We all have made promises to others, and usually with good intentions. But, sadly, we sometimes break those promises, for whatever reason. But our heavenly Father keeps His promises to us; He is trustworthy, He is love, He has our best interests at heart; especially for true believers who have faith in Him and Jesus. For those who are lost, unsaved, He has compassion and will hear their prayer when they come to Him in repentance and pray for forgiveness; pray in faith that Jesus is the Savior and recognize that His death and resurrection has made a way (a promise) that we may have eternal life. Christ paid our sin debt in full at His sacrificial death on the cross. He was our substitute and took all of the sins of the world upon Him at Calvary. His shed blood can wash all of our sins away. In God's eyes, and by Jesus' redemption for us at the cross, all of our sins are wiped away, the slate is washed clean, all past, present and future sins are forgiven because the heavenly Father sees us as clean, for He sees us through Jesus and Jesus' taking our sin debt upon Himself. We just need to have faith in Him and believe that He is the Savior, and the only way to eternal life.
Once you are saved, do not let anyone condemn you for your past sins. Romans 8:1 tells us: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
Once you are saved, do not let anyone condemn you for your past sins. Romans 8:1 tells us: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
The greatest promise of all is God's free gift of salvation!
When you are born again (a spiritual "re-birth") by believing in Jesus and that He is the Savior, you become a new person; you begin a wonderful new existence.
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are past away; behold, all things are become new." - 2 Corinthians 5:17
Do not be discouraged if you fall short and sin - although you should feel remorse if you sin, and you should pray for forgiveness and endeavor to live more godly in the future, with the good Lord's help. We all sin because of our inherited weakness from Adam's fall. But true believers sin less ! And they sin unintentionally for the most part. (If anyone continually sins on purpose and does not have any remorse and whose conscience does not condemn him, then it is questionable that he is truly saved; and that he has not been born again.) As imperfect true believers we may not understand very much when we are first saved and the Lord will graciously be patient with us and guide us to a more correct understanding as to what being a true follower of Jesus Christ actually entails. Sanctification takes time; spiritual maturity takes time.
There are many promises of God found in the Bible; in the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament. Let us consider some of them:
Sincere followers of Christ look forward to what Titus 2:13 promises us: "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ;"
"In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." - Jesus at John 14:2,3
Some professing Christians, says Jan Markell, are of the mindset to feel "come Lord Jesus, but not too soon." In other words, some are loving the world too much and have "plans" and goals for their time on this earth and are not putting the good Lord first.
Heaven and being with our beloved Savior for all eternity is much to be preferred over this corrupt and dying world.
Another promise from God (Jesus) is that we would receive power from the Holy Spirit, which would strengthen us and enable us to live a life that is acceptable to the good Lord, as well as to share the Gospel of Jesus with others, helping to win lost souls. That promise is found at Acts 1:8 = "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
And we have the promise that we will be secure in Jesus if we are true believers. Jesus tells us at John 10:28,29 : "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand."
[Barber's Point Lighthouse, Oahu, Hawaii]
There are many more promises of God to be found in the New Testament, and also in the Old Testament. In the O.T. we have the wonderful promises made to Abraham. Consider Genesis 12:2,3 which follows:
"And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."
And the promise "And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart." - Jeremiah 29:13
God promised to be faithful to us and that we can always depend upon His love. Please read Deuteronomy 7:8-9
God promised to bless those who love His Word. Psalm 1:2 explains : "But his delight is in the law of the LORD: and in His law doth he meditate day and night."
Please read your Bible daily and you will find many more promises that God has made to us. You will also draw closer to the good Lord the more you saturate yourself with His Holy Word and also the more you pray. It is all about knowing God and Jesus and having a strong, close, vibrant, living relationship with Him; one that is personal and intimate.
We should be very grateful to the good Lord for all of His promises, and pray frequently to Him to give Him thanks for His tender mercies, His unfailing love, His forgiveness, and for salvation and sending Jesus, our Redeemer. We should honor and obey Him and give Him glory for everything ! He is awesome! Actually, words cannot fully express His Majesty.
We should be very grateful to the good Lord for all of His promises, and pray frequently to Him to give Him thanks for His tender mercies, His unfailing love, His forgiveness, and for salvation and sending Jesus, our Redeemer. We should honor and obey Him and give Him glory for everything ! He is awesome! Actually, words cannot fully express His Majesty.
Following is a hymn about standing on the promises of God:
And below is a 50 minute sermon by Charles Spurgeon titled "Obtaining Promises." It ties in with what was written above, but focuses primarily upon obtaining the fulfillment of the promises. Spurgeon tells us in his following sermon that there are 3 ways of obtaining the promises. He says that by reading the Bible and meditating upon its promises you will then acquire faith.
Romans 10:9.10,13 tells us: (9) "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (13) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
"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
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." - John 3:16
Have a blessed and Christ centered weekend - and life !!
