November 8 – The Offering That Is Due

“Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed.  O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.”  Psalm 65:1-2 (ESV)

These verses remind us of several reasons why God's people come to Him.  Just as His people were used to going to Jerusalem to praise God so we have the same desire and opportunity wherever we are.  We can praise Him any time, any place, in our hearts.  It does not matter where we are and we don't have to be at any special place or take any specific posture. There are no required or set words that must be repeated but the words of our prayers should include words of Praise to our God.  As we turn to the Lord we remember the promises we have made to Him.  We don't need to go to the temple or to a church building to fulfill our vows for we can renew our promises as we draw near to Him anyplace, with our supplications and thanksgiving. And, of course we know that we can approach God in prayer because He does hear our prayer.  What a joy it is to remember just as David did in our verse today that our praise is due to God who promises to hear our prayers of praise. 

 

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July 20 – Fully Convinced

“No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.”  Romans 4:20-21 (ESV)

In the fourth chapter of Romans, we learn about righteousness and how we receive it by faith believing.  The example is Abraham who was promised a son and a nation of descendants.  Even when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah his wife was 90 well past child bearing age, Abraham believed in this promise of a son.  This is our example for today, that we continue trusting and not wander into unbelief when a promise of God seems overdue for fulfillment.  It is not.  God answers and fulfills the promises in His time.  Abraham did not understand how God would keep His promise and give them a son but He always believed that God could and would keep all His promises.  That was saving faith and God declared Abraham righteous.  In this blog we consider many promises and today our promise is that God is a promise keeper.  We too need to believe that God is always able to do what He has promised, even when circumstances, such as Abraham and Sarah's condition make it seem impossible.  Be thankful to God each day and affirm that God will fulfill His promises – be fully convinced that He will.

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March 18 – Our Permanent Pledge

“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:13–14.(NASB)

What does a pledge mean these days? A pledge might mean any of several things anymore but once it was a solemn promise and a large part of the payment, given in advance as a security that the whole promise will be paid afterwards. In the context of today’s verses; this pledge is made when God’s own Spirit comes to indwell in us and preserves our eternal salvation. Paul refers to an official mark of identification placed on a contract, or other document. Thereby placing that document officially under the authority of the person whose stamp was on the seal. Four primary truths are signified by the seal: 1) security; 2) authenticity; 3) ownership; and 4) authority. The Holy Spirit is given to us by God as His pledge of our future inheritance in glory. Yes, we fail to comprehend fully how God both choses us in Him before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) but seals us with his Spirit after we listen to and believe the message of salvation. It matters not that we do not fully understand but it matters much that we believe His words in Scripture. Believe both, God will sort it out. 

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October 19 – Now Revealed

“When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is* that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” – Ephesians 3:4-5 (ESV)

We have again a promise-packed passage by the Apostle Paul which teaches a most precious truth for our world, especially today. We are in an upheaval between truth and the lies the devil spreads in order to sow chaos in our world. Our enemy’s goal is to discredit by leading astray those who by faith believe and confess that Jesus is the Son of God and their Savior. Paul declares a mystery about the promise of salvation from Christ. What does ‘mystery’ mean? Many truths were hidden until later revealed in the New Testament that are called mysteries. Here Paul reveals one: Jew and Gentile brought together in one body in the Messiah. The cry against racism may truly exist among the unbelieving but for those who do believe and follow the teachings of Jesus, there is no room for this critical race theory now being bandied about. "Paul not only wrote of the mystery that, in Christ, Jew and Gentile become one in God’s sight and in His kingdom and family, but also explained and clarified that truth. He taught us that spiritual knowledge must precede practical application. What is not properly understood cannot be properly applied."**

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*The words 'This mystery is' are inferred from verse 4

**The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible., (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Eph 3:4.

