July 31 – Blessed Forever

“Now, O Lord God, You are God, and Your words are truth, and You have promised this good thing to Your servant. Now therefore, may it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You. For You, O Lord God, have spoken; and with Your blessing may the house of Your servant be blessed forever.” – 2 Samuel 7:28-29 (NASB)

By this time in the life of David, King of Israel, he has accomplished a great deal. His major accomplishments have been to subdue the enemies of Israel and while he still has more to do in this task, David has secured Jerusalem as the City of David for the People of Israel.  Through the profit Nathan, God has promised again that David’s royal line will be established forever. David turns to a prayer filled with humility and adoration of God. “Who am I, O Lord God,?” David asks. Today we focus again on the significance of how God makes promises to His people. David acknowledges “You have promised (spoken) this good thing…” Then in the next verse, “For You, O Lord God have spoken (promised);” The same original word is used in each instance. David, recognized as we should also that God’s spoken word is a spoken promise, a promise delivered. God made these promises which are promises we can trust. We took can trust that with God’s blessings our own houses, as His servants are blessed forever.”  Forever means eternal and the life God has given to us is just that, an eternal life.

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July 30 – Watchful Words

“You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth.” Deuteronomy 23:23 (ESV)

Yesterday our verse from Genesis established how God’s spoken words are in fact promises. We know God is perfect in all His ways so we trust His words in the Bible without doubt. He is always truthful and what He promises are made to us through what He has spoken. Such is not so certain regarding the words we speak. Yes, we can recite the words God has spoken and trust them to be Promises from God. But, we must take greater care and not be flippant with our words. Our verse says, we are to be careful to do what passes our lips because our words are voluntarily vows to the Lord. A quick “certainly I can” or “I’ll do so, trust me” might slip out as a careless promise which we may not follow up and fulfill. How about with a concern shared with us and we respond, “I’ll pray for you?” Do we actually pray, even mentally? Or do we say that because it seems a good thing to say to ease their concern? “I’ll pray for you” is not a prayer itself. If we say it, are we not obliged to do it? 

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July 29 – His Word, His Bond

“Then the Lord took note of Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had promised.” – Genesis21:1 (NASB)

When giving someone a promise, how do we go about making our words a promise? There are many ways to demonstrate that we are so sincere in what we say.  We hear “I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” This when a witness is placed under oath in a court of law. If the witness fails that promise, it is under penalty of law. Why? Because humans are known to lie and give false testimony even when promising to speak the truth. Such is not the way with the Words of God. Throughout the bible and especially in the Old Testament what is translated as “promised” is from the original a word which means “spoken.” Every time we read ‘God has spoken,’ it is fair to say ‘God has promised.’ Today we hear the term, “my word is my bond.” Frequently found in movies, television and even hip hop and rap music. But only the Words of God can be trusted to be His Promise, His Bond to us. We can rest with explicit assurances that every Word from God is a Promise from God.

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April 18 – Promised Ages Ago

“Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,” – Titus 1:1-2  (NASB)

In our modern culture the very thought of being someone’s slave is abhorrent. So is the thought of any person having ownership of slaves for their service. But Paul uses the word “slave” to describe himself. Most often translated “bond-servant” it more accurately means an ordinary life-long “slave.”  In fact Paul pictures himself as the most menial slave of New Testament times, signifying his complete willingness to submit to the Lord. All believers have been chosen by God by whom we have been “bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:20). The promise we have been given is eternal life in which we have a hope. Paul’s meaning is that all of his ministry was “with a view to” that promise of eternal life. This hope was promised to the elect from eternity past by God, who cannot default on His word. Because God Himself is truth and the source of truth, it is impossible for Him to say anything untruthful. Paul places this act into a time long ages ago. God’s plan of salvation for sinful mankind was determined and decreed before man was even created (Ephesians 1:4). It’s a secure guarantee because the promise was made to God the Son. 

