Living His Promises

The Bible is so full of God’s promises, that it is not really possible to count them. Some people have tried and come up with about 3000. Others have counted 7000. Herbert Lockyer wrote a book called All the promises of the Bible and claims to list 8000. Do you memorize them? Do you know them?  Those are all great things.....but the big thing....do you LIVE them? 

What keeps you going?  Did God promise you something?  Did God promise to never leave you?  Something interesting to think about is the fact that many people make friends by making promises...the way you KEEP friends: KEEPING your promises.  God is faithful to keep His promises even when we are not--countless times in the Bible we see God keeping His promises.  Even the Abraham, an OLD man, received his promise.  We get hung up on OUR timing, but God promised him something.....and He fulfilled it. AND in that promise was "laughter."  Isaac means "laughter."  God's promises bring joy when we see their fulfillment, but we must not lose heart.   
 
"If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself" (2 Timothy 2:13). The actual Greek reading of this verse is: "If we are faithless, yet He remains faithful...."

The world tends to live on explanations. For example: Why does this happen? What should I do about this?
The Christian lives on the promises of God. If you are going to serve God, you need to learn to trust God and His promises for you. But because we live in this world, we tend to run into some dangers that can prevent us from living by the promises of God. We must remember that He is faithful.  We must remember that He keeps His promises. 

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

If you are finding yourself discouraged on a day by day basis, then it's because we are missing out on the RENEWING day by day. We don't like to be reminded that for Christ's sake we should delight in the difficulties of life, so that God's strength can be seen in us. Sure it's tough, but we are more than overcomers. Christ lives in us.  Remember His promises--LIVE them. 

We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us. (2 Corinthians 1:8b-10)

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12)

 Josh and Serena