 

June 21 – A Promise to Guard All Promises

“Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant.” 1 Kings 8:56 (ESV)

These words of praise were spoken by the King of all Israel, Solomon, son of David at the time of the dedication of the temple which he had built in Jerusalem (10th century B.C.).  It reminds us of God’s perfect faithfulness of and that we can trust all of his promises to us. God had given many promises to His people through Moses almost 500 years before Solomon. In Joshua 21:45 Joshua had reminded them “Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.” Did you note what Solomon said about these promises? He said the same thing Joshua had said, “Not one word has failed.” God had kept his promises in every detail. This is the kind of God we have today. Most days we look at a specific promise to remember and today that promise is that He'll keep every word of His promises to us. Think of some promise or promises God has given you my friend. He will be faithful to you as he was to Israel then and now. 

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April 10 – Holding Firmly To Hope

“…so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to hold firmly to the hope set before us.” – Hebrews 6:18 (NASB)

“A promise is a promise” we say because just a promise is sometimes not enough to convince others that we are true to our word. We find the need to double down on our promise to tell the truth and not lie. This is because we and humans in general have a history of being untruthful or not fully truthful at least. So our oath when sworn in to testify in court is “to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” An oath puts an end to all arguments, so there can be no argument about the expectation of truth.  God promised Abraham He would make him a great nation, He then confirmed it with an oath by swearing by Himself.  As heirs of the promises, we know they are for us as well. When we read the promises from God, we trust them – at least we should because God’s promises are underscored by two things. First is it impossible for God to lie (Titus 1:2); second, His ever truthful Word is supported by His promise sworn on Himself. We have hope in every promise of God. We can know it is real and true.

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September 25 – Of Much Greater Value – How Not To Worry Part 2

"Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" Matthew 6:26 (ESV)

In our verse of promise yesterday, we can summarize, the promise of life is more important than physical things in our lives and if God can take care of the greater - us, He can easily take care of the lesser with no difficulty. Today’s verse asks a different question but still one that considers the value of ourselves in God’s universe.  The example are the birds.  If you watch the small song birds in your yard, you can see their insignificance. They cannot do anything to bring their food into being. The little birds, like the ones in our header have no farming, or reaping skills. Yet God provides for them and feeds them.  We can rest assured that He will provide what we need.  Why? Because we are worth a lot more than birds. God created us, unlike the birds, with an amazing capacity to glorify God by trusting, obeying, worshiping, and thanking God. We do have greater value and we can rest and believe God’s promise to care for us. We truly have reason to not worry. 

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June 27 – Once by Water, Once by Fire

“But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.  The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”  - 2 Peter 3:8-9 (NASB)

In the context of these two verses we find promises of mockers who disparage the promise of the coming Day of the Lord.  These mockers who follow after their own lusts fail to understand the power of the Word of God.  We visited these verses just last month. Peter tells us that it is by the Word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water it was destroyed in the flood. (2 Peter 3:5-7 NASB) So today, as we read yesterday, we have the assurance that it will be by the Word of God that the next destruction will be by fire.  And unlike an earth remaining after life was destroyed by the flood, the next will be total destruction. (2 Peter 3:10 NASB) Don’t fret the mockers who fail to understand that the Lord’s timing is nothing like ours.  God transcends time as we know it and a day equals a thousand years and a thousand years equals a day. It is not slowness on God’s part but patience waiting for all who He has called to be gathered. God is giving each all the time they need to believe. 

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March 23 – Welfare Not Calamity

“For thus says the Lord: Only when Babylon’s seventy years are completed will I visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.”  -Jeremiah 29:10-11  (ESV)

The words of this passage were delivered in a letter to the elders, priests and prophets and all the exiles who were in Babylon after King Nebuchadnezzar had deported most of the people out of Jerusalem.  Jeremiah, still in Jerusalem, delivered this prophecy from God to those who had been warned many times in many ways about this calamity.  Now it had come true. The words of these verses are a promise to the captives that God was going to limit their time in Babylon to seventy years and that His plans for them were not for harm but for a future and a hope. Christian believers today often come to this verse for encouragement when our future seems bleak because God’s promise to Israel is our promise too.  God has made plans for each of us.  His plans are for our good welfare and they are not to place us in harms way. They promised the captives a future return to Jerusalem and rebuild and live there. His promises for us are what we read and study each day.  God cares about our future and He has good plans for us now and in the future in heaven with Him.  

