Thursday, January 30, 2014

When God Brags On You

Hurricane Andrew! You say that to someone in South Florida and they are likely to have a story to tell you. The Miami area took one of the century's hardest hurricane hits when Andrew landed there. Home after home was devastated by the brutal force of what was a killer storm. But some friends in Florida told me something very interesting. They said that in an area where many homes went down in Andrew's fury, there were certain homes that withstood the storm. Here's what they had in common. They had been built by that Christian agency Habitat for Humanity. Apparently they had used the best materials, they used the best design and the best hands they could find to build those homes. And when the storm was over, they were still standing firm.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When God Brags On You."

Job. Now, I know when you hear that name you think of a man who suffered very much; a hurricane from hell took his family, his possessions, his health. And there's this amazing scene where Satan, in heaven, is talking to God and visiting there accusing Job of serving God because of the goodies God has given him. And God allows Satan to strip Job of all of that. One day there's the death of his children, then his financial ruin. Later he loses his health. Now, how can Job know that he is literally being trusted by God with these storms, and that God has staked His reputation on how Job responds and He boasts to Satan about his servant Job?

Well, when God brags, what does He brag about? Here's what He says in chapter 2, verse 3, "The Lord said to Satan, 'Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him. He is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.'" And listen to this, "And he still maintains his integrity." Wow! What a tribute! Wouldn't you love to have that said about your life? Man, I aspire to this, "He still maintains his integrity." Everything else had been taken from him; you couldn't take his integrity.

The storms have wreaked their havoc, but Job's character and integrity are still standing. Can God brag on you like that? When you're hurt, when you're disillusioned, and when you're weary, it's tempting to diminish the pressure by compromising. Look at Job's wife. She asked him the question, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Why don't you curse God and die?" She couldn't believe he was still holding onto his integrity.

Maybe you're in your own hurricane right now. Things that matter a lot to you are either being blown around or they've been totally blown away. You've got more questions than answers right now. You're got more pain than you have comforters. And God hasn't really responded to your prayers it seems like. He hasn't shown you any reasons why. Just like Job. Job could have never guessed that he was carrying the honor of Almighty God and the humiliation of Satan in his response to his storms.

How could you ever guess the invisible conversations that are going on about you in heaven or maybe even in hell? But God has said, "I can trust him. I can trust her with this heavy hit, with this test. Please don't give up. Don't give in. Don't compromise. Stay on course. There's more riding on your integrity than you could ever know."

I pray for you as I pray for myself that no storm, no matter how intense, will blow you down or blow you off course. May God be able to point to us and say, "Look at my loyal child." May He be able to say, "You still maintain your integrity."

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

A Preview of God's Plan

James MacDonald - Senior Pastor - Harvest Bible Chapel

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. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. —Jeremiah 29:11-13

God has a plan for your life. He has some objectives for you. But knowing that truth, it’s still easy to get stuck in the bottomless vortex of questions like: Who am I supposed to marry? Where am I going to live? What am I going to do for work? It’s time to set aside the questions and get back to what God has said.

His plans for you are not so much about those specifics as they are about developing your character. God knows that if He can get wisdom and righteousness into you, everything else will sort itself out.

God always has plans for the welfare and future of those who are His. He always has plans to give His children hope. Even in the middle of sad and sobering words of judgment, God poured out His heart for His people through the prophet Jeremiah. He pointed them (and us) toward relationship—the circumstances He allows are designed to cause us to call upon Him. We’re always able to respond, seek, and find Him because He wants us to respond, seek, and find Him!

When God says, “I know the plans I have for you,” His words are a great comfort. But wouldn’t you love to get a look at those plans? The tension isn’t, “Does God know?” The tension is, “I want to know!” Although God understands our questions, He never apologizes for saying I know, but I’m not going to let you know—until later.

He does give us hints, however. God provides us with some general categories that describe His purposes. First, they are plans for your welfare. The Hebrew word is shalom, meaning “the complete state of well-being; fulfillment; prosperity; peace.” As God looks down the telescope of time, His plans are for your total well-being.

His designs for you are not for evil. People who are determined to prove they can live contrary to God’s program will pay a price for their experiment. God’s plans take us away from evil; ours tend to take us smack into the middle of it.

