365 Promises

[Hosanna]

Promise #2:
I am full of mercy and grace and I overflow with love.

Psalm 103:8 (WEB)
Yahweh is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness.

We live only a few miles from Niagara Falls. I am always overwhelmed by the sheer power and volume of the water that cascades over the brink of this natural wonder every second. When I think of the unending stream of God's love that He shows to us every day, I think of this natural wonder.

As we continue our daily journey of reflecting on some of the promises of God in this New Year, may we always be reminded of how He sees us. The Lord is full of mercy and grace and He overflows with love towards us. Everything that He does is motivated by His eternal, unending kindness.

May the Holy Spirit give us a deeper revelation of the character and nature of God this new year and may He dismantle any misconceptions of our Heavenly Dad that cause us to see Him as distant and angry.

Our God and Father is good. He is full of mercy and grace and just like Niagara Falls, He continually showers His love upon us. And His love will never ever end. May the revelation of the love of God continue to rush like a mighty river into your heart today.



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[Hosanna]

Promise #3:
The intentions of My heart will remain steadfast forever.

Psalm 33:11 (WEB)
The counsel of Yahweh stands fast forever,
the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

In today's promise, we are reminded that God is steadfast in what He has purposed. The New Living Translation Bible says Psalm 33:11 this way... But the Lord’s plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken. (NLT)

When God determines to do something, His plans will stand firm forever. He is not fickle or temperamental and He will not be swayed by public opinion or the winds of change. He has fixed His eyes upon us and has purposed in His heart to love us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). ...And He won't change His mind!

What our Heavenly Father started in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 1, He will see to completion at the end of the book of Revelation. No force in heaven or on earth will be able to prevent His purposes from being fulfilled. We can rest in God's plan for our lives for the intentions of His heart will remain steadfast forever!


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[Hosanna]

Promise #4:
I created you in My own image with My special blessing.

Genesis 1:27-28 (WEB)
27 God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

God created us in His own image. Think about that for a moment. We were created to reflect the image of God Himself! I wonder what the angels thought when they first saw Adam and Eve? What a glorious privilege to be made in the image of the One who knit us together in our mother's womb!

May we never take this blessing for granted. May we always be in awe of the fact that we were created to look just like God. When Jesus came to the earth 2,000 years ago, He sealed the deal by making a way for us to be conformed into His image (Romans 8:29) inside and out so that He could be the firstborn of many brothers and sisters.

My prayer today is that we would live in the light of our Father's original blessing to be fruitful, to multiply and to have dominion throughout the whole earth with the knowledge that we were created to look just like our Heavenly Dad.

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[Hosanna]

Promise #5:
I chose you to be adopted into My family before creation.

Ephesians 1:4-5 (WEB)
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without blemish before him in love; 5 having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire,

It pleased the Father to choose us before the foundation of the world. In love, He saw the day when we would say yes to the free gift of His Son's life for our life and become born into His amazing family. Before He even spoke the world into existence, He saw us!

And our adoption is not like any human adoption, for God has given us His own Spirit as a deposit to guarantee our inheritance. We are not servants in His house, but actual sons and daughters, joint heirs with our Elder Brother Jesus, seated in Christ in heavenly places.

What an amazing promise! Every other promise and precept rests on God's eternal plan to make us part of His family. As Ephesians 1:4 says, we are holy and without blame before Him in love all because of the finished work of Jesus Christ. What Jesus did on our behalf has secured our place forever as God's kids!

1 John 3:1
Behold, how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know him. (WEB)

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[Hosanna]

Promise #8:
I sent the Spirit of My Son into your heart so you could call Me Father.

Galatians 4:6 (WEB)
And because you are children,
God sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying,
“Abba, Father!”

