It’s an early morning, 4:30 AM, but already a good morning. The Cardinals won game 2 last night of the National League Championship Series beating the San Francisco Giants 5-4; I have a cup of hot coffee in my Cardinals mug (which only temporarily replaces my Saint Louis Wind Symphony mug); and Glenn and Cliff are stretched out beside me on the floor. This is a great way to start the day!
I have gotten to the point where I monitor carefully my exposure to the “news”. Now I don’t want you to misunderstand that statement; I have always been interested in current events…and still am. But goodness, gracious…enough is enough. In this crazy techno-world…between all the “news” programs on network and cable TV; the internet; cell phones and social media, it’s easy to get overloaded with the constant bombardment of the chaos around us. “News”, or I should more accurately say “various perspectives on the news”, is available 24/7, in living color, and in 3D-like presentation. And I challenge you to measure the “good news” against today’s headlines: war; the threat of war; ISIS; beheadings; Ferguson, MO; racial tension increasing; crime is on the rise; institutions that we have always believed in falling short; the degrading, mud-slinging style of today’s politics; lying, cheating and stealing becoming common-place…Whew! No wonder depression is on the rise and our emotions are numbed!
No doubt that there are times when I find myself sighing in exasperation, but as a Christ-follower, I remind myself that I am heir to all of God’s promises. That never fails to give me the sense of sanity and security I need when chaos and pathos is the “news” of the day. But my next thought is… “what do people cling to who do not know Jesus Christ?” While that saddens me for a moment, it also increases my resolve to share the Good News with anyone who has eyes to see and ears to hear. Bringing God’s truth and hope to every reader is the impetus for my blog. And let me say at this point, because of the scope of today’s topic, this posting will be the first in a series of three.
The Bible is resplendent with God’s promises. But the first order of business is to understand the difference between God’s promises and human promises. I feel confident that no one who is reading this would ever lay claim to having kept every promise made, and no doubt we can all supply reasons or excuses as to why that is true. Sometimes we forget; sometimes we are negligent; and sometimes it may be due to circumstances beyond our control. But the fact is…we know human beings do not always keep their promises. Why? Because we are fallen (fallible) creatures. But the good news is…God is a perfect God!
As I have stated many times, I believe there are two fundamental principles from which springs everything else we find in the Bible: God is Love; and God wants a relationship with us. These two principles are either stated that succinctly or interwoven in scripture throughout every page of the Bible. 1 John 4: 7-10 tells us, “…let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God – for God is love.” (this is referencing agape love; the highest form of love, self-sacrificial love.) Therefore, logic tells us that if God is a God of love, he can only beget goodness. And since He is a God of love and goodness, that would preclude lying. But to substantiate that fact beyond “our” logic, we are told in Titus 1:2 that “…God cannot lie”; and again in Romans 3: 4 when Apostle Paul tells us; “Though everyone else in the world is a liar, God is true.”
Concerning His desire for an eternal relationship with us, Romans 5: 8-9 states: “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ (meaning we are now in Christ), we will certainly be saved from God’s judgment. Romans 8:1 states: “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” (meaning, who are in Christ.) We can count on eternal life with God, Jesus and all other Christ-followers because we are washed by the blood of Jesus. Hebrews 8:12 reveals God’s proclamation, “I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sin no more.” How’s that for hope! And it’s all because we are in Christ.
Since we live in a fallen world that seems to be sinking deeper and deeper into a dark abyss on a daily basis, how do we fortify ourselves to stand strong in the face of danger, loneliness, doubt, fear, skepticism, and depression. Where do we look for something we KNOW we can count on today? I searched for that answer for half a century, and as the song tells us, “I was looking for answers in all the wrong places.” So when I was out of options and had no place else to turn, I cried out, “God help me!” That time it was in desperation; it was from my heart. And He heard my plea. The good news is, when we are humble enough to admit our own insufficiency, he will welcome us home with open arms. We are all the Prodigal Son; God is the loving father in that story. (Luke 15:11-32)
THE ANSWER:
The way to stand strong while living in this fallen world; in these fleshly bodies; and against the schemes of satan is to know the truth about who you are in Jesus Christ. And this IS WHO YOU ARE in Christ: your sins are forgiven; you inherit eternal life; you can come boldly before God without any fear of condemnation; you have been grafted into God’s family and you are his Child; you are worthy and acceptable (regardless of “who you are or what you have done”. Romans 3:22); you are the righteousness of Christ; you are loved unconditionally; and you are heir to every promise to Abraham and every other promise in the Bible. Ephesians 1: 3 tells us we are also “heir to every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm.” Those are promises from God. They are free to us as Christ- followers and they are true and unconditional! How’s that for hope?
As a Christ-follower, the more we grow in the truth of God’s Word and experience His promises coming alive in our life, the more we build a solid spiritual platform on which we can stand. This is how our faith grows, and how we step out in faith…knowing that we are standing on the truth and promises of God. It is also how we rise above the world around us to live the life we are called to live.
During the next two weeks I will share many truths and promises from God that deal with particular issues we all have to contend with as we continue our walk with Jesus. I will cover such topics as acceptance, addiction, anger, depression, doubt, fear, forgiveness, grief, judgment, peace, purpose, sexual sin, stress, suffering, temptation and worry. I hope you’ll come back for parts 2 and 3.
May God Bless You, and feel free to respond to this posting. Also feel free to share this with your FB friends.
Dan Presgrave, (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
Awesome job sweetheart!