Promise 13 Gen. 4:4

"Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering." The reason God had favour for Abel over Cain is because Abel brought to Him his 1st fruits, where as Cain brought his leftovers. I think of how often I give to God my leftovers instead of the 1st fruits of my attention, devotion, time and service. God is a God who deserves our whole being, not just the leftovers. The promise here is that He will bless those who give Him their very best. Thank You, Lord!

Promise 12 Gen. 3:19

Gen. 3:19 - "By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken. For you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Even though this verse is God's punishment to Adam, there is a promise in it. When we work, we shall be rewarded. Nothing bothers me more than seeing people soak off the social system. I know grown men who wont lift a finger to provide for their families (they have no mental or physical illness that would prevent them from working, they are not trying at all to find work either). It doesn't bother them at all that they have to beg for food. God rewards those who help themselves. From the beginning of the fall we were made and expected to work. Even before the fall, Adam was to keep the garden and to cultivate it. That is who we are and should continue to be, working people. Or as an occupational therapist would put it, "Occupational Beings".

Promise 11 Gen. 3:16

Gen. 3:16 - "To the woman He said, 'I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth, in pain you will bring forth children; yet your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you'." Children are wonderful things, yet often times they are not enough to satisfy the needs of women. I know so many women who are devastated because of a communication breakdown in their marriage or stress in their marriage. Children are nice but the are not as satisfying as a good relationship between husband and wife. God ordained it to be that way. Couples need to make sure their marriage is strong before they have children, then equally raise their children together. But most of all, the marriage should be priority in the household, not the children. If a marriage is strong then the marriage of their children will be strong as well.

Promise 10 Gen. 3:15

Gen. 3:15 - "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." Not all promises from God are pleasant. Satan found that out when God promised that he would be crushed. Many will give birth to the One who will crush the deceiver. That means for us that Jesus will rule over us, not Satan. Jesus will be stronger and is stronger than the enemy when we turn to Him. That is the promise we can embrace.

Promise 9 Gen. 2:18

Gen. 2:18 - "Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make a helper suitable for Him'." Have you noticed that God's first attempt to finding a suitable helper for Adam was to create the animals and birds? When they fell short of satisfaction then Eve was created. God, Himself said that it is not good for man to be alone, He will provide a helper, a companion, for each person. It may not be in the form of a husband or a wife, but the promise is; He will not keep us alone. (However a husband WOULD be nice! :-) )

Promise 8 Gen. 2:5b-6

Gen. 2:5b-6 - "For the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth and there was no man to cultivate the ground. But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground." Often times we think we need to help God out so that we can see production. In our jobs we work harder, longer. In our gardens we furtilise more or use the latest, best plant food, in our studies we make more charts, more maps, more study cards, etc. We strive and strive to see success. God had not sent rain yet to the earth, but did the trees need a drip system put in by man, a well dug, a dam built in order to keep the trees alive? No, God, in all His greatness, in only ways that He can, created a mist to spring up from the earth so that the trees and land would have water. Man didn't need to do a thing, not even lift a finger (actually man wasn't even created at this point), there was no striving, no stress. God just did it! God promises and proves that He is in control, I'm having a feeling this will be an on-going theme we'll be seeing throughout this study, Stop striving and watch the mist rise up!

Promise 7 Gen. 2:3

Gen. 2:3 - "Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made." God blesses rest. It is interesting that the Bible doesn't say, "He blessed and sanctified all that He created." No, it says, that after all was done, He blessed and sanctified the 7th day, the resting day. Americans don't do well at this, actually in most of our western nations we don't do well at this. We consider it laziness if we stop and do nothing. When God blesses our rest that means He fills us up during that time so that we may be more productive and fruitful in our work. Then we may look back and see that "it was good." I don't know about you, but I'm up for looking forward to a weekly blessing from God.

Promise 6 Gen. 1:29

Gen. 1:29 - "Then God said, 'Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surfaces of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you.'."" Food is always a controversial topic among Christian circles. Just the other day (written Feb. 3) I had a conversation with a good friend on the topic of pork, based on the teaching of a Messianic Jew. Now I've not done a full study on the pattern of food in the Bible, but if we look at the first provision of food, God did not say, "I give to you the beasts of the earth and birds in the sky as food," He said, "I give you the plants and the trees that yield seed as food. Now we know that Jesus cooked fish to eat and even multiplied fish to be eaten, was that because man had already been accustomed to eating meat? Did man step out of God's boundaries by eating meat in the first place? I will be very watchful of this as I progress through this study, But one thing that God has promised is that He is our provider, He provides food, regardless if that includes meat or not.

