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any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
When God made His promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for Him to swear by, He swore by Himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”
And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.
People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.
Hebrews 6:13-18
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Do you remember when the COVID pandemic broke out in early 2020?
It really through all of us into a collective situation of uncertainty as we didn’t really know what we were dealing with or its severity. All we really knew was that it was a contagion that spread easily from person-to-person and so for some time we ended up living in isolation, trying to adjust as we went along to what we were dealing with.
Schools were shut down as were many other places where people might gather socially. Even places of worship were impacted. In places where we had to go, like the grocery store, we learned how to distance six feet from one another while masked when in public.
When we stopped meeting as a church, I began doing my teaching virtually, first through a series of videos and then using the Zoom platform where my small group could gather online for study and fellowship. As I prayed over the development of my early videos (still available on the ministry You Tube channel...https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM1olcSP3xJHeP0oE8VRDrQ?app=desktop), the Lord spoke to my heart and led me to remind people of His amazing promises, promises that never are broken. The ensuing series, Anchoring Yourself in the Promises of God’s Word, was born from this moving of the Spirit and the seven messages served to keep us focused on all the blessed assurances of our Lord, even in the midst of hard times.
As we see in our scripture passage for today, we find the writer of Hebrews encouraging the Jewish Christians to likewise remain focused on all God has promised them. Look again at his words here:
When God made His promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for Him to swear by, He swore by Himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”
And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.
People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. Hebrews 6:13-18
Just as God had made a sure promise with Abraham, considered to be the father of the Jewish nation, all Abraham had to do was wait patiently with the faith that God would do as He said He would do...and God took care of the rest, indeed making Abraham into a great nation (Genesis 12:2) and his offspring as numerous as the dust of the earth which essentially meant they were (and are) countless (Genesis 13:16).
This God of sure promises has also made a vow to people today as well, a guarantee of salvation for anyone who places their belief in His Son Jesus, the ones who become “heirs of what was promised” that being entitled to a portion of His eternal Kingdom. This promise, made in John 3:16, is affirmed throughout a single chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans, a chapter that in my view is the greatest in the New Testament after the Gospels. Look at this sequence of certain pledges we find within just 39 verses that lay the framework for the definite nature of everlasting life:
1. We are pardoned from the eternal judgment and wrath of God through belief in Jesus.
There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, Romans 8:1
2. When we believe in Jesus, we automatically receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. Romans 8:9
3. When we believe in Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit, then and only then do we become a true child of God.
Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. Romans 8:14
4. Anyone who is a child of God becomes a co-heir with His Son Jesus, gaining an inheritance in Heaven.
If we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. Romans 8:17
5. No one can take away the victory we have over death and the grave or separate us from the sure promise of the eternal life we’ll have, an eternal life where we will live in the light and love of God and Jesus forever.
Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
Friends, no matter where life takes us, whether through times of peace or the turmoil of another pandemic, we can always count on the sure promises of our God, promises that will always dispel worries and fears, replacing them with the hope we only have because of the love of our Lord as expressed through His saving Son, Jesus.
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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