Have you ever broken a promise to someone? Has someone ever broken their promise to you? The sad reality is that human beings make and break promises all the time.

“I’ll be there, I promise.”

“I promise to love you always, for better or for worse.”

“I promise never to do that again.”

“I’ll take you there someday, I promise.”

Unfortunately, every broken promise makes us more and more skeptical because broken promises equals broken trust. We have to be careful not to allow this skepticism to cross over into our relationship with God. The Lord God Almighty is the ultimate promise maker and promise keeper. While we are sometimes powerless to keep our promises—because we lack the resources, commitment, control over unforeseen circumstances, or recollection of what we’ve said—God has the power to do what He has said He will do.

In the Bible, we find more than 3,000 promises of God. And the truly amazing thing is that God keeps all of His promises. In Luke 21:33, He declares, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of God’s promises. In 2 Corinthians 1:20, we learn: “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.” As one biblical commentary states, Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises because He is the sum and the substance of them!

The promises of God can be places in one of three categories.

First are His transformational promises.

In Ezekiel 36:26, God promises to take the heart of stone from His people and replace it with a heart of flesh—stone representing stubbornness and disobedience, and flesh representing a tenderness and an eagerness to do the will of God. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, God promises that anyone who is in Christ (who loves, follows, and believes in Him) is a new creation—“the old has gone, the new is here!” God promises to change us for the better and for His glory.

Second are His provisional promises.

God promises to provide many good things to His people: protection and victory, wisdom and peace, and the gift of the Holy Spirit…just to name a few. (See Psalms 20:4 and 61:3; Acts 1:8 and 2:38; John 14:27 and 16:13; Matthew 6:30 and 17:20). In fact, one of God’s names in the Bible is “Jehovah Jireh,” which means “The Lord will provide” (Genesis 22:8). God is the awesome provider of all our needs, both physical and spiritual.

Third are God’s triumphal promises.

In 1 John 1:9, we are promised victory over sin. In Galatians 2:20, we are promised victory over self. James 1:13-18 promises us victory over temptation, and Isaiah 41:10 as well as many other Scriptures in the Bible promise us victory over fear.

One of God’s most breath-taking promises is the promise of eternity. Ecclesiastes 3:11b reveals, “He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” Have you ever wondered why many people feel there is something else beyond this life? It’s because God has planted eternity in our heart! John 3:16 proclaims, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” This is echoed by 1 John 2:25, which says, “And this is what he promised us—eternal life.”

If you would like to know more about God’s promises and how to spend eternity with Him, please join us for weekend services at Shepherd Church at one of our four campuses—Agua Dulce, Porter Ranch, Westside, and West Valley. Please visit www.theshepherd.org for more information on service times and locations.

As a pastor, I’ve had many people ask me why there is so much suffering in the world. It seems that on any given day, we can peruse the news and hear about one senseless tragedy after another—shootings, natural disasters, political corruption, crime, and death. These trials occur on a personal level as well. Perhaps right now you are grappling with a divorce, bad news from a doctor, or losing something or someone important to you. Hardship and loss care not about a person’s color, culture, gender, age, class, or culture. We all are susceptible to different kinds of trouble in our lifetime.

So what do we do when we encounter inevitable hardships?

Whenever a person is sitting across from me with teary eyes, a broken heart, and deep questions, I’m keenly aware that suffering is not easy to explain. But I try to encourage that person not to ask God, “Why is this happening to me?” but instead, “How can I respond in a way that is honoring to You, Lord?”

Here are a few ways we can adopt this kind of response:

1. Fear God and shun evil.

Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” It’s important that we are equipped with wisdom whenever we are facing unexpected challenges, and the way to glean wisdom is first by fearing—or, in other words, “revering”—God.

In the Bible, there is a man named Job who is one of the greatest survivors of tragedy the world has ever seen. The Bible says in Job 1:1, “This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” Job was a very wealthy man who had seven sons and three daughters, thousands of livestock, and numerous servants. One day, he is suddenly catapulted into a season of great testing, spearheaded by Satan himself (Job 2:3-7). Job lost his fortune, family, health, and reputation in one fell swoop. But look at Job’s response to his calamity: “‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.’ In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing” (Job 1:21-22). Job’s immense reverence for the Lord and his holy habit of shunning evil is what allowed him to praise God (instead of blame God) during such terrible times.

2. Remember where God is.

My dear friend, Dr. Jerry Taylor of Abilene Christian University, recently came to Shepherd Church and preached on 1 Corinthians 6:18-20. Verse 19 gives us an amazing response to the question of where God is in the midst of tragedy: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?”

Regarding this passage of Scripture, Dr. Taylor said, “The Holy Spirit resides in you. I’m glad to know that God is not in some distant realm separated and isolated from His people who live in this present world. Yes, God is beyond the azure blue, but He is also residing in you! He is in outer space, but He also occupies your inner space.” God resides in each and every believer of Jesus Christ and wants us to be His hands and feet, and His love and compassion, in all situations.

