The Promises of Jesus Part II
But studying His promises had led to me a discovery. He promises us forgiveness the very most, but the second most common promise of the Savior in the scriptures is COMPANIONSHIP. To be with us here and now, not in some distant future after death and not long ago in the past.
We’ve got this
In Japan there is an ancient tradition of repairing broken pottery with gold; it’s called Kintsugi. The artist takes broken pottery pieces and repairs them back into their original form using gold to seal the cracks. It turns the shattered piece into a beautiful and whole work of art. The new pottery highlights the fractures and transforms simple bowls and plates into amazing keepsakes. Each one is unique. I love that there can be beauty in our brokenness too, if we allow ourselves to be broken and then repaired with the transforming power of becoming more like our Savior. Through this process we become whole, and we change into something better than what we were in the beginning.
The Promises of Jesus
For the past few months, I have been searching. Searching for the promises of Jesus. I think I’m about 30% of the way through and I now have 29 categories. Twenty-nine. That’s a lot of promises. I want you to consider for just a moment, what your life would be like, if you lived like the promises that Jesus makes are not only absolutely 100% true, but they were written about you…
The ultimate trade
There is a beautiful play on the words and sounds here in Hebrew at the end of Isaiah that we miss out on in English. The phrase, “give unto them beauty for ashes” in Hebrew is “peer” for “epher.” It means an ornamental headdress or a garland you put on your head (beauty), for ashes.
He will trade me beauty for ashes, but I have to have faith in him to make the trade. I have to be willing to come to him with my regrets, my broken heart, my sorrow, and he promises to trade that for strength and beauty. It takes time, and sometimes it takes many years for the trade to be complete, but the trade does happen if we trust in him to make it…
Eat the frog
There’s a famous quote by Mark Twain that I use all of the time: “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” With that philosophy in mind, as I started reading all of the Standard Works this year, I started with the Old Testament. What I have been discovering is amazing- the Old Testament is loaded with stories that are making a difference in my life and have real meaning…