The greatest gift that the Father could give us was the Spirit of His Son, the Spirit of Sonship. Each one who is born again, carries within their being the very life and nature of Jesus Christ Himself. Galatians 4:7 goes on to say... So you are no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. (WEB)

The Spirit of the Son that lives within us continually calls out 'Abba Father!'. Abba is an Aramaic word for 'father' that little children would call out to their dads in New Testament times. It would be like us saying 'papa' or 'daddy' in the English language. Because we carry within our very being the Spirit of the Son, our spirit man continually cries out 'Papa' to God, whether we are aware of this cry in our heart or not.

I believe it delights our Heavenly Father when we cry out 'Abba!' to Him, for that is the very reason why God has given us the Spirit of His Son... so that He could be a Father to us (2 Corinthians 6:18). My prayer today is that we would all be aware of the cry that resonates deep in our heart today as we join with the Spirit of the Son that lives within us that calls out 'Abba Father!'.


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[Hosanna]

Promise #11:
My plan for your future is filled with hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 (WEB)
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says Yahweh,
thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future.

When you think of your own future, how do you feel? Are you excited to think of what is ahead or does the thought of the future cause you to be anxious? With an uncertain economy, wars and rumors of wars, etc., it is easy to feel anxious and uncertain about what lies ahead. Yet in today's promise, God says that your future is filled with hope.

My favorite Bible translation of this verse comes from the NIV Bible... For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (NIV)

I find it very reassuring to know that God has a plan for my future that is filled with hope. I don't have to dread what's coming because my Heavenly Dad already has a plan for me. And of course we know that the ultimate hope is living in the light of God's love forever!

May the reality of today's promise fill you with peace. May you know that while the future may be uncertain to you, it is not to God. He has a father's heart toward you and has determined to fill your future with hope. Does this mean that there will be no bumps in the road? Certainly not.

But we do know that all things will ultimately work together for our good as Paul declared in Romans 8:28... We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. (WEB)


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[Hosanna]

Promise #12:
I am at work in your life through the desires of your heart.

Philippians 2:13 (WEB)
For it is God who works in you both to will and to work,
for his good pleasure.

I like how the Amplified Bible translates Philippians 2:13... [Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight. (AMP)

The Christian life is a life of learning how to live from our heart, not from our head. If Christ lives in us, then we have the Spirit of the living God living in us too. If Christ lives in us, we have a new heart and we can trust our new heart to guide us in all that we do. In today's promise, the Apostle Paul says that it is God Himself who is at work in us, giving us both the desire and the power to accomplish all that He has purposed for our lives.

It is amazing to think that God actually directs us by the godly heart's desires that He has already placed in our hearts. I believe the Christian life is a life where we learn to live from our hearts. May we all learn to trust the still small voice that resides within us. For it is God who is already at work in you and it gives Him great delight to see His kids living from their hearts.


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[Hosanna]

Promise #29:
When Jesus appears, you will receive a crown of glory that will never dim.

1 Peter 5:4 (WEB)
When the chief Shepherd is revealed,
you will receive the crown of glory that doesn’t fade away.

You may ask the question... why will we receive a crown of glory? The simple answer is that since we are part of God's royal family, we all get to wear a crown. Romans 8:16-17 says.... 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God; 17 and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him. (WEB)

All those who have called upon the name of the Lord throughout the centuries can hold on to this promise. When Jesus appears, each and every one of us will receive a crown of glory that will never fade away. Not because we have done anything in our own effort to earn or deserve it. The crown that we receive does not come from our own self-effort but solely because of God's grace and goodness.


Because our Father loved us, He determined in His heart thousands of years ago that we would share in the eternal riches of His Son, Jesus Christ and be born into His amazing royal family (Ephesians 1:3-6). On that great and glorious day when we will see Jesus face to face, we will receive our own crown of glory, signifying to all of heaven that we belong to God.

I believe the crown of glory that we will all receive will simply serve as a token of our Father's affection and a symbol to the heavenly host that we are called to rule and reign with Jesus in His royal family forever. May today's promise encourage your heart and give you hope for the glorious future that is in store for you.


Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #30:
At the end of the age, My righteous ones will shine like the sun in My kingdom.