God’s plans are also designed to give you a future and a hope, both immediately and eternally. The biblical definition of hope is a “confident expectation of something better tomorrow.” God will never have a problem delivering when your anticipation is based on His promises. It doesn’t matter what has happened, better things are coming. That is your real and living hope.

Monday, January 27, 2014

January Ministry Report

The report has been posted to the "Resources/Links" Button on the home page of the website.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Sunday School, Morning Service, and lunch in Montvale, NJ

Cathy and I had an incredibly blessed day in Montvale today. I got to share with the middle and senior high Sunday School classes as well as preach this morning. Before I spoke, Pastor Sam brought a mic around the sanctuary and a number of people who had attended the MAD Live Event yesterday shared testimonies as they put the training into practice on the way home! One lady named Debbie shared with 2 people on her way home from the event. After church, Cathy and I had lunch with Pastor Sam and his family. What a blessing they were to us. Thanks to everyone at the E Free church for blessing us this weekend!

Saturday, January 25, 2014

MAD Live Event Completed in Montvale, NJ

Completed a MAD Live Event today at the Montvale Evangelical Free Church in NJ todayThis was my first time teaching in an Evangelical Free Church. We had a great group of people and we had some amazing conversations afterwards with the folks. Speaking to the teen Sunday School class tomorrow and preaching during the AM Service.

Friday, January 24, 2014

People Aren't Polaroid's

People Aren't Polaroid's - #7055

If you made a list of the million dollar ideas of the twentieth century, you'd probably have to include something called the Polaroid camera. Now, you may not remember that at all, but it was a great invention in its time. You know, what was the worst part of taking pictures? It was waiting for them to be developed. The Polaroid concept introduced the revolutionary idea of developing your photo right on the spot, and then you would know whether you got what you shot. That was way before cell phone technology. So with the Polaroid, for example, if you cut off everybody's heads when you took the picture, you could take it again and they could have heads. We're naturally impatient to see what the result of our effort is with our pictures, right? And with people.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "People Aren't Polaroid's."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Galatians chapter 6, and I'm reading verse 9. "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." This verse talks about doing good in people's lives. And as you know, that doing of good often shows no visible results at least for a while. But if you will keep sowing good seed, the Bible says, when it looks like it's having no effect-the person couldn't care less-you will ultimately reap a satisfying harvest.

Now, it could be that you need to hear that right now because you have been living Christ, and have been sharing Christ in the life of someone who just doesn't seem to get it. They don't care, they don't seem to be responding, seems like they don't even want to hear it right now and it's like you're talking to a brick wall. It could very well be even a member of your own family. Remember, Jesus said the farmer's job is to scatter seed, not to make it grow; you just get it out there.

Even if you're not seeing any result in the life of someone or the lives of some people, keep on sowing this verse says. That doesn't mean pestering, pushing, pressuring. Just patiently loving, gently sprinkling biblical values when you have a natural, spontaneous opening to do it.

I remember when Becky got a call at the age of thirty from a woman who said, "Are you the Becky that I knew in high school?" She said, "Yeah, I am." It turns out that they had been friends in junior high but then they'd gone two different ways. Becky had gone on to really follow Christ, and this girl went into the party scene. But now she's calling. She said, "Becky, I've looked all over. I finally got your married name. I finally tracked you down because my life is falling apart. My husband has left me, but I've got to ask you a question before I tell you any more. Becky, are you still close to God?" Wow! Thirteen years had passed. She didn't go to the party people; she went to the person she could remember-the God person who had faithfully sown Bible seed in her life.

We forget that people aren't a Polaroid picture. They don't usually develop right away. You have to wait to see what impression you have made. And while you're waiting it's easy to give up, because you don't see any impression. Well, seed that is sown yields nothing visible for quite a while. Ask any farmer.

But God has guaranteed you a harvest in the life of that child, in your marriage, in those Sunday School class kids, the Bible study people, the people in your church, the friends you have, your coworkers. He's guaranteed you a harvest if you won't quit. "At the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" the Bible says.

