Category: God’s Promises

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The Cradle to the Cross

The journey continues. Abraham and Sarah have both had name changes – God is calling them father and mother of many people and nations. Hearing this they both laughed; what was impossible in the natural was and is possible with God.

“So she laughed and said to herself, ‘Now that I am worn out and my husband is old, will I really know such happiness?’

13 The Lord asked Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh? Does she doubt that she can have a child in her old age? 14  I am the Lord! There is nothing too difficult for me. I’ll come back next year at the time I promised, and Sarah will already have a son.’” Genesis 18:12-14 CEV

And so, it happened. I hope you will take time to read Abraham and Sarah’s story. It’s such an encouraging one. Neither of them was perfect but God used them anyway. In all of their waiting to have a child they had their share of missteps, but they continued to trust God. (Read Genesis 12-22, it’s a wonderful story)

“The Lord was good to Sarah and kept his promise. 2  Although Abraham was very old, Sarah had a son exactly at the time God had said. 3 Abraham named his son Isaac, 4  and when the boy was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, just as God had commanded.5 Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born, 6 and Sarah said, “God has made me laugh.” Genesis 21:1-5 CEV

Little did Abraham and Sarah know the plan that God had for their son. Their son would be a signpost on the road to the cross. Before he was ever born their son was a sign of God’s faithfulness.

When God makes a promise, He keeps it.

” Abraham’s faith never became weak, not even when he was nearly 100 years old. He knew he was almost dead and that his wife Sarah could not have children. 20 But Abraham never doubted or questioned God’s promise. His faith made him strong, and he gave all the credit to God.

21 Abraham was certain that God could do what he had promised. 22 So God accepted him, 23 just as we read in the Scriptures. But these words were not written only for Abraham. 24 They were written for us, since we will also be accepted because of our faith in God, who raised our Lord Jesus to life. 25  God gave Jesus to die for our sins, and he raised him to life, so that we would be made acceptable to God.” Romans 4:19-25 CEV

From Isaac’s cradle we can look forward and see God’s provision for our salvation. When we look at the cradle we can see the cross.

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Follow Me!

Those were the words that were heard by a man named Abram. He wasn’t anybody special; he was one of three sons. He was nine generations removed from Noah and sixteen generations from Adam.

(I know this doesn’t sound very interesting but bear with me through this brief history lesson.)

What I need you to see is that God doesn’t give up on His plans. He is diligent, persistent, aggressive and determined. Love never fails!

Of all the people on earth God chose Noah and nine generations later He chose Abraham.

“The Lord said to Abram: ‘Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others. 3  I will bless those who bless you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you.’ 4-5 Abram was 75 years old when the Lord told him to leave the city of Haran. He obeyed and left with his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and slaves they had acquired while in Haran.” Genesis 12:1-5 CEV

God is looking for those who will believe Him and obey. Noah obeyed and built an ark; Abram obeyed and left his homeland.

“Abraham had faith and obeyed God. He was told to go to the land that God had said would be his, and he left for a country he had never seen. 9  Because Abraham had faith, he lived as a stranger in the promised land. He lived there in a tent, and so did Isaac and Jacob, who were later given the same promise. 10 Abraham did this, because he was waiting for the eternal city God had planned and built.” Hebrews 11:8-10 CEV

If you read the story of Abram’s life, and I hope you will, you will see that he wasn’t perfect. He lied to the king of Egypt about his wife and there was family friction between he and his nephew Lot and still God used him. In fact, the Bible tells us that Abram was called the friend of God.

I like that.

My friends are near and dear to my heart. I treasure those relationships; God’s affection is so much greater than ours. Because men like Noah and Abram trusted God and were blessed by Him, we too share in those blessings.