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July 24 – Fully Convinced

“No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.”  Romans 4:20-21 (ESV)

In the fourth chapter of Romans, we learn about righteousness and how we receive it by faith believing.  The example is Abraham who was promised a son and a nation of descendants.  Even when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah his wife was 90 well past child bearing age, Abraham believed in this promise of a son.  This is our example for today, that we continue trusting and not wander into unbelief when a promise of God seems over due for fulfillment.  It is not.  God answers and fulfills the promises in His time.  Abraham did not understand how God would keep His promise and give them a son but He always believed that God could and would keep all His promises.  That was saving faith and God declared Abraham righteous.  In this blog we consider many promises and today our promise is that God is a promise keeper.  We too need to believe that God is always able to do what He has promised, even when circumstances, such as Abraham and Sarah's condition make it seem impossible.  Be thankful to God each day and affirm that God will fulfill His promises – be fully convinced that He will.

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January 8 – Promising Forever Promises

“He has remembered His covenant forever, The word which He commanded to a thousand generations, The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac.”  Psalm 105:8 (NASB)

Our verse today from the Book of Psalms specifically mentions the covenants, the promises, God made with Abraham and Isaac.  When this psalm was written both Abraham and Isaac were ancient history to the psalmist.  They were long gone but the covenants were being remember as a forever lasting promise God made.  If we think of the many centuries that have passed since this psalm was written we can be impressed with how it is for us ancient history as well.  But God's word never changes and His covenants that He makes with His people are forever kept for a thousand generations.  God's promises which we take just a few seconds each day to consider have lasted and will  last for a long time.   They will each be fulfilled.   So many centuries have passed since God made these covenants and it is good for us to remember that it is just as if He made them to us today.  They are still good.  He promises that His promises will be forever.  

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November 8 – Offering What is Due

“Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed.  O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.”  Psalm 65:1-2 (ESV)

These verses remind us of several reasons why God's people come to Him.  Just as His people were used to going to Jerusalem to praise God so we have the same desire and opportunity wherever we are.  We can praise Him anytime in our hearts.  It does not matter where we are and we don't have to be at any special place or take any specific posture.  As we turn to the Lord we remember the promises we have made to Him.  We don't need to go to the temple to fulfill our vows for we can renew our promises as we draw near to Him anyplace. And, of course we know that we can approach God in prayer because He does hear our prayer.  What a joy it is to remember just as David did in our verse today that our praise is due to God who promises to hear our prayers of praise.  

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August 3 – Acknowledgment

“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.”  Matthew 10:32 (NIV)

When Jesus was here on earth He gave His followers some promises about what He is doing in heaven even today.  We believe that promise, found in today's verse, applies to us who live here on earth now. What Jesus tells us here is that He is watching us as we have contact with people here on earth.  If we speak a good word for Jesus here, He is aware of it. And what is He doing for us in Heaven?  He is speaking a good word about us to His Father in heaven.  Isn't this an encouraging promise for us?  To  think that you or  I could be the subject of conversation between Jesus, the Son of God and His Father in heaven is a promise we can cling to. It can lift our hearts as we continue daily trusting and fulfilling our purpose here on earth.  Doesn't this cause your heart to be filled with joy, my friend?  Let this promise today, give us motivation and desire to acknowledge Jesus in our lives.  

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June 29 – Forever Covenant Never Fails

“I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.” Jeremiah 32:40 (ESV)

The promise we have to consider today comes from God through the prophet Jeremiah. It is a promise given to God's people in the Old Testament days. Because we know that God has not changed and never will, we believe this is how He treats His people today. He will never stop doing good to us because he has made an everlasting or forever covenant.  This covenant is an unconditional promise that by His nature, God cannot break.  As we experience God goodness and find that we can depend on it, we are inspired to continue trusting Him. We will never want to turn away from Him.  So, we will continue to respect Him and rely on Him and according to our verse, that is what God has in mind in fulfilling his everlasting covenant to never turn away from doing good to us.  

