My wife Beth has a brother named Denny. Years ago a radio station in Cincinnati used an old gimmick to recruit listeners. Periodically an afternoon DJ would make a phone call at random and play a few seconds of a popular hit song. If the listener could identify the song, money was awarded. I called Denny and pretended to be the DJ. A few seconds of a song was played on a tape recorder. Denny identified the song and I continued the charade and told him he had won a cash prize. The next day I informed him of the hoax. We both laughed; but I could see a bit of disappointment in his face. He had been led to believe something good was going to happen to him and it turned out to be a joke.
God has made many wonderful promises to us.
David Wilkerson wrote a little book many years ago called The Jesus Person Pocket Promise Book (Gospel Light, 1981). In that book were hundreds of promises made by God. Some of those promises contain dire warnings, but most of those listed in the book are promises of blessings, protection, love, and rewards for obedience. The shepherds to whom God announced the birth of Jesus evidently understood the significance of this promise as they praised God and gave God glory for what they had seen and heard. I am not alone in my need to recount God’s promises as a source of power and peace in my life. God cannot lie; God does not mislead us for his own amusement.
God always keeps his promises.
It is one thing to make a promise; it is quite another thing to keep that promise. God is eager to keep his promises to us. We all know stories of parents who have made promises to their children and then because of circumstances, deceit, or forgetfulness, those promises were left unfulfilled. It’s wonderful when a promise made to us is kept. May we do two things during this Christmas season: may we remember that God made and kept a wonderful promise in sending Jesus to the world, and may we be like the shepherds by telling others about his birth and his purpose in coming. |L
Dale Holzbauer is a minister, adjunct professor, and a church consultant in Xenia, Ohio. He and his wife Beth have three children and six grandchildren.