“The Scriptures say that God accepted Abraham because Abraham had faith. 7  And so, you should understand that everyone who has faith is a child of Abraham. 8  Long ago the Scriptures said God would accept the Gentiles because of their faith. This is why God told Abraham the good news that all nations would be blessed because of him. 9 This means everyone who has faith will share in the blessings given to Abraham because of his faith.” Galatians 3:6-9 CEV

Abraham has left us some important steps to follow on our journey to the cross. Following the path that God has planned for us will always bring blessings!

“I will bless you with a future filled with hope—a future of success, not of suffering. 12 You will turn back to me and ask for help, and I will answer your prayers. 13  You will worship me with all your heart, and I will be with you” Jeremiah 29:11-13 CEV

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Good Tree – Good Fruit

When the Lord wants to teach us a principal, don’t be surprised if we find it on every page in the Bible.

“A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. ” Matthew 7:17-18 CEV

We will always be in a state of fruit production. We are destined to be fruit producers. Sometimes are fruit can be a little sour because it is fully ripened but that doesn’t mean our fruit is bad. However, there are some trees that do produce bad fruit.

Take for example the ornamental orange trees that grow in Arizona. The branches are thorny, and the fruit is so sour that not even the wild animals will eat it. It looks beautiful hanging there on the branch, so inviting, but do not eat it.

Kind of reminds me of some people. They look good but once you begin to listen to them talk and see their actions you know they aren’t. Remember, we had already discussed the verses Jesus taught, “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks”.

The Apostle Paul had a similar warning in his letter to the Christians living in Corinth.

“Don’t be fooled: ‘Bad friends will ruin good habits.’”  I Corinthians 15:33 ERV

Such good advice. We need wisdom in establishing relationships and business associations. The following words come from King David; he made these statements about his closest advisors and friends.

“I will sing to you, Lord! I will celebrate your kindness and your justice. 2 Please help me learn to do the right thing, and I will be honest and fair in my own kingdom. 3 I refuse to be corrupt or to take part in anything crooked, 4 and I won’t be dishonest or deceitful.5 Anyone who spreads gossip will be silenced; no one who is conceited will be my friend.

6 I will find trustworthy people to serve as my advisors; only an honest person will serve as an official.7 No one who cheats or lies will have a position in my royal court. 8 Each morning I will silence any lawbreakers I find in the countryside or in the city of the Lord.” Psalm 101 CEV

Such good advice.

 “If you want good fruit, you must make the tree good. If your tree is not good, it will have bad fruit. A tree is known by the kind of fruit it produces.” Matthew 12:33 ERV

I am so thankful that God’s word has given us “good seed” and the Holy Spirit is in us to produce good fruit.

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No Law Against It

By now I hope your garden is well planted. Seeds of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control.

“God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, 23 gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways. 24 And because we belong to Christ Jesus, we have killed our selfish feelings and desires.” Galatians 5:22-24 CEV

Planting God’s word in a heart of good soil is always an effort that brings good results.

“The seeds that fell among the thornbushes are also people who hear the message. But they start worrying about the needs of this life and are fooled by the desire to get rich. So the message gets choked out, and they never produce anything. 23 The seeds that fell on good ground are the people who hear and understand the message. They produce as much as 100 or 60 or 30 times what was planted.” Matthew 13:22-23 CEV

I hope you have written down our “seed” verses over the last several days. We need to keep them fresh in our memory so that our hearts continue to bear fruit – some 30, some 60 and some 100 times as much.

The Apostle Paul tells us that there is no law against these characteristics that Christ develops in our lives. But his message stirred up hatred, jealousy, and anger in the hearts of some who heard it. No one was ever arrested or maligned for doing good and righteous things. However, Paul was beaten and imprisoned for sharing God’s love by those who were convicted by his stand for Christ.

“God’s Spirit doesn’t make cowards out of us. The Spirit gives us power, love, and self-control. 8 Don’t be ashamed to speak for our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, just because I am in jail for serving him. Use the power that comes from God and join with me in suffering for telling the good news.” II Timothy 1:7-8 CEV

Standing strong is the real test of the seed, or what God is developing in our lives. A tree withstands the storms of life. The rain, wind, lightning, hail, frost and snow. It stands resilient in the face of hardship. It’s rooted deep.