Someone you care about will eventually get the picture if you'll be patient while they develop.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Very cool Divine Appointment

Divine appointment – I went to the Chiropractor today. It is a 43 mile ride each way and I knew I would not be able to make it on the amount of gas that I had in the car. Sure enough, on my way home, the warning light came on and I decided to stop at the Love’s Truck Stop in Shartlesville as the gas is less expensive there that where I live. This is a very large station and almost all of the pumps were not being used. I selected a place to stop and began refueling my car. The windows of the car were covered with salt, so I decided to clean them with the station supplied squeegee. A car pulled in and stopped to the right of my car and I noticed the car had NJ plates on it. As I walked around to the rear of my car to clean the rear window, the lady from NJ said, “Excuse me…is your windshield washer freezing?” I said “no” and we began to discuss what might be causing hers to freeze up. She retrieved a gallon of windshield washer fluid from the rear of her car and showed it to me. It was good to 30 below zero. She sprinkled it on her windshield and turned her wipers on the clean the windshield. She then said that she didn’t have the time to keep stopping on her way home. I asked her where she lived in NJ, and she said, “Hoboken”. We talked about NJ a little and I asked where she was coming from. She said she was visiting her sister and then she started to cry. I asked her what was wrong and she said her sister was dying of cancer. I told her how sorry I was and asked if I could pray for her and her sister. She said, “YES!” I asked her name and what her sister’s name was. She said her sister’s name was Suzie and her name was Sissy. I put my hand on her shoulder and she said, "Before you pray, please remember to pray that my windshield washer wouldn’t freeze and that I will get home safely.” I agreed. I prayed for both of them and went into my car to get a Gospel of John to share with her and I was out! But God, in His providence, made sure there was a Mark Cahill booklet entitled, “One Second After You…Die” in the console. How appropriate for this situation! I asked if I could share it with her and explained it to her. She agreed she would read it and I told her to be sure to share it with her sister ASAP. She agreed to do that and thanked me many times as we headed our separate ways. Isn’t God good? Look at all of the things that had to happen in His perfect timing for us to meet at that time and place so I could invite them to go to Heaven when they die.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Ultimate Adventure trip to Utah

I am praising God for 2 additional people coming to Utah with us this summer. That brings our total to 10. If you're interested, let me know ASAP!

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Pray for this new opportunity

I would like to ask for your prayers. The Board of Directors of our ministry wanted to do a little advertising to try to expand the ministry. I chose a national motorcycle ministry’s monthly magazine to do a ½ page ad and include a QR code. The QR code takes smart phone users to a video specifically targeted to the member so this ministry explaining what we do and how it could help their members share their faith in Christ with others. Everything was set to begin the ads in their February issue. Then I got a phone call saying they couldn’t place the ad. There were a number of reasons given, including the fact that I suggested partnering with a local church to use the church facility for the training. Also I was told that the handout and videos of my training would have to be reviewed by their management team and evangelists before I could run the ad. I told them that I had sent them a DVD set to the President of this ministry 2 ½ years ago and I received a letter saying it would be reviewed and they’d get back to me. Cue the crickets…..not a word since then.

This represents a HUGE opportunity to expand the ministry and make an even bigger impact for the Kingdom. Would you please add this to your prayer list? I am praying that the Lord would open doors for the March issue and beyond. Thanks for your support.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Completed a MAD Live Event in Greensboro, NC today

It's been a long week. Four presentations in four days. Over 600 people trained and we saw the Lord save a whole bunch of people. I am beat. Looking forward to a few days off to rest my voice. Praise God for what He did!

Saturday, January 11, 2014

MAD Live Event at the Radius Church in Lexington, SC

What a great time we had at Radius today. Typical situation...300 something registered, but 217 actually attended. We had about 8 first time decisions for Christ. I don't have the exact number as the evaluation forms aren't in the hotel with me. So that was an educated guess based on what the Pastor told me. This is annual event is such a HIGE blessing for us. John Owens and WMHK bring us down every January and there are SO MANY different churches are represented. It gives us the exposure we need to open new doors of ministry for us in the future. We want to thank Radius and Pastor Todd for hosting this ands providing a free lunch for everyone in attendance.

Friday, January 10, 2014

Ben Lippen High School Students equipped

Today I did a shortened version of the MAD Live Even for the high school students, faculty and some parents. The Event was held in the auditorium at CIU. There we're about 333 students in attendance. I ran out of time and it made it difficult to collect the evaluation forms, so I only received about 8 of them. But out of the 8 there were 4 people who had given their lives to the Lord! Praise God!

