Hello RISEM Clergy & Laity,
The following devotions are taken from the book, The One Year Praying the Promises of God by Cherri Fuller and Jennifer Kennedy Dean. I pray these devotions will increase your hunger for God’s Word.
JUNE 2020
Pure Promises
The LORD’S promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over. Psalm 12: 6 The psalmist paints a picture of silver purified beyond ordinary standards. He describes a process that will produce 100 percent pure silver. Every bit of impurity or residue gone. God’s promises are unmixed with any untruth. They’ve been put through the fire. David wrote, “Your promises have been thoroughly tested; that is why I love them so much” (Psalm 119: 140). God doesn’t want his promises to be theoretical; he invites us to put them to the test so we will know for ourselves how trustworthy they are.
When Scripture tells us how to know God, it uses “sense” words: How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey. (Psalm 119: 103) I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand. (Ephesians 1: 18) The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears. (Isaiah 50: 5, NIV) Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. (2 Corinthians 2: 15) Consider this: How would you describe the taste of a strawberry to someone who has never tasted one? You couldn’t. Things that we know through our senses we have to learn firsthand.
So, it is with knowing God. You can know him only by firsthand experience and the certainty of his promises. They have to be tested in your fire. But you cannot trust promises on their own merit. A promise is only as reliable as the person who makes it. If you don’t know the promiser, you have no way of knowing whether or not to rely on the promise. You must trust the Promiser.
Faithful Father, the more I know you, the more faith comes naturally to me. Trust is no longer a generic idea but is becoming instead a deliberate act as I learn to trust in you. Show yourself to me in the comings and goings of my life, teaching me that who you are ensures what you will do. The promises of the Bible are nothing more than God’s covenant to be faithful to His people. It is His character that makes these promises valid. JERRY BRIDGES (1929–), American author and conference speaker.
Blessings,
Rev. Dr. Andrew L. Foster III
