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Category: Promise (Page 1 of 11)

People of Promise

July 3, 2025 / / 0 Comments

“If the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.” ~Galatians 3:18

We are not a people of the law, we are a people of promise. And that matters. It matters big time.

If we believe we are saved by the law or by rules and regulations or by behaving correctly, then we’re going to treat people harshly. We’ll be arrogant and judgmental, we’ll be unbending and unforgiving. We’ll be nervous or unsure about the correctness of our own performance, so we’ll fight and divide over the weirdest things. And we’ll turn off a lot of people.

When we know we are saved by the gracious promise of God in Christ, then we’ll be a people of mercy and love. We’ll give others the benefit of the doubt. We’ll be flexible and forgiving, we’ll seek to bless others, we’ll be kind and hospitable. Our words will be encouraging, our actions will be inviting. We’ll be unified by a focus on the really important things. And we’ll inspire a lot of people.

We are not people of the law. We are not people of rules or people of regulations or people of the guilt trip or people of the coercion. We are not people of correct interpretations or proper practices. None of those things save us! Those are things we use to gain control. Or to be right. Or to be better. Or more prominent. Those are the things that divide us and separate us, those are the things that lead to strife and condemnation.

The Good News is that your forgiveness, your salvation, your eternal life rests solely in the unchanging promise or our God through Christ alone.

“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” ~Galatians 3:29

Peace,

Allan

Blessing

June 26, 2025 / / 0 Comments

I’ve been away from my phone this morning.
Nico Harrison hasn’t traded Cooper Flagg yet, has he?

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Think about the very first words our God said to the very first human beings. In the creation account in Genesis 1, the text says “God blessed them.” His very first words to his created humans were words of blessing. He created them and he immediately spoke blessings to them.

I wonder what he said.

We don’t know. The text doesn’t tell us. Maybe it was something like this.

You are very good. I made you in my image. You are mine. You belong to me and I belong to you. You are important to me. You are valuable to me. You matter to me. You are deeply loved by me. 

Then almost immediately, these people take what God says is important–people–and make them not important. They take what God blesses as valuable–people–and make them not valuable. There’s murder and revenge, lying and rape, pride and jealousy, violence and drunkenness–all kinds of evil in our hearts and minds and in our actions against each other.

And in Genesis 12, God says, “No! This is not how it’s going to be! What I think is important is going to be important! What I have blessed as valuable is going to be valuable! I am going to bless Abraham and, through him, I am going to bless all the people of the whole world!”

And Jesus takes all that wickedness, rebellion, and sin, he bears it in himself, all the way to the cross, and he leaves it there. And on that third day, when our Lord is raised to life by the Holy Spirit, he doesn’t speak one word of vengeance or punishment or anger or retribution. The very first word Christ Jesus says to his disciples on that resurrection day is, “Peace. Peace be with you.”

You are very good. You are made in God’s image. You are his. You belong to God and he belongs to you. You are important to God. You are valuable to him. You matter to God. You are deeply loved by God.

And his blessing for you and his promise to you is bigger than all your sin.

I think about David, the king of Israel, the man after God’s own heart. What did God see when he looked at David that day and chose him and blessed him? David was just a kid, kind of an afterthought, just a kid hanging out with the sheep. What did God see in him that day?

Did he see David’s fierce violence or his fierce loyalty?

Did he see David as the great psalmist or the notorious outlaw?

Did he see David’s humility and prayers or his rape and murder and lying and sin?

God saw all of it. Every bit of it. And God still picked David. He chose David and blessed him.

And our God chose you in Jesus Christ before the foundations of the earth.

His blessing for you and his promise to you is bigger than all your sin.

Peace,

Allan

His Glorious Riches

April 9, 2025 / / 0 Comments

The Stars lost a heart-breaker last night in a way no team has ever lost before. Dallas was leading the Canucks 3-0 heading into the third period and, after Vancouver scored two quick goals to pull to within one, the Stars scored two more, including an empty-netter with 2:20 to play, to go back up by three. With one minute left in the game, Dallas led 5-2. One minute later it was tied and headed to overtime. For the very first time in NHL history, a team trailed by three in the final minute and scored three goals to force overtime. It’s never happened before. It was stunning. I’ve never seen anything like it. And it hurt bad.

Dallas has lost three straight now for the first time all season and they had a third period lead in all three games. They’ve left a lot of points in the standings on the table the past week or so. Instead of being one or two points behind Winnipeg and tomorrow’s game against the Jets being for first place in the division and the number one seed in the Western Conference, it’s only for how far behind Winnipeg they’re going to finish. Whitney and I bought tickets for tomorrow’s game, hoping it would be for the division title and the top seed. But the Stars are four points down and reeling. Whit and I will see in person tomorrow how the team responds to the historically impossible meltdown. It all but guarantees a first round matchup with the Avalanche in a week-and-a-half, and nobody wanted that.

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The prayer at the end of Ephesians 3 is loaded with hefty theology. It’s packed with soaring adjectives and lofty descriptions of God’s eternal promises and our unshakable confidence. I’d like to focus today on one simple phrase at the beginning of the prayer that sometimes goes overlooked.

“Out of his glorious riches…”

The prayer asks God to strengthen us with power out of his glorious riches. The literal Greek words in the original text are “his wealth of glory.” It could be translated “glorious wealth” or “the riches of God’s glory.” One translation says, “God’s unlimited resources.” Either way, what it means is that God is never going to run out.

