Category Archives: God’s Promises

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January 16, 2015

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Fear & Doubt, God's Grace & Love, God's Promises, Knowing Him

UNWORTHY

I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. [Jacob’s words in Genesis 32:10a (NLT)]

 Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. [The Romans officer’s words in Matthew 8:8 (NLT)]

Though his ministry follows mine, I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal. [John the Baptist’s words in John 1:27 (NLT)]

For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church. [Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15:9 (NLT)]anemone (rue) - MHSP24 (2)WEB

When people say they love us, sometimes we worry that we’re not worthy of their love. “If they only knew!” we think. If they only knew our past, our secrets, our weaknesses, our faults, our fears, or our failures then they’d stop loving us. Jacob knew he was unworthy, so did the Roman officer, John the Baptist and the Apostle Paul. They were all unworthy of God’s unfailing love and mercy. So are you and so am I! That doesn’t matter because God loves us anyway! He can peer into the deepest part of our hearts and minds; He knows everything about us and yet He continues to lavish his unfailing love upon us. We didn’t earn it and we certainly don’t deserve it but it’s there for us, just the same. Thank you, Father Almighty, for your extravagant and unwavering love.

I’m so unworthy, but still you love me
Forever my heart will sing of how great you are.
[“Cannons” by Phil Whikham]

The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.” [Exodus 34:6-7a (NLT)]

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! [1 John 3:1a (NIV)]

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December 11, 2014

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Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, God's Promises, Sorrow, Grief & Regrets, Trusting God

THE BROKENHEARTED

Call to me, and I will answer you. I will tell you great and mysterious things that you do not know. …  I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope. [Jeremiah 33:3,29:11 (GW)]

Be strong, all who wait with hope for the Lord, and let your heart be courageous. Psalm 21:24 (GW)

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Suicide has been on my mind lately: not my suicide, but that of others. After a life-long battle with mental illness, the son of a well-known pastor and author, shot himself. A young mother, terminally ill from brain cancer, publicly chose to determine the day and way of her death. A famed comedian, suffering from dementia and depression, hung himself. While in a dumpster, a young football player, suffering from disorientation and mood swings, ended his life with a gun. I cannot judge their actions; I can only pray for their survivors.

Last week, a young man from our church also took his life. Like many of us, he’d made some poor choices. He’d messed up and hurt the people he loved. Perhaps he was sick at heart and burdened with guilt, regret or embarrassment; perhaps he could face neither his past nor his future. I don’t know and I cannot judge his actions. I can, however, pray for his survivors.

The one thing all these people had in common was loss of hope. Pain, mental illness, disease, brain lesions, depression, dementia, guilt, regret and more had blinded them to hope. Christian hope is the knowledge that no matter what the circumstances, we’re being changed for the better. To do that, however, we must trust in God and his promises. Unfortunately, sometimes circumstances keep people from seeing God’s light in the darkness of their souls, believing God’s plan in the terribleness of their circumstances, accepting God’s love and forgiveness in repugnance at their own behavior, or thanking God for all things.

Sadly, these deaths were not isolated occurrences. Globally, every three seconds someone attempts to take his or her life and every suicide leaves behind six to eight survivors. The loss of a loved one to suicide is devastating; I wish could take away the survivors’ pain, but I can’t. As Christians, however, what we can do is offer hope: prayers, love, comfort and the support of our community.

What gives me the most hope every day is God’s grace; knowing that his grace is going to give me the strength for whatever I face, knowing that nothing is a surprise to God. [Rick Warren]

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. [Psalm 34:18 (NLT)]

May God, the source of hope, fill you with joy and peace through your faith in him. Then you will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. [Romans 15:13 (GW)]

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November 1, 2014

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God's Plan, God's Promises, Prayer

GOD STANDARD TIME

God will always give what is right to his people who cry to him night and day, and he will not be slow to answer them. I tell you, God will help his people quickly. [Luke 18:7-8a (NCV)]

We need to remember that God will give us what is “right” which is not necessarily what we wanted or requested. Moreover, although God promises a speedy response, it may not seem fast to us. His timetable rarely coincides with ours. Nevertheless, His timing, like everything else about Him, is perfect!

