Tag: promises of God

Living in a Higher Place

Jeremiah 31:25
For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.

What a tremendous promise we have from the Lord. The promise was first spoken to draw the Jews out of bondage back to their homelands and back to Himself. Through His prophet, Jeremiah, Almighty God was assuring the Jews that they would find a rest and joy in their new settlement if they set aside their idols and returned to Him.

The promise still holds true for all of us today as the Lord encourages us with His extraordinary promise to give us the strength that we need to break away from all the bondage in our lives. The promise includes drawing us back to Himself when we have separated ourselves from Him by living in the world and taking on personal idols that we have set ahead of the Lord. The promise includes giving us the spiritual inspiration that we need to renew our devotion to Him when it is lagging.

Through His incredible promise, He calls us to live in a higher place, a place where His presence brings us complete comfort, peace and satisfaction. He calls us to a place where the weary find rest and the sorrowful find joy. There is no other place except in Jesus Christ that we can find such a promise.

Let us take our weary souls before Our Father in heaven. Let us languish there and be replenished in body, mind and spirit.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for drawing us to Yourself. We bless the name of Jesus who provides all that we need to be one with You and one with Your Son. We pray that You raise up in us the desire to bring to You the fullness of love and devotion that You seek from us. Lift us up, Lord, to a higher place – a place that we cannot reach without You. We pray that Your Holy Spirit will strengthen us to leave behind the things of the world that we place ahead of our devotion to You. We ask all these things in the name of our Most High Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Greater Harvest is Ahead

Habakkuk 2:3

For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.

As we wait to see the providence of God in answers to our prayers, we must be careful not to become impatient with God.  His ways are greater than our ways.  His timing is perfect.  He has the perfect appointment set for the resolution of our prayerful solicitations.

The prophet, Habakkuk, was frustrated that God was not dealing with the iniquities that he saw in the world around him.  He was impatient because those that he prophesied to were not responding to the Word of God.  In this scripture, the Lord reminds Habakkuk that he must be patient because the visions and promises that God gives are sure to come.

We probably have not had a vision like Habakkuk had.  But if we have been diligent in seeking the Lord’s hand in our lives, we are likely to have found some type of confirmation of God’s providence through His Word, through urgings of His Holy Spirit or through the progress we see in our own lives or in the lives of those that we have been praying for.  Let us be joyful.  The things that we pray for in the will of God and in accordance with His promises will come to us.  Though the fruit of our prayers may be deferred for a time, whether long or short our wait may be, the fruit will come at last.  And, hallelujah, the longer wait usually means a greater harvest.

Let us pray in confidence and wait with faith for the perfect answer to our prayers. Let us rejoice for Almighty God hears and answers ever single prayer – perfectly.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your providence in our lives.  We exalt the name of Jesus who has insured that the favor of Your promises will never be withheld from us.  We pray, Lord, that Your Holy Spirit will teach us how to rest on Your Word and that He will strengthen us when the promise of the Word is long in coming. May we persevere to the end through the graces that You provide.  We ask all these things in the name of the Alpha and the Omega, Jesus Christ.

When the World Suggests Otherwise

Philippians 4:6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

It is easy to read Philippians 4:6 and come away with the simple thought that God encourages us and desires for us to bring Him our prayer requests. This interpretation is absolutely true. But when we break it down, we find that God is saying much, much more to us.

First, and foremost, we are being taught to be anxious in nothing. Does that make any sense? Surely we all have daily concerns and cares that we need to attend to as good stewards of our provisions, our relationships and our own spiritual condition. God is aware of these due concerns, but He is giving us the command to trust in Him. He knows our needs better than we know our needs. He is actually calling on us to have peace and comfort when the world would suggest otherwise.

After first resting in the comfort of His promise, then we are urged to go to Him in prayer with our requests. But there is a stipulation attached as He commands that we bring our thanksgiving in advance of our requests. Why does He ask us to come with thanksgiving? Again, it is for our peace and comfort. When we bring our thanksgiving, we are reconciling with Him all the favor and blessing that He has provided in the past. This positions us to approach His Throne with the confidence that everything we ask for will be addressed and answered perfectly according to our needs, our real needs.

