Take Heed of the Examples But Remember the Promises

Recently, I have been meditating on 1 Corinthians 10:1-13. Paul begins this passage (verses 2-3) pointing out the great advantages and grace that God had shed on the people of Israel as they were brought out of Egypt. He says they "were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea" or in other words they were partakers of the miracles of God's continuing presence in the guiding them with the cloud as well as seeing the great miracle of the Red Sea parting. He goes on to show how they partook of the same spiritual food and drink probably alluding to the manna and water that God provided for them again in miraculous fashion. Finally, Paul says that these people drank for the Spiritual Rock of Christ once again referring to how God provided water to them from a Rock. All these physical miracles during the Exodus were Spiritual types pointing to Christ.

Paul then changes gears from the activities of grace that God provided for them to their actions in response. He says that although God granted these great blessings to them, He was not pleased with most of them (verse 5). Paul specifically says that these actions are examples for us "so that we will not desire evil as they did." What were the actions of some of these people which we are to take heed:

1. They were idolaters (1 Corinthians 10:7 quoting Exodus 32:6 which deals with the events of the golden calf)
2. They were immoral (1 Corinthians 10:8 pointing to the events of Numbers 25:1-9)
3. They put Christ to the test (1 Corinthians 10:9 pointing to the events of Numbers 21:5-9 when the people complained about God's provision and God sent poisonous snakes)
4. They complained against God (1 Corinthians 10:10 pointing to the events of Numbers 16:41-50 when the people again complained against God's dealing through Moses and Aaron and God send a plague)

Paul shows that many were cut down in the wilderness because of these sinful action. These things should serve as examples to us to keep us from evil. In 1 Corinthians 10:12, Paul writes, " So let the one who thinks he is standing be careful that he does not fall" Why would he says this? Well, he has just shown that many people who had experienced many of God's miraculous wonders still turned to sin. If they, who beheld these wonders, could so easily turn to sin, then we too, who have not seen the Red Sea part, manna falling from heaven, or water suddenly coming from a rock, can also easily turn to sin.

The questions comes - will remembering these examples keep us from sin? Well, they certainly will help - but the glorious promise of 1 Corinthians 10:13 will aid us in our battle to put evil to death in our lives.

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

God has promised:

1. That we will never face a temptation that is extraordinary.
2. The He (God ) is faithful to His promises.
   
3. That we will never face a temptation that is beyond our ability to overcome.
4. That God will provide an escape with every temptation we face.
5. Because of the above truths, we can endure.

How often do we drift into self pity over temptations thinking no one has ever faced the temptations like we have. We don't have the strength to fight and we can't win. To think this way flies in the face of these promises from God. As regenerate believers, we can overcome sin. God is Faithful - He will always keep His word. He tells us we can endure, we can overcome, He will always give us an escape.

The questions comes then why do we continue to choose sin when these fearful examples and glorious promises of a Faithful God are ours? Well, it still comes down to the same problem those many Israelites had - Unbelief. They did not believe God was really faithful to His promises. They did not believe God was interested in their absolute best. They did not believe obedience to God and faith in His promises was better for them than the false promises of the temptations they to which they yielded.

When we sin we have no excuse - God has provided a way of escape in every temptation. We still live in this flesh and will battle sin all the days of our physical life. And we still will sin. But what do we do when we fail as those Israelites in the wilderness. The only thing we can - flee to the cross of Christ, repent of the sin and find forgiveness in His perfect work. Find your peace of forgiveness and right standing with God through the work of Christ alone - for that is your only hope. But - go on to fight sin by believing the promises of a faithful God that will never leave or forsake you. You can overcome - you can endure. Fight with God's precious promises - especially remembering that one day He has promised that all sin will be destroyed and we as His people will no longer be even capable of sinning against Him. Take heed of these fearful examples, remember your are weak in your own self - but also remember the great promises of God to aid you in your fight by working in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure (Phillipians 2:13)

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

To Be More Blessed Than Mary

Tonight during family devotion, we read a short reading from Jonathan Edwards based on Luke 11:27-28:

While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.” But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

Edwards brought up the passages in Luke 1:28 and Luke 1:48-49, where Mary is called "highly favored," "blessed among women," and one who "from henceforth all generations" shall call her blessed. Indeed quite a blessing to be chosen as Edwards puts it "the mother of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that Creator of the world, and the Savior of sinners and the Judge of angels and men."

