“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” (Col. 2:6-7 NIV)

By faith!

You received Christ as Lord by believing in Him and coming to Him by simple faith. You must continue to grow and to be built up and rooted in Him in exactly the same way, by faith. And, you do this by reading and meditating on His Word every day. As you meditate (think deeply and personally about) His Word, your thoughts and your behavior begin to change. You will begin to spill over (overflow) with thankfulness! And, because of what He has done for us, we have a lot to be thankful for!

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (1 Cor. 10:13 NKJV)

Everybody faces temptation on occasion, even Jesus did (and, He did so without sin!).

Four promises in one!

There are four really great promises built into this one passage that you can completely count on during any time of temptation.

First, God won’t allow anything “uncommon to man” to tempt you. It won’t be something unusual, strange or weird that temps you. It will be only “common to man” stuff that ordinary people usually are faced with.

Second, “God is faithful” and you can count on His help in dealing with any temptation the devil sends your way. God will always send His help and guidance.

Third, God limits what the enemy can do to you. God won’t allow the enemy to put more on you than “what you can withstand!”

Fourth, God will “make a way for you to escape any temptation so that you can bare it”. Knowing that God promises that there will always “be a way of escape,” you can then confidently look for it, find it, and use it!

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lam. 3:22-23 ESV)

How wonderful to know that God loves us and we have a fresh beginning every single day! His mercies toward us NEVER comes to an end!

That’s because God IS love and it is impossible for Him to behave differently than what He is!

The Bible, in 1 Cor. 13:4-8, gives the Biblical definition of love. Read it with the knowledge that God’s love toward you is exactly this way:

What love is

“Love is patient, love is kind, love is not jealous, it does not boast, it does not become conceited, it does not behave dishonorably, it is not selfish, it does not become angry, it does not keep a record of wrongs, it does not rejoice at unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” (1 Cor. 13:4-8 LEB)

Because God is love, you can read this passage again and everywhere it says “love” or “It”, you can replace with the word “God”.

The steadfast love of God towards you never ceases! He is faithful! And that is a promise!

“But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.” (Deut. 8:18 KJV)

The devil has wrongly convinced many of God’s kids to have a poverty mentality to defund the work of God so that the covenant of God won’t be established! If you think you must be poor than that is what you will always be! If, on the other hand, you see yourself prospering and successful by God’s hand for the right reasons you will prosper!

Money Is Not the Problem!

Many Christians believe that God wants them to be poor because they equate being poor to being godly. But, nothing could be further from the truth! Having money and being wealthy is not evil. It’s actually the “love of money” that the Bible says is the “root” of all kinds of evil.” (1 Tim. 6:10). And you can look around you and see that that statement is certainly true! But you can biblically say the same fact about lots of other things because loving them could also lead you into evil.  For instance, loving food can lead you into serious problems (gluttony) and hurt your body which is called “God’s temple”. Loving sleep, can lead you into serious problems (slothfulness) and into poverty. And loving wine can lead you to serious problems (alcoholism), but, Jesus turned the water into wine, so wine in itself isn’t bad.

It’s a Blessing to “Establish God’s Covenant” and much more! 

Having money, or anything else for that matter, is a blessing if you don’t “love” it more than you love God. Understand that money and everything else you have is a blessing from God and He blesses you so you can “establish His covenant”, and so that you are able to be a blessing to others. The promise at the top says that God “gives you power to get wealth” in order to “establish His covenant… as it is to this day.” Knowing what wealth is for is the important thing to remember. It’s a great blessing personally and It’s a great ministry tool. “I will bless you so that you will be a blessing to others.” (Gen. 12:2). “You will be enriched in all ways so that you will be able to be generous on all occasions.” (2 Cor. 9:11). Just think what a wonderful blessing it is to be able to give generously to promote God’s Kingdom! I love that I can do that and I do! Praise God for it!

But wait, there’s more!  

When I told someone this recently (someone who is very religious and always struggles financially, by the way), they said, “Jesus was poor!” And I pointed out to them that he was NOT in fact poor! Even as a baby, wealthy people sought Him out to give riches to Him (the wise men in chapter 2 of the gospel of Luke). He was in fact the “King of Kings and the Lord of Lords” but, He deliberately “lowered himself” in order to accomplish His specific mission to bring redemption. (Phil. 2:7). Even so, many wealthy people followed and supported Him. And the only people who criticized him were religious people. When a woman broke a bottle of very expensive perfume onto Jesus they complained about it! (Mark 14). And later, when He was crucified the soldiers nearby cast lots for his robe because it was valuable. And he was buried in a rich man’s tomb.

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” (1 Peter 3:18 NIV)

Once was enough!

Notice that this promise says that Christ suffered “once for sins”. Two thousand years ago He completely took care of sin once and for all with one great act of personal sacrifice! He went to the cross and shed His blood. He will never need to do it again because once was enough to do what was needed! This is known as the “great exchange!” Christ suffered for sins, but not for His own sins (He was completely righteous!). But He suffered for our sins (we were completely unrighteous!) in order to bring us to God!

“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ.” (2 Cor. 1:20 NIV)

Most Christians, sadly to say, don’t experience the kind of blessed life that God has provided for them in the Word of God because of, well, just plain ignorance of what God has provided for them!

Dried cheese and crackers!

