through it all, we are sure to fail from time to time. But we can be confident by virtue of the faith and promises given to us by Our Creator that He will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He will provide an ever flowing fountain of grace that will enlighten us, encourage us, strengthen us and prepare us to stand before Him without spot or wrinkle.

Let us yield to all that God is doing to lead us into rich encounters with His Son. Let us ask the Holy Spirit’s help in ushering us into a new season in which we seek a new brokenness and a deeper dependence upon Him in all that we do. Let us learn to put the heart of Jesus on the top of every agenda that we have.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for making us blameless and holy in Your sight. We bless the name of Jesus who washes away all of our sins. We live our lives full of thanksgiving for the constant presence of the Holy Spirit. We pray for the grace to walk in the holiness that has been given to us through Our Savior. May we learn to ignore the world’s agenda and to surrender completely to the way, the truth and the life that is Your Son, Jesus. May we leave the green grass of earth to rest forever in the pasture of the Lamb of God. We ask all this things in the Holy Name of Jesus Christ.

Trusting in the Father’s Promise to Provide for Us

Matthew 6:30
If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you–you of little faith?

Gorgeous are the wild flowers that fill our fields in the spring and the summer. They pop up everywhere without a hint of human intervention. They are here with us for only a brief time before succumbing to the seasons. Yet year after year, God raises them up and displays them spectacularly as just one tiny example of His loving providence. How is it possible that we doubt the provision and protection of Our Father in heaven when He is so loyal to even the small plants with their limited life cycles? Do we not have enough faith to see how much more He would provide for His children who He holds so dear as to grant them eternal life?

We have allowed the cares of the world to come in and diminish our faith in the promises of Almighty God. We have followed the world’s lead and put our faith in our own independence instead of in the hands of Our Creator. We have tried to satisfy ourselves in all the things of the world instead of the perfect provision of Our Loving Father in heaven. In the process, we have complicated our lives to the point that we cannot be satisfied.

Let us seek the simplicity and satisfaction of the promised provision that is ours to claim from the One who never breaks His promises. Let us trust that His planned provision for us is more than sufficient and is far more satisfying than anything that the world has to offer.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing for our every need. We rejoice in knowing that all the treasures of Your kingdom are ours through the eternal inheritance secured for us by Your Son, Jesus. We pray, Father, that you will help us break our worldly appetites that are impossible to satisfy. Strengthen us, O Lord, that we may bear up to our daily troubles, stand up against our temptations and allow none of these things to move us away from You. Help us to seek You, Father God. We pray all these things in the name of our endless fount of provision, Jesus Christ.

The Ongoing Process of Becoming Holy

2 Corinthians 3:18
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Is it not unimaginable that one day we will stand before Our Father in heaven in the image of His Son? Is it not incomprehensible that one day we will be completely free of sin, holy and pure just as Jesus is holy and pure? Is it not the most wonderful thought to know that one day we will stand before Jesus in honor and glory and we will see His glorious body with our own eyes and we will be like Him? Such are the immutable promises of Our Heavenly Father to us through His Son, Jesus.

We were all created in the image of Our Heavenly Father. We were created to be with Him and be one with Him, one with Jesus Christ and one with the Holy Spirit. Even though we are now burdened by our sins which God cannot accept in His presence, we can still look forward to the day that we will stand in glory in His presence because of the atoning work of His Son, Jesus. As Christians, we can live confidently knowing that the intolerable existence of our sin is removed by the blood of Our Savior for all eternity. We can rejoice in knowing that our transformation is ongoing now and will continue until it is completed when we stand before the Lord.

Yet, day to day, as we seek our transformation, we remain in a battle with our flesh that seeks to remain in sin. We must rely on the strength promised to us by Our Savior.

Let us claim His promise to perfect His strength in our weakness. Let us seek the aid of His Holy Spirit to help us overcome the daily torments of our flesh and the regular attacks of the enemy. Let us submit and fully surrender to the ongoing, sanctifying process of being transformed into the image of Our Lord.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for creating us in Your image. We come before You to confess our sins to You, to repent of our sins and to thank You for providing Your Son, Jesus, to redeem us from our sins. We pray, Lord, that You will provide the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives so that we may turn away from everything that displeases you and turn toward everything that is pleasing to you. May we stand before You one day in the image of Your Son and hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” We ask these things in the name of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Hope for the World in the New Year

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

What better way to start the New Year than to proclaim our hope promised to us in Jeremiah 29:11. Hope in the promises of Our Savior will never fail us. Hope in Our Savior will never disappoint us. Hope in Our Savior will result in nothing short of us spending eternity in bliss under the glory of Almighty God in the company of the gathering of saints.

We should know that our hope and our future is not limited just to us as individuals. We should claim this hope for our nation as well. If we return to being a nation that puts its trust in God, as our currency declares for all to see, we will see our nation rise up once again to claim its seat as the most powerful nation on earth.

But it all depends on where we place our hope. Society would lead us to believe that our hope is rested in the men and women who are our elected officials. They certainly play a role. But as the promise of Jeremiah teaches, our hope is in the Lord who declares His good plans for us. Yet in our society today, we find it often regarded as shameful to proclaim hope in Jesus Christ. In Paul’s writings to the Romans, he prepares us for these times as he establishes that there is to be no shame in following and putting our eternal hope in Jesus Christ. Who could have ever imagined that there would be a time when this teaching would be relevant throughout most of the world. Yet here we are.

Christians are mocked daily on talk shows, news shows and entertainment shows. To publicly stand for the very truths given to us by Our Heavenly Father makes us bigots, haters, etc. Now more than ever, we are called to share our good news with the world around us. The hope that we have in Christ is the only hope left for our nations.

