Facets of Faith

Conversations about life, faith, and friendship.

Do You Believe God’s Promises – Really?

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Happy New Year! Welcome to Facets of Faith and our first series of 2018, Do You Believe God’s Promises─Really? As we talked about how we wanted to kick this year off, we felt digging into how well rooted we are in the belief of God’s promises was a great place to start. The greater our belief in God’s promises, the greater each of us will walk out 2018 to all its fullest potential. That is our prayer for every reader of our series, that she would know fully who she is and how much God has planned for her… this year and beyond!

My (Tracy’s) guess is we can all recall instances where someone made us a promise, but didn’t keep it. A broken promise is like ceramic pottery dropped to the floor, pieces scattered in need of clean up.

Betrayal is messy.

Not always is there ill intent when a person’s word is broken. Perhaps they had good intentions, but something got in the way of fulfilling their commitment.

Sometimes, it really is that a person’s word may not mean much. More than the words they utter, behaviors tell us better what to believe. As the old saying goes, sometimes “proof is in the pudding”.

Even minor infractions if left unattended layer and diminish the sparkling potential of two people coming together in friendship, matrimony, or some other special connection.

Keeping our promises really matters. But we humans aren’t always the greatest at doing what matters most.

According to the American Psychological Association, the U.S. divorce rate is between 40 – 50%.(1)  That’s a high rate of broken promises!  The statistic is merely one body of evidence that makes it easier for us to understand why we may find it difficult to believe in promises.

But it is imperative we do.

God gives promises to us that aren’t like the ones we humans give one another. God’s promises to us are unbreakable. Unshakable.

Christ is the Cornerstone that holds up strong evidence God loves us and keeps His promises. Prophecy pointed to Jesus long before His birth. Prophecy the ultimate Promise brought to life when Mary, a virgin, birthed our long-promised Messiah. God the Father spoke through the prophets of a Savior.  He kept His word and sent His Son! Nail-scarred hands strong evidence God isn’t like us. At all! God gives us proof He keeps His promises.

“God is not a man, that He should lie,

Nor a son of man, that He should repent.

Has He said, and will not do?

Or has He spoken, and will not make it good?”

─Numbers 23:19 NKJV

We are made in God’s image, not the other way around. God is not a man, that He should lie.

God is faithful. He keeps His word. Has He spoken, and will not make it good?

The HCSB version says it this way, Does He speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?

How would you answer that question?

Do I always believe God’s promises – really?

My response? Not really. Not 100% of the time.

With God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)

All things?

All?

Really?

But what if I don’t see a way how? Guess that puts me between a rock and a hard place.

But what if I’ve been believing that for a long, long, long time? Guess I’m pressed up against the wall there too.

Sometimes, if I am looking at my circumstances rather than keeping my eyes fixed on the Lord, I can waiver in my belief. I can worry, wonder, and let fear inhibit my actions, because I temporarily “forgot” God’s faithfulness.

It’s like I’ve acquired spiritual amnesia and misplaced every good promise God has already brought to fruition – not to mention all the amazing promises still on the horizon.

But in His faithfulness, He brings me back to His promises and reminds me afresh.

A really great place to start is in the beginning where He and I (and you too if you’ve been saved) first met.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.─Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV

If I agree with the idea of faith (and I do), it’s crucial I believe in God’s promises. Belief is all that is required for entry into God’s kingdom. Belief is where we all begin as Children of God. It makes sense that the very idea of belief would be warred against by the enemy. It’s foundational to our faith.

If we can believe in a virgin birth (Luke 2), if we can believe in talking donkeys used to accomplish God’s plan (Numbers 22), if we can believe Daniel didn’t get eaten by a lion (Daniel 6), we can believe God’s promises for us.

As an aside, can I say I love that God leaves these far-fetched examples in Scripture which make it all the more believable in my opinion. Because we know if you or I were writing it, we’d probably edit out all the elements that seemed a little unusual. That furnace thing (Daniel 3)? No one will believe it. Better remove it. Nope. God left all that great stuff in for us to see─really, ALL things are possible with God.

