God Knows!

Last night we did a neat thing in Refresh (our midweek service) Can't say it was something all that original.. but still neat. Our pastor had a white board with 24 or so verse references written on it. He had folks choose a verse and then read it and then we talked about what the promise was in the verse.. Like Jer. 33:3.. Call on me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things you do not know.. promise? We call .. he answers.  Heb. 13:5  never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.. promise? ALWAYS with you!  They we had a time of intentional intercession.. prayed over some folks who had needs.. prayed for others who were not there, but we knew of needs. It was a sweet time. AND it reminded me that I did something similar in Lifegroups last year. My teacher called me one Sunday at last minute to teach. I had not looked at the lesson, so had to wing it. God had been speaking to me about his promises and how we are to stand on them. So we read promises and talked about what they meant and how we could apply them to our lives. As a result, I started am index card ring binder for God's Promises. I would write a verse or verses in it when I saw a promise and then it was something I had to just flip through when I needed encouragement... didn't know what to pray etc.  As if often the case, I did great for a bit and then let it fall to the wayside. SO I pulled it out and started again today.. I decided to just flip it open and whatever verse I landed on would be a promise I could stand on today.. so here is what I read..

The Mighty One, God, the Lord!  The Mighty One, God, the Lord!  God Knows! 

 Joshua 22:22  

Not one you hear often, is it? But I really love the truth.. the promise in this verse.  How often do we not know.. I don't know how we are going to pay for a new roof.. I don't know how we will make it with a decrease in salary... I don't know how she will survive this illness.. I don't know how this marriage can be saved.. and on and on. But see the thing is we don't have to know!  God Knows!  That is all we need.. we can turn to Him and say "I don't know (whatever) but You do! And Lord I am trusting in You.. the Mighty One.. God.. the Lord!"  

That.. for me.. is a great promise to stand on!

Abide Today....

Recently Amazon offered a devotional by Cynthia Heald called Becoming a Woman Who Walks with God as a freebie for Kindle!  It is a 30 day devotional on Abiding and so I decided to get it to use at some point.  Well today is that some point.. I decided to use it in April.

The focus today was on John 15:4... I love the ESV because it uses the Word Abide.. just love that word!  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

I decided to do a bit of word study, so pulled up Strong's App and looked at Abide.. I know what the word means but saw two things today I really don't think I ever saw before..

"To stay in a given place, state, relation, or expectancy"... expectancy!  God keeps putting that word before my eyes.  It also means to "Be Present."

So I am to abide with expectancy... or in expectancy.. expectancy of what.. of God and His promises... expecting Him to bring to completion that which He has begun in me (Phil 1:6)... to work things out for good (Rom 8:28)... expecting Him to never leave me or forsake me (Heb 13:5) and soo much more!  Isn't that the coolest thing!  I mean we know that.. know that His promises are true and will be fulfilled, but I love that He included it in that abiding.

And then Be Present.. that one really hit me.  NIV says Remain in Me and I will remain in you. So be present in Christ and Christ will be present in you.  Not yesterday.. not tomorrow.. today.. present.. now!  This, for me, is all about that daily surrender. Today I choose to be present in Christ.. to die to self .. take up the cross He has for me.. and expect Him to be Who He says He is and do what He says He will do!

A Promise to Provide...

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:19

A Promise to Soar like the Eagles

He gives strength to the weary 

   and increases the power of the weak. 

 Even youths grow tired and weary, 

   and young men stumble and fall; 

 but those who hope in the LORD 

   will renew their strength. 

They will soar on wings like eagles; 

   they will run and not grow weary, 

   they will walk and not be faint.

Isa. 40:29-31

A Promise for those who are weary and burdened....

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”  Matthew 11:28-29

Promises

Lately God has pointed out 2 verses about His Promises to me.. the first was a couple of weeks ago. I was preparing for the Bible study I lead on Sunday night and 2 Peter 1:3 came to mind.. I wanted to make sure I wrote it down right, so I looked it up... it is one of my favorite people's favorite verses :-)


"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness."


And then I read on to verse 4...


"Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."


His very great and precious promises!  I just love that.  NASB calls them magnificent and great... Amplified says precious and exceedingly great... 


I have pondered that verse and the wonder of it... that God would give us.. freely.. His exceedingly great, magnificent, precious promises... so that we might participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption found in the world!  


And then I read Joshua 21:45 in my Daily Bible reading a week later..


"Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled."



And we know this is true.. just read all He promised in the Torah and then read what all happens to them.. good and bad.. it is all there! And even into the prophets.. He promised a Messiah and He has sent one!


I realized that I can personalize that verse...


Not one of all the Lord's good promises to Barbara failed... every one was fulfilled.


Every promise He has given, is giving and will give to me will come about.. never fail!  


So where do I find the promises... in His writings to me.. His Holy Word.. there is promise after promise found in Scriptures from having our needs supplied, being given strength, never being alone, salvation, protection, love and on and on... 


I am going to be sharing some of these promises on this blog in the days ahead.. So be watching for them. And in the meantime, open the Word and find some for yourself!  They are there.. not hidden at all.. just ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to see the Wonderful Promise He has for you today!

Everything

2 Peter 1:3 is a favorite verse of a dear friend and mentor of mine... God brought it to mind recently and I went to read over it again and meditate a bit on what it said.  In the process, He led me to keep reading through verse 4. What a promise.. assurance.. Word from Him!

"His diving power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through out knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.  Through these He has given us His very great promises so that through them you (I) may participate in the Divine Nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."

I love that God has already, at the time of salvation, given us everything we need for life and godliness. Not a little... not the start.. not some.. but EVERYTHING! It is there.. done.. we need only access it. But even more, He has given us His promises (the Word) which are very great.. and He gave them so that we (you and me) could be part of the divine (NOT be divine.. but participate in it) and to be able to escape the trappings of the world.

Of course we know that the Word is a 2 edged sword and the part that slices here is the fact that since we have everything we need.. we have the ability to escape.. then we are without excuse when we fail... and we will BUT praise God there is NO condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1) and if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).  

Some verses these gems in 2 Peter brought to mind...

Your Word I have hidden in  my heart that I might not sin against you.  Ps. 119:11

But when you are tempted He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.  1 Cor. 10:13b

God is not a man that He should lie -- not a son of man that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?  Numbers 23:19

God's promises are right and true... they always always come to pass.. I can.. you can.. stand on them with confidence!  Let's do that today.. take a stand against evil desires.. against the temptations of this world..  let's walk in confidence knowing He has given us ALL we need for today... we need just accept it by yielding to Him and letting the Holy Spirit be manifest in us. That is how we participate in the divine!