Day 61 "God's Promises and Blessings to Us"

The promise ring was used as a token of a pledge or promise to become engaged at some later date in the future. Perhaps, not ready enough either financially nor commitment-wise to proceed with the actual engagement at the time, the promise ring signified a greater commitment to each other than say "going steady."

There is something particularly special about someone committing oneself to another person. Setting aside all others to focus one's attention solely on the needs and desires of one particular person, to share intimately some things together that only they would share with each other and with no one else. And in their commitment to each other, there is the discovery that together, the parts have become stronger than apart. "Til death do us part."

It is one thing to find that type of bond and love with someone else. It's another thing altogether different to have the creator of the universe, our creator, desire to spend all of eternity with us and to care for us. Assuring us with his promises along the way that he will never leave nor forsake us and providing faithfully and lovingly for our reconciliation to him through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ even when it was we, ourselves, who turned our backs to God and deciding we wanted to live for ourselves and not for him. It is the love of God that ultimately sustains us in our darkest hour and lifts our spirits in our greatest time of need.

Today, around the world, we are facing as a generation one of the greatest threats and challenges to our way of life and an attempt to break down our understanding of community. The speed with which the Coronavirus has descended upon us is beginning to shake us to our very core. In the next few weeks, as we have been foreworned by our government leaders, we are to brace ourselves for the coming onslaught of death that could raise the number of those who die from this virus to as many as 200,000 or more in just a matter of the next few weeks! Brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, grandparents, grandchildren, teachers, first responders, leaders, homeless- no group will be unaffected. When the dust settles from this monstrous invasion to our lives, and fortunately the authorities tell us that it will get better again, our lives, as we have known it, may never be the same again. As we undertake to do what we can to diminish the overall effect of this virus upon us, it would be a great time to be reminded and encouraged by the many promises and blessings that God has extended to us to help us in our time of need:

"How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings." Psalm 36:7

"Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty." Psalm 91:1

"Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken." Psalm 55:22

"so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him my have eternal life." John 3:14-15

"but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14

"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."

John 5:24

"The Spirit give life: the flesh counts for nothing." John 6:63

"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

"I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved." John 10:9

"I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10

"I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." John 12:24-25

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you." John 14:1-2

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27

"As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world."

John 15:19

"My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." John 18:36

"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those in Christ." Romans 8:1

"No eye has seen no ear has heard, what god has prepared for those who love him."

1 Corinthians 2:9

"Now it is God who makes both of us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." 2 Corinthians 1:21-22

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."

2 Corinthians 3:17

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:26

"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will, to the praise of his glorious grace which he has freely given us in the One he love." Ephesians 1:4-6

"But now in Christ Jesus you who were once for away have been brought near through the blood of Jesus Christ." Ephesians 2:13

"For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit." Ephesians 2:18

"In him and through him we may approach God with freedom and confidence." Ephesians 3:12

"Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and life a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Ephesians 5:1-2

"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Jesus Christ." Philippians 4:6-7

"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

And you continue to meditate on this list above, may I encourage you to think with a mind and see through the eyes that are eternally focused, for all that you see around you and all that you can behold is merely temporary in nature and will pass. Not to belittle, nor to diminish at all, the value and heart-felt emotions that we place on the people around us, but to properly see things for what they really are. It is as if you are traveling in a foreign country and you encounter and are besieged by disaster and suffering. The longer you stay within that country, the more you feel compelled to help others with their pain and suffering, even at the risk of your own safety. Knowing that all is still well in your home country and at some point you will be leaving this country to return home, provides some sense of security and well-being to your soul to continue in your efforts to give. Liken this, then, to living on earth with the mindset that God's eternal kingdom awaits us at the end of this life. Yes, while we are here, we are a part of this world and belong to people within it. But for those of us in Christ, this is not our permanent home. Thus, take courage and take heart that though you may see and experience pain and suffering spinning out of control all around you, God still has his hand of mercy and grace extended outward to us, to be by our side and help walk us through this difficult time not alone.

A warning: It is easy to see the world only through our limited understanding and even blame or question whether God exists with such suffering all around. However, to do so would be to mitigate and diminish the love and suffering exhibited through Jesus death on the cross. For a moment, even for those of you who may not believe in God, let us say that God exists and that he beheld all that took place with Jesus, his only begotten Son, dying on the cross for all of humanity and out of his love did nothing to intervene nor stop it. In doing so, we see God's heart for mankind. With that as a possibility, and what many of us do believe, can you see that some things may be much greater than what our minds can wrap our thoughts around and that it isn't God who is the causation of grief or hardship? It is largely possible that it is our own perceptions and filter system that causes us to see things in a certain light and to see God only in a negative way or dismiss him altogether. Still, for us who believe, we rest upon Jesus' resurrection from the dead as evidence that Christ was who he claimed to be. No, we do not have the mindset of God. But according to the Bible, we as believers have been God's Spirit to dwell within us. AND God's Spirit does know God's mindset.

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"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,"

Hebrews 10:24

In his love, see you tomorrow....

"Carpe Momentum in Love"