“ But you must stay deeply rooted and firm in your faith. You must not give up the hope you received when you heard the good news. It was preached to everyone on earth, and I myself have become a servant of this message.” Colossians 1:23 CEV

We must stand guard so that the weeds – the cares and anxieties of life – don’t choke out the seed.

“ Always be glad because of the Lord! I will say it again: Be glad. 5 Always be gentle with others. The Lord will soon be here. 6 Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. 7 Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.” Philippians 4:4-7 CEV

Paul wasn’t arrested because of the good he did. Jesus wasn’t crucified because of the miracles He performed and the compassion He showed. Persecution and death came because of the hatred in men’s hearts.

Will we be tested and face trials in our stand for Christ? Yes, yes we will. But just like Paul, Peter, John, James and Jesus our fruit will continue to produce as long as we don’t let weeds of bitterness and self-pity choke it out.

There is no law against God’s love.

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Peace Reigns

“But the fruit that comes from having the Holy Spirit in our lives is: love, joy, peace, not giving up, being kind, being good, having faith, 23 being gentle, and being the boss over our own desires. The Law is not against these things.” Galatians 5:22-23 NLV

Today’s image is the International Peace Garden in North Dakota. I think everyone wants peace – peace in our soul, in our hearts, in our families and communities. There’s really only one way to peace, true peace, and that’s through trusting the power of God to be at work in our lives.

 Jesus said: “I have told you these things so that you can have peace in me. In this world you will have troubles. But be brave! I have defeated the world!” John 16:33 ERV

The Christian life is not free from struggles or difficult circumstances. All we have to do is look at Jesus’ time with His disciples to see that. They were ridiculed by the religious leaders; they faced mobs that sought to destroy them and then they dealt with physical storms as well.

“‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?’ 39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace, be still!’ And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.” Mark 4:38-39 NKJV

“And what about the seed that fell among the thorny weeds? That is like the people who hear the teaching but let worries about this life and love for money stop it from growing. So it does not produce a crop in their lives.” Matthew 13:22 ERV

Jesus does care! He doesn’t want us to perish; He doesn’t want us to be in turmoil, chaos or confusion. He doesn’t want the cares of this life or fear to choke out our peace.

“I leave you peace. It is my own peace I give you. I give you peace in a different way than the world does. So don’t be troubled. Don’t be afraid.” John 14:27 ERV

“Suddenly many other angels came down from heaven and joined in praising God. They said: 14 “Praise God in heaven! Peace on earth to everyone who pleases God.” Luke 2:13-14 CEV

“ You will keep the man in perfect peace whose mind is kept on You, because he trusts in You. 4 Trust in the Lord forever. For the Lord God is a Rock that lasts forever.” Isaiah 26:3-4 NLV

“Don’t worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks for what you have. 7 And because you belong to Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over all your thoughts and feelings. His peace can do this far better than our human minds.” Philippians 4:6-7 ERV

“ Trust the Lord completely, and don’t depend on your own knowledge. 6 With every step you take, think about what he wants, and he will help you go the right way.” Proverbs 3:5-6 ERV

Christ came into the world bringing peace on earth and good will from His Father. He left earth leaving us with His peace to overcome the attacks we would face. By trusting Him completely, by keeping our thoughts centered on Him, He will stand guard over our hearts and bring us perfect peace.

Because of Christ we have peace. These verses are seeds worth harvesting. Happy Planting!

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Let’s Grow Some Fruit

We’ve just finished almost 6 weeks of teaching on love and yet it’s going to be the first seed we’re going to plant in our garden.

“But the fruit that the Spirit produces in a person’s life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these kinds of things.” Galatians 5:22-23 ERV

Before we look at planting seeds of love, I want us to examine what type of seed we are putting into the soil of our hearts.

