Simple Thoughts On Promises

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Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. (Lamentations 3:22)

The Apostle Paul writing to the Ephesians says,

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:17-19)

Paul here comments regarding the love of Christ and says that this love surpasses knowledge. The question that we can ask ourselves is...have we grasped how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ?

Truly it is immeasurable. He chose to die so that we could live eternally with him in heaven. He gave away all the glory that he had so that we could share in his glory.

Paul writing to the Philippians sums up the sacrifice of Jesus for our sake:

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:6-8)

made himself nothing...humbled himself....became obedient to death...

That love cannot be measured, but it can be amply experienced by those who put their trust in him. And because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is his faithfulness. Praise the Lord.

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I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark - you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you. (Genesis 6:17,18)

In a whole generation, God found one righteous man and made a covenant with him.

The Bible says,

Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. (Genesis 6:8,9)

Notable here is that 7 others escaped the great flood because of this 1 man finding favor in God's eyes. God cares for the family. He could have just saved Noah because of his righteous nature and blamelessness, but he didn't do that. He had compassion on the others in Noah's family. None of them are mentioned to be having Noah's great qualities yet they escaped the wrath of God because God didn't want this righteous man to be without them after the flood.

What would have been Noah's condition if his wife and children perished in the flood and he alone escaped? It would have been something like Naomi returning from Moab without her husband and 2 sons. She asked others to call her "Mara" instead of calling her Naomi, because of all the bitter experiences that she had to go through.

Of course she found restoration through Ruth and Boaz, but that took some time.

Are you in a family? Love each other because God loves you despite your short comings. Are you the only one saved? God will have mercy on the others when you pray for them. Are you all saved? Live as children of the light and glorify God. Praise the Lord.

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And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

What a simple yet great promise! For those who have put their trust in Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul says that God the Father will meet all their needs. Sometimes things happen fast. Prayers are answered promptly. Needs are met without any delay. But sometimes one has to wait after praying, but God fulfills his promise.

For some who wait for a long time for their prayers to be answered, depression and despair set in. But as they meditate on the Word, God strengthens them and keeps their hope alive.

To those who obey God's Word and believe in his promises, the Bible has another wonderful promise regarding God fulfilling their needs.

The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. (Isaiah 58:11)

God cares for you and he will meet your needs because you have put your trust in his son Jesus Christ who is the Savior of the world. May God bless you and answer your prayers today.

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"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" - (1 Corinthians 2:9)

Writing to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul quotes the above verse from the book of Isaiah. The verse with a slight difference reads as follows:

Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. (Isaiah 64:4)

2 things are of note here:

God has wonderful things in store for- 1. those who love him & 2. those who wait for him.

If you love the Lord, pray to him and then wait patiently, he will reward you at his wonderful time.

In his old age, Abraham had but one desire- that his son Isaac got a good life partner. So he prayed and sent his servant Eleazer to find a bride for Isaac from among his own people.

Abraham loved God and waited patiently in prayer while his servant went searching for a suitable woman for Isaac.

How true the above promise is as we find God already having selected the right woman and sending her to the place where Abraham's servant stood waiting.

Abraham's daughter-in-law was chosen by God according to his divine purposes. In the fullness of time, she met Isaac and they got married.

If you love the Lord and have been praying for something in particular, God will answer you because of his abundant mercies. Remember, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him."

God bless you.

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Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

This verse is not an echo from the past, but an invitation that still holds good today. And those who come to Jesus, heeding his call, truly find rest for their weary souls.

The gospels are replete with examples of many who found rest in this wonderful Savior. There are so many problems that we as believer's face day in and day out, but at the end of the day, we can assure ourselves that the Lord is in control because he has promised to never leave us nor forsake us.

Sleepless nights, nights where we have cried our hearts out wondering whether the Lord cares after all. Yet the doubts fly as we see redemption come at the break of a new dawn.

Jesus says, "I care for you son/daughter. I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Let us believe his words this day. God bless you.

