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 15 – Living By What We Know

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.”  Deuteronomy 29:29 (NASB)

These are words of Moses are part of his farewell address to those he had led out of Egypt and for more than 40 years in the wilderness to a place near to their entrance into the Promised Land. He was near to the end of his life. God had revealed much to him for His people. Moses knew, however that not all things had been revealed – only the truths which God wanted them, and us, to know. “The things revealed” included the law with its promised blessings and threated curses; that which is hidden refers to the specific way in which God will carry out His will in the future. God used others to pass on truths which we have in the Bible. This revelation is for us and intended to help us live according to His will. Someone once said, “It is better to know than not know,” and that is often true but we must recognize that God knows more than what He has revealed to us and what he has revealed, is in our Bible. Thank God for what he has made known through the Bible and then live by it.

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May 17 – The Value is Above

“Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.  For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”  - Colossians 3:2-4 (ESV)

There is a much greater value in spending our time thinking about and making use of the eternal “things above” than becoming busy with the many temporal “things on earth.” We do not have to consider this for very long for us to understand that temporal things have no lasting value. They fade away and are gone like a wisp of smoke when compared to things of heaven that are eternal and come from God.  Before we were born again by the Holy Spirit and became one of God’s adopted children, we had no concept of anything that was better than what we knew. Now we learn this truth from our promise today, since we have died to sin through faith in God, our lives have been hidden with Christ in God.  If one has difficulty understanding that, it may be because they have not yet agreed with God and sought the salvation He freely gives to all who believe on Him. One day, it will become obvious to all the world, we will no longer be hidden but we will be revealed with Christ, who is our life source, in all His glory.

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March 26 – Revealed at Last

“[By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope] … who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”  1 Peter 1:3  (ESV) 

When Jesus hanging on the cross,  He was there for a purpose determined before His creation of the world and all things in the world. We operate now in a sphere of time that God created.  When Jesus was laid in the tomb, God planned that was not forever.  Jesus was raised to a new life and brought all who believe in Him a new birth and an eternal hope.  Yesterday’s promise was of a trust God holds for us, an inheritance He has reserved in heaven for all believers.  Today the promise continues for who are heirs in Christ, that we are being protected by the same power God used when he raised Jesus from the dead.  Belief through faith in Jesus saves us from the penalty of sin and the consequences which is death.  Our bodies may die, but we live in Christ now. Our salvation, which is not yet fully revealed in all its glory, will be revealed in the last time. Our protection by God’s power is promised to us. Salvation and new life are ours now and we eagerly anticipate their full revelation by God.  Then we will know.

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September 24 – Our Guarded Salvation

“According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:3-5 (ESV)

Our passage today is longer than most since it is one statement covering three verses.  The Apostle Peter wrote this letter to all believers who had been dispersed by exile from the land of Israel.*  Many of these scattered believers had converted from the Jewish religion. With an expression of praise to God, Peter wrote about the prospects ahead of them and us.  God, by His grace and mercy caused us to be born again with a new hope that is alive because of Christ's resurrection.  This is a promise –  we have an inheritance that is indestructible, uncorrupted, and unfading being kept in heaven for us.  But the promises do not end here, for by the unmatched power of God we are being guarded through faith for salvation.  Our salvation, though we know it is ours now, will be fully revealed in the last time.  Let's join that expression of praise and rejoice with Peter for these wonderful promises.  

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* Regions under Roman control, in the area that is now Turkey – Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.

June 15 – What We Know

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.” Deuteronomy 29:29 (NASB)

The truths and promises in this verse expressed long ago by God's servant Moses are given to us to remember and realize that we serve a wonderful God.  The same God who lead Moses and the Children of Israel out of Egypt and to Mt. Sinai has given them so that we may know.  God has not made known or revealed all things to us – for there are things that are still a mystery to us.  But God has made known exactly what He wants us to know and what we need to know.  The Bible contains the complete revelation that has been given by God to us.  These many things teach us and guide us in how we should live to please Him and serve Him in truth and love.   We are so glad for the many truths that He has chosen in His wisdom to reveal to His human creatures.  Our verse reminds us that it is God's will that we pay close attention to what God has taught us.   Let's never neglect to follow the teaching we have from Him and let's teach it to our families and others in our world.   