Let’s talk about three reasons it’s imperative we believe God’s promises, really.

1. Power

As believers, we access God’s power through His promises. When we pray and say God’s words, we have a powerful weapon to disarm the enemy. Even Jesus Himself used the Word to defeat Satan (Luke 4). That should definitely lead us to believe in the power of speaking promises to silence the enemy.  And of course the enemy wouldn’t want us to believe we have any power. He’d love nothing more than for us to doubt God keeps His promises. That’s why it’s crucial we believe by faith.

Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.─Luke 10:19 NKJV

 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.─Romans 15:13 NKJV

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.─2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV

 2. Position

 In addition to power, God’s promises remind us who we are in relation to Him. We are part of God’s kingdom once we state by faith our belief in Christ. Our position cannot be taken away. We are sealed as an heir.

One of the most common areas of attack is against our identity. If we doubt who we are and the position we hold in Christ, we are less likely to walk in the power and authority God gave us.

His promises remind us whose we are. When we have assurance of our position as heirs and children of God (to name just a few), we walk a little taller. And when we do, the world takes a bit more notice that something is different about us. We know who we are and are able to walk through life with confidence.

Our identity is key to achieving anything great – including walking in peace, love, and joy. God left us His promises to remind us we are His. And that changes everything.

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13 NKJV

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.─Romans 8:38-39 NKJV

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:─John 1:12 NKJV

 3. Potential

When we believe God’s promises─really, we start to believe we can do something great because of them.  The hardest, most frightening things God has ever asked me to participate in would never have happened if I hadn’t believed His promises. I am pretty well aware of my personal limitations, but I’m not in this world by myself and in my own power. Neither are you.

The more we access God’s power and the more we know our position as a child of God, the more we are able to access our God-given potential. He wants us to do great things with Him. He’s prepared them ahead of time for us.

There’s a lot this world needs, not the least of which is love.

God has given us all gifts. Depending on your current level of self-esteem, you may or may not believe you have gifts or that yours are as valuable as someone else’s.

Everyone’s gifts have merit!

God made you as His masterpiece. He has something very special planned just for you. No one else can do it. I don’t know what that is, but my prayer is that God shows you. Your contribution is far too important!

No matter what your age, it’s never too late as long as you are still alive. Age doesn’t disqualify anyone. You’re not too young, nor are you too old to be used by God. Scripture leaves us with all kinds of examples of people being used for God’s purposes from young to old—Timothy to Abraham, Mary to Elizabeth. The heart matters. Not the hours you’ve been alive on earth.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 NKJV

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. ─Ephesians 3:20-21 NKJV

But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”─Matthew 19:26 NKJV

Do you believe God’s promises─really?

Our answer to that question greatly impacts how much power, position and potential we walk in. How much power, position, and potential do you desire for your life and the lives of those you love?

You are blessed because you believed what the Lord said to you would really happen.─ Luke 1:45 ICB

I pray you receive all of God’s blessings as you believe Him and His promises, just the way He said they’d happen. In Jesus’ name, amen!

Join the conversation here or on our Facebook page.

 

1 Marriage & divorce. (n.d.). Retrieved January 02, 2018, from http://www.apa.org/topics/divorce/

“I Give Up. Who Am I?”

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Hello, friend! I’m glad you paused for this month’s topic at FACETS because it’s a good one! Tracy’s post last week was heart-felt and full of truth. Kim will bring her beautiful heart to the screen next week. Then we look forward to a guest we think you should know the fourth week. Take a peek on Tuesdays to find out what’s happening at Facets. We think amazing conversations can begin surrounding the topics and posts.


What’s your secret? I (Jennifer) suffer from bouts with amnesia. When I sat down to write I wondered if I’d find myself in good company. Maybe I will. The truth is, sometimes I have no idea who I am. More importantly, I forget whose I am. Let me explain.

