Saturday, August 28, 2010

The Promise

Scripture:

Isaiah 48:16-17
Come closer and listen. I have always told you plainly
what would happen so you would have no trouble understanding.
And now the Sovereign LORD and His Spirit have sent me with this message:
The LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, says; I am the LORD your God,
who teaches you what is good and leads you along the paths you should follow. (NLT)

Observation:

The LORD our God created us to walk in His presence as Adam and Eve did in the garden. He wanted to draw us close to Himself as a Father is to his children. But because sin entered into the picture we can no longer walk in His presence, for He is a Holy God and cannot co-exist with sin and ungodliness. But because of His great love for us He sent His Son, the Holy Spirit, and His Holy Word to guide us in our life-journey so that we could once again stand in His presence and be His children.
When we humbly ask God to forgive us our sins, He does. When we ask Him to transform our lives, He will. When we ask Jesus Christ to be the Lord of our lives, He becomes our Shepherd. When we ask Him to create in us a new life and free us from the bondage of sin, He unleashes His Mighty Power to redeem us!

Application:

When I turned my life over to God, He opened my eyes so I could see and soften my heart so I could understand the world around me. And amazingly, the Holy Spirit gave me the ability to discern His truth from the lies of the world—lies that pull us deeper into darkness to hide the Truth. When I humbly decided to trust God with my life, He slowly and lovingly revealed the Truth and began to teach me all that I needed to transform my old sin filled life of darkness into a brand new life filled with the Light of God’s glory. Understand this, my friends; Our awesome God, the LORD Almighty, is all knowing (1 John 3:20) who stands for everything that is good (Luke 18:19) and holy (Isaiah 6:3). And when we follow the ways of our LORD, we are assured an abundant life that will richly prepare us for an eternal life of fellowship with the Father of Life; forever walking in His presence as His children and He…forever being our God—A bond that will never again be broken!

Prayer:

Thank you, Lord God, for being our Redeemer, our Teacher, and the One who saves us from death and becomes our eternal Guide. I am so grateful that you are transforming my life into a life that brings hope and glory to You. Nothing will ever lead me away from the Truth, even in my darkest moments of doubt, for the hope You bring into my life is the strength that keeps me alive and persevering with joy in my heart!