Welcome to July and a new theme for the month: “KNOWING WHAT GOD PROMISES.” Studying this topic has made an incredibly strong impact on my faith and continues to animate my walk with Jesus. Like the previous themes we’ve covered so far this year—Release Control; Reject the World; Recognize our Inadequacy; Believe with a CAPITAL B; Doing over Being; and Spiritual Maturity–this one has the “CHANGE-YOUR-LIFE” potential. But there’s a condition in that potential that will be the foundation we use for all messages. Here it is:
We must go beyond ACKNOWLEDGING that God has many promises for us to KNOWING what they are to BELIEVING them so deeply that they will always be available when our life is ensconced in the fog of uncertainty.
I woke up today full of energy and excitement about this new topic and then prayed for God’s hand in preparing messages that will produce spiritual growth and transform lives. I thanked him for his incredible grace and mercy. And I offered appreciation for his magnificent gift of forgiveness.
With the power of God’s forgiveness ringing in my ears and roaming my heart, I decided to stick with that subject and capture just one of his many PROMISES on how he forgives us.
“But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right. He will cleanse us form all the wrongs we have done.” 1 John 1:9
Then there’s this example:
God wants us to KNOW that his promise of ETERNAL LIFE applies to us! After all, would God make a promise like that and then allow our life to be consumed with so much uncertainty and fear that we do NOT believe it?
Of course not.
God wants all Christians to know and believe his PROMISES in a way that generates inspiration and encouragement. Embedded in that truth is God’s instruction for us to assert his promises with bold consistency.
There’s one final point in this kick-off to our series on GOD’S PROMISES. It should be our goal to work toward believing his promises so much that we end up JOYFUL about the ASSURANCE he has given us.
Let’s get started!
I want to BELIEVE God and his PROMISE that I will lack no good thing.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
What does God want you to do with his promise that you will not lack anything?
“The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” Psalm 34:10
