Promises promises. Haven’t we all heard that comment before? Some of us may have even used that comment before when we hear someone promise they will do something, yet we know from their history of promising they do not come through on their promise.
Politicians are known for this. Making a promise and not fulfilling it because of one excuse or another. Then again they are human and prone to fail like the rest of us. Have you ever made a promise and been unable to keep it? One would even argue that continually making a promise and not keeping it says alot about the integrity of a man or woman.
God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind (Numbers 23:19). If these words are true, as I believe them to be, then if God makes a promise then He will not change His mind about the promise and He would not lie about the promise. For us it might be difficult to keep a promise, but for God nothing is impossible.
Let us look at some of those promises. In Genesis 12, God promised Abraham the world through his descendants. He promised His protection over Israel and us (Psalm 121). God promised His love would never end (1 Chronicles 16:34). God promised His blessings (Psalm 1:1-3). Those are just a few in the Old Testament.
Now let us look at the New Testament to see if He ever stopped promising. God promises salvation (Romans 1:16-17). God promises comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). God promises new life in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). God promises peace (Philippians 4:6-7). The promises did not stop with just God, but His son Christ Jesus also made promises.
There are so many promises that God and His son have made, that one could write a book on them and never finish the book. However, one promise that was made has yet to be fulfilled, but based on the integrity of my Lord and his track record of keeping His promises, I believe this promise will come to pass some day soon, so, make sure you are ready. Jesus himself said that He will return (John 14:3-4).
So, the next time you say “promises promises” or hear someone say it, remember the one who always keeps his promises.
Last week the little lambs learned about how sin entered the world. We talked about how Adam and Eve disobeyed God when they chose to eat fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and their punishment for doing so. This week we will continue our lesson through Genesis with how God made a way to restore, or reset, humanity and the promise God made to those He saved.
Michael Townsend