Have you ever received a promise that wasn’t kept?

Did you ever make a promise that you couldn’t keep?

Often, the one leads to disappointment; perhaps even distrust. The other can drive us to shame and guilt.

But God!!!  This is a complete thought – a complete sentence. Perhaps, “But God” is not grammatically a complete sentence or thought, but it’s all I need in times of despair, in fits of fear or in situations of sadness and in days of depression.

But God!!!

Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus about the blessings of redemption in Ephesian 2:4 – 10,

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Now, read these verses in The Message:

   “It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.  Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing” (vv 1 – 10).

Think about it! Before you were born or were thought about; before your parents, even your great grandparent were born, you were “made right” with Christ.

Before you cheated on your wife.

Before you stole that ream of paper from the office.

Before you lied to your boyfriend.

Even then… you were made right in Christ. You were made clean to stand before a Holy God.

There are no strings attached to God’s promises and there is ONLY ONE thing you must do to receive – only ONE thing you can do:

You must accept this gift; this gift that is freely offered and freely given.

It cannot be bought and it cannot be sold.

The world says you must work for your salvation. God says the work has already been done.

The world says “you get what you pay for”. God says what you get has already been paid for.

All of God’s promises are Yes!!! and Amen!!!  Paul was very clear when he wrote to the church at Corinth in his second letter, Chapter 1, verse 20, “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.”  The Amplified Bible reads, “For as many as are the promises of God, they all find their Yes in Him [Christ]. For this reason we also utter the Amen (so be it) to God through Him [in His Person and by His agency] to the glory of God.” And The Message simply states, “Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God’s Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident. God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us. By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge—a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete” (vv 20 – 22).

Does God love you? YES!!! Did Jesus freely die that you may spend eternity with Him? Yes!!!

Please, stop whatever you’re doing and ask God to forgive you of all your sins. Simply tell God you want to accept what Jesus did for you.

Yes, your eternal place with God in heaven is as simple as that.

Now, ask God what He wants you to do; then sit quietly and listen. If you can trust God for your eternal life, you can trust Him to lead you today.

All His promises are yes and amen – if you have any questions, remember this simple and complete statement:

But God!!!

All scriptures are taken from the King James Version (KJV) unless otherwise noted.

© 2014 Cat Brennan