All tagged Promise

Have you been drawn, or called, to Jesus Christ? Perhaps you thought it was your Idea, and effort, that brought you to Him, or that it was the culmination of a happy set of circumstances that led you to know Him? Well friend, God is deliberate regarding our faith, and He calls to us for specific reasons, and to glorify Himself through us. For Him to have drawn you to Jesus He had a plan for you, and knew you fit perfectly into His will. How are you responding to His urging, or upholding your end of the promise you once made to Him?

Does the world weary you, and weigh you down? Well, it is rare to find a peaceful refuge in this place of frothing humanity, and sin, but that is exactly what Jesus offers us. Just as He stilled the waters He also settles the souls of those who believe in Him, giving them peace, and in so doing providing them rest. Are you tired and weary today, and in need of relief from the burdens of life? Then Come to Him!

Do we believe that God gives dreams, and prophetic visions today? Are there prophets who are shown what God would have us see, and who speak His Words to us? Are there dreamers who are given both personal, and national, guidance and knowledge regarding current and future happenings? If we don’t believe this, or see evidence of it, then we are lost to lawlessness... we will have lost all restraint.

There is nothing in this world that we can depend on to last forever; our bodies, our minds, the rivers, and even the sun itself will eventually dim and fail, but the promise of God’s eternity that Jesus has brought to us is the one thing that is lasting and true. He who was, and is, and is to come, has prepared a way for us to experience eternal life with God that will never fail, and be available to us forevermore.

Do you tremble when faced with hardship? Do overwhelming odds cause you to run, or look for a place to hide? Do you surrender to sin, or to the unrighteous because you don’t see any way to be victorious? Well, if your cause is good and within His will, and if you believe that God can never be defeated, then you should not fear, or lose heart. God gives us certain victory.

You woke up this morning from a night’s slumber, which is a form of mini-death, and found yourself once again breathing, eating, and going about your day. Did you jump out of bed in surprise and shout with joy, or did you expect that to happen? Did you routinely yawn, wipe the sleep out of your eyes, and stumble mute towards that first cup of coffee, or did you lift up your arms and say “Thank you Father for this day!”? If this is our earthly morning, how will it be when you awaken to Jesus Christ and Heaven on that first resurrected morning?

Do you remember the moment when you made your commitment to God, and to follow Jesus Christ? How long ago was that, and have you done so since then? Perhaps you have never made that pledge... maybe you just started worshiping Him without a promise, or you have recently decided that this is something you should do. Establishing an agreement with Jesus is important because it commits us to Him, and a relationship... just as the wedding covenant commits us to marriage... this promise too is a Covenant we establish.

Today is Holy Saturday, and on this day Jesus’ body lay in the tomb, even as He was defeating death. What better time to confront our own bondage to death. Does the fear of death and dying cause you to quiver in fright, and to dread what lies ahead? Do you say you believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, and yet still harbor a terror of what awaits us in the grave? Friends, this is not a day of mourning, or fear, but one of rising celebration as the resurrection hovers near.

Why is it that we call today Good Friday? Why on this day of the flogging, suffering, and crucifixion of Jesus Christ do we choose to place the name Good Friday? Well, the term’s origin isn’t clear, so the original intent isn’t known, but we can surmise its meaning. Let’s discuss what, besides the horror of Jesus’ mistreatment and execution, occurred on this day.

Why do you fret and run about in your faith? Are you fearful of physical death, and don’t understand what lies ahead, or are you actually afraid that you have fallen short of God’s mark and will not experience eternity with Him? As a Christian you should fear neither... you should have confidence in the Lord’s promise of eternity, and know that your faith in Jesus Christ is your pass to dine comfortably, restfully, at God’s table.

In times of peace and plenty it is easy to maintain our faith, and to remember the gift of redemption that God has given us through Jesus Christ, but when we are faced with suffering and hardship this is when our faith is placed in the furnace and dipped in the water that strengthens it. We weep and begin to question God, mistaking what we have always held to be valuable and real in our lives to be more precious than Him who tempers us... above Him who redeems us.

You have prayed and asked God to come into your life, you have gone down in the waters of baptism, and for a while you felt the ecstatic joy that comes in that moment... you claimed His victory over the effects of the world. Then as time goes by you begin to feel the weight of the world once again, or your circumstances join together in order to drag you into the “valley of despair.” How is this so, why has God allowed this, and how can we escape it... or where is God when we need His rescue?

How often we view the strife and tumult of daily life as an encumbrance to our abiding in Jesus Christ, in God, but that should not be so. In the vineyard the wind blows, the leaves rustle loud, and the sound of the storm grows intense, but at the root, the vine never moves, and the nourishment continues unabated. Every storm provides rain that is drawn into us as strength from the wet ground, and what appears as a raging flood becomes the watering can of our faith.