I have been reading two books really on opposite ends of the Bible. One from the Old Testament and one from the New. As I read these books, I came across one of my favorite passages of Scripture. You know the kind that as you read your voice gets more firm and your volume starts to increase to the point you want to get up and start screaming. It is a passage that even as I write this post and think about it, the hair are standing up on the back of my neck and the butterflies are fluttering in my stomach. The other book is a book of conquest and of dedication and of triumph.
As I read these two books their came this unmistakable connection between the two. Hebrews 11 has often been called the hall of faith. Men and women who lived lives of faith in the face of uncertainty, persecution, salvation and death; they are described as men whom the world was not worthy of. They gave up family, fame, friends and fortune to follow God and the hope of Jesus Christ. They were burned, flogged, stone, cut in half, faced wild beast and crosses. But they continued to live the Christian life in faith. But how?
That takes us to the second book that I have been reading. In Joshua I came across this incredible statement Joshua makes multiple times as he establishes Israel in the Promised Land. Joshua was dedicated to the Lord and since we saw him make his first trip as a spy into Canaan till the day he dies, he continued to trust God and believe him. The phrase that so easily gets lost in all the other powerful statements of the book is actually the one he says most often. He says that God always keeps his promises.
What an incredible thought! God always keeps his promises to his people. I do not know what you needs are today but I do know this, God always keeps his promises. You can take that to the bank!
