Tuesday Thought -- March 3, 2015

Good Morning Friends,

“But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not ‘Yes’ and ‘No.’ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not ‘Yes’ and ‘No,’ but in him it has always been ‘Yes.’ For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” (2 Corinthians 1:18-22)

There isn’t much in this world that you can count on! The stock market has crashed before and it will crash again, you can’t count on it to always work in your favor. The company you work for may be solid and stable now, and there may be no fear that your job will be eliminated, but no one can guarantee that will always be true. The economy turns and companies rise and fall. Your employer may go through a tough time that results in the loss of your job. We trust our lives to the people who are driving around us. Most of the time they follow the rules of the road and you arrive safely at your destination. But there are no guarantees about that. Drivers make mistakes and accidents happen. There is a risk involved in driving. Your health may be good now and the doctor may have just given you a clear check-up. But that’s no guarantee that disease or infirmity won’t strike you next month or next year. We aren’t guaranteed a certain length of life or health. Even the people around you, the ones you trust the most, can let you down. They’re human and flawed, just like you are.

But there is One that you can count on: God is always faithful. Paul says that God’s faithfulness is “surely.” There’s a guarantee in that word. It has always been true and it always will be true. You can count on God.

You can count on God’s Word. If God says it, you don’t have to wonder whether or not it is true. Everything God says is true.

You can count on God’s promises. People sometimes fail to keep their promises. Circumstances change. Things happen that are beyond their control. Sometimes they just don’t follow through with what they said they would. None of those things ever happens with God. God’s promises are a sure thing -- you can count on them.

The presence of the Holy Spirit in your life is God’s seal of guarantee to you. He is the seal of God’s ownership, His mark that you are His. He is God’s deposit on what is promised. He is like a small taste of eternity, a small taste of God’s presence that guarantees the fullness later.

There isn’t much in the world that can be counted on -- but you can always count on God.

His, by Grace,

Steve