Promise Keeping

Thursday, February 14 Promise Keeping When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it ... Better not to vow than to vow and not pay. Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 Recommended ReadingJames 5:12 The third of the Ten Commandments -- "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain" (Exodus 20:7) -- has been wrongly interpreted to mean using God's name in a curse or profane statement (although that is certainly to be avoided). Originally, it referred to making a vow or promise with God as your witness that you would keep your word. If you failed to keep your promise, you were guilty of using His name in vain. You had involved God in your deceit or unfaithfulness, and God is not to be "used" by His people for their convenience in such a way. King Solomon wrote an extended paragraph about the danger of making vows and promises to God and, by extension, to others with God as our witness (Ecclesiastes 5:1-7). The apostle James, following his half-brother, Jesus of Nazareth, went further: Don't make vows at all. Just let your "Yes" mean yes and your "No" mean no (Matthew 5:37; James 5:12). Instead of making a promise in God's name, we should let our character serve as a guaranty for our word. If you say "Yes" or "No" today, follow through appropriately. Better not to promise than to promise and not pay. We must never promise ourselves any more than God has promised us.   Matthew Henry     :

Step Away from the Shore

Step Away from the Shore
“Between three and six o’clock in the morning, Jesus came to them, walking on the water” (Matthew 14:25, NCV).



Faith is the ability to trust what we cannot see. John Shedd says, “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” Faith is willing to take risks, embrace the unseen and step away from the safety of the shore. We fear the outcome or don’t understand the step God has asked us to take. We are afraid to fail and are more concerned about our “reputation” as a Christian than we are about being obedient to God. As long as the enemy can keep us preoccupied with a selfish perspective, our faith is impotent.

Authentic faith naturally produces action, but faith is hindered unless we abandon ourselves to that faith. Did you know that the African impala can jump to a height of over ten feet and cover a distance of greater than thirty feet? Yet these magnificent creatures can be kept in any zoo by a three-foot wall. The animals will not jump if they cannot see where their feet will land.

Many people say they do believe God is who He says He is and that He is able to do what He says he will do but falter at the point of believing that God is willing to work in their lives. If we don’t believe He is willing to keep His promises, we are not walking in faith. Oh, we find it easy to agree mentally with the truth that we serve a powerful God who loves us and has a great plan for our life, but that belief is worthless until it settles in our hearts and changes the way we live. If we don’t live it, we don’t really believe it. If we are not willing to step away from the shore, we will miss so much of what God has for us in life.

The story is told of Will Rogers who came to his friend, Eddie Cantor, for advice. Will wanted to make some important changes in his act but was worried about the danger of such changes, explaining that he wasn’t sure if they would work. Eddie Cantor’s response was, “Why not go out on a limb? That’s where the fruit is!” The same is true of faith.

Faith believes that God is willing. The life of Jesus Christ is the embodiment of God’s willingness to work in our lives. The disciples had personally witnessed God’s willingness to save His children. Yet, in Matthew 14, we find them in a boat, caught in a storm, afraid and still questioning God’s willingness to rescue them. Did they cry out in fear? Yes! Did He come? Yes!

Jesus came to the disciples, walking on the water, between three and six o’clock in the morning, the darkest time of the night. I have often wished I could have been on that boat with the disciples, waiting for Jesus to show up. I imagine the questions and complaints were flying. “Why would Jesus send us out here, knowing the waves were high? Where is He? Why is He waiting so long to rescue us? Can’t He just calm the waves like He did before? I ministered all day long and this is my reward? Is He really coming? I don’t understand!” Sound familiar? It does to me.

We are quick to believe the lie that God is angry with us and as a result, will not bless our life or meet our needs. The truth is that God is willing and waiting to pour out His favor and blessings on a life of faith. Hebrews tells us that faith always honors God and God always honors faith. “Without faith no one can please God. Anyone who comes to God must believe that he is real and that he rewards those who truly want to find him” (Hebrews 11:6 NCV).

I think part of the problem is that we don’t know how to define “blessing.” A blessing is not always easy, painless, simple, comfortable or expected. A blessing often comes, wrapped in the mystery of darkness. But I am learning the truth that anything that makes us cry out to God can be counted as a blessing. Why? Because when we are desperate and in pain, when we have no answers and the darkness is closing in, we cry out to God, just as the disciples did, and He comes! Not because we have earned His presence or His mercy, but because we cried out with a tiny seed of faith, as His children, knowing He is not only able but He is willing to come. Step away from that shore. He will meet you there.

 

GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT SIN

“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 from all the wrongs we have done” (1 John 1:9, NCV).

 
 The first time we commit a sin it is painful. We are filled with remorse and mourn the fact that we have grieved the heart of God, but regret is not enough when it comes to dealing with sin. Unless we confess and turn away from that sin, we are likely to commit it again. If we allow sin to settle into our life and refuse to confess it, that sin eventually hardens our heart and builds spiritual calluses in our soul. When we become comfortable with our sin, we are walking in enemy territory and setting ourselves up for spiritual failure and discouragement.

The good news is that Jesus understands human frailty. He is well acquainted with temptation and the tactics of Satan. Jesus gave His life as a ransom for yours and mine. He paid our sin debt in full.

1 John 1:9 “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 from all the wrongs we have done” (NCV).

This verse was written to believers as an encouragement to deal with sin and a promise that when we do so, God will be faithful to forgive us and clean up the mess that sin has caused. We are not perfect – just forgiven. To experience that forgiveness fully we need to keep short books on sin. That means being sensitive to sin and immediately choosing to do something about it. God is serious about sin. We need to be as well.

1. We must confess sin continually. “Confess” means to agree with and is a present tense verb meaning that we must confess sin frequently and continually.

2. We must confess sin completely.We commit sins one at a time. We need to confess them one-by-one as well.

3. We must confess our sin confidently.Once we confess and repent of our sin, we can put it behind us. God is just and fair – seeking only one payment for sin. Jesus has already made full and complete payment with His death on the cross.

One of Satan’s favorite tactics is to resurrect buried sin. Wrapping that confessed transgression in his vain taunts and useless accusations, the enemy hauls it back into focus, hoping that guilt will paralyze and imprison a soul set free. Satan can hold us prisoner if we let him. But how often do we believe his empty lies – and by doing so, grant him access to that which he has no right? To break the hold of sin, we can and must stand against the enemy, trusting not in our feelings but in the facts of God’s word. And those facts are unchanging and crystal clear – when we confess sin, God forgives it.