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: To the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as one day. The Lord is not slow in doing what he promised—the way some people understand slowness. [2 Peter 3:8-9a (NCV)]

 

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October 25, 2014

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God's Promises, Joy, Knowing Him, Salvation: A New You

HEAVENLY BLISS

10-25-14 heaven-cropreducedWEBNo one has ever seen this, and no one has ever heard about it. No one has ever imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. [1 Corinthians 2:9 (NCV)]

I sat on a comfy sofa in a beautifully appointed store, eating delectable salted caramel gelato, looking at an exquisite display of Dutch chocolates, listening to soothing music and knowing I could finish up with a tasty truffle and a delicious coffee drink from the espresso bar. To my left was a desk for the spa located upstairs; a sign offered chair massages in the store. “This could be heaven,” I said as I relaxed into the cushions, “especially if they added some fruit, cheese and wine!”

I know, however, that heaven will be far better than comfortable seats, pleasant music, elegant surroundings, yummy gelato, scrumptious chocolates, mocha lattes, vintage wine, aged cheese, luscious fruit, and pampering with massages, pedicures, and facials. As delightful as it sounds to me, I think that would get incredibly boring in a short time. Heaven will be way beyond my wildest dreams because going there means having an eternal home with Almighty God. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, will be sitting at His right hand. Heaven will be a place of love, peace and joy and there will be nothing boring about that!

We may speak about a place where there are no tears, no death, no fear, no night; but those are just the benefits of heaven. The beauty of heaven is seeing God. [Max Lucado]

Since you were raised from the dead with Christ, aim at what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. [Colossians 3:1 (NCV)]

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October 14, 2014

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God's Promises, Holy Spirit, Joy, Salvation: A New You

BELIEVE AND RECEIVE

God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him. [John 3:16-17 (NCV)]

What a beautiful promise Jesus makes to us: everlasting life! There is, however, a stipulation: to get this wonderful gift, we have to believe! This belief is not just an intellectual exercise of acknowledging that someone named Jesus lived in Israel over 2,000 years ago. It’s more than knowing a few Bible verses and stories. This belief requires us to trust Jesus’ words and to rely on his Holy Spirit to make a change in our lives. We need to have confidence in Him as our Lord and Savior. We need to be confident enough that we will give Him our lives. That’s a lot of belief!

If we believe, God promises us a gift: everlasting life. This will not be a continuation of the life we have now on earth. There will be no death, sin, sickness, pain, enemies or anger. The wonderful thing is that we don’t have to wait until we die before we start enjoying this new life in Christ. All we have to do is believe and accept the gift of His Holy Spirit right now. Christ’s love will live in us and we will start experiencing a new life immediately.

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. [Romans 10:9 (NCV)]

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October 6, 2014

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Faith & Hope, God's Promises, Sorrow, Grief & Regrets, Wisdom & Guidance

SWORDS INTO PLOWSHARES

DSC09563WEBAnd while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him. [Genesis 4:8b (NLT)]

I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. [Albert Einstein]

I recently visited the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History. While I enjoyed learning about the past, present, and future of nuclear science, I left the museum deeply saddened. No nuclear science presentation would have been complete without exhibits about the politics of World War II, the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Cold War, and various weapons of destruction; it was these exhibits that so troubled my heart. We live in a fallen world and man’s capacity for horror boggles my mind. I read the stories, saw the pictures and viewed the weaponry; I thought of the billions of dollars and hours of brain power that went into finding ways to kill one another and was horrified. Since the beginning of time, we’ve tried to solve our differences with bloodshed. When will we ever learn? God, help us!

Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love; so mightily spread abroad your Spirit that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, a children of one Father; to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever. Amen [Book of Common Prayer]

The Lord will mediate between peoples and will settle disputes between strong nations far away. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore. Everyone will live in peace and prosperity, enjoying their own grapevines and fig trees, for there will be nothing to fear. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has made this promise! [Micah 4:3-4 (NLT)]