(As a continuous note on the food matter: In Gen. 9:3-4 God says to Noah, "Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant. Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, it's blood." So there you have it!)

Promise 5 Gen. 1:26

Gen. 1:26 - "Then God said, 'Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness'." We are made in the likeness of the trinity. I think often times we think of this in only physical form, but being made in this image of the Heavenly Father means that we were created to have that same heart of the Father, a heart who loves all and who desires the very best for others. We are made to be like Christ; to lay down our lives for the Father, to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth, to live in and with power, the power of the Holy Spirit. We are created to have discerning eyes and hearts, to stay on the path of God's leading and to direct others to the Father. That is what it means to be created in the image of the triune God. Lord Jesus help me to have Your eyes and to see You and know You as You've intended, Thank You! Amen!

Promise 4 Gen. 1:28

Gen. 1:28 - "God blessed them: and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it." As soon as God created man and woman, He blessed them so that hey can multiply. It was God's intention that couples give birth to babies. It was His intention that couples be man and wife and it was His intention that men and women be together, not single. I really belive that it is a sin of our society that we have so many singles, especially singles in ministry, it just should not be so. It is also a sin of our society that we accept homosexual lifestyles and it is also because of the sin of man, meaning the fall of Adam and Eve, that brought barrenness to couples. But we can pray that God restore His intentions in ourselves and in our land. We must pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in Heaven, and because of His love for us, He will delight in bringing that restoration. That is His promise to us!

Promise 3 Gen. 1:10,12,21,25,31

Gen. 1:10,12,21,25,31 - "..... and God saw that it was very good." God delights in His creation. He delights in what He has made. After He made man, He took in all that He had made and said, "Behold it is very good." Does man ever grow too old to God? Does man get boring to Him, thus changing His mind about His feelings toward man? No! (Well, we do know of an instant or two in the future where God is ready to do them all in) Nothing is hidden from God, "and God saw.." He created man in His own image, He is not surprised by what man does. He delights in the form of man as He has fashioned him in the likeness of Himself, we never have to think that God is mad at us, hates us, or is displeased with us, He can't have those feelings toward us any more than He can toward the sea or a tree, He delights in us.

Promise 2 Gen 1:3ff

During creation week, all was created at the spoken words of God. "Then God said, Let...." vv. 3,6,9,11,14,24 and 26. Whatever He spoke into existence came to be. I know that whatever God says to me through scripture or vision or audibly, it will come to be. Right now my educational future is in turmoil (written Jan. 7, 2010) and so is my future on the mission field because of accrued debt. In anyone's eyes it should look like I need to pack my bags, but God gave me a promise through the vision that the occupational therapy program will take place in Kosovo. When I was nervous about the vastness of the vision to train OTs and about the rehab clinic, He gave me the promise that He would be with me. He sent me straight to Dan. 10:12 - "Do not be afraid.... I have come in response to your words." continuing in v. 19, "He said, 'O (woman) of high esteem, do not be afraid. Peace be with you; take courage and be courageous." As this is a moment of bleakness, I choose to stand strong, to take courage and trust that what God spoke to happen, will be. (Just a follow up, I didn't have to pack my bags, am still at the university.)

Promise 1 Gen. 1:1

Gen. 1:1 - "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." As we look for God's promises, we have to go to the very foundation of who the promises came from. Because if we read, see or hear a promise of God or from God whether it be personal or corporate fact or prophecy we need to be able to trust that the promise was true, is true and will be true. We can have that assurance because it comes from the voice of the very One who created all things into being. He is the very reason why you and I exist. He is God! He doesn't play games with our minds, He doesn't bother about being politically correct or not. He is God! If He didn't think we were worth creating, He wouldn't have created us. And because He did, then He knows the plans He has for us. Just as He created the physical light, He created the spiritual light and doesn't leave us in darkness as to what His plans are. His promises to us are instruction, guidance, discipline, hope, encouragement and most of all His expressions of love for His beloved children. I'm so excited to see what promises My loving Heavenly Daddy has for me! Aren't you?