Simple Thoughts On Promises

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Simple Thoughts On Promises- 318

But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. (Galatians 3:22)

Have you read this verse before? It very clearly states the condition of the present world; meaning it's inhabitants collectively....A PRISONER OF SIN. Not all are prisoners though. There is a minority for whom the promise of eternal life will be fulfilled because they believe in salvation through Jesus Christ.

Long ago, during the days of Noah, the world had become a prisoner of sin and God destroyed it with a flood. The Bible says,
The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth--men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air--for I am grieved that I have made them." (Genesis 6:5-7)

And now again, the world has become A PRISONER OF SIN. And this is what the Bible has to say regarding this prisoner.
"By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men." (2 Peter 3:7)

Judgement and destruction is definite. So what must one do?

The Apostle Peter exhorts us in this manner,
"The LORD is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the LORD will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming."(2 Peter 3:9-12)

Summing it up, he writes,
But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. (2 Peter 3:13)

The promise will be fulfilled for those who have trusted in Jesus and are living for him. Praise the Lord.

 

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You may ask, "What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?" I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years. (Leviticus 25:20, 21)

The faithfulness of God is revealed in this promise from him to the Israelites. The Lord had earlier given this command to the Israelites through Moses:
"Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the LORD. For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to have a sabbath of rest, a sabbath to the LORD. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest. Whatever the land yields during the sabbath year will be food for you - for yourself, your manservant and maidservant, and the hired worker and temporary resident who live among you,
While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in. (Leviticus 25:2-6)

The seventh year was to be a sabbath of rest, a sabbath to the LORD. The Israelites perhaps asked this question among themselves, "What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?" It would have been a natural question so as to say, nothing unusual. Something like, if the Lord told you not to work for a year, when you have been living on your hard earned wages all through the past several years. "What will we eat if we don't work?"

Perhaps the Lord heard them asking the question and he spoke to them, assuring them that he was a just God when he asked them to keep his decrees. He said,
You may ask, "What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?" I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years.

Now, you can't beat the Almighty when it comes to "giving". As someone said, "You can't out give God."

"A blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years." Isn't that wonderful....And God also promised,
While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in. (Leviticus 25:22)

No doubt, all this is from the Old Testament. But remember, God has not changed. He loves you. He asks for obedience even today. He will surely bless you if you obey him without questioning. Praise the Lord.

 

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O Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O Sovereign LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever. (2 Samuel 7:29, 29)

King David was overwhelmed with the plethora of promises that the Lord gave him through the prophet Nathan and here he acknowledges God’s faithfulness and prays for God to bless him and his descendants continually. The promises given him were awesome. God told him,
1) I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth.
2) I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed.
3) I will give you rest from all your enemies.
4) I will establish a house for you.
5) When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
6) Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.

God is faithful in all that he says and does. As David says here, “His words are trustworthy”. He does not go back on the promises that he makes if we remain faithful to him. Many promises are conditional and require us to obey him in what he has told us. There are other promises that he gives and fulfills because it is his absolute will. Like here we see God proclaiming that David’s son would be the one who would build God’s temple and it was fulfilled by Solomon building it.

Another thing noticeable here is David repeatedly acknowledging that he is God’s servant. You and me, we too are God’s servants; put here on earth in our places to fulfill God’s plans through us. Shall we then be faithful in our callings, so that God may bless us and our families as he blessed David? Praise the Lord.

 

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And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. (Exodus 3:21)

God had planned to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage and he didn't want them to go empty-handed. He told Moses that he was going to make the enemy be favorably disposed to them. And it did happen as God said.

The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. The LORD had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians. (Exodus 12:35, 36)

God can touch the hearts of men to be favorably disposed to his chosen ones and here is an example.
So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. "Here comes that dreamer!" they said to each other. "Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams." When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. "Let's not take his life," he said. "Don't shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don't lay a hand on him." Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father. (Genesis 37:17-22)

Later on.....Judah said to his brothers, "What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood." His brothers agreed. (Genesis 37:26, 27)

God touched the hearts of Reuben and Judah at the right moments and so Joseph remained alive though his brothers had earlier planned to kill him.

If you are in a situation where others are oppressing you and not giving you what is just, take hope from the promise in the title verse. God is able to make the enemy be favorably disposed to you. The Israelites had suffered at the hands of the Egyptians; what was justly due to them as wages were withheld for quite a long time and now God wanted them to have what they had been denied earlier. God is just and he will see to it that those who have purposely withheld what is due to you, be favorably disposed to you and give you what you have asked for in prayer. Praise the Lord.

