Jeremiah 29:10-13
“This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
INSIGHT
-Promise in Hebrew is written as omer & means a declaration or assurance that one will do something or that a particular thing will come to pass. A promise is normally a consequence of a covenant which makes it legal or executable, otherwise becomes null & void.
-The Israelites went to captivity under king Nebuchadnezzar II who destroyed the first Jerusalem temple where the church congregated. Prophet Jeremiah gave the people hope by telling them that God had good plans for their lives despite the 70 years of captivity (years of fulfillment). Jesus proclaimed that He would destroy the temple & rebuilt it in 3 days, intimating His death & resurrection. By doing this He united us to Himself reconstituting the church & liberated us from slavery & bondage of sin that causes death. He also resuscitated our hope in Him that we remain triumphant in all things. Christ reminds us today that He has good plans for our lives, plans to prosper us & not to cause harm, plans to give us hope & a future. Sometimes we doubt whether the promises of God apply us. God reminds us to completely trust in Him & make known our requests to Him in prayer; & He will answer us according to what He has planned for us. Let us not grow weary in faith for with God all things are possible.
PRAYER
Lord our Father we praise You & magnify Your holy name. There is no other God but You Jesus, have Your way in us. Thank You for loving us Father. Your love completes us, there is nothing we shall want. We surrender all to You that You may take control of our lives, families, government, businesses, education, relationships & nation. Through Your resurrection You have made us free from captivity of sin, deliver us Lord from everything that is not of Your kingdom. You have given us hope of a better future Father, hear our prayers & answer us according to Your will. Amen
Numbers 23:19
“God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”
INSIGHT
-God instructed Balaam to prophecy a blessing to Israel when compelled to curse them by Balak king of Moab. A picture of the curses that were broken by Christ on the cross so that we may inherit an eternal blessing through His grace. God also reaffirmed & confirms to us today; that His counsels of old are faithfulness & truth; & His promises are yes & amen in Christ Jesus. Just like He promised the people of Israel peace & prosperity by virtue of them inheriting the land of Canaan, He has fulfilled the promise of giving us His Son & the Holy Spirit as prophesied, that love, joy, peace, life everlasting & many other graces may dwell in us. He has also delivered us from evil snares & burdens through the blood of His only Son Jesus Christ & has made us kings & priests that we may dwell in dominion on the earth.
PRAYER
Almighty Father; You are the beginning & the end, the first & the last, we love You with all our hearts. We believe that Your promise of grace & eternal blessing to us & our descendants are true & were accomplished before the foundation of the world. Lord You are not a man that You should lie or a son of man that You should repent, there is no other God but You Jesus. All our hopes are in You Father, fulfill Your promises in our lives, families, societies & nation according to Your will. We know that You have a purpose for each one of us, accomplishing all which You have promised by Your everlasting mercy Lord. All glory, honor, blessing, riches, grace & power belongs to You Lord, forever & ever. Amen
Proverbs 11:7
“Hopes placed in mortals die with them; all the promise of their power comes to nothing.”
INSIGHT
-Many people put all their trust in political power, financial strength & sometimes physical might for protection, influence & hope for a better life. Their hopes & those who entirely rely on them are cut short when they are faced by death. Others put all their trust in God Who is full of grace & faithfulness; & through His blessings one becomes riches & adds no sorrow to it (Prov 10:22). God raises powerful people & manifests Himself through divine connections with those in authority so that all the glory goes back to Him. When one fully trusts in God, He makes even that which we cannot fathom come to pass according to His purpose; & through Christ we receives His blessings like Abraham in inheritance of land, prosperity, good family relationships, peace, faith, good health etc. as He guides us in work, wisdom, love & faith. Christ has bestowed unto us His grace which is a surety in the present life & the life to come.
