Scripture References: Joshua 21:43-45; Act 13:26-33

From Last Lesson: God had spoken through Jesus and intended to continue doing so. God had promised the Messiah . . . God made good on the promise.

We have the promise of God’s presence. Near the end of Luke’s Gospel, these words of Jesus are recorded:

“Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49).

This promise was that after Jesus’ followers no longer had Him physically with them, they would not be alone. God would still be with them in the Holy Spirit who is the presence of God. We can claim that promise, too. We know it is fulfilled.

In Romans, Paul picks up that Old Testament promise of the promised land, and he says:

“For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. . . . Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all” (Romans 4:13, 16).

I certainly don’t think we should arm ourselves take over the land of Canaan as our promised land, much less the whole world as Paul had come to view it. Could it be that God has promised to faithful people a place where they can be faithful and we can be God’s people without interruption of government, culture, or those who are faithless? I most assuredly believe this is the promised land that God has for us, right here and now. Eternity with the Lord will be our final destination. However, properly understood, our place in the natural world is not a contradiction of the reality we have already faced, that Christianity stands in conflict with the world. We have a new understanding of the promised land, shaped by the Old Testament revelation and perspective of Jesus to help us see more clearly now what it is, and that God promises us a place to be the people of God. The promised land for which we long is not a utopian Christian society in this world in which things go well for us and the non-Christians have a rough go of it. Rather, it is a place within society; namely the community of faith, which is the Church universal, the true Body of Christ, with Jesus as the head. Though we continue to try and bring Jesus and His message to bear upon our world, even its negative response does not take away the reality that we, the people of God, have the promise of a way and place where we can be all that God wills for us to be.

Indeed, God is still making promises and keeping them. For those of us who are willing to enter into relationship with God, the Father through Jesus Christ, our Lord, promises are made which speak of meeting our needs and bringing us life, abundant life. Our God, whom we find to be absolutely trustworthy, makes good on every one of His promises.

Have you come to the place where you can rely on, and trust explicitly in the promises of God? If not, pray to the Lord for increased faith and as James writes, more wisdom (James 1:5) and the God of promises will most certainly meet that need.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.