DAILY DEVOTIONAL – JULY 29, 2023 The Precious Promises of God By Jim Cymbala

Where does corruption and trouble in the world come from? It comes from evil desires in depraved people. Even Christians deal with evil desires that want to pop up in their lives. There’s corruption in the world, but God said,  “I’ve sent my Son into the world that you might not only have eternal life but that you will also be saved from the evil in the world” (see John 3:16). How do we take hold of this freedom? Let’s look at the life of the great Christian man of faith George Muller. He ran orphanages and was led peculiarly to not ask for funds. He just trusted God through prayer and faith to see all the needs supplied. Muller once said, “I can’t make it through the day with all my responsibilities without starting the day with God in his Word. I can’t even pray effectively until I have faith, but faith comes by hearing the Word of God.” In the Bible, there are commands, historical narrative, poetry, worship songs, but there are also lots of promises that God is making. Every part of the Bible is important, but what are the promises God makes to us, to you specifically, in his Word? The apostle Peter encouraged the persecuted church by saying, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire” (2 Peter 1:3-4, ESV). By believing God’s promises of salvation, we become partakers in the divine nature. Now, we don’t become gods like some new age religions would claim, but we share in God’s divine nature. How? By trusting God more and more, and having our faith grow. Increasingly, we share in the power and goodness of the Holy Spirit who has come to live inside us. Peter said that we gain that by believing and hanging onto God’s promises. How about asking God to give you more wisdom and discipline to read the Bible and search for his promises? Jim Cymbala began the Brooklyn Tabernacle with less than twenty members in a small, rundown building in a difficult part of the city. A native of Brooklyn, he is a longtime friend of both David and Gary Wilkerson.