Life Plan Devotion #101 [Promises]

II Peter 1:3-5a "By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence. And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God's promises" [NLT].

Webster's Dictionary defines "promise" as "a declaration that something will or will not be done, given, etc." Depending on one's criteria for that which constitutes a "promise," there are at least 1,260 and may be as many as 6,000 promises in the Bible. Just so you know how I feel about it, I say there are 31,173 promises, for that is how many verses there are in the entire Bible. For this writer, every word in the Bible is God-breathed and true. Radical? Perhaps. It has been my experience that when one lines himself/herself up with the Word of God, in thought, word, and deed, one finds that "God can be trusted to keep His promise" (Hebrews 10:23).
No doubt you, reader, have been on the receiving end of a promise unfulfilled, and, when that happens, it is upsetting. In a perfect world, all promises are kept. I have good news! God keeps His promises! God keeps His word. "God is not a man, so He does not lie. He is not human, so He does not change His mind" (Numbers 23:19a). Moses (the commonly-accepted writer of the Book of Numbers) goes on to ask, "Has He ever spoken and failed to act? Has He ever promised and not carried it through?" (19b). The answer is "No."
The psalmist David walked with God and, at times, counter to God. No matter what, David came to learn and know that "God's way is perfect. All [His] promises prove true" (Psalm 18:30). The Apostle Paul, in the Book of Romans, chapter 4, talks about the faith of Abraham (considered to be the father of faith). Paul tells us that "Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever He promises" (vv. 20-21).
If you want to please God, if you want to see all of the promises in God's Word fulfilled in your life, you must know Jesus Christ as your Savior, "For all of God's promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding 'Yes!' And through Christ, our 'Amen' (which means 'Yes') ascends to God for His glory" (II Corinthians 1:20). Believers across the millennia testify that "Those who know [His] Name trust in [Him], for [He] [does] not abandon those who search for [Him]" (Psalm 9:10).

Hebrews 6:18b [NLT]
"We who have fled to [God] for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us." [Note: specific noun, for non-specific pronoun, inserted by author, for clarity.]

What this has to do with weight loss: If you would experience success on the weight-loss journey, you must have hope that it will happen. There is a place of protection, safety, and refuge. It is in God and in His Word. Hang on to Him, and you will hang on to hope.

Prayer for Today:
"Heavenly Father, I choose to take You at Your Word, that Your Word is true. I want all that You have for me, so show me what that is, in the pages of Your Word, and help me to see how to make sure it comes to pass for me. I pray in Jesus' Name. Amen."

Go forth today, with great anticipation for the fulfillment of God's promises in your life.

Life Plan Devotion #82 [God's Armor--Shield of Faith, Part X]

We have looked at 3 of the 4 practical ways to guarantee that you can extinguish every flaming weapon of Satan: 1) Think faith, 2) Speak faith, and 3) Pray faith. Today, let's look at the fourth way to "hold up the shield of faith, to stop the fiery arrows of the devil" (Ephesians 6:16).
To extinguish every dart, you must live faith. Living faith is powerful, so powerful that the Word says we can look back on the life of the one who lived faith to see that "By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight" (Hebrews 11:33-34).
If you want to live a life that pleases God, live faith (Hebrews 11:6). If you want to be healed, live faith (Matthew 9:29). If you want every promise of God's Word manifested in your life, live faith (Hebrews 10:23). If you want to be an overcomer in this world, live faith (I John 5:4).
Living faith means that your life is impacted by faith, for "faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless" (James 2:17). Good deeds won't get you to heaven, but they should be a natural, outward manifestation of the inward work of faith.
If you want to "fight the good fight of faith" (I Timothy 6:12), heed the words of Paul in I Timothy 1:19, "Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked." Know that you are not alone. The very God of the universe is with you and has promised that, as His servant, "No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you" (Joshua 1:5). Lift up your Shield of Faith--think it, talk it, pray it, and walk it, and you will defeat every dart of doubt, discouragement, and depression (and anything else the enemy tries to throw at you)!

II Timothy 2:3-5
"Endure hardship like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs--he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules" (NIV).

What this has to do with weight loss: The weight-loss journey is a part of your life. As such, there will be hardships connected with it. Endure them. Your challenge will be not to get so entangled in those hardships that you lose focus and go from being "a good soldier of Christ Jesus" to merely a civilian, leaving out of your journey the wonderful weapon of faith. If you want to win the weight-loss marathon, run by the rules of faith. If you don't know what to do, keep your eyes upon the Lord (II Chronicles 20:12), and know that if you truly believe in Jesus, He has promised that you "will do the same works [He did], and even greater works" (John 14:12). Live like you believe it!

Prayer for Today:
"Heavenly Father, sometimes I forget what a powerful weapon faith is, and when I do, I fail to think it, talk it, pray it, and walk it. That leaves me open to the darts, arrows, and missiles of the enemy. Sometimes I am my own worst enemy. Help me to take advantage of the life of faith, so that I can see Your every promise manifested in my life and so I can experience the 'victory that overcomes the world.' In Jesus' Name. Amen."

Go forth today, living faith and overcoming every dart of the enemy (doubt, discouragement, depression, and more).