Exceeding Great and Precious Promises

How is it that we partake of the likeness of Jesus Christ? How do we grow more and more into His character and take on more of His attitudes? Peter gives us the answer: through His exceeding great and precious promises.

Let us look at a scenario. A person simply lives his life without a thought of eternity, judgment, or sin (except for the occasional conscience twinge), but then she picks up a tract left on her door. The convicting power of the Holy Spirit moves upon her heart and she is miserable. It gets worse! When it seems like there is no hope for her, a shaft of light comes! "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." Quietly, she simply trusts what Jesus has done on the cross for her. She is changed instantly! Peace fills her heart. Joy floods her soul! All through the power of a promise from God.

Those who are believers will identify with this lady, but do you realize that the same process goes on in our lives day by day in the formation of the image of Christ in us? We are living our Christian lives, and doing what we know is right, and then the Lord allows a test to come. Problems arise. People do us wrongly. Financial hard times engulf us. It could be a lot of different things. Our prayers get more earnest as the test intensifies until we come across a verse of Scripture with a precious promise. Our heart's feel the warmth of God's embrace and our joy comes again even though the trial still surrounds us. Praise bursts from our lips! Others now see Jesus more in our lives than they ever have before, and the truth that Peter speaks of is confirmed. "That by these. . .," precious promises, we are made partakers of the divine nature.

If you find yourself in the testing time, or perhaps under the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, look to the Word of God for one powerful, precious promise.

What to do in Transitional Times

There is no doubt we are living in times of transition. Change - perhaps more than we would like to consider - is upon us. What will happen? How will our freedoms be affected? Uncertainty seems the certainly. Friends are losing their jobs. The economy reals and old "fixes" don't help. What can help us?

Take a fresh look at the Lord. Isaiah did in Isaiah chapter six. What he saw provided strength to go forward into the times of change. He saw One Who is unaffected by changes on earth. He saw the One Who rules and overrules in the affairs of mankind. He saw ultimate holiness incarnate. The angels chorused around His throne, and the temple shook and filled with smoke. It is still an awesome sight. Ask God for a fresh vision of who He is. Read again the passages in the Bible that describe the glory of God. Read Moses' meeting with God in the desert in Exodus. Review Ezekiel's visions in Ezekiel chapter one. Walk the dusty paths with the disciples through the Gospel accounts of the life of the Lamb Who appears again in Revelation chapters 1, 4, 5, and 19. You will experience several things.

First, as you look again at the Lord, you will be convicted. Peter recognized that Jesus was more than a human teacher and cried, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man O Lord!" Isaiah said, "Woe is me!" When the glory of God overwhlems you, and you again see the sin in your heart in stark relief to His holiness, He can cleanse you. He will when you ask Him to.

Next, you cannot help but be encouraged. God, Whose throne is above all thrones, wins. The old king had died, the new king was a question mark, but God changes not. There is a deep settling effect from this truth. Strength, peace, and hope cannot fail in this revelation.

When the cleansing is accomplished and the encouragement floods our hearts, we can also hear something else. A voice is calling to us right now at the time of transition. This voice can only be heard by those who have come clean before God and taken strength from His appearance. "Whom shall I send and who will go for us?" Do you hear this calling? Jesus told His disciples to lift up their eyes and look for the fields were ready to harvest. It remains true today. Hear the call and say, "Here am I!" Next door and around the world people are dying without having heard of the love of God and Christ's atoning sacrifice. Who will go but those who have once again seen the King of kings? Will you look into the pages of the Scriptures, meditate on the Person of the Savior, hear the call, and respond?

Covering Your Tracks

King David loved the Lord, but fell into sin and then tried to cover his tracks. Achan loved stuff, took things that belonged to the Lord, and then tried to cover his tracks. Ananias and his cooperative wife kept back part of the money received from the sale of their property. Then they tried to cover their tracks and continue to appear spiritual before other church folk. "Be sure your sin will find you out," cannot be avoided no matter how hard we work to "cover our tracks".

I am just glad that the opposite is also true. When we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. He has made a covering for sin. The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from ALL sin. So instead of covering up, take your sin to the Lord, tell Him all about it. Repent. He will forgive. Jesus has already made the payment for all of our sins. He will cover you, if you will ask Him.