But then Edwards goes on to focus on the Luke 11 passage. Apparently one listening to the teachings of Jesus broke out in praise and blessed the mother of Jesus, Mary. He goes on to point out the response of Jesus to this statement. Jesus says, "On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it." Edwards writes:

How great a privilege was it to this young virgin to conceive in her womb and hold in her arms and suckle at her breasts, a Child who was the Son of the highest, who was the great and eternal and infinitely beloved Son of God, the Creator and mighty Governor of heaven and earth and the great Savior of mankind. . . . But hearing and keeping the word of God renders a person more blessed than any of those privileges. . . .The woman to who Christ directed himself in the text had been hearing the word externally. Christ therefore here informs her that if she not only hears but keeps this word, he will render her more blessed than that privilege that she spoke of.

Do we believe that today? Can we imagine that we can be more blessed than Mary was, who experienced the wonderful privileges mentioned above? Well, Jesus tell us that we can and are more blessed than Mary if we hear His words and obey them. Indeed as an English speaking nation, we have to quote Dan Wallace, "an embarrassment of riches" when it comes to the Word of God. We have multitudes of translations in our language. But do we avail ourselves of these riches. Jesus tells us that if we will read, hear, and obey His word, we will be blessed. What a wonderful promise to remember this Christmas. Do we believe this promise? Well, do we read His word? Do we hear it faithfully preached? Do we obey it? If so, we are indeed most highly blessed. Even more so than being the mother or even a blood relative of Jesus (Matthew 12:47-50)

This devotion came from a book entitled "Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas." It contains 22 reading from various authors focusing on the incarnation of Christ. I highly recommend it to you for your edification and use during this season.

Angry at God?

I can recall in my teenage and early 20 years hear individuals say things like it was okay to be angry with God when you experience tragedies like the loss of loved ones and illnesses. In Edward Welch's book, "Addictions - A Banquet in the Grave," he writes the following about being angry with God in relationship to how God's holiness has been forgotten today:

Over the last thirty years, one of the remarkable changes within the Christian community has been the fact that we not only acknowledge anger with God, we tacitly approve it. Throughout history, people have wrestled with God's hand in our suffering, and some people would harbor anger against him because they deemed him unfair or unjust. Rarely, however, would such anger be voiced. When it was, there was always a sense that lightning could strike momentarily. Yet now, under the banner of openness and "God can take it," it is acceptable to be angry with God. But God is God. He is the king, and we are his servants (Rom. 6:22). We are his, and he has the right to bring whatever he wants into our lives. And who are we to stand in judgement of God's justice? Isn't that saying that we are the epitome of justice rather than saying that God's justice is holy, higher than our own? Who are we to critique God's love, especially when we are witnesses of the cross? God's love is a holy love. We cannot compare it to the love of a person. Instead, it is greater than anything we can imagine. If we don't see it in our immediate circumstances, it is because we are equating love with getting what we want. God's love, however, always has a larger view. It is more sophisticated - deeper and more multifaceted - than we know.

How true this is. We often think it is God's job to give us what we want or He really does not love us. Let us read how those of the past who have patiently endured suffering and tragedy in their lives and endures them knowing that God's love was true and His works in their lives were always from His love and for their absolute best. Welsh goes on to say:

The corrective is to keep the cross and resurrection in view. The cross displays holy love. The cross also indicated that sin is not something to be trifled with. It called down the wrath of God, and demanded a payment that we could never make ourselves. Only the cross can speak simultaneously about holy justice and holy love.

I am sure if Jesus would have demonstrated our view of God's love at times, then he would have questioned the love of the Father towards Him. But scripture proclaims that the Father has always loved the Son even when He bore the wrath of the Father for His people. May we with the Hebrews writer remember:

It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. (Hebrews 12:7-11)

Angry with God? May it never be. Not when what awaits you is peace, holiness, and righteousness.

Testimony of One who Knows God

Lord, it belongs not to my care

Whether I die or live;

To love and serve Thee is  my share,

And this Thy grace must give.

If life be long, I will be glad,

That I may long obey;

If short- then why should I be sad

To soar to endless day?

Found in J. I. Packer's Knowing God, pages 31-32.

The Small Hinges of Life

Romans 8:28 is a favorite verse of many Christians and with good reasons. It reads:


And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (ESV)

While this is a verse filled with infinite hope for every believer (only those who love God and are called according to his purpose can claim this promise), the questions often should be asked if we really believe this. How do we react when the small things, or big things, of life often jump up and interrupt our intended purposes and desires. Do we become angry and irritated or do we respond with faith based on the promise of this verse. Stuart Olyott has some great comments concerning this verse.

