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The Lord swore an oath to David with a promise he will never take back: “I will place one of your descendants on your throne.” Psalms 132:11
A friend of mine was promised an important position in the business he worked for by its owner once he retired. Unfortunately, the owner died unexpectedly leaving the business to family members. When he told them of the promise the owner had made, none of them knew about it or believed him. In fact, upon mentioning the promised position, his position was terminated and he was sent packing.
There’s an old saying, “A promise is only as good as the person making the promise.” There tends to be a lot of truth to that statement. It’s easy to make promises, but making good on those promises? That’s another story. We see that every election season. Promises made to get a vote don’t often result in fulfillment.
The promises of man are fickle, but the promises God gives us can be counted on to be true. The number of promises God gives us is up for conjecture. Suffice it to say there are many.
Psalm 132, is one example of a promise God gave to King David. God promises that David’s throne would last forever and that there would be one to sit on it that would be an eternal King. We know this promise is fulfilled through Jesus Christ. God’s promises are something we can count on for eternity.
But let’s take a closer look at that promise. David was called a man after God’s own heart and it’s because of this that he was promised his throne would be eternal.
The real beauty doesn’t lie in the promise itself, but in what happens after this promise was made. Although David was considered a ‘man after God’s own heart’ he certainly wasn’t perfect. In fact, in many areas he failed miserably. He was a lousy husband, a distant father, a murderer, a bad friend, and the list goes on.
Following David to the throne throughout history, we see a line of Kings guilty of murder, incest, rape, violence, idolatry and rebellion.
But God’s promise, inspite of man’s rebellion held true. He promised messiah would come from David’s lineage and that’s exactly what happened, in spite of the failure of men.
The beauty of God’s promises is that they are not dependent on our performance or character. They are dependent on his power to forgive, love and extend mercy to us knowing full well that we will fail. The struggles we go through now won’t change our destiny. Our problems don’t affect God’s promises. We can count on him!
“I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!” John 9:25
Have you ever been questioned for your beliefs? Have you ever had someone confuse you with ‘convincing evidence’ that you are wrong?
Today, more than ever the Bible, the resurrection or even existence of Jesus, even basic Christian morality is in question. It’s been placed on the main stage of ridicule. Those of us that hold to the teachings of Jesus and the Word of God are labeled as intolerant, racist, homophobic and a plethora of other labels.
Even within the body of Christ there are those who seem to see their mission in life to find fault in certain pastors, worship styles, etc. Whether they intend to cause doubt and confusion, doesn’t really matter. The divisiveness they create weakens the testimony body of Christ and, in my opinion, makes the church a laughing stock to the unbeliever or former believer. They wave their theological degrees as some sort of flag of importance.
The Apostle John tells a story in his gospel of a blind man that Jesus healed. Blind from birth, people questioned whether he sinned, or his parents sinned causing the blindness. Poor guy was judged from the very beginning!
Now if you were healed from blindness you may think life would be much better for you. Not the case for this guy, not at first anyway. The religious elite questioned his identity. They questioned his integrity. They bombarded him with all sorts of theological questions that he couldn’t answer. Finally, in desparation, he answers them by saying, “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!” (John 9:25)
I’m with the blind guy! I don’t have all the answers. I don’t understand everything in the Bible. I don’t understand completely why God allows what He allows. I just know this: “I was blind and Jesus healed me.” That’s enough.
And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. 2 Peter 1:4
My wife and daughters love to hunt for rocks. When the girls were younger we would often find rocks in the washing machine, rocks in cup holders in the car, rocks seemed to appear most everywhere! We even took a camping trip to Michigan for the primary purpose of finding one particular type of rock! (We were successful by the way)
The most cherished rock to be found was an agate. We have way more pictures than needed (I tend to get carried away) of the girls laying on beaches along Lake Superior hunting through many different colors, sizes and shapes of rocks looking for the perfect agate!
I have to admit, I’m not a rock hound. I try, but most of time I’m unsuccessful at the art of determining what is an agate and what isn’t among all the other rocks on the beach.