God is never going to run out of what he has for you. Do you think God’s going to run out?

He is never going to run out of love for you. It’s part of his glory, his nature. God is not going to run out of mercy or goodness or comfort or peace for you. Knowing that should give you strength. Having direct access to all of who God is and his glorious riches for you gives you power.

But he won’t keep forgiving me for the same thing over and over, not for this long.

Yes. He will. He won’t run out of forgiveness for you.

But God won’t take me back again. He won’t let me come back after what I’ve done.

Yes. He will. You can’t use up God’s goodness toward you, his desire to be in relationship with you. His love for you is without limit. Out of our God’s glorious riches, he strengthens you with power.

Peace,

Allan

An Unending Love

March 21, 2024 / / 0 Comments

I came across this poem about three weeks ago and have read it out loud and talked to the Lord about it several times since then. It’s written by Rabbi Rami Shapiro and has been a source of deep blessing for me lately. I hope it will be for you, too.

We are loved by an unending love.

We are embraced by arms that find us even when we are hidden from ourselves.
We are touched by fingers that soothe us even when we are too proud for soothing.
We are counseled by voices that guide us even when we are too embittered to hear.

We are loved by an unending love.

We are supported by hands that uplift us even in the midst of a fall.
We are urged on by eyes that meet us even when we are too weak for meeting.

We are loved by an unending love.

Embraced, touched, soothed, and counseled,
ours are the arms, the fingers, the voices;
ours are the hands, the eyes, the smiles.

We are loved by an unending love.

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March Madness begins today and that means keeping up with the seven brackets in our annual family contest. Seven. Not eight. Carley entered a bracket for their dog that selected every school with a canine/wolf mascot, but I’m not keeping up with it. I’ve got Houston, Baylor, Creighton, and UConn in the Final Four with Cougar High beating the Huskies for the national title. I’m fine with losing to Collin or David. I could even get over it if Whitney scores better than me. But if I lose to the dog, I’ll never fill out another bracket again.

Peace,

Allan

The Triumph of Faith

August 22, 2023 / / 0 Comments

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,

though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,

though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

I will be joyful in God my Savior!”

~ Habakkuk 3:17-18

Pay Attention to the Present

April 20, 2021 / / 0 Comments

The main thing with the pandemic has been, and still is, the uncertainty. We don’t know anything. For more than a year now we have collectively felt like we’re on the brink of… what? We don’t know! Something significant, we think. We feel like it’s big and it’s going to leave a mark. But there’s still so much – even today – uncertainty.

Should I get the shot? How long will my immunity last? What is my city going to look like on the other side of this? What kind of church are we going to have? What about the variants? What about the economy? How much longer do we need to wear masks? Are we going to go through this every winter? Was the whole thing blown out of proportion? Or should we have done even more? We don’t know! And the stress of the uncertainty is unsettling.

“This happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God.” ~2 Corinthians 1:9

Many times I’ve asked people who are going through a major life thing, “What is God doing with this right now?” You’re putting your mom in a nursing home, you’re pregnant with twins, you’ve been diagnosed with cancer – your life as you know it is changing. What do you think God is doing?

This is what I hear: “I haven’t thought about it.”

You haven’t thought about it? Well, for pity’s sake, you need to start thinking about it!

God has not abandoned you. He’s not on vacation somewhere and can’t see you right now. The Lord is near. He’s in this with you. Pay attention to what he’s doing. Don’t go through a major thing in your life and not be transformed by him. Be aware. Be on the lookout.

When something really great happens to you, think about how God is shaping you in that. You know that every good and perfect gift comes from him. You know the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it belongs to him. So you’re just the manager of this gift from God. How is he wanting you to manage it? Pay attention.

When something really awful happens to you, think about how God is forming you in that. You that God is working in all things for your good. You know his strength is made perfect in your weakness. So this is an opportunity for growth and witness. How is God wanting you to mature? How is he wanting you to testify? Pay attention.

During a crisis or a major transition, we can get locked in on the wrong things. We can ask the wrong questions. That’s what Jesus is addressing in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount. What will I eat and drink? What will I wear? What if I get sick? How do we make up the money we’ve lost? What are we never going to get back? All of that is legitimate. Those are fair questions and real things we’re all dealing with. But Jesus brings our attention to a godly focus when he says:

“Seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” ~Matthew 6:33

No matter your present circumstances, you’ve got to be awake to God’s Kingdom and God’s will and his work in those circumstances because if you’re not, you’re going to be eaten up with anxiety. If you’re not viewing your present situation in light of God’s love for you and his power and will to work all things together for your good and the good of his everlasting Kingdom, you’re going to be paralyzed with worry and fear.

If we care about what kind of people we’re going to be on the other side of this pandemic, we have to care deeply about the kind of people we’re becoming every single day DURING the pandemic. We’re not going to be faithful Kingdom-seekers on this side of it if we’re not paying attention to what God is doing in our lives right now.

The question is not “What?” What if this happens? What if that happens?

The question is not “How?” How am I going to do this? How is this going to work out?

The question is “Who?” Who’s making it happen? Who’s working it out?

Your Father. The Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth who loves you and who is right there with you in the middle of your situation.

When life happens – when a pandemic changes everything – you can wring your hands and say, “I don’t know!” Or you can lift your hands and say, “God knows! I’m not going to rely on myself in this, I’m relying on God!”

Peace,

Allan

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