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September 12 – The Lord Is There

“Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” – Genesis 28:15  (NASB)

After his trickery and snatching the blessing Isaac intended for Esau, Jacob had to flee for his life. It is Jacob who woke up from a dream of seeing angels ascending and descending a ladder to heaven named the spot El-Bethel because it was where he met God. God affirmed for him the promises and covenant already given to Abraham and Isaac. It was through Ezekiel who described the gates of the New Jerusalem and the city spoke these last words of his prophecy, “And the name of the city from that time on shall be, Yahweh shammah “The LORD Is There.”” (Ezekiel 48:30-35) This name of the LORD expresses a blessed promise and truth about Him: the LORD delights to be wherever His people are. God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. When they sinned, God instituted sacrifices so that relationships could be partly restored. Ezekiel prophesied a lot about God’s glorious presence with His people. Jesus promises that we would experience His presence wherever we go as His disciples (Matthew 28:20). The heavenly Jerusalem will be marked by the presence of God dwelling with His people as He has always promised.

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September 5 – Our Promised Portion

“The LORD is my portion; I have promised to keep Your words.” - Psalm 119:57” -  (NASB)

In the original language, verse 57 may be a broken sentence. The translators mended it by insertions, but even as it is without the fix it makes good sense. It would appear as an exclamation,—“My portion, O Lord!” As one nearly overcome with God’s goodness, the psalmist (likely David) is lost in wonder while he sees that the great and glorious God is all his own! This is understandable, for there is no possession we might have like the LORD himself. The sentence expresses joyous recognition and assumption,—“My portion, O LORD!” The idea of "a portion" springs from the lawful practice of the Levites when they were sacrificing animals brought to the Temple as offerings. They were given a portion of the meat that they might eat. In this way the priests were sustained since their work was fully within the compound of the Temple when they served.  For the psalmist and for us, God is a great and permanent portion, our heritage. It includes all, and more than all; it outlasts all; and yet no one chooses it for themselves until God has chosen and renewed their life by being born of God.

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March 7 – The Seal of the Spirit

 “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” - Ephesians 1:13–14 (ESV) 

God never promises the absence of distress or a journey without challenges to meet and obstacles to overcome. What He promises is His presence as the Holy Spirit. The presence of God’s Spirit assures us that we have Him and in Him, is God our paraclete*, alongside as our guide and comforter. We also have the guarantee that our inheritance is reserved for us and kept for us; we cannot and will not lose it. There is no one who can barge into our lives and overwhelm us with anything that will cause us to separate from God.  Like a ship or boat, small or massive, The Holy Spirit invisibly, yet indispensably, is the rudder for the ship of our soul. He keeps us from crashing on the rocks, keeps us afloat and going the right direction. The Holy Spirit is also our pilot. We are not alone on our journey. We’re sealed in Christ. Once upon a time, red wax with an identifying stamp in the wax was used seal the ownership of a letter or document. Sealing declared ownership and secured contents. It is the Holy Spirit as God’s seal that protects us. His word of promise is our seal.

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* The Holy Spirit as Paraclete:  The term Paraclete (παράκλητος, paraklētos) appears four times in John’s Gospel in reference to the Holy Spirit in John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7 and once in 1 John 2:1 in reference to Jesus. English bibles translate the Greek word as Helper, Advocate, Comforter, Counselor. 

February 8 – The Earnest of Heaven

“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” -  Ephesians 1:13–14 (ESV)

Do you remember when you first learned the doctrines of grace?  When we were first converted, we did not know much about them, we did not know whether God had converted us, or we had converted ourselves; but we heard a discourse one day in which some sentences were used, which gave us the clue to the whole system, and we began at once to see how God the Father planned, and God the Son carried out, and God the Holy Spirit applied, and we found ourselves suddenly brought into the midst of a system of truths, which we might perhaps have believed before, but which we could not have clearly stated, and did not understand. Well, the joy of that advance in knowledge was exceeding great. I had made progress in Scriptural knowledge, from having got a hold once and for all of the clue to the truth of God. In that moment God the Holy Spirit increased your knowledge, and opened the eyes of your understanding, you had the earnest, that you shall one day see, not through a glass darkly, but face to face, and then you shall know the whole truth, even as you are known.

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C. H. Spurgeon and Terence Peter Crosby, 365 Days with Spurgeon (Volume 1), (Leominster, UK: Day One Publications, 1998), 41.