My wife has an eye for agates. Years of practice, a keen eye for what to look for, and patience quite often pays off. The same is true in our walk with Jesus.
We need to know what to look for by studying His Word. We need to put ourselves in situations which allow us to focus on our mission to share the gospel. We need to keep from being distracted by all the other rocks (voices calling for our attention and drawing us away from Him).
Jesus tells the story of a man who found precious stones in a field. He was so excited he sold everything he had to buy that field so he could cash in on the precious stones that were there.
In the same way, we have been given precious stones through Jesus. Stones of forgiveness of ourselves and others. Stones of promised guidance. Stones of power to live the way we know He wants us to live. Stones of fellowship through the body of Christ. Stones of a promised life with Him beyond the grave.
Sometimes, living for Jesus can be like rock hunting. It’s easy to lose sight of God’s promises (rocks) in the noise and clamor of the world. There are so many things that distract us from the mission of living for Jesus and sharing the good news.
Continue to seek them. Stay true to the facts as told in His word through His Spirit. Pursue them as you would precious stones on the beach.
For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News—and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power. 1 Corinthians 1:17
The more I grow in Christ, the more I am aware and amazed at the dichotomy of the human mind versus the ‘mind of Christ.’ Biblical scholars of the past and present remind us that we can not be friends (followers) of the worldly (human) mindset and true disciples of Jesus.
Jesus tells us that and his brother James (among others) does as well.
“You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.” James 4:4
In his first letter to the church in Corinth Paul points out the futility of following after people rather than keeping our focus on the cross. It’s vital in the Christian walk to remember the centrality and power of the cross. It’s also important to remember that while the cross is a symbol of victory for the believer today, it was a symbol of humiliation, defeat and evil in Jesus’ day. That is dichotomy #1 by the way.
Paul reminds the Corinthian believers, and us, that at there is power in the cross, not weakness.
Here are some points to ponder about the power and dichotomy of the cross.
Human thought sees power in status; Jesus sees power in humility.
Human thought sees power in strength, Jesus sees power in weakness.
Human thought sees power in revenge, Jesus sees power in forgiveness.
Human thought sees power in experience , Jesus sees power in faith.
Human thought sees power in self reliance, Jesus sees power in trust.
The cross is weakness to the world, for us it is ultimate power. Don’t settle for the power of human thought. Live powerfully because of the cross of Jesus.
“Several boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the Lord had blessed the bread and the people had eaten.” John 6:23
Memories. They can sneak up on you. You may be driving through an area where something happened (good or bad) and you are instantly transported back to that time. It could be a song, an aroma in the air, or a multitude of other things that bring you back
Imagine what it must have been like for those in the crowd of 5,000+ to experience the miracle of Jesus feeding them from just five small loaves of bread and two fish. The news of the miracle spread as quickly as the disciples could deliver lunch.
“This came from where?”
“How can this be?”
“This is the best bread and fish I’ve ever had! I’ll have more please!”
“Oh, no thank you. I couldn’t eat another bite! It’s delicious! Where did you say this came from again?”
The next day many went back to the spot where Jesus had fed them, but he was gone. He’d moved on to another place. He was on a mission. Jesus never stayed in one place long. He rarely did things in the same way. His methods changed but his mission and message remained the same in every situation.
The people experienced Jesus in a way few of us ever have. Not being able to find him, they went searching. They went looking intently for what Jesus would do next.
Have you ever experienced Jesus in that way? Times when he showed himself in an answered prayer for comfort of strength? Times when the sunrise or sunset reminded you of his beauty and creativity? Storms that have shown you his power? A relationship strained that was reconciled?
It’s good to go back to those times when God has shown himself in a real way. It’s good to have those memories to build on. But memories are in the past and we should never stay there.
Continue to seek Jesus. Continue to draw close to him, to learn from him, to see the new things he desires to show you. Jesus is that same yesterday, today and forever. But he wants to show himself to you in new ways every day.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 