Matthew 13:43 (WEB)
Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

In Matthew 13, Jesus shares a few stories that illustrate the kingdom of God. In verse 43, He tells His disciples that one day the righteous (those who are in right relationship with God) will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom.

What an amazing analogy this is! In Ephesians 5:8 the Bible says... For you were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, (WEB) Since we are called to be children of light, Jesus tells us in Matthew 13:43 that we will all shine like the sun in our Heavenly Dad's kingdom.

What an amazing sight heaven will be! Millions of God's kids, each one shining with the brightness of the sun, living for eternity in the kingdom of their Father. I wonder if we will need sunglasses just to talk to each other? (grin) All kidding aside, may this picture and promise bring encouragement to you as you walk by faith in a world that sometimes can be a dark place to live.

Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #33:
All My plans will be fulfilled,
for I know the end from the beginning.

Our Elder Brother is known as the Alpha and the Omega. The beginning and the end. The Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit have always been and always will be. In today's promise, we read from Isaiah 46:10 that God knows the end from the beginning and all His plans will be fulfilled.

Many times in life, I feel like I can only see a few short steps ahead but it gives me such great comfort to know that my God and Father knows the end from the beginning. In Psalm 139:16 King David makes this declaration about God... Your eyes saw my body. In your book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there were none of them. (WEB)

God has a plan for your life. He knit you together in your mother's womb and ordained every one of your days, writing them in His special book before one of them ever came to be. We can rest in our God and Father's goodness to watch over us and fulfill the plans He has for us. For He is a good Dad and He knows the end from the beginning.

Jeremiah 1:5 (WEB)
“Before I formed you in the belly, I knew you.
Before you came forth out of the womb, I sanctified you.
I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

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[Hosanna]

Promise #34:
I knew you before you were born and I designed you for My purposes.

Jeremiah 1:5 (WEB)
“Before I formed you in the belly, I knew you.
Before you came forth out of the womb, I sanctified you.
I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

In today's promise, God is speaking to the prophet Jeremiah and reassuring him that before he was even conceived in his mother's womb, God knew him and designed him for His purposes. I don't know if you have wondered about this Bible verse before, but I have.

How could God have known Jeremiah before he was even conceived? The best way that I can try to comprehend it would be if I compared our creation with how an architect designs a building. (I realize this analogy could never adequately describe the creation process, but it helps me to grasp this promise.) Before a building is built, it has to be designed by an architect.

In the design process, the architect spends much time thinking about the plans and purposes for the building He is going to create. No detail will be too small for the architect to overlook. Even though the building is not yet created, He has already created it in his mind and then he commits the design to paper.

When I think about how God says that He knew us before we were conceived, I think that He carried our design in His heart before the creation of the world and knew us intimately before the wonderful day of our conception.

If you have ever felt misunderstood by anyone, if you have ever felt alone in this life, may the promise that God knew you before the foundation of the world bring great comfort to your heart today. You are His workmanship, created in Christ to accomplish His special purpose!


Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #36:
I have blotted out your sins and dissolved them like the mist.

Isaiah 44:22 (WEB)
I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions,
and, as a cloud, your sins.
Return to me, for I have redeemed you.

I love how the New Living Translation says Isaiah 44:22... I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free.” (NLT) God has swept away all of our sins like a cloud, with just one blast from His nostrils, any remnants of our mistakes and failures vanish just like the morning mist is consumed by the heat of the sun.

While this promise of God's forgiveness is found in the Old Testament, it really points to the day when the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, would once and for all pay the ultimate price for us to be completely forgiven.

When God looks at you, He doesn't see all of your shortcomings and failures. For all those who have received the free gift of Jesus Christ, He sees you as fully justified and holy. While our past sins may continually scream to get our attention in the mental realm, to our God they have vanished into thin air because of the finished work of His Son, Jesus Christ.

May we walk in a greater revelation of having our sins forgiven today and may the accuser of the brethren have no access into our thought life. As Romans 8:1 says... There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. (WEB)


Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #37:
I have sealed you with My Spirit to guarantee your coming inheritance.