The Stink Takes Over

I checked the bread drawer and it was still there, but there was a smell! Our daughter was visiting and she put in a bagel order with her aunt. She said, "I want an onion bagel." Well, somehow that onion bagel spent a few days in that bread drawer before it finally disappeared. Oh, the bagel was gone, but the smell remained. Well, that's not correct. Oh, no! In fact, the taste wasn't even gone. That little round stinker flavored every bagel in the drawer. So they all tasted like onion bagels now. I even had a bag of Starburst candies in the bread drawer, (Don't ask me why.) and guess what? You should try those with a little onion flavor! Yum, yum! Who would have guessed that one thing could stink up and flavor everything?

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Stink Takes Over."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Corinthians 7:1. God says here, "Since we have these promises dear friend, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit; perfecting holiness out of reverence for God." Now, God gives here a pretty interesting standard for deciding what you will allow your body to do; what you will allow your mind to take in. Will it contaminate you?

Contaminate makes me think of a germ or a bacteria. It only takes this little guy to bring down a much larger body. Or, for some reason, I also think of an onion bagel. There's no way to let it into that drawer without it infecting everything around it. That's why it really matters what you watch, what you listen to, what you read, who you spend time with, what you do for entertainment, what you laugh at.

Oh, you may think you can contain the trash they carry. You say, "Oh, it's no big deal. I can handle it." But sin is highly infectious. What began as just a passing thought ultimately becomes a desire, and desire ultimately becomes a sin you never thought you'd do. That's why the Bible says, "Don't give the devil a foothold." The devil just wants you to think about it, then want it, then do it, and then pay for it.

Maybe you're underestimating the corrupting, contaminating power of a little compromise. You can't afford that dirty joke, that dirty picture, a powerful video image or something on the Internet, a rumor about someone, a strong song about something that's wrong. See, you can't afford to let the stink in. You may feel a little defensive about some of the input that you're letting in, but ask yourself a few questions about what you watch, what you listen to, what you read, what you laugh at, who you hang around with.

We don't like to be challenged on these things, but ask these kinds of questions, "Is it making me a little harder than I was before? Am I becoming a little more tolerant of sinful things that I never used to put up with? Am I flirting mentally with some things I know are wrong? Am I finding the good things less interesting and more boring? Is my heart getting a little colder toward Jesus?" That's the power of contamination.

You know why? Because in the verses proceeding what we read today, in chapter 6, verses 16-18, God says, "I live in you. You are my people. You are my sons and daughters. Therefore, don't touch any unclean thing." In other words, do you know who you are? Then purify yourself from everything that contaminates. You're too good for this. You're too special for this. You were too expensive to God for this.

So, back to my smelly bread drawer, some onion-tasting candies to prove that a little bad influence can spread very quickly. It can spoil everything. Look, if you're letting into your body or into your mind anything that smells spiritually, get rid of it now. It could ruin what you never meant for it to touch.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

WMHK and WAFJ

I was blessed to be asked by John Owens of WMHK to speak to and challenge the combined staff of WMHK of Columbia SC and WAFJ of Augusta, GA this morning. The meeting was held at CIU, and I pray the Lord uses what I shared to encourage the 15 in attendance.

Tomorrow afternoon I will be sharing an abbreviated version of the MAD Live Event with the Middle and Senior High Students at the Ben Lippen School, which is also associated with CIU.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Divine appointment in Maryland

Divine appointment - I was passing through Maryland today and stopped at Chick-fil-A for a drink. As I was leaving the parking lot, a lady flagged me down. She was pregnant and had no coat on in the 10 degree weather. She asked me if I would jump start her car, and she said had cables. So I pulled my rental up next to her car and told her to sit in her car out of the wind. I asked her why she had no coat on and she said she left it at home. I kidded her that her mother would not be happy if she knew her daughter was out in this weather without a coat. After a few attempts, the car started. I had her turn on her heat and roll the window down and I shared Christ with her. I gave her a Gospel of John from the PTL and she kept thanking me over and over for stopping and helping her. All glory to God!