If we are in line with the passage to this point, then our thankful, angst free mindset will help us to meet the last command in this passage which is to let our requests be known to God – not to men. This is a not so subtle reminder that it is not our job to manipulate our circumstances through our own capability. Instead we are to depend on Our Heavenly Father for everything in our lives. In exchange for following His supplication process, peace will be our companion.

Let us go to Him in thanksgiving, adoration and trust. Let us rest in His peace as we wait for His provision.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your unconditional love and Your forgiveness through Your Son, Jesus. We ask forgiveness for coming to You so often with our needs alone, accompanied by a stark absence of our professed love for You and our expression of our sincere thanks for all that You provide. Teach us, Lord, how to seek Your presence in our lives. Teach us how to fully trust in You throughout each and every day. Teach us how to use our prayer lives to build our relationships with You. We ask all these things in the name of the One whose mercies and miracles never come to an end, Jesus Christ.

Remembering the Christmas Event

1 John 4:9
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.

Christmas is the celebration of a spectacular supernatural event. Our Heavenly Father sent His Son to this earth so that we might have eternal life through Him. This event was one that could not be accomplished by the efforts of man. Only God could orchestrate such an act of love and supernatural endowment.

There are scoffers around each Christmas season who try to deny the great gift that has been provided for all mankind to receive. They try to logically dissuade others from having faith in the true story of Christmas. Yet to do so, they must try to make others believe that the God who directs the earth in its orbit, who feeds the burning furnace of the sun and who upholds the entire universe itself will prove unable to fulfill His own promises.

Is it possible that the One who hangs the world on nothing is unable to deliver on His promises to His children? Does He not hold the winds and the clouds and the oceans themselves in His hand? How can He fail His children? We have every reason to be absolutely firm in our faith.

Let us celebrate openly and with great fervor the birth of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. Let us freely share the love that He has manifest in us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son to live in this world so that we may be supernaturally endowed with His presence in our lives and we may become heirs to Your eternal kingdom. We bless the name of Your Son, Jesus, who became poor so that we may have all the treasures of heaven. We rejoice in knowing that the Holy Spirit is with us each day to provide us with the peace that only Jesus can offer. We pray that as we receive these wondrous gifts that we surrender to the reign of Our Savior in our lives. May our lives become our love gifts to You, Father. May the world know us by our fervor for Our Savior. We ask all these things in the name of Our New Born King, Jesus Christ.

Consequences of Rushing Ahead of God’s Plan

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.

Temporal and Spiritual Needs Met Perfectly

1 Corinthians 1:19
God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

At one time or another we have all heard someone say, “I am not worried. Everything always works out for the best.” Were they counting on God’s promise to work all things out for good or were they just feeling lucky?

There is temporal good and there is spiritual good. Temporal good is what men usually seek. The more complete spiritual good is what God bestows when men seek God. Through His grace both the temporal and spiritual needs of the men who seek Him are worked out perfectly.

Through the grace of God, we as followers of Jesus Christ do not have to wonder or worry about whether good things are coming our way. We have been promised by Almighty God that if we love Him and follow the calling that He has placed on our lives that all things will work together for good in our lives.

Does this mean that we will always live in riches? Does this mean that we will always live without illness? Does this mean that we will live trouble free lives? No it does not. What it does mean is that we will be broken from sin, we will be drawn closer and closer to Our Savior and in the end we will be made fit to stand before Our Heavenly Father and dwell with Him in our eternal place in heaven. That is Our Heavenly Father’s idea of everything always working things out for the best.

