The promises of God are my strength! I love God’s Word. I am not ashamed to say that you’ll often see me kissing or hugging my Bible. Weird? I don’t think so! Why? God’s Word is my compass, my lifeline, my treasure. I hug It when my heart explodes with gratitude, but also when my courage sinks into depths I thought I could never recover from. I love Bibles in general, to the point of actually collecting them. I have so many that I sometimes feel guilty that they are just sitting on my shelf. Fact is, I highlight, scribble, and draw in my Bible, so much so that after one year, the entire Book is highlighted in different colors, making it easy for me to find stuff. Too easy! It’s then that I set out to purchase a new Bible, and start the process all over again.
Every believer has a different approach to Bible reading and study. Some will not dare to make a mark on any page, deeming every God-inspired page as holy and sacred. Others, like myself, adopt a more personal approach. Whatever the Holy Spirit is teaching or saying to me at any given time is what you’ll see reflected on that page of Scripture in the Word. I am saying all this to make a point. My point being, that the day God’s Word became more of my personal diary, instead of a Holy Book on my shelf I take out once per week, was the day where God’s promises, to me, also became more personal and more applicable.
Like any believer, I go through seasons with the Word. Having gone to seminary for so many years, then working in ministry, it sometimes feels like I’ve learned all I could. Like there’s nothing new or insightful that I can take from the Book of Ephesians, for example. But alas! It’s in those times when the Holy Spirit does his greatest work in moving me from purely studying to real-world application, saying “You know enough now, start living what you read!” That said, there’s always more to learn!
We Need To Speak The Promises of God in the Bible!
I am not a name-it-claim-it believer. I do believe God’s promises are yes and amen, however, I found that the key in surrender lies not in expecting a certain outcome, but surrendering that outcome to God’s Will. It’s in those time where I can boldly come before Him with a heavy heart, a broken spirit, and a stressed-out mind, and leave in peace, not knowing how everything will play out. I found that the best way to battle fear, anxiety, depression, temptation or any kind of sin, is to verbally, audibly quote Scripture and to speak God’s promises. The best times to do this are when circumstances staring you in the face dictate an outcome contradictory to the Scripture you are speaking. This is the stuff that courage is made of. This is the power that no man or circumstance can ever take from you!
We Need To Teach The Promises of God in the Bible!
It’s not surprising that Millennials are the most Biblically unread age group, to date. They simply see no real significance in studying God’s Word. Even to a Millennial believer, God’s Word has become an ancient collection of writings that function more as guidelines, which are ultimately up for reinterpretation to whatever circumstance applies.
Relevant Magazine just published a Facebook snippet stating that research found that most people leave or change churches due to preaching. And in preaching, we mean educating God’s children through His Word. That’s the main reason why I, personally, find it difficult to stay plugged into any congregation where a pastor or leadership team fails to spend adequate time in God’s Word. If you are a teaching pastor, then please study before you come and speak to the congregation. Stop trying to solve our cultural problems, point us to the Great Problem Solver instead.
If you are a pastor, study and teach God’s Word. Not your own! If you are a Sunday School teacher or volunteer, teach God’s Word, not the Gospel according to Veggie Tales. If you are a worship leader, pick songs that edify the body through Scriptural truth and application, not based on whatever hit some new worship band released. Come on! The best thing we can do as believers, as a body, for ourselves, for our kids, is to know the Word. To memorize Scripture. To live it, speak it and share it!
Amazing Promises of God In The Bible Ready For You
In the last year, the following Scripture has literally changed my life. It has changed my thinking, my stewarding of Sharefaith, and my leadership role as husband and father. When looking for encouragement in the Word, I often search online to quickly find lists that have the verses ready to go. I find myself browsing quickly through the verses to find those that relate to my situation. The problem with doing things this way is that I don’t sit and do the research myself. I don’t give my mind time to contemplate the verse, study it, look at its context and ask the Holy Spirit to apply it to my heart. For that reason, I have listed the verses below, just by their chapter and number. You, now, can go and spend time with the Lord, to go through each one and experience the incredible depth, power, and peace that comes from standing on the promises of God, in whatever situation you are in, or may soon face! Don’t just read them – proclaim them verbally, every single day!
- Psalm 18:35
- 1 Corinthians 15:57
- 2 Corinthians 2:14
- Psalm 20:7-8
- Psalm 118:15
- Philippians 4:13
- Romans 8:31
- Deuteronomy 20:4
- Romans 8:39
- 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
- Ephesians 7:13
- Ephesians 6:10
- Proverbs 24:16
- Revelation 12:10
- Revelation 17:14
- Romans 6:14
- Ephesians 2:10
- Isaiah 55:11
- Romans 5:8
- Hebrews 7:25
- 2 Corinthians 4:18
- 2 Timothy 1:7
- Colossians 2:15
- Romans 8:2
- Romans 8:14
- 1 Peter 2:9
- Hebrews 4:12
- Ephesians 6:11
- Galatians 2:20
- Ephesians 6:20
- 1 John 3:20
- Revelation 12:1-2
- Hebrews 13:6
- Titus 3:6
- 1 Peter 5:7
- Philippians 4:6
- Matt 6:25-34
- Proverbs 12:25
- 2 Timothy 1:7
- Luke 12:22-26
- Isaiah 41:10
- Psalm 55:22
- Psalm 34:4
- Romans 8:26-38
- Hebrews 13:6
- John 14:27
- Matthew 6:34
- Matthew 6:25
- Proverbs 3:5-8
- Psalm 56:3
- 1 John 1:9
- 2 Peter 3:9
- James 1:2-4
- Philippians 4:19
- Philippians 4:13
- Psalm 139:1-23
- Palm 27:1
- Joshua 1L8
- Deuteronomy 31:6
- Proverbs 3:1-6
- Isaiah 26:3-4
- Romans 12:2
- Romans 10:9
- Romans 15:13
- Isaiah 40:31
- Galatians 5:1
- Psalm 112:7
- Psalm 62:3
- Revelation 21:20
Now that you have all these amazing verses to go and study, memorize, and proclaim, take a look at this great video from our friend, Ben Courson, speaker and author out of my home church, Applegate Christian Fellowship.
Hein van Wyk is the Co-Founder and President of Sharefaith Inc. When he finds time, he loves to share some leadership and faith application here on ChurchRelevance and SharefaithMagazine. Father, pastor, worship leader and avid film composer, he likes wearing many hats! Sharefaith Inc, for the last 14 years, has served nearly 120,000 churches globally with cutting edge media and technology resources such as church websites, mobile apps, worship media, kids Bible resources, giving and donations and worship software.
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