They are like the guy who, many years ago, booked passage on an ocean liner to cross the Atlantic. He bought the ticket for passage but didn’t have enough money to buy food on the ship. So he took along a trunk full of dried cheese and crackers. Every day while all the other passengers ate sumptuous wonderful meals in the magnificent dining room, he stayed in his room and ate his dried cheese and crackers. It was agonizing for him to smell the wonderful food coming from the ship’s galley each day and to constantly hear the joyful laughter and happy conversations coming from the dining room of the other passengers eating roasts, hams, delicious cakes, pies and wonderful drinks, while at the same time he only ate the awful dried cheese and crackers! It was only on the last day of the long trip that he discovered that the price of the meals was actually included in the price of his ticket! He could have enjoyed all those wonderful meals and drinks if he had only known what was already paid for and available to him during that long, long trip across the Atlantic. Just like him, many Christians miss out on what they have in God’s promises which have already been totally paid for by Jesus! (“All God’s promises are yes, by Jesus”, 2 Cor. 1:20). They don’t read the Bible and are, therefore, unaware of the many thousands of promises God has provided for them in order to have a joyful, victorious, successful, and health-filled life on planet earth. Therefore, the “communication of their faith” never happens for them and is not “effectual” for them!

The apostle Paul said it this way

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you.” (Ephesians 1:18 NIV)

I refuse to walk in ignorance! Once I discover a promise in God’s Word, I immediately “acknowledge” it as being for me. I thank God for giving it to me. I then speak it out loud and/or write it down. I receive it by faith and begin believing it and acting on it by faith. l mix my faith with God’s promise which makes it come alive and active for me! It then becomes “effectual” which makes me by its very definition, successful, productive, constructive, worthwhile, helpful, beneficial and useful. I love it! What a life to be had and enjoyed by any who do this!

“I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Heb. 13:5 KJV)

My early years were spent living with my stepfather and brother in Northern California. My brother David and I were pretty much used to the “bachelor life” and we could pretty much do whatever we wanted to do, because Daddy was very relaxed about rules.

Then, in the summer of 1960, at about age 13, I went to live with my mother and her new husband, in Rabbit Creek, Alaska.

They were not rich and lived in a log cabin along Rabbit Creek, where they got their water to drink and to bathe with.

There was no hot water, no indoor plumbing, and no bathroom! We had to use an outhouse that was up a long path behind the cabin.

It was severe culture shock for me and I did not react well to it! In fact, I had, what you might describe as “an attitude”.

That fall I started school. I didn’t like the long walks in the dark both ways to and from the school bus. I hated the 30-miles each way bus trips to and from school.

It was a long, cold, hard winter, and I complained a lot!

On the last day of school, I was excited that the long walks and commutes were finally over! The school bus dropped me off as usual and I headed home to the cabin.

Then I saw the note on the cabin door. It read! “Dear son, we have left for California . . .”

I couldn’t believe it!

They had left me! How could they have done that! I felt abandoned, rejected, and afraid!

What happened next, I will save for later.

In life we may sometimes suffer rejection in one way or another from people. But, the Bible has a huge promise from God that we can stand on with complete assurance. “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

I feel greatly assured and comforted by this wonderful promise! And, so should you!

“For you were bought with a price.” (1 Cor.6:20 ESV)

I heard an old story, supposedly true, about a rich young man in a far eastern country who was making arrangements with a young maiden’s father to marry her. Marriages in that country were always arranged and based solely upon the prospective groom’s ability to pay the required dowry (the price for her). The dowry was usually paid with camels. An average maiden would usually be valued at one to two camels, an above average one would be two to three camels, and an exceptional one could be as much as four camels, tops! But, a four-camel maiden would have to be exceptionally beautiful and would have to possess many other valuable skills and attributes, to ever be worth that much.

The young man met with the father and said, “I offer you nine camels for your daughter!”

Nine camels! This amount was unheard of! No one had ever paid more than four camels for a bride before! And this man was offering to pay nine camels for his daughter!

The father immediately accepted the offer and was thrilled to receive such a high dowry amount for his daughter!

He then set out to publicly announce the upcoming marriage along with the amount that was paid. Nine camels!

The story soon spread far and wide.

People asked, “Who is this remarkable woman, who is worth so much? She must be exceptionally beautiful! She must be an extraordinary woman in every possible way, far above any other!”

Everything changed for the bride to be!

The father said, “I must have failed to notice how beautiful, wonderful, and valuable my daughter is. But not anymore! From now on, she will be treated as royalty in my home! She will sit at my right hand, the best place at my table! She will be served first. She will be given the best food. She will be clothed in the finest garments. All her needs and wishes will be taken care of by my servants.”

Everyone in her village began to treat her differently, too. When she would arrive, people would say, “Here comes the beautiful nine-camel woman!” And they would admire her! Instantly she became valuable!

The maiden was the same person as before, yet everything had changed for her! In an instant she became valuable. It was because of the price that was paid for her!

In the same way, you have been bought with a price! (1 Cor. 6:20). And that price is the most valuable payment that has ever been paid! You have been paid for “with the precious blood of Jesus Christ”! (1 Peter 1:19).

Therefore…

YOU are valuable because of the price that was paid!

“…Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things…” (Matt. 25:23 KJV)

Want to move ahead to a greater level in your life? Here is the answer, “be good and faithful” with what little you already have!

Think about the logic of this from a parent’s standpoint

If you have a child who does not take care of his room, would you put him in charge of taking care is your whole house? No, you would not!

In the same way, if you are the owner of a large corporation, would you promote someone into a higher position within your company if they were not first good and faithful at the lower position they already possess within your business? No, you would not!

And God is saying exactly the same thing in this promise about the “good and faithful” servant chosen for increase.

Here is how to take advantage of this powerful promise.

Be good and faithful with what you already have in your hands, at home, at work, at school, in your marriage, in your people relationships, (whatever!); and then you will be increased to a higher level in it!