In Search of God's Promises

What is the one thing we do when we feel out of control in a situation? We grasp onto something stable, something we can lean on, something that will hold us up. When the ground is shifting we want something solid to stand on. This is a journey through the Bible in search of God's promises for us today. Let's look together to see how many "boulders" He has in His quarry for us to stand on! "It is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants." Rom. 9:8

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Promise 35 from Deuteronomy 10:8-9

Deut. 10:8-9 - "'At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to serve Him and to bless in His name until this day. Therefore Levi does not have a portion or inheritance with his brothers; the Lord is his inheritance, just as the Lord your God spoke to him.'"

I just love this! In the last passage it spoke of how we are God's inheritance and this one talks about God being the inheritance. An inheritance doesn't have to be a future object. This verse doesn't say "God will be Levi's inheritance; but God IS his inheritance. We can live in our inheritance today. We can live in abundance today. I just read an article/blog called "No more waiting." It was about a single gal who decided to stop living in wait for her husband, as though she was always missing something. She decided to start living in fullness just as she is. Often times people look at kingdom inheritance as something for the future, but not now. The kingdom of God opened up to us the moment Jesus set foot on the ground. We don't have to live in wait for something we are missing, Jesus brought our inheritance to us. We have the fullness of God available to us now. Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is at hand." So wrap your fingers around it and grasp ahold of it!

Monday, May 20, 2013

Promise 34 from Deuteronomy 9:26 & 29

Deut. 9:26,29 - "'I prayed to the Lord and said, 'O Lord God, do not destroy Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand... Yet they are Your people, even Your inheritance, whom you have brought out by Your great power and Your outstretched arm.'"

What a thought! He redeemed His inheritance with His mighty outstretched hand, because He is a great God. That just wows me to think, I am God's inheritance that He will go to great measures to make sure I continue to be His. He displays His power and passion in saving His people. That is what He did on the cross for you and for me. He stretched out His mighty hands to show His compassion to us so that we may be saved. In all His greatness, He chose to shed all that He is, so that we could be all that He intended us to be; His children, His inheritance, His beloved. Thank You, Jesus!

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Promise 33 from Deuteronomy 9:19

Deut. 9:19 - "'For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which the Lord was wrathful against you in order to destroy you, but the Lord listened to me that time also.'"

I just had a conversation with some friends yesterday (written Apr. 22) about prayer. The question was, "Does prayer move the hand of God?" The answer is "Yes, it does!" Moses prayed and fasted for 40 days and nights on behalf of the sinful people. He knew that death for them was on the threshold, God had His hand raised and ready to snuff them out. But Moses contended! And Moses won! God heard his cries. Moses said, "And once again, God listened to me." Not only did God listen, He changed His mind, thereby sparing the lives of the Israelites. God listens to His people who put themselves at His mercy on behalf of those who need Him. He listens to us when we cry out for the salvation of loved ones, nations and others. He listens to us when we align ourselves with His heart and pray for the sick, injured and lonely. He moves His hand and heart over the lost, the broken, those who need healing. He brings restoration, salvation and healing. He hears the cries of His children and responds. Thank you Jesus!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Promise 32 from Deuteronomy 9:5

Deut. 9:5 - "'It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God is driving them out before you, in order to confirm the oath which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.'"

As much as we like to think that God is only thinking about blessing us, God has another agenda too. He hates unrighteousness especially when that unrighteousness risks getting in the way of others being, or becoming righteous. Yes, He did promise to bless Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as He promises to bless us, but He also knows the heart of man, He knows man's tendency to take credit for the things God does. Moses is warning the people already of this and is making it clear that His clearing out the enemy has nothing to do with what man will do but everything to do with what He will do. God reserves the right to claim what is His, He does this by wiping out the enemy. The promise is: He will do it, and it will be ALL Him!

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Promise 31 from Deuteronomy 9:1,3

Deut. 9:1,3 - "'Hear, O Israel! You are crossing over the Jordan today to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than you, great cities fortified to heaven.... know therefore today that it is the Lord your God who is crossing over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and He will subdue them before you, so that you may drive them out and destroy them quickly, just as the Lord has spoken to you.'"

How big is your God? Do you see Him as a "consuming fire" that rushes down on your enemies, that consumes and destroys the strongholds in your life? Here is our promise: Today God crosses over from your camp to your enemies camp and He will capture them, He will destroy their strength bases so that you may go in easily to drive them away so that you can quickly clean house and move in. There is NOTHING, and I repeat NOTHING that is too big, too mighty, too difficult, too lofty that the Lord your God can't wipe away today. This is who He is, this is what He does!

Monday, May 13, 2013

Promise 30 from Deuteronomy 8:19-20

Deut. 8:19-20 - "' It shall come about if you ever forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish. Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so you shall perish; because you would not listen to the voice of the Lord your God.'"

This is such a sobering promise which, as a nation, we are already seeing it take place. The acceptance of immorality in our nation, so much so, that immorality and sin is protected by law, is a plain indication of a dying nation, a nation that is perishing. We cannot manipulate God in our favour, He wont stand for it. Yes, He is a loving God but not where we allow other gods and idols take His place. I have even fallen into a pattern of turning the laptop on first thing when I get up instead of reaching for my Bible. No more! Idolatry can so easily creep into to our lives, the moment we take our eyes off of Him. We must defend our nation before it perishes beyond repair. We must turn our eyes and ears back to focus on Him, if we are to expect any more blessings from Him for our nation.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Promise 29 from Deuteronomy 8:18

"'But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.'"

It is God's character to give. He gives us the power to make wealth., He gives us the wisdom, ingenuity, creativity, and as Moses said, "power" to make wealth. I'm sure this is a tough concept to grasp and many people would prefer to say, "Well that was ONY for the Israelites because God is keeping His promise to them." But think of it, God is the One where wealth comes from, He is the multiplier of wealth (see v. 13). He is the source of power, He is the One who gives power, we are the one's He loves; and it was He who said, "Ask anything in my name and it shall be granted unto you." But his is not a genie in a bottle concept. The first part of the verse says, "But you shall remember the Lord your God." It is in relationship that we have access. When we have no doubt what so ever that God can move mountains in our lives and He can make our bread and fish multiply, when we expect to see multiplication as if it is the norm, not the exception to the rule, THEN in that belief and trust and rest we find power, the power that makes wealth.