But why did he call? It is because he purposed to; all the reasons lie with him and none of them with me. And the same purpose is working itself out in every event. every circumstance, every joy, every setback and every detail of our lives. Big doors swing on small hinges, and even those small hinges are put in place by God's invisible hand. Everything is included - red traffic lights, unwelcome delays, bitter disappointments, family quarrels, terminal illnesses, unspeakable joys, and golden moments. Nothing is left out. I think that Romans 8:28 is one of the most comforting verses in the whole Bible. I don't know where I would be, or where you would be, if somebody took it out.

Indeed, every event down to a single atom is controlled by God according to His purposes. And for believers he promises that every event is for our good. Do we believe this? The next time things don't or perhaps they do work our the way you desire, remember that our Sovereign God still rules and reigns and He is purposing this event for our absolute best.

Groans of the Spirit

In Romans 8:26-27, we read the following from Paul,

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Now listen to words of Stuart Olyott concerning these two verses:

For years I have been mystified by all those hymns that start with 'O'. These are seventy-six of them in the latest edition of Christian Hymns. Why do some many hymns begin with 'O', as well as so many individual verses and choruses? It is because there is something going on inside us which cannot be expressed. It comes to the surface as a groan. But it is not our groan, says the apostle; it is the groan of the Spirit. . . . Here we are in this world, with Spirit-given aches and groans inside us. We long for the redemption of our bodies, the resurrection, and the new heavens and earth. We long to be out of this world and away from its filth. We long to be where there is perfect purity and holiness, and therefore perfect happiness. The very fact that we have these groans inside us is God's proof to us that we will have the destination that we want. This inward Spirit-voices speech is a further guarantee that the present order will not go on forever and that, despite our present sufferings, we are on our way to glory

Do you understand what Olyott is talking about? Do you see it in these hymns of saints written by saints of the past. Does the Spirit intercede for you with these groans which are too deep for human words spoken in prayer. All true believers experience this, but perhaps they experience it more on those occasion when they have come to the end of their strength. As these verses show, it is in our weakness that the Spirit works these deep groanings within us. And as they also teach, these groanings are according to the perfect will of God. God knows what is for our absolute best and good, which is what Paul goes on to show in the following verses in Romans 8, and He sends His Spirit to intercede within us prayers that are according to His will. The next time you see a hymn which starts or includes the word 'O' think of these verses.

The Source of True Joy and Satisfaction

In unexpected times;

In times of caution;

In times of quiet;

And yes, even in times of prayer.

They come to me with mighty promises;

Promises of joy and pleasure;

Promises of satisfaction and delight;

Promises that call me to experience the happiness for which my heart desires and longs.
Like Paul, I find myself crying out "I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate" (Romans 7:15).

But You, O Lord, the One who is Truth (John 14:6)

have given me Your Word which is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm 119:105).

And your Word tells me that:

The promises of temptations are deceitful lies (Ephesians 4:22)

that never deliver what they guarantee.

That in Your presence alone is fullness of joy

and at Your right hand are pleasures forever (Psalm 16:11).

That only the pure in heart will see God (Matthew 5:8).

That You will never withold any good thing from me (Psalm 84:11).

And that You are faithful and powerful enought to keep Your promises

and bring them to pass (1 Thessalonians 4:24).

Lord, my hope is indeed in You alone.

You are my treasure and my valuable pearl (Matthew 13:44-46).

Your steadfast love is my satisfaction leading to great joy (Psalm 90:14).

And it is by Your magnificent and precious promises

that enable me to escape the corruption of the world and its lies

and allow me to become a partaker of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).

Lord, I believe;

Help me in my unbelief (Mark 9:24).

Let me draw near You with a sincere heart in the full assurance of faith;remembering that You who promise are faithful (Hebrews 10:22-23).

And also remembering that without faith, it is impossible to please You; for those who come to You must believe that You are and that You are a rewarder of those who seek You by faith (Hebrews 11:6).

For it was this reward that Moses looked to as he considered the sufferings and reproach of Christ to be greater riches than the treasures of Egypt and the fleeting pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:24-26).

And like Abraham, help me to look, by faith, to the city, whose foundation has God as its architect and builder (Hebrews 11:10),

Let me desire the better and heavenly country;with a city prepared by God (Hebrews 11:16).

Help me to remember that I have in You a better and lasting possession (Hebrews 10:34);

and that I shall behold Your face in righteousness; and I will be satisfied with Your likeness (Psalm 17:15).

When I consider all of these promises and that the One who makes them is able and willing to keep them; May I see the false promises of temptations for what they are;

And pray always that you will satisfy me with your steadfast love;

so that I may rejoice and be glad all of my days;

And may I like the deer pants for water (Psalm 42:1);

thirst for you as in a dry and weary land that has no water (Psalm 63:1);

For you are indeed the living water that alone

can quench and satisty this thrist forever (John 4:13).

