December 18

Three Thoughts

When the angel showed up to tell Mary that she'd give birth to the Savior, it seemed impossible. She was a virgin. She was young. She had no idea how it would work. But God doesn't need our lives to make sense before He keeps His word. He just needs our yes.

LUKE 1:26-28

Every promise God made find its "yes" in Jesus. Not "maybe." Not "we'll see." Yes. When we wonder if God will come through, look at the cross. He already proved He keeps His word. If He loves us enough to send His Son, He's not going to abandon us now. His promises are as solid as Jesus.

2 CORINTHIANS 1:20

We can hold onto the hope of Jesus because the One who promised is faithful. Not because we are strong enough to believe in Him or that we've earned it, but because He is faithful. His character backs up His promises. He will not fail us. What He said, He will do.

HEBREWS 10:23

Two Quotes

Pastor and author John Piper on Christmas:

"Christmas cut history in two ages, the Age of Promise, and the Age of Fulfillment."

Church Father Saint Augustine on faith:

"Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe."

Prayer

God, thank You for being a promise-keeper. When I am struggling, I ask that you would remind me that You've never failed to come through. Help me trust Your timing even when I don't understand it. I know that what You've said, You will do. So give me faith to believe it. Amen.

Question

What's one promise from God that you're struggling to believe right now? What would change if you really believed He's going to keep it?

See you next Thursday,
Zach

P.S. I'm doing a livestream reading of the entire New Testament on YouTube at the end of the month, so right now I'm deciding which Bible to use. I keep going back and forth between different translations (NIV, ESV, NKJV, NLT) and font sizes (9-11), and I can't decide haha! I've never read out loud for seven hours at a time so I have no idea what will be easiest on my eyes. Any tips would be appreciated!