God Will Keep His Promises

Life is full of unexpected events. Some are pleasant, and some are stressful. Recently we had what could’ve been a stressful event turn into an opportunity to spend more time with family. After visiting my mother, the alternator quit working on our vehicle. Fortunately we were only about 15 miles from her house when we became stranded so she was able to come and pick us up and the boys got to spend another night at grandma’s until we could get the new part the next morning.
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It really wasn’t that stressful because it was an easy fix in a place close to help from family. Even if mom had not been there, Dad’s cousin lived just a few miles from where our vehicle stopped. It’s not so bad having car trouble three miles from nowhere if you know people in nowhere.
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I did however feel bad because we had told the boys that when we got to the next town, we would stop at McDonald’s and treat them to a yogurt parfait. Because of the vehicle breakdown we were not able to give them their yogurt and there is no McDonalds’s in nowhere.
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As humans we might make promises that we have every intent of keeping, but because of situations that are out of our control, we are not able to follow through. For example you might promise to fly out to spend Christmas with a loved one who is far away, but if all the flights are cancelled because of a snow storm, there is nothing you could do even if you wanted to.
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Fortunately we do not have to worry about that when God is the one making the promises. Not only will God keep His word, but He is so powerful that nothing can stop Him from keeping His word. In Isaiah 55:11-12 the Lord tells us, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”
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The Isaiah passage about God’s wonderful promise comes in the context of the promise of Christ’s coming. This whole plan of salvation for mankind through Jesus Christ is not something God just came up with at the last minute because He figured He could pull it off, it was something He had planned and promised all along. “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (2 Timothy 1:9)
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God has made a wonderful promise concerning salvation for those who believe and He will follow through on that promise as we believe in Christ’s payment for our sins by faith. James 2:5 says, “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?”
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His promises do not just include salvation though. They also include his warnings of judgment. “I the LORD have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel 24:14)
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Though men do not always follow through on their promises, God does. With that in mind, understand that His promises include both judgment and blessing. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:36)

I Want You to Meet Someone

Imagine that you had a single sister and you also had a friend who wanted to date her. Your sister had never met this friend so you began to tell her about him. You told her that he did not have a job because he was too lazy and that was the same reason that he was about 100 pounds overweight. Further, he was rude and a real bully. Besides, he was a liar who would cheat anyone he came in contact with. Unless your sister was a total fool, she would not be interested in starting a relationship with this man. - On the other hand, imagine if your friend was a wonderful man. He had natural leadership abilities, he held a position of great authority, he was honorable, respected, strong, beautiful, honest, kind, loving, merciful, and just. After hearing that, your sister is probably going to be interested in getting to know him a bit better. - I fear that too often when we witness about God, we are kind of like the brother that tells his sister that he has found the perfect man for her to marry, but does not take the time to tell her anything about him. Should it surprise us if the sister changes the subject and wants to talk about something else? Instead of telling our sister that she just needs to call our friend and agree to marry him, we should first tell her something about him. I believe we should do the same as we talk to others about God. - Psalm 96 gives us a wonderful example of this as it speaks of how wonderful God is and how His attributes should be declared. “For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens. Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.” (Psalms 96:4-6) - God is wonderful and is worthy of praise. Unlike idols that were created by men, God created everything, including men. Let me tell you a few things about God. He is powerful, strong, and all knowing. He is pure, holy, honorable, and just. He is kind, loving, merciful, and gracious. - God is also righteous, and because He is righteous and just, He cannot let sin go unpunished. The fact that God must deal with sin often causes some to misunderstand Him. Realizing that He is all powerful and perfectly just and righteous, if He did not deal with sin, He would be like a corrupt judge who took bribes. But since God is perfect, justice will be served under His reign. - Because God is righteous, He must bring justice to all sin and all of us have sinned and come short of His glory. But our God is so loving, gracious, and merciful, that even though we have come short of His glory, He has come up with a way for justice to be served. - In order for God’s justice to be served, the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a). God is so loving that in order to pay those wages and satisfy His justice, He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) - Once we understand how wonderful God really is, we should want to know Him better. He provided a way for us to come to Him, and that way must be through the Lord Jesus Christ. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6 ) If you want to come to God, then simply believe on Jesus Christ as your savior.