Monday, January 6, 2014

I experience this problem with churches regularly

When Differences Don't Matter

Oklahoma City! It's hard for me to hear those words without thinking of the devastation that occurred back on April 19, 1995; the day that a terrorist's bomb destroyed the Federal Building and 168 people who were in it. That day the very worst and the very best in people were displayed in Oklahoma City. It was an awful moment, but it united the community in a way like never before. There were so many people who threw themselves into the rescue effort. There were doctors, nurses, police, firefighters, and everyday heroes, counselors, ministers, and food suppliers. Someone wisely pointed out that suddenly white didn't matter, black didn't matter, Methodist didn't matter, Baptist didn't matter, old, young. There was one compelling need that had incredible power to erase all the categories.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When Differences Don't Matter."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Philippians 1:27-28. You know what suddenly pulls together people who usually work separately? Well, look at Oklahoma City. It's the realization that lives are at stake; that people will die if we don't work together. Turf doesn't matter when people are dying. Labels don't matter. The eternal tragedy of people dying spiritually isn't as easy to see as the devastation of a bomb blast, but it's every bit as real and far more eternal. And the way to rescue spiritually dying people who surround us is obvious.

Here we go, Philippians 1:27. "Stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel, without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved, and that by God." God says, "I want you to fight the gospel battle as one man in one spirit."

See, if we begin to see the people around us as Jesus sees them, we'll know that they're dying without a Savior. Now they're dying inside, and they will spend eternity without God unless we get to them in time. And then suddenly all those differences between us Christians don't seem so important. All that matters is getting to those dying people.

There's only one explanation for the competition and the categories between churches and organizations in your area. We must not really believe that getting to people for Jesus is life-or-death. The situation of lost people is too desperate for us to be worrying about denomination, or who gets the credit, or different views of the 10% that Christians disagree on. If "lostness" is not an eternal emergency, then maybe we could afford to stay clustered in our little individual rescue units.

But a lost world just doesn't understand why we can't get together. I hear that all the time. And if we don't, we'll never get to enough people in time. Let's start praying for the lost in groups that cross all the lines that have divided us. Let's plan together strategies to reach them. Let's work together out of a common broken heart for those who break the heart of Jesus. Try an experiment. Hit yourself in the face with your five separate fingers; see how it feels. Now, pull those five fingers together in a fist. Now hit yourself in the face. I doubt you're going to do it. Tell me which is more powerful, separate fingers working separately or pulled together in a fist. God's people have been carrying out the work of God way too long as separate fingers. Isn't it time we pulled together and made a fist in Satan's face?

That awful day in Oklahoma City I can't imagine the rescuers focusing most of their attention on the people who were already safe and already well. Of course not! They focused everything on the dying people. I can't imagine them arguing over turf either. See, when lives are at stake - in this case for heaven and hell - the differences do not matter. Saving lives together, that's all that matters.

First M.A.D. Live Event of 2014 is in the books

I shared the MAD Live Event withy the Lehigh Valley CEF folks this weekend. Had a great time with group, and received good feedback from them. I thank them for the invitation and for the opportunity to better equip them.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Divine Appointment

We have a Bose Acoustic Wave Sound System that never gets used, so I decided to sell it on Craig's List. I got a response from a man name John who said he wanted to come and buy it. I knew the meeting was more than just about selling a radio. It was a Divine appointment. John showed up this morning and bought the radio. I shared one of Mark Cahill's booklets entitled, "1 Second After you....die" with him. He said he appreciated what I shared but that he was LDS. We talked a little more and I told him I would send him a video that he should watch and an incredible oatmeal recipe from our friends Bruce and Kim in Florida. I did that. Now it's in the hands of our Lord!

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Running Hard in the Wrong Direction

I guess every athlete would like to do something immortal; you know, something that will be remembered for a long time. Well, Roy Riegels did it - in a way. He played center in the 1929 Rose Bowl game in Pasadena, California. No, I was not there! But, the game was almost over, the score was really close, and both teams knew that any score could well decide the game. And then on one play, Roy Riegels suddenly found himself with a ball in his hands. Now, centers only know what to do with the ball when they're snapping it to the quarterback. But Roy Riegels had it whether he liked it or not.

He started running as fast as he could, or at least as fast as a center can go, right for the goal line. He glanced back over his shoulder and he saw a very strange sight. He was being frantically pursued by his own teammates. See, his instincts told him to just keep running, and he did till he was tackled just short of the goal by one of his own teammates. See, Roy Riegels was running toward the other team's goal! Yeah, and shortly the other team went on to score and win the game. And he did achieve athletic immortality. He went down in football history as Wrong Way Riegels.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Running Hard in the Wrong Direction."

