Power of His Promises

Power of His Promises

“By faith our fathers roamed the earth

With the power of His promise in their hearts.”

         Aye! Verily those promises are powerful with the wisdom, kindness, and Presence of God Himself standing behind them. In Minnie's last talk to the ladies at the Bible church in Washington State on “Jehovah Shalom” she explained how God sustained her through her ordeal: “The Word, the Word, the Promises!”

          And what are some of those thousand or more promises that are so powerful and sustaining in our hearts and in the external world of God's providence? For Minnie God flooded her heart with the reality of this promise:

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you . . . Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27 She was so aware of His Presence with her—through it all. “All is well!” she knew.

         And that the completion of the journey would “lead to a joyful end” with Jesus' promise to come for her Himself personally when the time came “. . .I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” John 14:3 esv “Absent from the body . . . present with the Lord.” 2 Cor. 5:8

        And what are the promises in my life that sustained me as I “roamed the earth”? Here are a few of the many:

Romans 10:9-13 (ESV) “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. . . . For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

          1 Cor. 10:13 (ESV) ^“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

        Psalm 27:14 (KJV) ^“Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.”

2 Cor. 4:16 NIV “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”

       How about you? What are some of your favorite promises that God has used in your life? Click on Reply and share them with us. They will encourage others.

January 13, 2013

The Wonder and Mystery of our God-directed Lives

        Today is the 3^rd Anniversary of Minnie's Homegoing to be with the Lord. She is with Him now and “in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” Psalm 16:11; 17:15

         Minnie never lost her sense of wonder at the goodness of God and the intriguing fascination of God's works in Creation. She herself was one of God's glorious works. She lived life with a sense of expectancy and joy. And at the end [though it was not the End, but the Beginning] she told Jeannine and me, “I feel that God has given me so much happiness in life! One of her favorite verses that she shared with me often was Ephesians 3:20 “He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. . . .”

         One of the books she delighted in was Ravi Zacharias, Recapture the Wonder—which Minnie never lost! She was always so delighted in babies and little children and their enthusiasm, which she shared. She loved to do things for them and with them. And she laughed a lot as she took pleasure in life. She told one of our granddaughters that even with cancer she tried to take pleasure in the good of that day and enjoy the company of whoever was with her that day.

         Ravi points out that to maintain our sense of wonder we need a thankful spirit guided by truth. And that truth is personal; it is personified in Jesus Himself who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. One of the marvelous names given to Jesus 700 years before He was born was “Wonder” ! It comes from that marvelous Christmas passage in Isaiah 9:6

^“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

        All those names mean so much. This child who was to be born for us, sent from God Himself, is Wonder.” In Hebrew the word is a noun instead of an adjective, adding even additional strength to the meaning. Isaiah uses the same Hebrew word used to describe the marvelous wonders that God did in bringing the children of Israel out of Egypt. Implied is not only marvel but mystery. It is a personal relationship with the God of Wonder Himself that gives meaning, excitement, and joy to our lives. He is the “Emmanuel,” God Himself with us in the person of Jesus, the Sent One, the Messiah from God the Father.

      “Great God of wonders! All thy ways are worthy of thyself—divine.

And the bright glories of thy grace Among thine other wonders shine.

Who is a pard'ning God like thee? Or who has grace so rich and free?”

       It is in communion with God that we find that sense of wonder, rejoicing in the works of God and always aware of the mystery of knowing Him, “whom to know aright is life eternal.” “Enchantment in life can never be realized in some thing; it must ultimately culminate in a person.” “Just as gratitude requires someone to whom we can be grateful, truth requires someone because of whom truth is possible. In both instances personhood is indispensable to wonder.” p. 104 Ravi Zacharias

        An essential part of wonder is to understand and experience love. And that happens in our relationship with Jesus. Love is “the quiet confidence of belonging to someone other than oneself; a commitment to a cause greater than oneself; a relationship that makes choices apart from the self; it is the root of unending sacrifice. When that love is found, wonder is sustained even in moments of great fear. But the how and why of such a love is a challenge.”

        ^“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the [atoning sacrifice] for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” 1 John 4:10-11

                                                                               --Bill Burnside