June 25th
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Our God of Promises
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel. (Genesis 3:15)
Although the scriptures do not command us to make promises to God, we who believe in the Lord have the liberty to make various kinds of promises. It is permissible to express our devotion to God through promises, if they are in dependence upon His character and capacities. "I will love You, O LORD, my strength" (Psalm 18:1). It is also acceptable to make godly confessions through promises that are based on His promises to us. "He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So we may boldly say: 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear." (Hebrews 13:5-6)
We are even allowed to make predictive promises concerning the details of our lives, if they are subject to God's will. "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that" (James 4:15). Still, the work of God in lives hinges upon His promises to us. In fact, our God is characteristically a God of promises.
The fact that our God typically works through promises is seen as early as the third chapter of the Bible. There, God made a very strategic set of promises. "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." These prophetic promises were addressed to Satan, but they were given in the hearing of Adam and Eve. Of course, they were recorded in the scriptures for everyone else to consider thereafter.
These promises revealed some of the consequences of spiritual rebellion, as well as announcing God's remedy for the sin of man. "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed." These words declare the inevitability of spiritual warfare, as well as the certainty of the cross of Christ.
The inevitability of spiritual warfare is a major theme in scripture. This warfare is documented throughout the word of God. "Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel...Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?...So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world" (1 Chronicles 21:1; Acts 5:3; and Revelation 12:9). Nevertheless, the cross of Christ would provide victory over the enemy and escape from this sinful world, for all who would embrace it: "Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age" (Galatians 1:3-4).
Dear God of promises, may my promises be a peripheral issue in my thinking and living. Conversely, may Your promises be central and foundational — especially, those promises related to the cross of Jesus, my Lord, Amen.