Prayer and Promises

This morning I was thinking about prayer and promises.

I thought, 'if we Christians truly believed in what God says about Himself, who He says we are and what He says He would do for us i.e. His promises to us, how different our lives would be.' I really felt convicted that if I put into perspective all God has done in my life and beyond, and tie that together with what He has promised to do for those that love and seek Him, then I would not only be blown away but I would walk fearlessly into the future with an enormous spring in my step. My prayer is that, in my lifetime, I will come to understand the magnitude of God promises to me.

With these thoughts in mind, I cruised the internet for 'promises of God to His Children'

and came across JesusCentral.com. The site simply listed Jesus promises to us with some supporting verses. I have listed the promises here with a single verse but check out the rest of the passages if you can.

:: Love and Friendship of God

They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them." (John 14:21)

:: Fresh Start/Forgiveness

"Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." (Luke 15:4-7)

:: Answers To Prayers In Faith

"Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven given good things to those who ask him." ( John 15:7)

:: Eternal Life

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." ( John 3:16)

:: God's Spirit Present With You

"When they bring you to trial and hand you over, do not worry before hand about what you are to say; but say whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit." ( Mark 13:11)

:: Peace

"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." ( Matthew 11:28-30)

:: Rewards in Heaven for Sacrifice Now

"You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." ( Mark 10:21)

If you have time, read the story below. If not, then just read my conclusion.

When we become more eternally minded, we become less fearful of earthly things - they hold less weight and so become less frightening. We become immune to the criticisms and judgements of others because we do not elevate man above his station. Without so much to fear, we can become more courageous and emboldened in our lives, and most importantly, what God says becomes paramount. So today, lets focus on Him, be bold in our prayers, remember the promises of our Creator - the Father are true and unbreakable and start to live a more fearless life.

Surely, He who made the heavens and the earth can make our hopes and dreams come true?

Nature Slideshow

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Let me tell you a story about a woman named Ruby. Her daughter and her grand-daughter are long time members of this church. Ruby trusted Jesus a lot, and because of that took some risks. She went to seminary way back in the 30s when women didn't do that. You can imagine what people said to her, she got some criticism. But she didn't worry, because she cared more about the eternal things, like God and his people and his kingdom, than she cared about what some folks thought about her. That's temporary. Then she worked as a missionary with Asian Americans here in Washington State. She got married, she raised a family, but then her husband died. But she didn't worry, because she knew that God would provide for her basic needs.

Then, later on, she started to travel. In her 70s and 80s she started smuggling Bibles into Communist countries, just for the fun of it I guess. That's pretty cool, don't you think? A Bible smuggling Grandma? You just got to love what Jesus does to people. I'm sure that wasn't easy to smuggle Bibles. I'm sure there were dangers, bad things could have happened, but she didn't worry because she knew that no matter what, God would provide, and that even if bad things happened God would use them for good. He always does.

Well, several years ago Ruby got pancreatic cancer. Even then she didn't worry. Again, she knew that God would provide and she cared passionately about God's kingdom. She knew that even in her cancer she would get to be a part of God advancing his kingdom in her life and in the world. That's what he did. For starters, she ended up having almost no pain, which is very rare in pancreatic cancer. It's usually very painful. She kept on going into prisons and preaching as she had always done, even in her illness.

Also along the way she befriended a doctor and his wife. The doctor's wife had been divorced and some of her friends had shunned her because of that, but Ruby befriended them and showed them the grace of Jesus. As a result, this doctor made special efforts when it came to Ruby's case. In fact, when the doctor knew that Ruby had cancer, he went to her house on a Saturday morning, his day off, to tell her the news personally. Talk about God providing: when was the last time your doctor made a house call? When he told her that she had cancer, Ruby's response was to quote St. Augustine, `We don't know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future.`

During her illness her family and church friends were all around her taking care of her, and that was a huge witness to the non-Christian doctors and nurses who were treating her. In fact, the social workers and the hospice care providers were so impressed with the Christian community around Ruby that they told her they didn't need to come to her house any more, because the quality of her support group was so good. They said they had never seen a community like that before. So even in her illness, even as other people were taking care of her, Ruby was showing people who Jesus was.

During her last days, Ruby's daughters would take turns reading the Bible to her out loud. One of her daughters wasn't a Christian, but she would read the Bible to Ruby anyway. It was while this non-Christian daughter was reading the Bible that Ruby finally died. Now her family jokes that what made Ruby finally comfortable to die was hearing her non-Christian daughter read Scripture, that she could trust God even with her daughter's soul. It turns out that was a good trust because now that daughter is coming back to family and faith.

Now, was everything easy in Ruby's life? Absolutely not. She faced a lot of hardships but as her daughter told me, she always trusted that whatever it was she faced, she knew that God knew what he was doing, even when it was tough. The things that were most important to her were eternal and could never be taken away anyway so she didn't worry. She gave her needs to Jesus knowing that he would always meet her physical, emotional, and spiritual needs, and he always did. She cared passionately about what God was doing in the world and in her life, and knew that nothing could stop that, and that he would always bring good out of evil. Because of that she didn't worry, and now she has the ultimate healing, which is to be with Jesus forever.