July 24 – Not One Word Failed

“And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed.” -Joshua 23:14  (ESV)

Joshua, the son of Nun has finished the course.  He has done the job God gave him to do.  After the death of Moses, God promised Joshua that He will be with him wherever he goes.  God cautions him to not turn from his path to the right or to the left. Isn’t this a good instruction for us today?  God  also commands Joshua to be strong, courageous and not frightened. No dismay allowed because God was with Joshua. And Joshua obeyed God and followed God’s commandments. God blessed Joshua with a long life but now it was appointed for Joshua to leave the earth.  He wants to leave the people with reminders he knows they will need. We too need to remember these promises. First remember that not one word that God has given to us has failed. The enemies of the Gospel and our God will do all they can to tell us otherwise but here is the truth. All have come to pass for us. Not one of them has failed or will fail in the future. Every good thing God has promised concerning us has or will yet come to pass for us.  Believe it today.

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May 5 – Bank of Faith and Trust

“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, spoken as a benediction by King Solomon following his prayer of dedication for the Temple which he had built in Jerusalem.  This was the first Temple built in Jerusalem.  Up until this time, since receiving the Law to Moses, when the people were in the wilderness worship was done in the Tabernacle, or Tent of Meeting.  It has been nearly 490 years.  Solomon praises the Lord God who has kept His every promise.  There has not been a single time in the history of these people, says Solomon , that God failed to keep his promises.  And it continues without failing to this very day, and God continues without failing to keep all promises into eternity.  God promised Moses and King Solomon believed those promises.  We too can believe the promises we find in the Bible. All the promises made to Adam and Eve, to Noah, to Abraham, Isaac,  Jacob and Joseph will be kept.  We can rejoice thinking about God’s promise to keep His promises and offer us words of blessing and thanksgiving to God for each promise. Put it in our Bank of Faith and Trust because God backs it up, it will never fail. 

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August 24 – Keeping A Grip

“Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.  For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.”  Hebrews 10:35-36 -   (NASB)

We believe that you who read this blog are living by faith and have great confidence in the promises of God.  Yet we are encouraged by today's verse to maintain our confidence in our heavenly Father and in His promises.  Often under attack by the enemy of our souls, we at risk of wondering off the path God has set before us.  Even these days, we hear of those in leadership who are turning from the faith they have been teaching and looking for a fulfillment in things not honorable to God. This is why the encouragement is given to reinforce our to maintain our endurance when it is challenging to do so.  We are told that we need to keep our grip on our confession. The promises of God come with some very clear teaching about what God expects His followers to do and how he expects His followers to live.  This is how and why we do the will of God. The reward is great and we will receive what is promised if we endure in the faith.  In that, we can hang on with faith to our confidence even when others are forsaking theirs.  

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April 27 – Enduring Confidence

“ Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.  For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.”  Hebrews 10: 35-36 (ESV)

Sometimes our confidence in what we are doing or planning to do is challenged by our doubt in ourselves being able to do so.  But we learn today that the promises we have been given sometimes come as a result of our endurance.  We endure in our faith even when we find it difficult.  These verses remind us what it means to be living by faith.  We become children of God by trusting what Jesus did for us when he allowed himself to be nailed to the cross and die there in our place.  But there are many other aspects of  our  lives when we must keep trusting daily in God's love and care for us.  God has His way of showing us what He wants to do for us and it takes our participation in the many situations we face in life.  He also makes it clear to us that He expects us to act in a way that will bring glory and honor to Him, our Lord.  When we do that, we can be sure that He will fill our hearts with His joy.  So let us remain confident in our endurance and trusting God's help so that we can be steadfast in our faith.  

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March 17 – Enduring In Our Confidence

“Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.  For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.”   Hebrews 10:35-36 (NASB)

Yesterday we considered the confidence we have in the goodness of God.  Today we look at the importance of that confidence and how we need to nurture it and not discard it.  Confidence is something we can lose if we do not sustain our faith in what we believe.  We have been told that we live by faith.  We become children of God by trusting in what Jesus did for us when He died on the cross.  We keep on living by faith by trusting that God will take care of all our needs from day to day.  The confidence spoken about in this verse is the same as our faith. Our faith builds our confidence and encourages us to keep trusting in God.  God has promised a great reward for those who keep trusting in Him.  Jesus wants us to do just that and He knows when we maintain our confidence in Him and in what He has promised. That is the way that we receive what God has promised.  Let's keep trusting Him today and every day, don't let anything cause you to throw your confidence away or discard it for any reason.  Endure in confidence always. 