That was that center's mistake. He was running as hard as he could; it just didn't count. Someone listening right now may be making that same mistake. Our word for today from the Word of God is from Matthew 6:32-33. Jesus has just been talking about a lot of the concerns that occupy our everyday lives; having enough for our basic necessities, our body, our appearance, all the earth stuff. And He says, "The pagans run after all these things." Well, those who think that earth is all there is? Well, of course, they're chasing after all the earth stuff they can get.

But He goes on to say, "And your Heavenly Father knows that you need them." Message: You don't need to pursue those things. You need to trust your Heavenly Father for them. He'll take care of them. Then Jesus goes on to say, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given you as well."

Message: Put your best energy into the things that matter to God that will matter in eternity; the interests, the agenda of the work of God on earth, a lifestyle that majors on doing the right thing.

Now, we're wired to be runners. We're wired to be people who run hard toward a goal, but it's supposed to be an eternal goal. The problem is some of us are running hard, but we're running in the wrong direction. After all our hard running is done, it will turn out to be for a goal that just didn't count.

It may be that you've been running so hard that you haven't thought about whether the goal was really worth it. Maybe the goal that gets the most of you is job advancement, or more money, or it could be that you're running very hard to please a certain group of people, or to have some security, or to get a boyfriend or a girlfriend, to get a husband or a wife, or to own something you really want. But after all is said and done, it is earth stuff; stuff the Lord wants to give you if and when it's best for you. But could it be that some earth stuff has become the central pursuit of your life? See, that's not what you were created to pursue.

And as we enter into a brand new year right now, it might be a good gut check to see, if in fact, you're running for the things that will last. Right now Jesus is pursuing you; trying to intercept you maybe as you're running toward a goal that doesn't count. He's trying to get you turned around, running in the right direction to "seek first His kingdom."

He doesn't want the epitaph that goes with your name to be those two hollow words - wrong way.

What Will Never Change This Year

James MacDonald - Senior Pastor - Harvest Bible Chapel

So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. —Hebrews 6:17-18

An important and unchangeable truth to treasure in your heart this new year is that God is a Promiser. It’s His nature to fulfill His promises—He will never stop keeping His Word. And Hebrews 6:17-18 reveals God’s goal in making them: so we will be strongly encouraged to hold on. Take a moment to read the verses above once again.

God is committed to helping you lay hold of His promises because He knows they will give you strength. He wants to impress upon you “the unchangeable character of his purpose,” so you can be confident and solid in what you believe about Him. God doesn’t want you wavering or wandering through life, doubting or faltering in your faith. He is saying in effect, Go after the Christian life with confidence! Take hold of it with conviction. I want you to have full assurance right to the end! Don’t give up or back up. Don’t quit!

You can’t read many pages of Scripture without finding promise after promise God has faithfully kept throughout history:

• He promised one of Eve’s offspring would crush the serpent (Genesis 3).

• He promised Noah that He would never again destroy the world by a flood (Genesis 9).

• He promised innumerable descendants to Abram (Genesis 12).

• He promised to deliver the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 6).

• He promised the people of Israel blessings for keeping the law and curses for disobeying (Deuteronomy 28).

• He promised victory over the Canaanites to Joshua (Joshua 1).

• He promised an everlasting throne to David’s descendants (2 Samuel 7).

And those examples are just the beginning. The Bible is overflowing with promises God has made and kept. In fact, the central theme of Scripture is one big promise. In the Old Testament, the Messiah is promised; in the New Testament, He arrives and then promises to come again! God’s entire communication with us can be summed up as I promise.

The persistence of God’s pledge is also true for you personally. He wants you to be so familiar with His character and live so confidently in your faith you can say, “I know what God is going to do. I don’t know when or how, but He’s made some promises, and I can walk by faith until He delivers.”

Are you trusting the Lord with all your heart? He wants you to “have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before [you]” (v.18b). In fact, God amazingly tells His children we are “the heirs of the promise.” If you belong to Him, your whole identity is tied up in the promises He’s made to you.

Isn’t it time to live that way? The Christian life includes walking by faith from the first day of your greatest problem, to the final day when He reveals His most amazing solution. So make it your intention this new year to test and track how God keeps His promises to you—and be encouraged by His faithfulness.