And then again as before, like Paul, thought I cry out, "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" I will also cry "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:24-25)

What is Better than Life?

David writes in Psalm 63:3 the following:

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips will praise You. (NASB)

Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you. (ESV)

How many commercials do you see every week on television from investment/financial planning companies telling you how good your life can be if you will only use their company in planning for retirement. You will have the "good life." After all, isn't that what life is all about - preparing for your retirement, retiring early, enjoying the fruit of you labors - the good things in life? Well, David gives us a different perspective of life.

While it can be said that David struggled with many things in life, it could also be said that he had a good life. He was the king of a nation and probably did not lack any good thing with respect to the physical aspects of life. But, David tells us here something that is better than the good things of life, in fact, it is better than life. It is the steadfast love of God. John Piper often points out that today some Christians value the gifts of God more than they do God Himself. We see it in our American Culture today where entire theologies are built on the ideas of health, wealth, and prosperity. These things are used to move people to God. Do we treasure God more than His good gifts? Do we treasure God more than life itself?

I think of all the Christians down through the ages who actually had to make a decision between their physical life and the promises of God in his steadfast love. I have a book, published in 2001, that details the deaths of Christian martyrs beginning with Old Testament prophets up to the present. It is 956 pages long and without a doubt not complete. But the point is that many of our brothers and sisters down through the ages have actually had to decide if the steadfast love of God was better than life. Those mentioned in this book said yes it is.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 13:45-46 the following:

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it." (NASB)

You must ask yourself if God is your treasure worth more than all you have? Is He your pearl worth more than all you have? Is His steadfast love and precious and magnificent promises (2 Peter 1:4) better than your physical life on this earth? Many Christians down through the ages have answered yes to this question. Many Christians today say yes. What is your answer?

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21 (NASB)

Martin Luther also thought of this question and he gives us his answer in his hymn, "A Mighty Fortress is Our God."

Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

How to Sleep In Peace

Here are the words of Psalm 4:8 from the ESV:

In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

This verse is one I come back to over and over again. Some see Psalm 4 as being written by David during his time of fleeing Absalom, his son. It was not a time of peace for David. Yet, we see David exclaiming that he has peace. Why or How is David able to have peace when his own son is after his throne? A few observations:

1. David says that he is able to both lie down and sleep in peace. Often times, during periods of anxiousness or fear, we may lie down, but sleep does not come easy. Our minds race through contingencies or possibilities that many times never take place. But David proclaims that not only does he lie down, but he is able to sleep. And this is not a light, turning and twisting sleep, but one of peace.
2. How can David do this? Because he believes that it is the LORD, alone, who is able to make him dwell in safety. David has a firm belief in the sovereignty of God over every event in his life. It is God and only God, that can keep him in safety. That is why he can rest peacefully because he knows he is completely in the Father's hand (Psalm 31:15), the one who never sleeps or slumbers (Psalm 121:4) and only does good for His children (Psalm 84:11). I love to read quotes by persons who also had this firm faith and confidence in God believing that they were indeed immortal until God's work for them was finished. From the perspective of the world, they would be called courageous, but their courage was in their God, not themselves. They did not trust in their strength or the strength of anyone else.

I pray that God give me this kind of fearless faith. A faith that can sleep in sweet peace no matter what circumstance of life I face (Matthew 6:25-34). A faith that does not fear man or death (Matthew 10:28). A faith that trusts and hopes in God, though He slay me (Job 13:15).

Thoughts of Heaven

In Ligon Duncan's Book Fear Not - Death and the Afterlife from a Christian Perspective, he has several good quotes about the Christian and Heaven. Here are a few:

As a believer's life is very different from an unbeliever's life, so also a believer's death is very different from an unbeliever's death. The unbeliever prefers Heaven over Hell; the believer prefers Heaven over this earth. The unbeliever prefers Heaven only over Hell because he cannot imagine anything more blessed than this life. The believer prefers Heaven over earth, because the believer cannot imagine anything more blessed than life with God. - Unknown Source

There is a great deal of difference between the desires of Heaven in a sanctified man and in an unsanctified one. The believer prizes Heaven above earth, and had rather be with God than here, though death stands in the way and may possibly have harder thoughts from him. But for the ungodly, there is nothing that seems more desirable than this world, and therefore he only chooses Heaven over Hell, but not over earth; and therefore shall not have it upon such a choice - Richard Baxter

Baxter is saying that nobody in his right mind would choose Hell. If they are asked, then they'll always say, "Oh, yes, heaven over hell, please!" In contrast, the mark of a Christian approaching death is a desire for heaven over earth, heaven over this life. The Christian desires Jesus over the things that are most precious in this world, and not simply an existence that is more attractive than the torments of an eternity in Hell. - Ligon Duncan

All men must die, but as men's lives are very different, so their account in death is, also. To an ungodly man, death is loss, the greatest loss; but to a believer, it is gain, the greatest gain. - Thomas Boston

I am so in love with His love that if He(Christ) were not in Heaven, I would not want to go there. - Samuel Rutherford

The same thought from different men. Do you treasure Christ like this?