Fruit trees are a perpetual seed meaning each season they produce fruit. Some seasons they will produce larger fruit but there will be less of it. Some seasons they produce a lot but the fruit is smaller. Perpetual seed.

Vegetable seeds are annuals. They grow for one season; produce a crop and they die. We don’t want to be producing annuals in our lives.

Then there are the perennials. Technically, fruit trees and bushes are perennials but most often that term refers to flowers that bloom all year round or that go dormant and come back year after year.

I like that the Scripture doesn’t say that the “vegetable” the Spirit produces is…, no, the Holy Spirit produces fruit in our lives. Big difference.

Love.

“So these three things continue: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love.” I Corinthians 13:13 ERV

Since the Bible names love as the first fruit and calls love the greatest characteristic we shall start there.

“Fill us with your love every morning. Let us be happy and enjoy our lives.” Psalm 90:14 ERV

“What I teach will give you a good, long life, and all will go well for you. 3 Don’t ever let love and loyalty leave you. Tie them around your neck, and write them on your heart. 4 Then God will be pleased and think well of you and so will everyone else.” Proverbs 3:2-4 ERV

“He said, “Teacher, which command in the law is the most important?”

37 Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and most important command. 39 And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself.’” Matthew 22:36-39 ERV

As I pointed out the other day, God’s word is the seed we are given to plant in our hearts.

“And what about the seed that fell on rocky ground? That is like the people who hear the teaching and quickly and gladly accept it. 21 But they do not let the teaching go deep into their lives. They keep it only a short time. As soon as trouble or persecution comes because of the teaching they accepted, they give up.

22 “And what about the seed that fell among the thorny weeds? That is like the people who hear the teaching but let worries about this life and love for money stop it from growing. So it does not produce a crop in their lives.” Matthew 13:20-22 ERV

The verses above are good seed and they WILL produce but they need to be protected. All the seeds of God’s word do.

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs 4:23 NLT

Now, let’s start planting and watch the seeds grow!

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Seed Planting

I hope you took some time to crumble some of the big dirt clods you may have identified in your life. Selfishness, easily offended, short-temper, anger, gossip, insecurity – yep, these are just some of the things that may have surfaced as you were tilling the soil. They will block the proper development of the seeds we are about to plant if they are broken up and removed.

Let me say before we go any further that identifying and breaking up these hard places is a positive thing. We can only remove what we know about it – ignorance is not bliss.

All through the Bible we have examples of seed planting. It starts in the Garden of Eden.

“God said, “I am giving you all the grain bearing plants and all the fruit trees. These trees make fruit with seeds in it. This grain and fruit will be your food. 30 And I am giving all the green plants to the animals. These green plants will be their food. Every animal on earth, every bird in the air, and all the little things that crawl on the earth will eat that food.” And all these things happened.” Genesis 1:29-30 ERV

The process of planting seed and producing a harvest was enacted at the very beginning. God created the earth out of nothing but after that original creation every thing has been supplied by the planting of seeds.

It’s important to realize what the seed is that we are asked to plant.

“Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, my thoughts and my ways are higher than yours. 10 “Rain and snow fall from the sky. But they don’t return without watering the earth
that produces seeds to plant and grain to eat. 11 That’s how it is with my words. They don’t return to me without doing everything I send them to do.” Isaiah 55:9-11 CEV

The seed God has given us for life-changing harvest is His word. He says, confidently, that His word will not return to Him without accomplishing EVERYTHING He sends it to do. God provides us with good seed!

“While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” Genesis 8:21-22 KJV

“Again Jesus said: God’s kingdom is like what happens when a farmer scatters seed in a field. 27 The farmer sleeps at night and is up and around during the day. Yet the seeds keep sprouting and growing, and he doesn’t understand how. 28 It is the ground that makes the seeds sprout and grow into plants that produce grain. 29  Then when harvest season comes and the grain is ripe, the farmer cuts it with a sickle.” Mark 4:26-30 CEV

So let me repeat how important it is that we have good ground for planting. God won’t force us to make a good field free from stones, hard dirt clods and weeds but He does tell us the seed won’t grow well unless we do.

