Promise Nineteen A Reward of Your Faith

I finally won a prize. I had signed a million or so of those little sheets that enter a person in a drawing. Everytime I went to the lumber yard I signed. Once for a prize, once for a bill. Up til then I'd never won a drawing or prize. Then, I got the call. "Mr. Root," said an excited voice, "You've won the drawing." Wow! Cool! I won a fifty dollar ten speed bycicle. (No remember, I was a pastor and just a tad overweight...the ten speed was for junior.) At least I won.

I relished my winning moment; replayed it over and over again to maintain the joy it produced. I even rode the bike a bit. Sometimes you just gotta believe. I suppose it's a faith thing, but the faith is in chance.

Not so with God. It is no accident that God gave you a measure of faith. He gave it so you would express it, use it, practice it. If you just use a seeds worth, big things can happen. I'm talking things that are bigger than ten speed bikes. The more you learn that big things happen through faith, the more you desire to excercise it. God rewards even the smallest faith, for with him, all things are possible!

PROMISE Nineteen
"I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20

I was so pumped at winning, I double my entrances in drawings. I promptly won an all expense paid trip for me and my family to Washington D.C. Got there just in time for Monica Lewinsky's testimony. Wow! Faith...use it or.....use it.
Pastor Jim

Promise Eighteen Refined Desires

I used to think it would be cool to be a pro football player. But then I saw some ex-pros trying to walk. I once thought it would be neat to be a computer programmer. But then I saw a huddle of geeks. Yikes! (Just kidding.) I still dream about being a pilot, but man, have you seen the price tag on getting a license? Shazzam! I think I can wait for the rapture. That'll be real flying!

PROMISE Eighteen
"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart."
Psalm 37:4

It's amazing how our desires are refined as we gain wisdom. Now, I'm not a really wise sort of fella, maybe a wiseguy. I still open my mouth wide and stick a foot in with relative ease. But age, and a closer walk with Jesus have put my desires to the fire. The truly good ones come out more like gold than the rest. The closer I get to eternity, the more I desire the things with eternal value. Being a good husband. Being a faithful servant. Being a true pastor. Being a loving dad, and eventually granddad. But most of all, I desire to see the one who died in my place. You may think it strange, but I'm beginning to think about seeing Jesus most of the time.

In difficult times, our desires tend to simplify. Rather than desiring a new house, car, boat, or wife, we may be stuck desiring a drink of water or a slice of bread. I want to challenge you to let your desires become eternal, not temporal. As you've already seen in this promise marathon, the food, water, clothes, roof, and provisions are already promised. You may as well desire the Kingdom because it's coming.
Pastor Jim

Promise Seventeen Blues Busting Joy

PROMISE Seventeen
"Those who sow in tears will reap with joy." Psalms 126:5


The other day, I caught a tear welling up in my eye while I was watching a movie. What a pansy! You know you're losing it when you have to clandestinely reach up and flick away any evidence of emotion. Sissy! Of course, it was only a movie.

I find myself crying more. (Some say that happens after 50.) It's not an age thing. Well, yes it is, maybe not an aging, but tears produced by the current age we live in. This present age really hurts. It is filled with pain, and the pain is increasing. Pain produces tears. (Okay big fella, hit your thumb really hard with a hammer and see if you don't cry some big crocodile tears!) But there is more to it than hard times. I believe God lays upon our hearts a spirit of compassion and empathy. It is an emotion that reaches out and hurts with others.

Many of you are hurting, probably crying deep inside. Listen, the Lord sees those tears, and he is coverting them into nurishment that will produce a harves of joy; just like a cornfield needs water for the kernels to grow. No, we don't enjoy that feeling of sorrow that produces tears, but a harvest is coming. Imagine leaping for joy when you see Jesus for the first time. Imagine his finger, the one that created the universe, wiping away your tears of sorrow for all time and eternity. Makes me want to jump up and dance.
Pastor Jim

Promise Sixteen Comfort

Many people have a misguided view of the character of God. They see him as an old, crotchety, codger who really gets his jollies out of inflicting pain and misery on us poor human saps. That is sad. In fact, it's tragic.

When I was a teenager, the only good Sunday afternoon television programming involved All-Star Wrestling. If it wasn't football, it was wresting. Pure nonsense, but fun entertainment. My favorite villain in the 1970's was the evil, sadistic, Baron von Rashke. He wasn't terribly big, but boy was he mean. He was a raving lunatic, with spittle running from his mouth as he wrestled. He struck fear in his opponents and laughter in his fans. But is was his famous move that made all the difference. It was called, "The Claw," or in the Baron's language, "Zee Claw." His hand would grip a man by the forehead and squeeze the poor guy into submission. NO ONE wants his brains crushed. Oddly, some people see God that way...the Baron with a claw-hand just waiting to pounce when things are going bad. That's not what the word says, and it's not what I know by experience.