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February 8 – Knowing the Deep Things of God

“But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,  nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.”   2 Corinthians 2:9-10  (ESV)

The Christian life is an experience of learning truths of great eternal value.  We can learn from this verse the promise that God has prepared things for us, His children.  But no one has seen them or heard of them so how do we know what they are because they are even beyond our ability to imagine.   There is no way for us to know what God wants us to know except in the way that He has planned for us to learn it.  God has prepared great lessons for us to learn as we live our Christian lives and He has also planned how we can learn these lessons.  That's why He has given us His Holy Spirit to teach us.  Our verse calls these truth the deep things of God.  Let's be sure that we leave ourselves open to learn what the Holy Spirit wants to teach us in our experiences each day, even today.  

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We ask for your prayers as we also pray over this endeavor that it will meet the spiritual needs of those who read it.  We also welcome any encouragement on how this blog has helped you.
Contact us at: GodsPromises90@gmail.com 

December 31 – Need To Know

“But, as it is written,  “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:9-10  (ESV)

What do you see ahead for yourself in the new year?   Whatever is ahead, some of it is uncertain and some of it is unclear but most of it is unknown if we really think about it.  We may have plans that we hope to fulfill  or we may have things we fear and are anxious about.  There are some things we can be absolutely certain about even if we do not know all the details.  We know that our God will be with us everyday, every hour, every minute.  God has prepared the next year for us and our verse tells us a lot about this preparation.  For one thing God's preparation is for those who love him – that means those who have believe and received His gift of love and eternal life.  But these things are beyond our imagination no matter how much we try to figure them out.  God does reveal them to us through His Holy Spirit who abides in us.  The Spirit knows what these prepared things are and He reveals them to us as we have a need to know.  Does not this promise and truth fill our hearts with joy and peace and our mouths with praise to our God and Father?  We thank Jesus for coming so that we can be part of God's Family.  

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Happy New Year!

June 15 – Revealed For Us Forever

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”  Deuteronomy 29:29 (ESV)

When Moses was nearing the end of his life he spoke to the Children of Israel. Our verse is from that time. God has revealed many wonderful truths to us in the Bible. We realize that He is an infinite God who knows all things. We recognize that God knows more than what He has revealed to us. We do not know what God has not revealed and kept secret but we do have and can know the things He has revealed. As Moses said then, it forever for all to know. So what should our attitude be to this? We should be so grateful to God for what He has revealed to us. Our verse tells us that the truths He's revealed do belong to us today and that is His promise to us and all  who believe forever. We should treasure these truths and follow what God has shown us through them. We should obey what He has revealed to us. 

January 20 – Sun and Rain

“Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” Hosea 6:3 (NIV)

This was an admonition that was very necessary in the time of the prophet Hosea. God gave the prophet a message to deliver to the people of his day which they needed to hear. They needed to remember that the Lord their God was real. We also need to hear these words and that is why God protected the writings of the prophet and has made them available to us. Yes – we need to acknowledge the Lord. We need to recognize Him in our lives and recognize His desire to be involved in our activities and in our thinking and in our decision making. When we recognize God as He has revealed Himself in His Word, then he becomes real to us. He will be as real to us as the sun that shines on us on a clear day. Recognize him through faith believing today. 

Note on faith believing.

June 15 – Living By What We Know

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” Deuteronomy 29:29 (NIV)

These are words of Moses near to the end of his life. He had lead the Children of Israel for more than 40 years. God had revealed much to him for His people. Moses knew, however that not all things had been revealed – only the truths which God wanted them, and us, to know. God used many others to pass on truths which we have in the Bible. This revelation is for us and intended to help us live according to His will. We can be glad for what we have and we can live by what we know.  Someone once said, “It is better to know than not know,” and that is often true but we must recognize that God knows more than what He has revealed to us and what he has revealed, He knows is good for us to know.    When we don't understand everything in the universe, let's thank God for what he has made known through the Bible and then live by it.

March 15 – He is Great, Trust Him

“By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” Hebrews 11:3 (NIV)

We have a great God. His greatness is really beyond our comprehension and yet we believe He is great and we trust Him. This truth is emphasized in the Bible verse we have today. God has revealed to His people long ago that He is the one who created not only people but the earth and also the universe. Long ago His people believed it and wrote it down for us to read. We have read it in the bible and we believe it too. All of this helps us to believe in God’s greatness. And, if we believe he is so great, that is a basis for believing that He can do what He has promised. His promises about taking care of our daily needs and working out our problems are true. Yes, He is a great God. He is able to take care of us always.