Before I ever gave this teaching to you the Lord dealt with me on some hard soil in my heart that needed to be broken up and made ready for planting. Our garden can be as large as we want, we just need to prepare the ground.

I think it’s best to start with a small plot – watch the seed grow and then plant more. Make your ground ready, we’ll start planting some seeds in tomorrow’s teaching.

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And the Rains Came

Oh, my goodness, the rains came down last night. The storm that came across California has arrived in Arizona, but it isn’t nearly as fierce as it was there. The rain came, being driven along by the strong winds but I don’t think we had damage to our little community.

Thank God!

Now it’s just a light drizzle and the winds have stopped. It reminds me of an experience I had when we first moved to Montana. We bought our home from an old ranching couple, such a sweet couple. As we walked from room to room, she told me stories of their life in this house, now my home.

We came to their bedroom and she stared out the window for a few moments silently and then turned to me and spoke. “Now honey, when the first winter storm comes, you’ll think you’re going to be snowed in all winter but don’t panic, just wait. Wait 30 minutes and it will be over. It’s always over in 30 minutes or so. You need to know that”.

Well, sure enough, several months later the sky was gray, the temperature was dropping, the winds started to blow and the big, pelting snowflakes were blowing sideways against the house.

I went to that bedroom and stood, looking at the window and watching the clock. The howling wind put my nerves on edge, and I waited. Then, just as she said, it stopped. Just 32 minutes had passed, and the sun broke through the gray and caused the snow to glisten like diamonds.

Isn’t that like life?

As little children we’re not bothered much by the storms, physical or otherwise. We play in the puddles when the rains are over, build snowmen after the earth is covered in white and we trust our parents to hold our hands and guide us through the emotional storms we experience. As an adult we seem to fret more, fretting blocks faith.

“Anyone who hears and obeys these teachings of mine is like a wise person who built a house on solid rock. 25 Rain poured down, rivers flooded, and winds beat against that house. But it was built on solid rock, and so it did not fall.” Matthew 7:24-25 CEV

In life’s storms I can hear God’s voice just as clearly as I heard Joyce, just wait.

“ Even very young men get tired and become weak and strong young men trip and fall. 31 But they who wait upon the Lord will get new strength. They will rise up with wings like eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not become weak.” Isaiah 40:30-31 NLV

So, when the rains come, and they will, don’t fear the storm. Wait, trust in the Lord, feet planted firmly on the solid rock of his Word and He will renew our strength. Just wait!

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Loss, Love & Triumph

Have you ever lost contact with someone you love? Maybe one of you moved and circumstances changed; maybe it was more permanent than that and death is the cause of separation. If that’s the case, then maybe you can understand the story of Joshua.

Joshua lived in Egypt and he was one of the many that Moses delivered from pharaoh’s control. He and Caleb were two of the twelve spies that saw how luscious and productive the land of Israel was; he gave a good report that the others chose to ignore. He became Moses’ assistant and served God with his whole heart. Now Moses had died and the responsibility for taking the Israelites into this new land was his.

“…The Lord said: 2 My servant Moses is dead. Now you must lead Israel across the Jordan River into the land I’m giving to all of you. 3  Wherever you go, I’ll give you that land, as I promised Moses…5  Joshua, I will always be with you and help you as I helped Moses, and no one will ever be able to defeat you.

6-8  Long ago I promised the ancestors of Israel that I would give this land to their descendants. So be strong and brave! Be careful to do everything my servant Moses taught you. Never stop reading The Book of the Law he gave you. Day and night you must think about what it says. If you obey it completely, you and Israel will be able to take this land. 9 I’ve commanded you to be strong and brave. Don’t ever be afraid or discouraged! I am the Lord your God, and I will be there to help you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:1-9 CEV

For forty years Joshua had seen God’s mighty miracles; for the same time, he had seen the stubbornness of the people. He had stood by Moses, learned from him and now he was on his own to lead. I imagine his sense of loss was almost too much to bear.

