Does Jeremiah 29:11 Apply To Us?

 From Stand To Reason

Minimizing Forgiveness

"Do you ever think that your sins are too bad, and that forgiveness for those sins requires you to get your act together first? If so, you don’t fear God. You are minimizing his forgiveness. You are acting as though his forgiveness is ordinary, just like that of any person or make-believe god. In contrast, the fear of the Lord leads us to believe that when God makes promises too good to be true, they are indeed true."
— Ed Welch, Running Scared (Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2007), page 195

HT: Of First Importance

Responding to the Promises

From KLove

Standing On the Promises

God’s promises were never meant to be thrown aside as waste paper; he intended that they should be used. God’s gold is not miser’s money, but is minted to be traded with.

Nothing pleases our Lord better than to see his promises put in circulation; he loves to see his children bring them up to him, and say, Lord, do as thou hast said. We glorify God when we plead his promises.

— Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, January 15

HT: Of First Importance

He Is The Amen

"Prayer in the name of Christ ends with a calm and joyous Amen; for Jesus Himself is the Amen of God, in whom all promises and gifts of God are sealed. "

— Adolph Saphir   The Hidden Life

Hat Tip: Of First Importance

Hyperlinked Prayers

"..Our most powerful prayers are hyperlinked to the promises of God. When you know you are praying the promises of God, you can pray with holy confidence. It's the difference between praying on thin ice and praying on solid ground. It's the difference between praying tentatively and praying tenaciously.You don't have to second guess yourself because you know that God wants you to doubleclick on His promises."

          - Mark Batterson, The Circle Maker, page 91

Would You Rather be Blessed or Strengthened?

“For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” (2 Chron. 16:9 NIV)

Some Bible translations use the word "bless" in this passage, instead of "strengthen" as in the NIV.  We all want God to put his eyes on us to bless us. However, we usually interpret that to mean that God will get us out of our tough time: out bills paid, our relationships healed, our sicknesses removed. This passage in Chronicles, within its context of the story of King Asa, reminds us that sometimes God's promise of blessings is only a promise to give us strength to endure a trial, not a promise to get us out of the trial in the way we would like him to. Look what happened to the Prophet Hanani in this very story!

Michael Patton has a good commentary on this verse here. Read it.......if you dare!

I must choose to accept that sometimes I am blessed by strength to endure and by his presence with me in the pain, and not by removal of my problems. I wish it was always otherwise, but both Bible and experience say that this is often the way he does things. And.....It really is enough!

Empty Promises

From Ragamuffin Soul

I felt promised an easy adulthood because I had an easy childhood.
I felt promised no depression or anxiety because I had nothing to “worry” about.
I felt promised an easy marriage because I had a beautiful wedding.
I felt promised money in the bank because I put money in the offering plate.
I felt promised grace from man because I have grace from Jesus.
I felt promised understanding of grace because I wear a POTSC shirt.
I felt promised grateful kids because there is food on the table.
I felt promised knowledge because I read my Bible.
I felt promised success because I work 12 hours a day.

Then all of those promises were broken.
One. At. A. Time.
It’s because all of those promises are empty.

They ONLY thing that we are promised is the love of Jesus.

And that love can…

Hold you during a rough adulthood…
Sustain you during rough depression…
Restore you when you sabotage your marriage…
Provide for you when you are out of cash…
Support you when Jesus is your only grace…
Reveal to you when you look in the mirror and see Grace on your chest…
Be Hope for you when the fridge is empty…
Fill you when you read His Word…
Satisfy you when you have worked harder on your job than on your family…

These promises will not be broken.

A Thousand Layers of Promises

From David Hayward at Naked Pastor

Intended To Be Used

“God’s promises were never meant to be thrown aside as waste paper; he intended that they should be used. God’s gold is not miser’s money, but is minted to be traded with. Nothing pleases our Lord better than to see his promises put in circulation; he loves to see his children bring them up to him, and say, Lord, do as thou hast said. We glorify God when we plead his promises.”

- Charles Spurgeon, Morning & Evening, January 15

Hat Tip: Pleading God’s promises « Of First Importance