The Promise of the Grand Plan.

The Promise of the Grand Plan.  Ephesians 1.8-14

I was thinking about the nature of promises, and found this quote:

‘We’re always being made promises,’ she said. ‘You make them yourself

and you listen to others giving theirs. Politicians are always going

on about providing a better quality of life for people as they get older,

and a health service in which nobody ever gets bedsores. Banks promise

you high interest rates, some food promises to make you lose weight if

you eat it, and body creams guarantee old age with fewer wrinkles. Life

is quite simply a matter of cruising along in your own little boat through

a constantly changing but never-ending stream of promises. And how

many do we remember? We forget the ones we would like to remember,

and we remember the ones we’d prefer to forget.”*

Good Day. 

Promises, promises… do we really expect them to be kept anymore?  Might make an interesting conversation starter, huh?  Revealing. Will instantly reveal who has been hurt and finds himself disillusioned, will reveal quite a lot actually. 

Why do promises seem like a good idea…I mean, why do we like to have them?  Been thinking about that.  They give us a sense of security, I believe.  They tell us of another’s love, they tell us of another’s intention toward us--whether or not she plans to stay around or he thinks to be a part-time solution.  Promises seem to extend hope—that there might actually be some kind of guarantee somewhere in this life.

The only promise I am confident of is one that is made by God.

God promises :                                                                                                                                                                                                    ->kindness                                                                                                                 ->wisdom and understanding                                                                                ->our being united with Christ                                                                       ->our receiving an inheritance                                                                           ->the Holy Spirit to seal the deal!

As you take a look at Paul’s description of the impact of God’s love in our lives, extended through Jesus Christ, do so looking for those promises:

“He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.

God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so “we would praise and glorify him.”                                                                                     Ephesians 1.8-14

It is good to trust in the promises of the God who has written the story.  He was there at the beginning, and knows how it all will end—his grand plan.

Rest yourself on his promises.  You are chosen and have an inheritance which cannot be taken away!

Christine

PastorWoman.com