PROMISE Sixteen
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Admit it. That doesn't sound like a holy drop kick, or a claw, or God coming off the top rope when we are down and out. It sounds more like the God who really cares about what happens in our lives and is there to lift and encourage us. Maybe we should re-think how we see the one who died for us in that cosmic tag-team match when we were beaten by the enemy.
Pastor Jim

Promise Fifteen Answers!

I have to tell you, I love opened doors. So here's the scoop. The more I age, the more I find joy in the middle of the night trip to the bathroom. You too? I no longer mind interrupted sleep. However, I am also half blind if I don't have my glasses on or contacts in. That means the deep of night visit to the RR (Relieve and Recycle) is done by memorization. I know where the dressers are, where the dog is lying cozy in his bed, where to take a 90 degree turn, etc., etc. You get the picture. I can do it with my eyes shut. But the other night, someone closed the door. As there are only two living in the house, and as I never close doors, that leaves one suspect! Well, you got it...I nosed right into that closed door, and it basically ruined the rest of my night. So, you can see the logic of why I love opened doors.

PROMISE Fifteen
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. And to him who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7:7-8

I am especially comforted in knowing that, even during the hardest times, God hears me when I knock in prayer. You see, we serve a DOOR-OPENING GOD. He hears us when we call, when we pray, when we hunt around seeking him. It is not a passive hearing, like the guy who has the ability to turn his hearing aid down whenever his wife needs the dishes done or the trash hauled out the door. NO, it is an active listening. It's as if God has his hand cupped behind his ear just waiting for the slightest whimper or a knock from us. Then, he responds.

Oh sure, you might say some doors need to stay closed, prayers that he responds with a resounding no. True! But he always directs the seeker to the right door. He doesn't leave us standing out in the cold. What a great God! In these increasingly troubled times, don't call on fear or fear mongers. Call on the one who really has this thing under control. He hears, he listens, and he opens.

Promise Fourteen Something to Look Forward To

I'm pulling my hair out for spring. The patience is gone! Can't wait any longer for seventy degree weather. I want to dig some dirt. I must plant something. I can smell the aroma of grass freshly cut. I hear the hum of the lawn mower. Ah...Spring! Come quickly.

Did you know that the word Eden doesn't mean garden. It means DELIGHT. God planted a garden in Delight. To bad Adam blew it. Not the garden part, but the delight. Eden meant purity of union. It meant an unhindered friendship with the Almighty. It meant a walk in the cool of the day with the Creator...every day! Talk about a cardio work out. I can feel my heart beating faster just thinking about walking with Jesus along the river of delight in the New Jerusalem.

Promise Fourteen
"However, as it is written, 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." 1 Corinthians 2:9

Of course, the verse goes on to tell us that the Spirit has nudged our hearts with an inner revelation of what is in store. But really, we can't wrap our brains around what is ahead. It will be the Garden of Eden on steroids. Whoa! Pure, unstained joy awaits. Fun fun fun! NO SIN! NO WICKEDNESS! NO DEATH! Now I call that something to look forward to. Yet, with all the great dreams we have of eternity, our source of delight will be in the one called Jesus, Son of God. He will be the star burst in our heart. He will be the well-spring that satisfies our thirst forever. He will be the wind in our eternal sails. A daily walk...I can't wait. It's coming. It's promised.
Pastor Jim

Promise Thirteen To Work for our Good

This promise speaks for itself.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

Get this...NEWS FLASH...God is busy working! You bet he is! No lazy Lord sitting on the throne. No bored Jesus just waiting for something to do. NO sir! He has his hand in the mix. He has his mind in the game. He has his eyes set on the prize, and guess what; YOU are the prize!

This isn't how he works with just anyone. You've got to be counted among those who actually love him. We know we love him when we keep his commandments, when we do what pleases him, when we seek him with our whole heart. When we live like he is our tomorrow, he makes everything that happens turn into something favorable for us. It might be refinement in our character, but that will allow us to shine like stars in the universe. His working all things together might require that we go without some of the material things of a life. But that simply drives us deeper into a longing after heaven. One thing is certain, whatever circumstances come our way are only going to serve our good! Troubled times mean stronger faith. Wild difficulties only mean a firmer foothold. Hurt only leads to healing. We may as well love him with all our hearts. He does!
Pastor Jim