 

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Then the word of the LORD came to me: "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you. (Zechariah 4:8, 9)

The work of rebuilding the temple of the Lord after the Babylonian captivity had been put on hold for 18 years after Zerubbabel, Joshua and the prophets had made a start. This was because the enemies of the Jews had complained to the then king, King Artaxerxes and he had issued an order for stopping the work. He had searched for the wrong records, not whether such a project was ordered for by his predecessor but whether the city had a history of rebellion.

After 18 years, God's promise to the prophet Zechariah and Israel was fulfilled when the new King Darius issued an order for the work to continue.

King Darius then issued an order, and they searched in the archives stored in the treasury at Babylon. A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana in the province of Media, and this was written on it: Memorandum: In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let its foundations be laid. It is to be ninety feet high and ninety feet wide, with three courses of large stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid by the royal treasury. (Ezra 6:1-4)

King Darius then issued an order.......Now then, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and you, their fellow officials of that province, stay away from there. Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God. Let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its site. (Ezra 6:6, 7)

Thus the temple was rebuilt and God once again proved that he stays true to his promises.
So do not worry. He will do for you what he has promised. Praise the Lord.

 

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But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. (Psalms 33:11)

No one can thwart the plans of God. He is Almighty. From the beginning, he weilds all power and everything, living and nonliving are subject to him. The Psalmist exhorts all in this manner:
Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. (Psalm 33:8, 9)

The Apostle Paul writing to the Colossians says this regarding Jesus,
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:15-17)

Jesus said,
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (Matthew 28:18)

As a believer in Jesus Christ, you must always remember that you serve an Almighty God. All authority in heaven and on earth is with Jesus. Even though circumstances in your life say otherwise, he can change everthing in a moment. He can change rules for you. He can make unyielding officials yielding. He can change governments for your sake. You are precious to him. If your plans are his original plans, he will make a way. It's only a matter of time. Hang in there. Keep praying. God bless.

 

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He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor. (Proverbs 21:21)

A proverb that came true in the life of Joseph, son of Jacob. He was a man who pursued righteousness. In distress, he did not accuse God, but waited for his deliverance. When pursued by sinful temptations, he chose to run away from it as is evident in the following verses.

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he refused. "With me in charge," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, (Genesis 39:6-13)

Joseph could have lived in sin, but he chose not to give into the temptation. For pursuing righteousness, he landed in prison for 2 years because Potiphar's wife falsely accused him. It was not only righteousness that he pursued; he also pursued love, in that he forgave his brothers who had thrown him mercilessly into a pit and later sold him as a slave. God's watchful eyes were on him at all times and when God exalted him, the rewards were what we read in the title verse....life, prosperity and honor.

May it be so in our lives too. God bless.

 

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And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain." (Exodus 3:12)

This promise was God's answer to Moses' question:"Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?"
Moses was apprehensive and did not consider himself eligible for the job God was calling him to do. He was no longer in any authoritative position; just living an ordinary life. Gone were the days when he weilded power as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Pharaoh was not on good terms with him anymore and Moses was fearful. He considered himself insignificant to do great exploits as God desired.

But God gave him a promise and a sign to go along with it. God promised," I will be with you" and also said, "when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain."

God is always certain of what he can do through us though we may think we are not up to the task at hand. That's because we look at the present and have not much idea of what is there in the future. But God knows the future and is certain that he can work in us to make the impossible happen because he is the one who is leading and guiding us.

What God promised, he fulfilled in the life of Moses and truly, the Israelites worshipped God at Mount Horeb later on.

Are you in two minds regarding the call that God has upon your life? Please do not look back. This day, the Lord says to you,
"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. (Isaiah 60:1)

 

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But now, this is what the LORD says - he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine." (Isaiah 43:1)

"You are mine!" That's what God told his chosen people, the Israelites.
This day Jesus says the same to you. He created you, formed you, redeemed you and summoned you. You are his treasured possession. Do you believe that?

As always, his comforting words are for you and your loved ones. He says, "Fear Not".
Of course, the problems in life are real, but so are the promises of God. Hold on to the promises in the Word of God. They will strengthen you in times of trouble.

The Psalmist sang,
My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. (Psalm 62:1, 2)

Remember, Jesus is your fortress, so you will never be shaken. Your salvation and your honor depend on God ; he is your mighty rock, your refuge. Trust in him at all times. He will deliver you from the troubles that you are going through these days. He will make you sings songs of victory very soon. Praise the Lord.