Aug 24, 2020
Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 13 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal: I want this podcast to speak to people, not yell at people. Whether you are a Believer or not, a Christian or not, I want this podcast to be so plain in its language, that even if you have never stepped foot in a church, you will get this. You will get who Jesus is, and you will get what relationship with Him could be like, despite what people--Christians and non-Christians, try to do to get you to turn your back. Come along with me. I promise it will be a really cool experience!
- What is a promise?
Dictionary definition: ‘a declaration that something will or will not be done. An express assurance on which expectation is to be based.’-(Dictionary.com.)
Bible Hub definition: ‘In general, a declaration, written or verbal, made by one person to another, which binds the person who makes it to do, or to forbear to do, a specified act; a declaration which gives to the person to whom it is made a right to expect or to claim the performance or forbearance of a specified act.’-(Biblehub.com.)
Strong’s Bible Concordance (1860) 'Divine assurance.' I think it is this definition that I like the most because it is the promises of God that we are discussing today, so how fitting right? Divine assurance. I don’t know about you, but the word assurance, just hearing the word, assures me, puts me at ease. But then when you put the word divine ahead of the word assurance. Well, I believe we can rest assured that divine assurances will not be empty assurances. Empty promises. How could they be if they are divine?
So what are the promises? Well, here’s the thing, there are 8810 promises! That is a lot! We definitely cannot go over all of them here and now, but we can go over several of them. You know, the ones many of us have heard...or not. Let’s see...
- The most known promises:
- “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." --Joshua 1:9.
- "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."--Isaiah 40:31.
- "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."--Jeremiah 29:11.
- "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."--Matthew 6:33.
- ‘The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.”--Psalm 34:7.*
- “No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord.”--Isaiah 54:17.* (and here’s the thing, it is important to dissect God’s promises, really understand what they mean, read the verses before and after the promise. Make sure you really understand it because when you are going through those tough spots, especially unexpected ones, it is important to grab the right promise and keep it close to your heart, and run with it!
- How many are there: 8810, according to Herbert R. Storms, see link in the show notes on the article about Mr. Storms.
- How do we exercise His promises?
We read them. Not just these, but all of the promises we can find as we read the Bible. We memorize them. We hold them in our hearts, and we recall them when we go through our deepest valley moments. That’s what promises are for, to uplift the soul and remind us when we want to forget. When we feel God has forgotten what He promised us.
Life is hard, and sometimes it is easy to believe God has forgotten us, but I believe that is why He left his promises with us. They are reminders. I’m thankful for the reminders!
- How do we use them in today’s world?
So, how do we use them in today’s world? Well, very similar to what I said earlier, we keep the promises in our hearts and repeat them during the difficult times to remind us God has not forgotten us. But practically speaking, the way we use them in today’s world is to first recognize that yes, these promises were recorded thousands of years ago and somehow they are still relevant today.
I find it amazing how the Bible is still relevant today. So the promises, of course, are relevant as well. Relevance. That’s the keyword, isn’t it? If the Bible, the promises, were not relevant; why would we bother? As I said earlier, life is hard. We need something to hang onto. We need reminders that God exists and that He cares. His promises are that reminder.
When I was growing up, we had these small booklets called Promise books. I put a link in the show notes to what appears to be the updated version, although they look the same. They are literally books filled with promises from the Bible. Check them out!
So, what is your favorite promise? How has repeating God’s promises helped you during a tough time?
Scriptures mentioned:
- “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." --Joshua 1:9.
- "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."--Isaiah 40:31.
- "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."--Jeremiah 29:11.
- "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."--Matthew 6:33.
- "For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us."--2 Corinthians 1:20.
- "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."--Philippians 4:13.
Closing commentary:
Don’t forget, I would love to hear from you on the question:
‘Who is God?’
Episode outro:
Well, thank you for tuning in. Let me know via social media or by email if you have feedback. I would love to hear from you! You may email me at religionandpoliticspod@gmail.com. Please give me 24to 48 hours to respond. And don’t forget to check the show notes for the sources used for this episode. Until next time!
Episode quote:
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9.
Pssst! Since you got this far in the show notes, I have a gift for you! Email me at religionandpoliticspod@gmail.com and I will send it to you!
Research used for this episode:
https://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/what-are-god-s-promises-in-the-bible.html