38 lines
4.5 KiB
HTML
38 lines
4.5 KiB
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<title>Blue Letter Bible: Day By Day By Grace — Bob Hoekstra</title>
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<script src="./js/MainHeader.js" type="text/javascript"></script><div class="head">
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Day By Day By Grace
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Bob Hoekstra
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June 25
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<h1>Our God of Promises</h1>
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<div class="block"><i><b>I will</b> put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; <b>He shall</b> bruise your head, and <b>you shall</b> bruise His heel.</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Gen', 3, '15-15');">Genesis 3:15</a>)</div>
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<p>Although the Scriptures do not command us to make promises to God, we who believe in the Lord have the liberty to make various kinds of promises. It is permissible to express our devotion to God through promises, if they are in dependence upon <b>His</b> character and capacities. <i>"<b>I will love You</b>, O LORD, <b>my strength</b>"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Psa', 18, '1-1');">Psalm 18:1</a>). It is also acceptable to make godly confessions through promises that are based on <b>His</b> promises to us. <i>"<b>He</b> Himself <b>has said</b>, '<b>I will never</b> leave you nor forsake you.' So <b>we</b> may <b>boldly say</b>: 'The Lord is my helper; <b>I will not fear</b>'"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Hbr', 13, '5-6');">Hebrews 13:5-6a</a>). We are even allowed to make predictive promises concerning the details of our lives, if they are subject to <b>God's</b> will. <i>"<b>If the Lord wills</b>, <b>we shall</b> live and do this or that"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Jam', 4, '15-15');">James 4:15</a>). Still, the <b>work of God</b> in our lives hinges upon <b>His promises to us</b>. In fact, <b>our God</b> is characteristically <b>a God of promises</b>.</p>
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<p>The fact that our God typically works through promises is seen as early as the third chapter of the Bible. There, God made a very strategic set of promises. <i>"<b>I will</b> put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; <b>He shall</b> bruise your head, and <b>you shall</b> bruise His heel."</i> These prophetic promises were addressed to Satan, but they were given in the hearing of Adam and Eve. Of course, they were recorded in the Scriptures for everyone else to consider thereafter.</p>
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<p>These promises revealed some of the consequences of spiritual rebellion, as well as announcing God's remedy for the sin of man. <i>"<b>I will</b> put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed."</i> These words declare the inevitability of <b>spiritual warfare</b>, as well as the certainty of the <b>cross</b> of Christ.</p>
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<p>Spiritual warfare is a major theme in Scripture. This warfare is documented throughout the word of God. <i>"Now <b>Satan</b> stood up <b>against Israel</b>, and <b>moved David</b> to number Israel…Ananias, why has <b>Satan</b> filled <b>your heart</b> to lie to the Holy Spirit?…So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the <b>Devil</b> and <b>Satan</b>, who <b>deceives</b> the <b>whole world</b>"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('1Ch', 21, '1-1');">1 Chronicles 21:1</a>; <a onClick="return mV('Act', 5, '3-3');">Acts 5:3</a>; and <a onClick="return mV('Rev', 12, '9-9');">Revelation 12:9</a>). Nevertheless, the <b>cross of Christ</b> would provide a victory over the enemy and an escape from this sinful world for all who would embrace it. <i>"<b>Grace</b> to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who <b>gave Himself for our sins</b>, that He might <b>deliver us</b> from this present evil age"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Gal', 1, '3-4');">Galatians 1:3-4</a>).</p>
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<div class="dbdbg_prayer">Dear God of promises, may my promises be a peripheral issue in my thinking and living. Conversely, may Your promises be central and foundational—especially, those promises related to the cross of Jesus, my Lord, Amen.</div>
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