2007-10-10 - The Lord Might Be My Shepherd

1 John 3:14, "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren."

In Psalm 30:11, we read the Psalmist saying that the Lord might turn his mourning into dancing. Actually, in truth, we read there, in a literal translation, "You have turned, for me, my mourning into dancing." There is no "might" in the joyful statement. Thus it is with the promises of God. There are no "might" or "maybe" in God's promises. Just as the sun will rise in the morning, and just as my cats, this morning, were sure to make a new toy of (and eventually eat) the cricket they found in the church, so all God's promises to us in His precious Word are yea, and amen. The sureness of God's promises is one of the great blessings we have in Christian, walking before the Lord.

Just as the above verse, 1 John 3:14, tells us that we can know that we have passed from death to life, because we have love for those also who are in Christ, so also all of God's promises are sure. David does not say in Psalm 23:1, "The Lord might be my shepherd." Rather, he says, "The Lord is my shepherd." We can have confidence in God's promises, and it is to our spiritual health to seek to avoid turning sure things into possibilities when they concern the Lord. Proverbs 28:13 tells us that he who confesses and forsakes his sins will find compassion. Do you believe that? It would go far in our struggles with those past times when we have miserably failed the Lord. If we really believed God's Word, and knew that those sins we have confessed and forsaken were forgiven, we would be likely to live different lives. We might live our lives soaking up the sunshine of God's love, rather than wallowing in the mist and clouds of our past.

There is one promise that is consistent throughout Scripture. Consistent throughout Scripture is the promise that the Lord saves those who are His. He grants His mercy to those who forsake wickedness and come to Him seeking mercy. His promise is that "it is He (Christ) who will save His people from their sins," Matthew 1:21. His promise respecting His followers, is that He is a God "who has saved us," 2 Timothy 1:9. Don't overlook the past tense of the verse. It is spoken in present time, today, now - that the Lord has saved (a done deal already) those who join with Him. One of the clearest places in God's Word where He promises grace to all those who come to Him is Acts 2:21, where we are told, "And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." It is a promise. It is a wonderful promise that we are wise to take to heart for our encouragement. The Lord has promised that all who come to Him repenting, and seeking forgiveness of sin, will be saved. It is a sure thing. There are no "maybes" in God's promises.

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

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