Let us put our full trust in the One who always does what He promises. Let us rejoice in knowing that His plan for our lives is based on working out our temporal and eternal needs perfectly.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for drawing us unto Yourself. We exalt Your name for the perfect love and forgiveness that we receive through Your grace and Your mercy. We thank You for the eternal blessings that are ours through the redemptive work of Your Son, Our Savior, Jesus Christ. We pray that the world may know Your Son because we boldly proclaim the name of the One who brings us our eternal riches. We ask all these things in the name of the Lord Over All, Jesus Christ.

Seven Promises That Build Faith

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

God’s Word contains literally thousands of promises waiting to be claimed by faith. Everyone of them are fulfilled in Jesus Christ and everyone of them can be fulfilled in our lives as we come into agreement with Our Savior.

Each of the promises of God are meant for our good. All of His promises are waiting for us to discover and claim in His Holy Word. Each promise, as we find them, delights us and strengthens us. Yet within the thousands of promises in God’s Word, the seven promises below could be given consideration as the basis for our faith in the hope and assurance that is ours in Jesus Christ.

  • God has promised to supply every need we have. Philippians 4:19
  • God has promised that His grace is sufficient for us. 2 Corinthians 12:9
  • God has promised that His children will not be overtaken with temptation. 1 Corinthians 10:13
  • God has promised us victory over sin and death. 1 Corinthians 15:56-57
  • God has promised that all things work together for good to those who love and serve Him faithfully. Romans 8:28
  • God has promised that those who believe in Jesus and are baptized will be saved. Mark 16:16
  • God has promised His people eternal life. John 10:28

As we cling to Our Savior, all of the promises of heaven pour out on us. We then become living vessels created to deliver on the promises of Almighty God.

Let us use what God has given us to contribute to the Body of Christ. Let us receive from the Body of Christ what God has prepared for us. Let us live in the fullness of all that has been set aside for us through Our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that all of Your promises to us have been secured by Your Son, Jesus. We ask that the Holy Spirit may inspire us to search Your Holy Word for all the promises that have been set aside for us. We seek to wield the power of these promises in our lives and in the lives of those around us. May the Holy Spirit show us how to claim our eternal privileges by proclaiming Your Holy Word. May the Body of Christ be truly alive because we are alive in Christ. We ask all these things in the name of the Word of God, Jesus Christ.

Wielding the Power of the Promises

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

God’s Word contains literally thousands of promises waiting to be claimed by faith. Everyone of them are fulfilled in Jesus Christ and everyone of them can be fulfilled in our lives as we come into agreement with Our Savior.

Each of the promises of God are meant for our good. All of His promises are waiting for us to discover and claim in His Holy Word. Each promise, as we find them, delights us and strengthens us. Yet within the thousands of promises in God’s Word, the seven promises below could be given consideration as the basis for our faith in the hope and assurance that is ours in Jesus Christ.

  • God has promised to supply every need we have. Philippians 4:19
  • God has promised that His grace is sufficient for us. 2 Corinthians 12:9
  • God has promised that His children will not be overtaken with temptation. 1 Corinthians 10:13
  • God has promised us victory over sin and death. 1 Corinthians 15:56-57
  • God has promised that all things work together for good to those who love and serve Him faithfully. Romans 8:28
  • God has promised that those who believe in Jesus and are baptized will be saved. Mark 16:16
  • God has promised His people eternal life. John 10:28

As we cling to Our Savior, all of the promises of heaven pour out on us. We then become living vessels created to deliver on the promises of Almighty God.

Let us use what God has given us to contribute to the Body of Christ. Let us receive from the Body of Christ what God has prepared for us. Let us live in the fullness of all that has been set aside for us through Our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that all of Your promises to us have been secured by Your Son, Jesus. We ask that the Holy Spirit may inspire us to search Your Holy Word for all the promises that have been set aside for us. We seek to wield the power of these promises in our lives and in the lives of those around us. May the Holy Spirit show us how to claim our eternal privileges by proclaiming Your Holy Word. May the Body of Christ be truly alive because we are alive in Christ. We ask all these things in the name of the Word of God, Jesus Christ.