This morning, one could not meditate upon a more blessed concept than the promises of our Lord. He has painted them throughout His word with liberal strokes upon the canvas of the Holy Scriptures. These promises are not only real, but they are always without deviation to the right or to the left. When the Lord purposes something, He ALWAYS brings it to pass. There is an old saying about someone being an "Indian-giver." By that, people are talking about someone promising something and recanting it at a later date. Our God does not deal with us in such a way, for all of His ways are just and without iniquity, so He will not ever take back His promises that He has made.

When considering the Lord's promises, there are three ways in which man's promises can be broken that will not ever apply to our Lord. Man can break a promise by lying about what he promised, denying he ever made a promise, or dying before he fulfills his promise. Even the most righteous person can fail in the last regard with the best of intentions. However, these things are not applicable to the Almighty. He cannot lie (Titus 1:2), He cannot deny Himself (II Timothy 2:13), and He cannot die (for that is impossible for an eternal being).

Perhaps what stirred me up about this was seeing a church billboard last week while on a trip that read, "Act now before God's promises expire." To this I query, "What would cause a promise of God to expire?" He cannot expire, so His words will not expire. He promised that His words would never pass away, and the promises that He has made certainly fall into that category. Notice the text above groups all of the Lord's promises into the same category. There is not one, or two, or perhaps a dozen that are different from the rest. They are all yea and Amen. What the Lord says can be "taken to the bank" as the old expression says.   

So, if the Lord has promised eternal life to His people and that they will never perish, that is something that is always yea and amen. If He has promised to never leave us or forsake us, we can take comfort in knowing that this promise is forever. If He has promised to be with us in death, we should not fear the final hour of our natural lives. If He has promised to return again without sin unto salvation to receive us unto Himself, one day He will return to accomplish all of His pleasure.

It is His pleasure to present us to the Father clothed in His righteousness through His blood. It is His pleasure to declare, "Behold I and the children which God hath given me." (Hebrews 2:13) It delights Him to say to His, "Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." (Matthew 25:34) Do these promises ever expire? God forbid.

In Hope,

Bro Philip