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January 4 – A Promise of Promises

“Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” Hebrews 10:35-36 (ESV)

God's promises never fail and we are reminded in today's verse that we need to continue to believe and have faith in what God has promised. Hold on to our confidence in the face of whatever God allows to be put in our path and our lives. His promise in the Bible is that He gives us the confidence and the endurance we need. It is His will for us to not lose the reward He has promised. We do not receive the great reward through our own effort of being good enough but by trusting each day in what God has promised. Our promise today is that we will receive what is promised by doing the will of God — which is to trust Him and rely on Him.

September 25 – Confident to Persevere

“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” Hebrews 10: 35-36 (NIV)

We who have chosen to believe realize that we come to God by faith. Our Christian life is a life of faith and our confidence is in our God, in His goodness and in His love for us.  He has given us many promises in the Bible. So our verse today is a reminder to us that we need to maintain our confidence in God and in His promises. We don't just trust in God for a while and then change our minds when things don't seem to be going right for us. Living by faith is for always and it is for all situations. God's promises are good for every circumstance and situation. Our God is always with us and is true, faithful and loving. That's a promise from Him and He who promises will never fail.

September 3 – Confidence Rewarded

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23 (NIV)
“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.” Hebrews 10:35 (NIV)

We share two verses from the book of Hebrews. The first reminds us of the promise that God's is faithful to his promises. He will fulfill and complete what he has promised to do. To believe this we have confidence in God and His word. Our second verse is about our confidence in God. We are so glad that our God has revealed Himself to us through several ways and He continues to make His presence real to us each day. When we hear of God's love for us in sending His Son to this world and then to the cross we are drawn to Him. We believe in His Son as our Savior and He gives to us eternal life. We hold fast our confession of the hope that this is true. What a wonderful promise that is. We put our confidence in what God tell us in the Bible about His plans for us in eternity. He also promises His daily presence and His constant providing for all of our needs every day.  As we trust Him each day He shows us His love and His faithfulness.

August 7 – Guide, Teach, and Comfort

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.” John 16:13-14 (NIV)

When Jesus' time on this earth was nearing the end, He promised that He would send from the Father, the Holy Spirit to live with His followers. We believe that you who are reading this have learned what a wonderful Savior we have. You know what He did for us when He died on the cross. You are aware that He knows your needs today and that He is praying for you. When you think of Jesus your heart is warmed and you love Him. This is the work of the Holy Spirit within us to make these truths real to us all. So my friend, thank God today for the gift He has given to us in sending the Holy Spirit to guide, teach, and comfort us.

April 24 – Hope That Delivers

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”  Hebrews 10:23

We have this encouragement from Hebrews chapter 10. God has given to us many promises and they are found in the Bible. We can expect with certainty that they will be fulfilled. This expectation is really what the Bible means when it uses the word “hope” as we often explain.  Hope is not wishful thinking it is confident expectation. Our verse reminds us why we can expect God’s promises to be fulfilled. It’s because of who He is, and what kind of God He is. It is because He is faithful. He makes a promise and then he keeps His word. Most of us have special Bible promises on which we often depend. Maybe we have known these promises for many years. We can hold unswervingly to these promises and can testify that our God has never failed.

January 8

“The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” Proverbs 18:10 (NIV)

These words were, of course, written during days when towers were places of protection. When danger threatened, people would think of a tower as a place of safety. We are reminded in this verse that we can think of the name of our Lord as a place of safety. The name of the Lord is not just a name by itself. It represents who God is and all he has promised. If we face problems which are more than we can handle and we call on the name of the Lord we are actually entrusting ourselves to His care. And that is like seeking protection in a military tower, is it not?. That is why the writer of this Proverb made this comparison. Let us run to wherever the Lord is for help when we need it and we will find a place of safety.

October 8

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”  Hebrews 10:23 (NIV)

These words challenge us to persist in our confidence in our God. I am thinking especially of the word “unswervingly.” It is a word that means without wavering, that there is not the slightest sign of wavering when we think of what God has promised – not the slightest hesitation about believing what God has said. The basis for this kind of faith and hope is in the unquestioned faithfulness of God. We can be unswerving because God is unswerving. He will keep His promises so let us hold on to that fact. If we know He is faithful we can be tenacious, holding firmly to His promise.