For those who believe God, you know there was a point in time when everything changed. That was true for me the summer of ’94. I had survived so many challenging relationships, experiences, and choices by then. That summer, I made the only choice that will ever matter, I think. I decided to believe God. Sure, I could have tried to do all the right things to impress Almighty God, Holy God—but that couldn’t work. I would still be the court jester performing for the King in His presence, and it wouldn’t do a thing to address the real problem. Outside of believing God, I can do nothing to improve my condition: I’m imperfect in the presence of holiness, offending holy God by trying to be good enough to earn His love. What does that mean? When my imperfection meets Holy God, He has resolved everything in Jesus.

It’s new life and new beginnings in that moment, right? Yes!

A-n-n-n-nd then I forget who I am and whose I am. The past creeps into a moment and blackens it. Memories of whatever I thought changed my life forever in a bad way slither onto the stage of my mind and begin the ugly dance I’ve seen before. I think I even know the choreography by now. The amnesia tries to strip me of my whole identity. Oh, it’s never all at once. Usually, it’s bit by bit, little things I might not even notice at first—the slip of an unkind word or thought, replacing the truth with something slightly warped or “more interesting” than reality. You get the picture. Maybe you even have the dance in your own head choreographed. It tends to look something less of the people of God and more like people who have no regard for Him.

But we are called to something else!

2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 NLT

In my best moments, this is what I want—to believe God and live in a way that honors Him. Then the amazing adventure follows: His good plan for my life. And so, I begin by believing that He has a good plan…and that He wants me to think clearly about who He is, who I am, and the good life He has planned.

But, the cause of the amnesia is often from a single root. When I forget, I’m missing who He is and my identity that is a gift from Him through Jesus. The great thing is, when I can’t remember, powerful words  will serve to correct my thought patterns and create the right kind of memory! (Thank you for the Bible, God!)

King David puts it beautifully in Psalm 139, CSB:

1 Lord, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up; You understand my thoughts from far away. 3 You observe my travels and my rest; You are aware of all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue, You know all about it, Lord. 5 You have encircled me; You have placed Your hand on me. 6 [This] extraordinary knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to [reach] it.

Is there any moment in time when my God, my Abba, my Daddy, isn’t aware of me, my world, and even my internal life? No, my God knows everything about me, and He’s mindful of me!

7 Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there. 9 If I live at the eastern horizon [or] settle at the western limits, 10 even there Your hand will lead me; Your right hand will hold on to me.

Can I mistakenly find myself out of His sight? Will I be misled? No, He is always with me, ready to lead me in the right direction. And the best part? He holds me close. He loves me; I’m never alone and He leads me if I’m willing (if I’ll surrender to His will).

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light around me will become night”— 12 even the darkness is not dark to You. The night shines like the day; darkness and light are alike to You.

But those dark times—is He aware, and does He care? I must remember: yes, He knows. More than that, He is with me in them, and there are times He will bring light to the darkness, the kind that overwhelms the dark entirely. I also know there are times I may not see brilliant light for a while, and then I’ll have enough light for the step I’m taking (Psalm 119:105). Some things I can’t change, but I know the light and the darkness are under His power.

13 For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise You, because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know [this] very well. 15 My bones were not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all [my] days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.

Verses 13-16 can be the first step in the amnesia dance in my head. (Is it similar in your head?) I quickly forget the amazing thing that happens when God creates life. Sometimes it’s hard to see the beauty or even to love the life I have. The struggle is real when I think about whatever seems “off” from others’ “normal.” Is it “wonderful” when _______ is part of everyday life? (Fill in the blank with thousands of options!) You and I were made with purpose and for a purpose. God had a plan from the beginning, and there is no Plan B. Plan A is redemption of all things (the good, the bad, the ugly in everything), and His plan is to use people (very often) to bring things to right in this world. (Here’s a random thought: think about how many people work for God and have no idea they do. Atheist doctors may resist that thought. *grin*)

17 God, how difficult Your thoughts are for me [to comprehend]; how vast their sum is! 18 If I counted them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; when I wake up, I am still with You.

With all that I know about my God, there is so much I can never grasp! What I really want to begin to understand is that li’l, old me is so precious to Him that He thinks of me all the time. Imagine that! And He thinks of all of us in this way and so frequently. I don’t steal a single thought moment from you, friend, and you don’t steal from me. We are equally precious!

