Read the series:
Your Shepherd - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) April 12, 2022
Your Father - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) April 15, 2022
Leashed vs Unleashed? - Tuesday P & P (for others) April 19, 2022
Prodigal Son - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) April 22, 2022
Our Father - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others April 26, 2022
Holy Spirit - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) April 29, 2022
Everyone's going through a hard time right now. Right here in this group, some participants are grieving family and friends. Others are trying to help family members with their problems. There are those who are sick. Some are just trying to make ends meet. Then when we factor in all the bad things we hear about on the news, it is clear that there's more than enough to worry about on any given day. And yet, God's word for each of us has been the same since before we were born (Jeremiah 1:5). He who knew us before we were placed in our mother's womb had a plan for us from the beginning. That plan hasn't changed and I want to stress to all of us that in these dark times, we need to keep our gaze on the pinprick of light in the distance. We need to keep our eyes on God. When we're stressed or sad, we need to tell God, "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you” (2 Chronicles 20:12). We need to cry out to God when we're confused and frustrated (1 Peter 5:7). No need to be dignified. He knows everything about you. We need to take the problems we see and make them prayer points, interceding for people in accordance with 1 Timothy 2:1 - I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people. We need to also find God's promises to us in the Bible and proclaim them over ourselves. It can be as simple as Psalm 23:1 - The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. And most importantly, we need to bring the Lord praise (Psalm 50:14). If you're heart is too heavy to speak, play some worship music and just settle into that. Praising God gets rid of the despair and fear (Isaiah 61:3). I pray that these Kingdom Keys will help you as you navigate the trials of life. Please remember, God has made a covenant with those He calls His people in Isaiah 43:2 - When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. What a blessed promise from the King of king. The God who cannot lie and will do as He said (Titus 1:2)! The world might be on fire, but you have the ultimate God on your side. Don't ignore this great privilege. Please drag Him into your issues and the issues others face. Call on Me and I will answer you (Psalm 50:15). May the Lord bless you and grant you peace beyond understanding and the happiness He grants to those who please Him, IJMN, Amen. See you at Noon EST for fellowship!
Have you ever been in a dire situation and prayed for God's help? Did you make an oath to do something in exchange for that assistance? Maybe you promised to quit smoking? Or, did you swear you'd never fornicate again? Was it a pledge to stop gossiping with that coworker who can't keep their mouth shut and now you're worried everyone will know how you really feel?
How many promises have you made to God? How many of them have you kept?
If you're like me, you likely don't remember. But, what if I told you God takes our promises very seriously? The ones we make to Him and those we make to others. And when we break them, He takes that seriously too. What if I told you He doesn't care if the promise you made was made under duress or made based on your being deceived?
That was exactly the case when He proclaimed judgment upon Jerusalem in Ezekiel 17. At that time, only the city of Jerusalem remained standing, the rest of the Israelites had been captured by the Assyrians and the Babylonians. Jerusalem's king was forced to swear allegiance to Babylon with the threat of death hanging over his head, and he reneged on his promise. what was God's take? He said, For the king of Israel disregarded his treaty and broke it after swearing to obey; therefore, he will not escape (Ezekiel 17:18). You're probably thinking, woah, that can't be right! But wait...there's more (said in my best infomercial voice). Look at Psalm 15:4 - In his eyes an evil person is despised, But he honors those who fear the LORD [and obediently worship Him with awe-inspired reverence and submissive wonder]. He keeps his word even to his own disadvantage and does not change it [for his own benefit] (AMP). God expects us to keep our word - our covenants - even when it doesn't make sense or when doing so would be make you look dumb to others.
The Lord expects this of us because He keeps His covenants (Ezekiel 16:60; Hebrews 6:18). He doesn't break covenant with us even when we fail to keep our end of the bargain. Plus, despite knowing we will fail, He still gives us His word and remains faithful. What a great blessing and privilege! Nevertheless, we shouldn't take His kindness for granted. And it is best to not provoke Him by making promises to Him and others then ignoring them (Jeremiah 7:19). We also need to realize that if we can't be trusted to keep our word, then we lose out on many blessings. After all, would you trust the best of what you have to somebody who's untrustworthy? Even Jesus says in Luke 16:11 - Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? (NKJV).
Let us ask for grace and strength to recall the promises we've made that remain outstanding. That grace will help us to honor the covenants we made with every intention to keep but somehow didn't. By His Spirit, we will discern when to, and when not to, enter into covenants. Thank God for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that we can repent, receive forgiveness and make up for many of the promises we neglected to keep. He will build each of us into the trustworthy people we were created to be. IJMN, Amen.