the promise-land
"God made His promise." —Hebrews 6:13
The Lord promised to be with us always (Mt 28:20). He promised to live within us (Jn 6:56; 17:23) and to give us eternal life (Jn 3:16). He promised us total victory, infinite love, true freedom, perfect peace, and the unimaginable happiness of heaven.
God's promises are certain, unchangeable, and guaranteed by oath (Heb 6:17). It is impossible for even one of God's promises to be unfulfilled. Joshua proclaimed: "So now acknowledge with your whole heart and soul that not one of all the promises the Lord, your God, made to you has remained unfulfilled" (Jos 23:14). Jesus Christ "was not alternately 'yes' and 'no'; He was never anything but 'yes.' Whatever promises God has made have been fulfilled in Him" (2 Cor 1:19-20). "By His own glory and power," the Lord "has bestowed on us the great and precious things He promised, so that through these you who have fled a world corrupted by lust might become sharers of the divine nature" (2 Pt 1:3, 4).
Because God's promises are so great and certain, we should "be strongly encouraged to seize the hope which is placed before us" (Heb 6:18) and be zealous "to the end, fully assured of that for which" we hope (Heb 6:11). We are in the promise-land.
Prayer: Father, through Your promises, give me miraculous hope and indefatigable zeal.
Promise: "He has sent deliverance to His people; He has ratified His covenant forever; holy and awesome is His name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; prudent are all who live by it. His praise endures forever." —Ps 111:9-10
Praise: Jesus healed Ellen of back pain, which had plagued her for several years.
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert J. Buschmiller, June 11, 1998
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, July 20, 1998