October 11 – Never Alone

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:18 (NIV)

On the night of His arrest, before that happened, Jesus made a promise to His disciples. He knew what was about to happen and how His followers would react. He was giving comfort before hand. Knowing that He would die on the cross and soon after that He would return to His Father in heaven. He knew that His death for us would open the way for His disciples then, and for us today, to become children of God. And that's why we are not orphans. We are members of God's forever family and Jesus comes into our lives when we accept Him as Savior. Jesus is eager that we recognize His presence in our lives as members of God's family. We never need to think we are alone. We never need to think we are orphans because Jesus has come to us fulfilling His promise.

July 29 – Real Faithfulness

“And it will be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”” Isaiah 25:9 (NASB)

The verse with our promise for today expresses the feelings of those who find God's faithfulness real in their lives. It is a prediction made by the prophet Isaiah who may have had some special future day of thanksgiving in mind.  We believe though, that these words can be true over and over again for us even these days. Even today we are waiting in anticipation for Christ to fulfill promises we have found in the Bible. When we trust God to show His love for us in some way and then realize that He is actually helping us, doesn't it give us joy? Doesn't it make our Lord more real to us? Don't we feel then like says as the prophet predicted “Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation”? 

July 24 – Persuaded Beyond Doubt

“Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” Romans 4:20-21 (NIV)

The Bible gives us the stories of people of long ago who believed that God was a promise giver and a promise keeper. Once such example was Abraham who had faith in God's promise. Abraham received promises from God and he had no doubt about God's ability to do what He said He would do even when Abraham did not know how God would do it.  We must have the same attitude. God did keep his promise to Abraham and He'll keep His promises to us also. Our verses say that Abraham was fully persuaded about God's ability to keep promises. Let's have the same faith and attitude and not waver at all  in our thinking about God's faithfulness. He can be trusted, for He who promised is faithful. 

June 21 – A Promise to Keep All Promises

“Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses.” 1 Kings 8:56 (NIV)

These words of praise were spoken by King Solomon of Israel at the time of the dedication of the temple which he had built in Jerusalem (10th century B.C.).  It is good for us to be reminded of the faithfulness of our God and that we can trust all of his promises to us. God had given many promises to His people through Moses almost 500 years before Solomon. Did you note what Solomon said about these promises? He said “Not one word has failed.” God had kept his promises in every detail. This is the kind of God we have today. Most days we look at a specific promise to remember and today that promise is that He'll keep every word of His promises to us. Think of some promise or promises God has given you my friend. He will be faithful to you as he was to Israel then and now. 

February 28 - Directs You in the Way

“This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.” Isaiah 48:17 (NIV)

It is true that this promise was given to a special people, the people of Israel. We know though that when Jesus came he came to open the way for all peoples to join the family of God. If we have accepted Jesus as our Savior we are now children of God and He deals with us as our verse today tells us. Yes, we can trust God to teach us what is best for us and to guide us in the way we should go. He does all this for us because He loves us. This promise is so valuable because we can trust God to know what is the best for each of us. If he knows what is best and then shows us what is best we don’t need to worry. We need only to look to Him to show us. He is the Lord our God who teaches us what is best for us and directs us in the way we should go. Let’s go the way He leads us. 

February 13

“Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.” Psalm 119:49-50 (NIV)

There are many promises in the Bible and often our verse on 90 Seconds with God is a promise. Today our verse is a different kind of promise. It is a promise of what promises do for us. Our focus is especially on the last words in the verse. How often have we found that a promise from God “preserves our life?” Another word might be renews our life. As we said, there are many promises in the Bible and they fit many different situations for many different needs. For some of us there may be certain promises that have been especially precious.  The Holy Spirit has reminded us of one or more of them just when we needed them and they made life worth living again, they renewed our life, they preserved our life. Think, my friend, of such a promise today and it will preserve and renew your life in the hours ahead.