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In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace (Ephesians 1:7)

The Apostle Peter writes,

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers,

but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (1 Peter 1:18,19)

God redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

When we confessed, our offenses have been swept away like a cloud, our sins like the morning mist by the Lord Almighty.

But have we acheived our goal and can we be carefree with the precious faith that has been given to us?

The Apostle Paul had this to say,

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:10-14)

And Paul has some good advice for all of us. He says,

All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. Why? one may ask....

(Because)...our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Philippians 3:20, 21)

How wonderful. Praise the Lord!

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Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son." (Genesis 18:14)

God keeps appointments and we read the rest of the story in Genesis Chap.21.

Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. (Genesis 21:1,2)

To the question, Is anything too hard for the Lord? we can answer positively and say,

"No, nothing is too hard for the Lord!

At age 99, God spoke to Abraham and said,

"As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her." (Genesis 17:15,16)

When Abraham heard that he was perplexed and a bit amused too. We read in Genesis 17,

Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?" And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!" (Genesis 17:17,18)

But God had decided and he said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. (Genesis 17:19)

Isaac was born at God's appointed time.

So what's your issue? Do you feel that the time for your miracle has passed?

This day the Lord asks you the question he asked Abraham long ago...Is anything too hard for the Lord?

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And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Have you thought about this particular verse? It says that we as believer's are being transformed into the likeness of Jesus with ever-increasing glory.

Maybe we don't take time to think about such things because of the hectic pace of life that most of us live. There are so many things to be dealt with and some of us have become wonderful multi-taskers.

But we are changing day after day as the Lord works on us and in us. Not only for us to become better human beings but mainly to prepare us for our eternal homes.

Graying, perhaps losing the sharp memory that we used to have, yet maturing spiritually to a level that we once thought we would never acheive.

We are being transformed as we pass through various life situations, good and bad, and God is renewing our spirit and soul for a home that would be ours in the fullness of time.

Look at yourself in the mirror. What do you see? Physical changes every now and then.

Do you see the spiritual transformation? the ever increasing glory?

Food for thought these days! God bless.

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To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31,32)

Jesus emphasized on "Truth" and this is very evident in the gospel of John. There are a great many verses that begin with Jesus saying, "I tell you the truth". In the promise given above, Jesus stresses the fact that if one has to be his disciple, one has to hold on to his teaching and when one does that he/she will know the truth and the truth will set them free.

Some people are so bound by traditions and error filled human doctrines that they fail to see the truth that is presented in the Word of God. They were like some of the Jews of Jesus' times. When Jesus told them about 'truth' setting them free, they retaliated by saying,""We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" (John 8:33)

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed". (John 8:34-36)

If we humble ourselves and accept and obey the Word of Truth, it will set us free. The Son of God, Jesus wants to set us free and that he will do if we hold on to his teaching. Praise the Lord.

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How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you. In the shelter of your presence you hide them from the intrigues of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe from accusing tongues. (Psalm 31:19,20)

If you have reverence for the Lord and have taken refuge in him, the above promises are for you. There are several blessings promised. One blessing is that God has stored goodness for you and he will bestow it openly. The other blessing is that God will hide you from the intrigues of men and keep you safe from accusing tongues.

David, the great psalmist king of Israel sang these because he had experienced it first hand in his own life.

King Saul tried to kill him 21 times, yet God protected David and he was crowned king of Judah and Israel. None would have thought about this when David was being chased around by Saul who was jealous of him. But God had goodness stored for David and he bestowed it upon him in the sight of men.

When he did not find deliverance immediately, he despaired and said,

"I am cut off from your sight!" .....but when the Lord answered his prayers, he sang....Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. (Psalm 31:22)

God is good and he loves you. If you have "fear of the Lord" and have taken refuge in him, he will be with you always and deliver you from evil. Remember, he is the one who...stores goodness for you and delivers you from the intrigues of men and from accusing tongues. God bless you.