Monday, December 12, 2016

A Recipe for A Savior Day #12

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE

Day # 12

2 Samuel 7:16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.

            “I promise I will make those Christmas cookies.” Then something comes up and you find that you are unable to make the cookies. “I’ll get to it next week,” you promise. But next week is even crazier than this week so the cookies get pushed off again. Promises made, promises broken. That is the way it works in our lives. It shows our sinfulness. It shows our need for the Lord to give us A Recipe for a Savior.

            A shepherd boy, young and not all that impressive, a son of Jesse, the grandson of Ruth and Boaz. You remember them, don’t you? That reminds us of the special ingredient of a widow from Moab that was added to A Recipe for a Savior. The shepherd boy is chosen by God to be a special ingredient in this recipe. It doesn’t seem all that likely to us. It didn’t seem that likely to Samuel either when God tells him to anoint a new king to replace Saul. Samuel goes to Bethlehem as God tells him and he sees the tall, good looking sons of Jesse and just knows that one of them must be God’s choice. But no, God does not look at the outward appearance but at the heart. He chooses to add the shepherd boy named David to the recipe.

            Then a promise is given. A promise. Remember what we said about promises? They are easily broken. The Lord says to David through the prophet Nathan (read 2 Samuel 7 for the full story), “Your throne shall be established forever.” This promise seems too good to be true! Someone from David’s family shall reign forever. Is that really possible? Is this just a vain promise that will fade as soon as David dies?

            That is how we often feel about the promises that God makes – they are too good to be true. God promises to be with us, then we feel lonely. God promises to love us and we feel unloved. God promises to care for us and then we become ill. “Where is His promise now”? we ask. The promise is still there. It hasn’t changed. It hasn’t been forgotten. We might “feel” like it has but it hasn’t. God’s promises are not like our promises, easily forgotten. His promises are true and sure.

            We will see this in tomorrow’s devotion. How does God keep His promise to David? That is for another day. Today, we mix in a generous amount of faith that trusts the wonderful Word of God. It is what David had to do as well. Faith – it trusts God’s Word even when it doesn’t seem like it is possible. It is like putting lemon extract in the cookie dough when I would have put vanilla extract. Faith in A Recipe for a Savior.

Prayer: Dear Father, I have trouble trusting Your promises to me, especially in times of trouble. Please strengthen my faith in Your Word as I go through each day. Amen.

Deeper Thought: What promises have you made lately that you have not kept? What can you do to correct that situation? As you consider your broken promises, think of the powerful promises God has made to you that He always keeps. Which ones do you find the hardest to believe?

2 comments:

  1. Unfortunately I've broken To many promises to list! I've also broken promises to myself and God! I think we've all done this!
    The promises from God that I struggle with is his providing for me and giving me the forgiveness of sins! I do believe in God and the Forgiveness of sins! Those promises seem so out of touch especially since my sins seem so much. While striving to not sin and repeat the same sins over and over again it happens. Maybe I'm to selfish and self absorbed that I keep repeating the same sins. Same thing goes for making promises
    I know I'm a redeemed child 👶 of God through Baptism! One cannot help but think is that enough?

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    Replies
    1. Michael, that is the problem, we work at it and try to figure out if we are good enough, worthy enough, have done enough to deserve God's love. Our sinful nature makes it impossible for us to live as we should. We promise to be better but we fail to do so. WE promise to try harder, and we fall short. That is the beauty and comfort of the Gospel. It doesn't rely upon us and our actions. It is entirely given by the Lord out of His grace and mercy. Forgiven? Yes. Really? After all, I keep sinning. Yes because forgiveness does not rely upon you but upon God. It is not based on your actions but God's through His Son given in Word and Sacrament.

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