23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.

Here’s the deep root of the surrender part! I have to ask myself questions, and the answers are telling. Do I believe God, that He is good, gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, loving, and always thinking of me? Do I believe He has my best interest in mind with every single detail of my life—the things He allows and the things He doesn’t, the things He changes or stops…and the things He doesn’t? Because, if I believe God (in the true character and identity!), then I want Him to speak to me about my words, thoughts, actions, and plans for each day. And I really don’t want to offend Him.

That means I will learn the heart and mind of my God. I will study who He is, and ask Him to help me live in a way that reveals more obviously whose I am. That’s fighting the amnesia with truth and reality, and that makes me less drawn into the dance each time.

Am I perfect? Somehow more perfect than I was the summer of ’94?

Yes…and no.

I am a child of the King. I was redeemed (simultaneously bought with a price and made right in the sight of Holy God) on that day. So yes, I am so different now. I know exactly how the plan ends, but only because I believe God, honestly.

And I live a real life in this world. Ask anyone, and they will tell you I have some “skillz” (with a Z). I have beautiful friends and family who have seen me eat a lot of things: humble pie, crow, and my own feet (both of them!). My love of words can be the very thing that ruins me some days. I also have to learn to love well because that’s really hard for me for lots of reasons. And as I said, the past chases me and tries to figure out how to command center stage in my mind.

But this is about surrender and the pursuit of it. The truth is, we live in the already and not yet of all of this.

When any one of us dives deep into the truth of what God has to say—and when we believe God is who He says He is and does what He says He will do…

That’s when He brings life and liberty in the pursuit of surrender, baby! We are more alive than ever, and we live in freedom that comes with that belief and knowledge.

All that said, if you’re living in the “real world” with difficult struggles and challenges in the pursuit of surrender, I want to share the Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Neibuhr. I hope it speaks to you, too. We are all in the process of pursuit.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; 
courage to change the things I can;
 and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; 
Enjoying one moment at a time; 
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; 
Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world
 as it is, not as I would have it; 
Trusting that He will make all things right 
if I surrender to His Will;
 That I may be reasonably happy in this life 
and supremely happy with Him
 Forever in the next. Amen. ~Serenity Prayer, Reinhold Neibuhr (1892-1971)

Thanks for reading, friend! Please comment below or at our Facebook Page. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the topic this month, Psalm 139, or the Serenity Prayer.

Signature, Jennifer Howe

Resurrection Power: Jesus, Life, and All of Us

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Have you read our first posts this month yet? You simply must! Tracy shared two beautiful posts, an introduction and her own response, to help our readers think about the question: how does God’s resurrection power change the way you live? Don’t forget to look for Kim’s post next week!

Of all the questions we’ve explored, this one has been the most challenging and exciting for me. You see, I (Jennifer) had a neatly-ordered worldview and a simple paradigm—or so I thought. Then what I knew shifted slightly and kind of went “Kerplunk!” into a new place. I’m making what feels like a feeble attempt at sharing what I’ve been learning. And in “Jen fashion,” I’ll ask you to walk this curvy road with me and check out the scenery along the way.

The shift began when I heard a song on the radio. You may know Jeremy Camp’s Same Power. I struggled with the chorus for a while, and I wasn’t exactly sure why:

The same power that rose Jesus from the grave
The same power that commands the dead to wake
Lives in us, lives in us
The same power that moves mountains when He speaks
The same power that can calm a raging sea
Lives in us, lives in us
He lives in us, lives in us ¹

My first question was “Where did that lyric come from anyway?” Then I suppose I thought a life filled with that kind of power was reserved for the Disciples, Apostles, and super-Christians. After all, I had never moved a mountain, calmed a sea, or been part of any other radical, miraculous thing with a word. Maybe I assumed my life story disqualified me from witnessing God doing those things or being used by him in that way. If I get honest, I probably thought the Creator of the universe was far removed from creation or just didn’t do those kinds of things anymore. At a certain level I wondered about the strength of my faith, the way I lived it, and the real identity and character of God. Have you been there? (Some call this mindset “practical atheism.”)