PRAYER
Lord our Saviour & Father, we put all our trust in You, help us. We humbly ask for Your guidance in our work, family life, education, leadership, Christian life & all other affairs; that we may always live by Your grace. You have made us kings & priests to God that we may reign on earth, manifest Yourself to us always that we may achieve all that You have promised us according to Your purpose. Remove all forms of pride in our hearts Lord; that we may always humble ourselves even as we increase in spirituality, wealth, family & power, all for the glory of Your name. Amen
Galatians 3:26-29
“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
INSIGHT
-By the love & mercy of God, He gave us His only begotten Son, Who died for the redemption of the whole human race; making us one people in Him through salvation. By His blood we were baptised into Christ making us His sons through faith in Him, that we may remain free from condemning & find rest in Him. The promise of Abraham the father of many nations bore us sonship according to the eternal covenant sealed on the cross & aligned us to the lineage of Christ. God did not leave us orphan but gave us the Holy Spirit as promised; Who helps us to function like sons of God on the earth. Through the Holy Spirit we receive wisdom, understanding, faith, love & many other gifts & fruit which are activated through His power in our hearts.
PRAYER
We thank You Father for the gift of life & many other gifts that You have bestowed unto us. Thank You for giving us the privilege of calling You Abba Father as we partake in sonship forever. You have made us Your sons through faith in You Father, all praise belongs to You. All we want to say is thank You Abba Father, receive all the glory & honor. You satisfy us with Your love Jesus; not that we deserve it but it is through Your everlasting mercy, we thank You. All the glory, honor, riches, wisdom & power belongs to You Father, now & forever. Amen
Acts 2:38-39
“Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
INSIGHT
-Through baptism we partake in the promise of peace & eternal life through faith in God & calls us each one of us to remain anchored on Him. God calls us to repent in the renewal of our minds that He may purify us from all unrighteousness by His mercy. Through the gifts & fruit of the Holy Spirit Who dwells in us in righteousness, for the promise of peace, love & eternity for us & our descendants according to His everlasting mercy & love.
SUMMARY
-Promise in Hebrew is written as omer & is a declaration or assurance that one will do something or that a particular thing will come to pass. A promise is normally a consequence of a covenant which makes it legal or executable, otherwise becomes null & void.
-God gave the Israelites hope of bringing them back to the promised land when they were faced by 70 years of captivity in Babylon under king Nebuchadnezzar II. He assured them that He had good plans for their future. God speaks to us the same message; that He knows the plans He has for us, plans to prosper us & not to harm us, plans to give us hope & a future, therefore we should not grow weary of seeking Him. Further, when we pray & trust in Him with all our hearts, He will answer our petitions (Jer 29:10-13). When the Israelites grew in number & dwelt close to the Moabites, their king was threatened. King Balak then asked Balaam to curse them so that he could prevail over them. God had good plans for the Israelites for when Balaam prayed; he was instructed to prophecy a blessing to them (Num 23:8). Jesus broke all curses on the cross so that we may inherit an eternal blessing through His grace. By His death & resurrection, Christ united us to Himself reconstituting the church & liberated us from slavery & bondage of sin that causes death. He also brought life to our hopes in Him that we remain triumphant in all things. He has made us kings & priests that we may dwell in dominion on the earth (Rev 5:10). Some of us believe that when we have power, wealth & success we are complete without God. This notion makes even those who seek first these things to fully rely on those who have them. Others loose hope in God & totally rely on other people for a better future. Their hopes & those who entirely rely on them are totally crushed when they are faced by death. God reminds us that hope placed in mortals die with them & all the promises of their power come to nothing ( Prov 11:7). God raises powerful people & manifests Himself through divine connections with those in authority so that with strategic partnerships we may prosper in love for one another for the glory of His name. God calls us to totally rely on Him in everything we plan & do for He is our Father. God is not a man that He should lie nor a son of man that He should repent (Num 23:19). His promise of giving us His Son & the Holy Spirit as prophesied came to pass that we may remain liberated from evil snares & bondage; & live long in love, joy, peace & many other graces now until we inherit life everlasting with Him.
PRAYER
Holy Spirit our Lord fill us with Your love that we may partake of every good gift according to the promise. Purify our hearts & minds by Your merciful love we humbly ask You Lord. Remain in us Holy Spirt for without You we are without favour. Bestow unto us Your gifts & fruit Father; & strengthen us, that we may live as Your true sons here on earth. We call on You Father, hear us & answer all our prayers & petitions in our hearts according to Your will. We pray this believing & trusting in Jesus might name. Amen