Ephesians 1:13-14 (WEB)
13 in whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your salvation—in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is a pledge of our inheritance, to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory.

The English Standard Version of the Bible says Ephesians 1:13-14 this way... 13In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (ESV)

The Bible says that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16). The Spirit of the living God that raised Christ from the dead dwells in every person that has received Jesus as their Lord and Savior. In today's promise, we read that God even sealed us with the Holy Spirit of promise to guarantee our coming inheritance.

The Amplified Bible calls the Holy Spirit the first fruits, the pledge and foretaste, the down payment on our heritage of what is yet to come. Our God and Father so wants us to rest assured in our eternal inheritance that He gave His own Spirit to live in us as a pledge of His eternal commitment to us.

May we all be keenly aware of the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit that lives within us today, and may we all know that we are sealed with the Spirit as a promise to guarantee our coming inheritance.

Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #38:
I will be a real Father to you.

2 Corinthians 6:18 (WEB)
I will be to you a Father.
You will be to me sons and daughters,’
says the Lord Almighty.”

In my opinion, this one promise summarizes all New Testament revelation. God's desire for all of us is that He would be our real Father. That is why Jesus came to the earth two thousand years ago... To make the way for each one of us to come home to His Dad (John 14:6).

Everything that Jesus did pointed us to His Father. He was the exact representation of His Father on earth (Hebrews 1:3) and Colossians 1:15 says that He was the visible image of the invisible God. Jesus loved His Father so much that His desire was to bring many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10-11) so that God could be a real Father to those who would come to Him through the finished work of the cross.

I want to encourage you today that God is just not a 'father figure', but promises to be a real Father to you. He is not like any earthly father we have ever known, for He is the perfect Father (Matthew 5:48). Creating is what God does, but Father is who He is. The longing of His heart and the reason for the eternal sacrifice of Jesus is that we would know Him as Father from the core of our being.

When the Spirit of God bears witness with our spirits that we are His children, the only fitting response is to call back to Him and say 'you are my Abba Father!' (Romans 8:15) May the Abba cry resonate in each one of our hearts today.


Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #39:
I will look after you and teach you the way that is best.

Psalm 32:8 (WEB)
I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go.
I will counsel you with my eye on you.

God doesn't leave us alone to try to figure out life all by ourselves. The Bible says that He is closer to us than we could possibly imagine. In Psalm 139, King David tells us that God knows everything about us and is familiar with all our ways (Psalm 139:1-3). In today's promise, we read that God has committed Himself to teach us in the way we should go and guide us into what is best.

The New Living Translation says Psalm 32:8 this way... The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. (NLT) May the promise of our Father's tender guidance bring a sense of rest and security to our hearts today. May we know that we are not alone in this life. Each step that we take is carefully guided by a loving Father who has only our best interests at heart.

God is everything that we need when we need him. He is our father, our brother, our savior, our friend, our healer, our redeemer and our teacher. Time and space would fail to speak of the many ways that the Triune God (Father, Son & Holy Spirit) watches over us every moment of our lives.


Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #40:
Trust in Me with all your heart and I will guide you.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (WEB)
5 Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6 is one of those Scripture passages that have meant a great deal to me personally over the years. As a person who has had the tendency to trust in his own resources, the idea that I don't have to lean on my own understanding to manage life is very good news indeed.

Today's promise encourages us to trust in the Lord with all our heart and not to rely on our own ability to manage life. The Hebrew word for trust in this passage is 'batach' which Strong's concordance explains this way... to be confident or sure, be bold, confident, secure, sure, careless, to hope, to trust.

The more that we are convinced that God has our best interests at heart, the more we can put all our confidence in Him to steer our ship. The more we know that He really does love us and He is good, the more we will be able to give up control of our destiny and allow Him to lead us wherever we go.

My prayer for each one of us is that we would be more convinced of the goodness of our God and Father than ever before so that we would trust Him a little more today than we did yesterday. In doing so, may we find that He is indeed a faithful Father who we can trust with ALL our heart!


Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #44:
If you wait for Me, I will work on your behalf.

Isaiah 64:4 (WEB)
For from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear,
neither has the eye seen a God besides you,
who works for him who waits for him.

God loves it when we wait for Him to work on our behalf. While many might think that waiting on God is a passive exercise, I believe waiting is one of the most active things that we can do! Waiting on God is acknowledging that He is our source for everything. When we wait on God, we choose to trust Him to act on our behalf rather than trusting in our own resources to make things happen.

I believe that when we truly wait upon God in obedience to the direction of His Holy Spirit in our lives (Romans 8:14), we are demonstrating our wholehearted trust in His goodness to lead us. When we trust Him, we honor His ability to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. My prayer today is that we would all see the incredible benefits of learning to wait on God.

May each one of us see the absolute wonder in waiting on God today. Psalm 37:7(a)... Rest in Yahweh, and wait patiently for him. (WEB)

Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #45:
My love will never fail you.

1 Corinthians 13:8 (WEB)
Love never fails.
But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with.
Where there are various languages, they will cease.
Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with.

The Greek word for love used in this verse is the word 'agape', which is used to describe the everlasting, unconditional love of God. This popular chapter of the Bible is often used as the Scripture reading for weddings to emphasize the power of love.

I would encourage you to read the entire chapter of 1 Corinthians 13 as often as possible to remind yourself of the priority of love in God's eyes. Paul the Apostle writes that love is the greatest attribute of God that we can pursue.

We can have faith to move mountains, give all our possessions to the poor, understand all mysteries and have all knowledge, and even die a martyr's death, but if we don't have love, it means nothing.

1 John 4:16 simply says that God is love. The very core of His being is an unconditional, everlasting love that continually flows out to us. In today's promise the message is short and sweet. God's love will never fail you. Ever.

On the day of the year that many people celebrate love (Valentine's Day), may we all be reminded of the greatest of all loves that comes from the Father to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. The love that God has for us will never ever fail. Earthly loves may disappoint us from time to time, but the love that God has for us will never change and will last forever.


Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #46:
I am your Shepherd and I will meet all your needs.

Psalm 23:1 (WEB)
Yahweh is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing.

Psalm 23 is one of the most loved psalms. It has been recited in times of celebration, in times of loss and and everything in between. The author of this psalm was King David who had a good understanding of what it meant to be a shepherd. As a boy, David learned to care for the flock under his care so when he made the statement that The LORD was his shepherd, he knew what he was saying.

When David said I shall not want (KJV), he was basically saying that he would not be in need of anything because of the shepherding care of the Lord. The NLT Bible says I shall have all that I need. Shepherds look after their sheep in every way. They lead them to green pastures, they protect them and they provide all that they need to live a good life.

In John 10:12-16 Jesus tells us how a shepherd not only protects the sheep under his care but will gladly lay down his life for their safety. The truth is that Jesus is our great shepherd and because of His loving care we will have all that we need. My prayer is that the reality of this promise will go deep into our hearts today.

Hebrews 13:20-2120 Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus, 21 make you complete in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (WEB)


Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #47:
I will keep you safe because no one can snatch you out of My hand.

John 10:29 (WEB)
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all.
No one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand.

I love the picture that Jesus paints in this passage of Scripture. In order to better appreciate what Jesus is saying, let's read a broader view of this promise found in John 10:27-30...

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” (WEB)

Jesus tells us in this Bible passage that those who come to Him will never perish because we are being held safely in the palm of His hand where no one can snatch us away. He then goes on to double our feeling of safety and security by telling us that we are also held in His Father's hand who is the greatest of all!

Every time I think about this Scripture passage, I envision myself being firmly held in the hand of Jesus and Jesus' hand being firmly held by the Father's. What a picture of unity in the Godhead and security for us.

No matter what comes your way, nothing can snatch you out of the loving, invincible hands of both Father and Son. May the thought of this security bring much peace to every troubled heart.


Father Heart Communications