3. Don’t lose hope.

No matter how dark or how bleak a tragic event or difficult season might be, never ever lose hope. The Book of 1 Peter is a letter written by the Apostle Peter to Christians in the first century who were facing intense persecution. The letter begins in verse three and four, not with fearfulness or complaining or commiserating, but with praise! Peter wrote, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you…”

Believers are reminded that, no matter what we may endure, we having a living hope in Jesus Christ, and the ultimate hope of receiving an inheritance—which is an eternity spend in Heaven with Him.

Trials can test and mature us, and they can strengthen our faith. While we may not always understand human suffering of God’s plan, we can take comfort in the truth that God is good. He is just. He is light. He is love. And He is near.

Life has its peaks and valleys, its hardships and troubles. If you are going through a difficult time, or are feeling like a stranger in the world, you will find great comfort in the book of 1 Peter in the New Testament of the Bible. It is a letter that the apostle Peter wrote to believers in the first century who were being persecuted for their faith. From this letter, we can garner three reliable, unfailing, and immensely encouraging things we can hold on to in the midst of a storm.

First, you have the Bible.

It’s your life jacket in the storm when the wind and waves beat against you. In 1 Peter 1:1-2, we are encouraged as believers that no matter what happens—no matter how we are mistreated or maligned—to “lay aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,” and to love God’s Word, the Bible, which we need to grow in our faith and character.  In other words: don’t mistreat others who mistreat you; don’t quit your faith; and keep growing! Knowing and cherishing the Word of God teaches us these truths, especially in times of trouble.

Second, you have Jesus.

Come what may, Jesus Christ is the solid rock to which we cling. Verse four in Peter’s letter tell us that He is the living stone, chosen and precious.  He is also the chief cornerstone upon which the entire Church is built, and He is immovable. Lastly, verses seven and eight explain that Jesus is a stumbling stone to those who reject Him. To further explain this Scripture, allow me to share a quick analogy…

If you were backpacking through the wilderness, what would you do if you encountered a massive rock—at least 12 feet high and 10 feet wide—in the middle of your path? It depends on your heart and your perspective. Some people might look upon that stone and rejoice that they have found something true and solid, sturdy and strong, that can provide shelter or protection from the elements. Other people might encounter that stone and be offended by it because it blocked or challenged their course. It’s the same with Jesus Christ. To believers, He is the living stone and the corner stone of our faith, and we rejoice in Him. Others are offended by Him, and reject and disobey His Word.

Third, you have a royal family.

Verses nine and 10 in Peter’s epistle explain that we are not alone in this life because “…you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people.” What an honor to be called such things by Almighty God! And since He considers us chosen, royal, and holy, what is required of us? What is our purpose? Verse 9b reveals, “that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Our purpose is to declare God’s praise! We are to be holy, which means “set apart” from the culture, because we have obtained God’s wonderful mercy (verse 10b).

In the middle of life’s storms, I hope you hold dear to your heart that you have the Bible, Jesus, and a royal family. The biggest takeaway from this awesome passage in 1 Peter, is this: if you have Jesus, you have everything you need. He is our ever-present hope, and He is mighty to save! Please join us at Shepherd Church at one of our four campuses as we study God’s Word and grow closer to Jesus Christ together.

One way that Christians can demonstrate their love for Christ is by how they love people—all kinds of people.  Not just those who look like us or speak our language, but also those who come from different social and cultural backgrounds.  According to Ed Stetzer, a Christian pastor and missiologist, diverse churches remain rare.  He said, “Everybody wants diversity, but many don’t want to be around people who are different.”

The early Christian churches were diverse on multiple levels, which fulfilled the words of the prophet Isaiah, which Jesus Christ quoted in Mark 11:17,

“Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations?’”

The Apostle Paul personally experienced the abundant diversity in the church of Antioch, where for the first time Jewish and Gentile Christians worshiped God together as equals (Acts 11:19-26).

It is good to remember that underneath our varied cultural heritage, personal preferences, political views, and economic backgrounds, we all share the oneness of being a child of God.  As Christians we are charged to connect to all peoples of all cultures.  As believers, we have been united with Christ through salvation.  All of those who are one with Jesus Christ are one with each other.  Paul writes in Galatians 3:28, “In Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” 

World travel, increased immigration, and modern technology have brought us closer to peoples from all over the world.  As believers, we need to get rid of the fear and anxiety that separate us from one another.  Through faith in Jesus Christ we are no longer “strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of the household of God…” (Ephesians 2:19).

Where there is diverse membership, the church benefits from the perspectives and gifts each racial, cultural, and socio-economic group offers.  A church that represents all the colors of the rainbow gets to enjoy the beauty of that rainbow.

Our church should be a gathering of people radiantly living the command from Jesus when He said,

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”  (John 13:34-35)

Christ’s love extended to all kinds of people—the rich, the poor, the sick, Gentiles, Samaritans, the lovable, the despicable.  Christ’s love must motivate and compel us to extend the same love to others. As His disciples, we are to follow His example.  Our walk and our attitude should resemble our Master’s walk.

Revelation 7:9 provides a forecast of the diversity that will be present in Heaven:“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

I look forward to that great and wonderful day. But in the meantime, let us prepare our hearts by encouraging and celebrating diversity today!

Edited by Carmencita F. Davino, Ph.D.