1 KINGS 8:54-56 – “Now as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, where he had knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven. And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, “Blessed be the LORD who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promises, which he spoke by Moses his servant.”
THEME OF THE DAY: LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. Let’s say a young believer in the Lord Jesus approaches us asking this question, “How do I live the Christian life?”, how would we answer? We might say, “By trust and obedience in God’s Word.” That is a great and right answer. We might add, “By practicing the spiritual disciplines of time in God’s Word, prayer, and faithful attendance to church.” Another great and right answer. Still yet, we may rightly add, “We live the Christian life by doing battle daily against the devil, the world, and our flesh.” No doubt, this is a major component in living the Christian life. But let me add another answer, and it is the answer that contains all we just listed. We live the Christian life by God’s promises clung to by faith and practiced by the exercise of our wills.
The Apostle Peter would summarize the whole of the Christian life in the opening verses of his second letter – “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire” (2 Peter 1:3-4).
Think about it. We have never seen the Lord Jesus with our eyes. We have never heard His voice audibly with our ears. We have never touched Him with our hands. Everything we know about God comes from creation and His Word, but creation never lets us know Him personally. His Word and that primarily His promises are what we grasp by faith to know Him personally and intimately. And what makes the promises of God so precious and practical is the truth in today’s scripture. They cannot fail. They cannot go unfulfilled. In the New Testament, Titus would also tell us why all of God’s promises are a sure thing for us to abandon ourselves to with complete confidence; He cannot lie – “In hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior” (Titus 1:2-3).
So, the next time someone seeks advice on how to live the Christian life, talk to them about God’s promises; His sure promises; His unwavering promises; His trustworthy promises, and then encourage this believer to consistently give God praise and thanks for His promises. While we are at it, let’s make sure we do the same!
PRAYER: Father, I praise You for Your many promises that are always ‘Yes, and yes’ in Your Son.
REFLECTION: The Christian life is lived by clinging by faith and practicing by obedience God’s promises.