I was a little “off base” in my thinking. I’ll tell you about that, but it’s a bit of a long story. Can you bear with me?

What I Knew
A day came when I realized a righteous, holy God’s mere presence would overwhelm and annihilate imperfection. Who is full of imperfection? Me! I, like many, made a decision to pray to Jesus and ask for his sacrifice on the cross to be applied to my life. Jesus, of course, would certainly say yes to that!

Then a group study of the book of Romans wrecked me—in a good way!

What I Learned
There’s something emotional in realizing there are only two kinds of people on the planet. It’s hard to accept that there are black-and-white things when we prefer choice, flexibility, and comfortable shades of gray. But if the Bible is true, there are people who do not yet identify with God and Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection and those who do. That’s it. For Christians, this probably doesn’t sound revolutionary, but let’s be clear about one thing: identifying with is not just knowing about.

The Shift
It happened when a Bible study group asked a simple question: What is it that separates these two groups of people in the world? I thought I knew what placed someone in the family of God: if you could point to a date on the calendar when you prayed “the prayer,” you were “in.”

My paradigm rattled when we studied the life of Abraham in Romans, Hebrews, and Genesis. Wonderful books, teaching, and discussion filled in some gaps. Did you know Abraham never prayed the prayer of salvation? Intuitively I knew that, but I never paused to think more about the fact that he “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Romans 4:3). That’s the source of the resurrection power! Do you see it?

Let me translate this for our day—God said, “I will make a way for you to come to Me.” Jesus was that way on the cross. His perfectly sinless life as a man and the Son of God paid for every sin. But he is more powerful than death. Sin and death has no claim to a perfect, sinless God-man. And so the Son of God can and does rise in unstoppable power, leaving an empty tomb!

So what do you say to that? It’s simple. God says, “I will.” The response is, “I believe.” Nothing more can be added to that. Our best behavior doesn’t change this moment, and our worst doesn’t either. We don’t clean up our act in order to look more attractive to a Holy God. We can’t do it. Remember: we are sin until we believe. We believe, and we identify with Jesus’ resurrection. Friend, there’s a reason the Early Church was full of “believers” and called “The Way.” And here we are—at the only way.

This is where my “Kerplunk!” happened. The gospel was flexible, in my mind. There were people on a spectrum (even me). I was on my way to a “closer relationship” with God, and so was everyone around me. There’s nothing dangerous about a spectrum, right? But, there are those who have Jesus advocating for them and those who do not yet have that. (Now I’ll begin to cry.)

8 “Those whose lives are in the flesh are unable to please God. 9 You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God lives in you.” (Romans 8:8-9).

I don’t know which group you’re in. Maybe you don’t either. I don’t know about you, but I had to wrestle with this at one point. Have you? How will our lives be different when we are one of God’s people? Where is that resurrection power, you ask?

10 Now if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through His Spirit who lives in you. Romans 8:10-11

What does that mean for me (and you) for the rest of our lives here and in eternity (where all of us will be one day)? Our choice to believe provides a resurrection-powered life here and forever!

Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over these  Revelation 20:6 CSB

Blessed and holy—one of God’s people. And for that reason—

I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection   Philippians 3:10a NIV

I want everyone else to know it. So many people will remain outside the church, not part of God’s people—and that’s a whole other life now and eternity waiting. I don’t want that for anyone!

And how will that be done? Noticing people, hearing their stories, and then speaking truthfully and lovingly (something I’m asking God to help me with!).

Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us. 2 Corinthians 4:7

Friend, I can’t thank you enough for hanging with me. You’re precious if you’re still reading! I just wrote down all the words—and there were still more. Thank you for being gracious. I think you’ve just read an indication of the change in my life just now. The display of the power will have to wait for another post. *grin*

Consider starting a conversation here or at our Facebook Page. This is a conversation worth having. What are you thinking right now?

 

Signature, Jennifer Howe

 

 

 

 

 

 

¹ Same Power. Jason Ingram and Jeremy Camp.