But God!

God knew Joshua was in need of encouragement. God knew His plans for Joshua’s future and He knows His plans for us.

“I will bless you with a future filled with hope—a future of success, not of suffering.” Jeremiah 29:11 CEV

In a few, power-packed verses, God establishes Joshua’s leadership and declares his victory.

  • I will always be with you
  • I will help you
  • No one will defeat you
  • Be strong. Be Brave
  • Obey My Word
  • Be strong. Be Brave
  • Don’t be discouraged or afraid
  • I will be there to help you

Notice the Lord repeated Himself. He was making a point to Joshua and to us.

“ I am grateful that God always makes it possible for Christ to lead us to victory. God also helps us spread the knowledge about Christ everywhere, and this knowledge is like the smell of perfume.” II Corinthians 2:14 CEV

Can you hear God saying to you “be strong, be brave – God, in Christ always leads us to victory”? Sure, there are battles but we will be victorious.

God promised to always be with Joshua and He has made the same promise to us.

“ In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. 38 I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—” Romans 8:37-38a CEV

Maybe you’ve experienced the loss of someone you loved and depended upon, just like Joshua. Your heavenly Father is there – in your loss to encourage you with His love and lead you to victory!

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Confident Love

There’s a confidence that comes when we know we are loved. We can open up and share our heart’s desires and our fears, knowing we are in a safe place, a place of free from ridicule and ambivalence.

That’s what God, our Father, wants for each of us.

Old time religion seemed to be more based in fear than in love. Christianity isn’t about religion, it’s relationship! Once I began to see how much God loved me and how He desired a relationship with me, more that I was desiring one with Him, I became God-fident!

I am confident in the One who loves me. Confident that His correction is based on love and not malice. Confident that He will never leave me. Confident that He wants me coming to Him whenever I feel weak and uncertain. God-fident in His unconditional love.

“You can be sure that the Lord will protect you from harm.” Proverbs 3:26 ERV

David, the shepherd boy, was confident in God’s love and protection.

“ Everybody here will see that the Lord doesn’t need swords or spears to save his people. The Lord always wins his battles, and he will help us defeat you.” I Samuel 17:47 ERV

“ I want them to be strengthened and joined together with love and to have the full confidence that comes from understanding. I want them to know completely the secret truth that God has made known. That truth is Christ himself. 3 In him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are kept safe.” Colossians 2:2-3 ERV

“ So what should we say about this? If God is for us, no one can stand against us. And God is with us. 32 He even let his own Son suffer for us. God gave his Son for all of us. So now with Jesus, God will surely give us all things.” Romans 8:31-32 ERV

The last two verses were written by Paul and were part of his instructions to the new followers of Christ in Colossae and Rome. The basis of his teachings were to get new believers on a firm foundation in their walk with Christ. He wanted them to be God-fident. His teachings will do the same for us.

My last verses today are some I have held confidently in my heart for over 40 years now. I used to pray, wondering if God was even listening. Did He hear my prayers, would He answer them? Then I read these verses and committed them to memory.

“My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God’s Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he’s listening. And if we’re confident that he’s listening, we know that what we’ve asked for is as good as ours.” I John 5:13-15 MSG

There’s a misconception that we can’t know what God’s will is. That would be so unfair of God to leave us in a constant state of unknowing. How can we be confident like that?

“9 But as the Scriptures say, ‘No one has ever seen, no one has ever heard, no one has ever imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.’ 10 But God has shown us these things through the Spirit.” I Corinthians 2:9-10 ERV

We have God’s word. He does not change. When we see a promise of God in the Bible we can have confidence that He will keep His word when we pray. And if we don’t know what we should be praying for we can ask Him to show us and He will. He will lead us with peace, directed by His word.

We will become God-fident, confident in His love!

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