The Bible is a “think back and remember” book. It’s a “think back and trust” book. Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, once said, “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” How will we ever discover the courage of trust if we haven’t experienced it firsthand?Our problem is that we so easily forget. This made me think of the promise God gave to Noah that after great floods, there would always […]
One of the most frequent promises in the Bible is that God will be with us at every moment. That’s why I want to spend a little more time on this. The Old Testament is filled with this assurance. It was also Jesus’ final words. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the proof: God is with us. Hebrews 13:5-6 sums it up beautifully: “God himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake
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For me, a much more beautiful expression than “I promise” is to say, “I give you my word.” Now, it’s not just “empty talk”; it’s your “word of honour.” In Hebrew, the word “dabar” (or “dawar”) comes from the same root for speaking and saying, as well as for words and promises. When God speaks, it is God’s command. Therefore, the correct translation of the “Ten COMMANDMENTS of God” is actually the “Ten WORDS of
It really isn’t as easy to write about the promises in the Bible as you and I might like to think. Most of the promises in the Bible weren’t made to individuals but to a nation – although I would like to believe that they were meant specifically for me (or for you). Most of the promises were made within a specific context, while our context differs vastly from theirs. Sometimes we make thematic lists
The Dutch theologian, Herman Bavinck, once said: “A religion that cannot offer comfort in grief and sorrow, in life and death, cannot be the true religion.” Nothing is as meaningless as cheap comfort, and nothing is as comfortless as empty promises. We easily say, “promises create obligations” – you have a responsibility to remain faithful to your word. But it’s not for nothing that the idiom goes further: “…He who waits on them feels burdened.”