Let us wait not a minute longer to proclaim our personal and national hope in Jesus Christ. Let us boldly claim His promise for our welfare and our future.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for this new year that You have given us. We thank You for providing the Holy Spirit to give us the wisdom we need to see through false teaching and the strength that we need to stand against the lies that this world is trying to get us to accept. We pray also, Father, that Your Holy Spirit will give us the courage we need to boldly present the “way, the truth and the life” that is in your Son, Jesus. We ask all these things in the precious, holy and mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Take Care Not to Rush. Wait on the Lord.

Galatians 4:22
For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman.

Even though Abraham was approaching 100 years old and Sarah was approaching 90 years old, Almighty God promised that He would supernaturally open the womb of Sarah and upon the seed of Abraham He would build the nation of Israel. But Sarah and Abraham lost faith in the supernatural promise, so they sought natural, manipulated means to help God’s plan. Sarah allowed Abraham to sleep with their pagan slave, Hagar. Through the natural union of Abraham and Hagar, Ishmael was born. Thirteen years later, God supplied the supernatural birth of Isaac to Abraham and Sarah.

Because God promised Abraham he would raise up great nations through him, God had to allow Ishmael to be a great nation. But because Ishmael was the product of the natural process, there was no covenant with the nation of Ishmael. In fact, God told Abraham that “Ishmael will be a wild donkey of a man, His hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him; and he will live to the east of all his brothers.” The conflicts in the middle east today are the result of Abraham taking matters into his own hands.

The only covenant that God honored was the one that was of the supernatural process that He had revealed to Abraham. It was through the bloodline of Isaac that God built up the apple of His eye, Israel.

Let us take great care not to rush ahead of God when He has a plan for our lives. Let us seek the measures that God has set aside for our lives. Let us wait on the Lord for He will honor that which He blesses.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the many promises that You have given us. We rejoice in knowing that You have a special plan for each of us. We pray, Lord, for the wisdom to wait on You. We ask for the Holy Spirit to guide us and instruct us in accordance with Your perfect will for our lives. We ask all these things in the name of the Keeper of Our Promises, Jesus Christ.

God’s Contractual Duty to Deliver on His Promises to Us

Genesis 9:13
I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth.

Almighty God provided the rainbow as a sign to all living creatures that He would never flood the earth again. When we see a rainbow, we are certainly reminded of His covenant with us. But why stop with the intermittent rainbow? We can look at all of creation and be constantly reminded of the many other covenants and promises that Our Heavenly Father has set aside for us. He has so many promises of provision and protection that are ours to claim. We serve a perfectly gracious God that is bound to deliver to us the awards of His contracts with us.

Unfortunately, we spend more time seeking the good things of the earth instead of the good things that God has in store for us. While the good things we seek in life may indeed be things that any righteous person would deem good, they will fall short of satisfying us if they are not what God has in His will and plan for our lives.

The irony is that getting the good things from God is so simple. All we have to do is abide in Him and we will be given all the good things that He promises us. We need to seek the relationship first and He will provide all the things that He knows will satisfy us perfectly.

Let us become spiritual attorneys. Let us work to discover every contract that Almighty God has agreed to on our behalf. Let us strive to come into right relationship with His covenants. Let us proceed to the courts of heaven and present our claims. Let us rejoice as we learn to live in the fullness of His awards.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the many promises that You have made to us through Your Holy Word. We praise Jesus, who made it possible for us to receive all that You have set aside for us. We humbly come before You, Father, to proclaim our desire to spend our lives seeking an intimate relationship with Your Son instead of seeking the things of this world. We pray that Your grace be with us always as we learn to choose the good things of Your kingdom over the good things of this earth. We ask all these things in the name of the fulfillment of Your covenant with us, Jesus Christ.

The Treasure That is Ours Through the Cross

John 16:8
And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin and of God’s righteousness and of the coming judgment.

Jesus instructed His disciples that the Holy Spirit would come to them after He departed the earth. He let them know that the Holy Spirit would be their counselor. He taught them that the Holy Spirit would convince them of their sin and reveal to them the penalty for sin that is required by a righteous and holy God. He also let the disciples know that the Holy Spirit would be their comforter. He taught them that the Holy Spirit would be with them to show them the need for their Redeemer and the value of the gift of salvation.

We received Jesus’ teaching about the Holy Spirit in the Holy Word of God. We have been taught through the Bible of the role of the Holy Spirit in inspiring us with the promise of Almighty God to forgive our sins if we confess them before Him and repent. As we go through the process of asking for forgiveness, the Holy Spirit will remind us that the only reason that Our Heavenly Father can forgive us is because Jesus Christ died on the Cross for our sins and that had Jesus not become sin for us, Almighty God in His righteousness could not forgive our sin.

Let us praise the Lord for the work of completion that the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives. Let us celebrate anew each time that the Holy Spirit leads us to relish and savor the gift that we have been given. Let us rejoice and give thanks each time that the Holy Spirit begins a new work in our hearts so that we may fully value the treasure that is ours through the Cross.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to convict us of the folly, fault and filth of our sins. We thank You for the Holy Spirit who leads us to Your Son, Jesus. We bless the name of Jesus for He is the only way that we can avoid the penalty of separation from You for all eternity because of our sins. We pray, Lord, that we will be forever mindful and eternally thankful for the Holy Spirit that You have provided to be Our Comforter and Our Counselor. We ask all these things in the name of Our Holy and Righteous Lord, Jesus Christ.