Expressions of Saving Faith

In James Durham's collection of sermons on Isaiah 53, he has one sermon in which he discusses the expressions of saving faith which the Bible uses. I thought these were of interest and worth meditating upon. They are as follows:

1. Believing Christ (Acts 16:31)
2. Coming to Christ (Matthew 11:28; John 6:35)
3. Receiving Christ (John 1:12)
4. Apprehending or taking hold of Christ (Philippians 3:12; Hebrews 6:16; Isaiah 56:3)
5. Casting yourself or resting on Christ (Psalm 55:22; Psalm 37:5,7)
6. Submitting to Christ (Romans 10:2)
7. Hiding in Christ (Proverbs 8:10; Philippians 3:9; Isaiah 23:26)
8. Yielding to Christ (2 Chronicles 30:8)
9. Opening the heart to Christ (Acts 16:14)
10. Marrying Christ ( Ephesians 5:22-33)
11. Buying (Isaiah 55:1)
12. Cleaving or inclining to Christ (John 23:8; Acts 11:23; Isaiah 55:2-3)
13. Committing to Christ (Psalm 37:5; 2 Timothy 1:12)

This is quite a list and is definitely not exhaustive. I wonder if there is a book somewhere that explores these expressions of saving faith in more detail? If you happen to find one, let me know.

God's Promises

In Joshua 21:43-45, we read this:

So the LORD gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. And the LORD gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them; the LORD gave all their enemies into their hand. Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass. (NASB)

God had kept His promise to the patriarchs, the children of Abraham now possessed and lived in all the land that God had promised. God had kept His word. Not only did God give the land to the people, this passage tells us that not one of the promises he made to Israel failed, but all of them had come to pass. Every promise he made came true.

How hard it should be for any human to make a promise. The reason being that we can't control all events around us to make sure the promise we make will come to pass. In fact, we can't control our next breath or the next beat of our heart. But God can make promises to His people because He controls all things. My pastor said in his sermon this Sunday about taking what Paul refers to as a "trustworthy statement" "to the bank." Why can we guarantee the promises of the Bible? Why are the promises of the Bible, trustworthy statements? We can truly trust every promise of God that He makes for He alone has the power to make sure it happens. If He promises it, you can bet on it. It will happen. Charles Spurgeon has a wonderful quote on the control or sovereignty that God has over every atom in the universe:

I believe that every particle of dust that dances in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or less than God wishes—that every particle of spray that dashes against the steamboat has its orbit as well as the sun in the heavens—that the chaff from the hand of the winnower is steered as the stars in their courses. The creeping of an aphis over the rosebud is as much fixed as the march of the devastating pestilence—the fall of sere leaves from a poplar is as fully ordained as the tumbling of an avalanche. He that believes in a God must believe this truth. There is no standing-point between this and atheism. There is no half way between a mighty God that worketh all things by the sovereign counsel of his will and no God at all. A God that cannot do as he pleases—a God whose will is frustrated, is not a God, and cannot be a God. I could not believe in such a God as that.

God controls every atom, so every promise will come true. Read your Bible and see the hundreds of promises God makes to His people. If you are a believer, they are sure because He has the power to see it through. Think for example of all the promises in Romans 8. I really like the verse Romans 8:32, "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things" Paul tells us that if God has given His own Son for us, he will most certainly give us all things. What an amazing statement.

What is also amazing is that God's faithfulness to His promises is secure outside of our ability to be faithful to Him. Though we have been regenerated by the Spirit of God, we are still sinners, and we still fail. Is our hope in our ability to obey? Thank God it is not! Our hope is in the promises of God that all who put their trust in the work of Jesus Christ as their substitute will be forgiven of sin and have eternal peace with God. Our hope is outside of ourselves - it is in the hands and promise of another. Will we trust him to keep His word? Do we believe that He is faithful and able to keep His word? Let us not be like the first generation of freed Israelites who did not enter the promised land because they "were not able to enter because of unbelief" Hebrews 3:19. Let us hope in Christ alone. That is our only assurance because only "He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them" Hebrews 7:25.