Cyrus

"Thus says the LORD to his anointed, Cyrus, whose right hand I grasp, Subduing nations before him, stripping kings of their strength, Opening doors before him, leaving the gates unbarred: I will go before you and level the mountains; Bronze doors I will shatter, iron bars I will snap. I will give you treasures of darkness, riches hidden away, That you may know I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by name. For the sake of Jacob, my servant, of Israel my chosen one, I have called you by name, giving you a title, though you do not know me. I am the LORD, there is no other, there is no God besides me. It is I who arm you, though you do not know me, so that all may know, from the rising of the sun to its setting, that there is none besides me. I am the LORD, there is no other. " (Isaiah 45: 1 - 6)

About 15 years ago, when I compiled the list of the PL scriptures, I had no problem appropriating many of the above promises.  Today it is much harder for me to do so.  I navigate through them slowly, pausing and asking the Lord to increase my faith in what I read so that I can believe what I read, teach what I believe and practice what I teach.

I will dwell in the house of the LORD for endless days

"The LORD is my shepherd;  there is nothing I lack. In green pastures he makes me lie down; to still waters he leads me; he restores my soul. He guides me along right paths for the sake of his name. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff comfort me. You set a table before me in front of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Indeed, goodness and mercy will pursue me all the days of my life; I will dwell in the house of the LORD for endless days." (Psalm 23 - NAB)

“I will dwell in the house of the LORD for endless days.”  This is the ultimate promise.  The Good Shepherd provides food, peace, protection and purpose.  Finally, he opens his house for the helpless sheep and say, “You can rest here forever.”  Thank you Jesus.

Follow His ways exactly

"And now, Israel, what does the LORD, your God, ask of you but to fear the LORD, your God, and follow his ways exactly, to love and serve the LORD, your God, with all your heart and all your soul, to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD which I enjoin on you today for your own good? 1 Think! The heavens, even the highest heavens, belong to the LORD, your God, as well as the earth and everything on it. Yet in his love for your fathers the LORD was so attached to them as to choose you, their descendants, in preference to all other peoples, as indeed he has now done. Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and be no longer stiff-necked. For the LORD, your God, is the God of gods, the LORD of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who has no favorites, accepts no bribes; who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and befriends the alien, feeding and clothing him. So you too must befriend the alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. The LORD, your God, shall you fear, and him shall you serve; hold fast to him and swear by his name. He is your glory, he, your God, who has done for you those great and terrible things which your own eyes have seen. Your ancestors went down to Egypt seventy strong, and now the LORD, your God, has made you as numerous as the stars of the sky." (Deuteronomy 10: 12-22)

Is it possible for one to follow God’s ways exactly?  Without the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit, this is an absolute impossibility.  God in His great love is so “attached” to us that He gave us His precious Holy Spirit to help us to conform to His will more exactly.   God is our glory and has done for us “those great and terrible things which your own eyes have seen.”  To Him be praise and glory forever!

Be firm and steadfast

"No one can withstand you while you live. I will be with you as I was with Moses: I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be firm and steadfast, so that you may give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers I would give them. Above all, be firm and steadfast, taking care to observe the entire law which my servant Moses enjoined on you. Do not swerve from it either to the right or to the left, that you may succeed wherever you go. Keep this book of the law on your lips. Recite it by day and by night, that you may observe carefully all that is written in it; then you will successfully attain your goal. I command you: be firm and steadfast! Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD, your God, is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1: 5 - 9)

Like Joshua, we all have our mission on earth.  It may not be as great as the mission entrusted by God to Joshua.  The important thing is that it is our own mission and if we want to succeed in it, the above word of God to Joshua applies too in our own case.  What impresses me in the above powerful message is the number of times Joshua is urged to be “firm and steadfast.”  If you have experienced any major challenge or crisis in your life, you would appreciate the necessity of being firm and steadfast.  You may ask the question, “firm and steadfast about what?”  The answer could be:  Firm and steadfast about your purpose, your trust in God, your trust in the Holy Spirit embedded in you.  Great trial could shake one to the depths of one’s being.  This could leave one uncertain of one’s belief.  Besides, the God we place our trust in is one big Mystery.  “My thoughts are not your thoughts; neither are my ways your ways.”  Another way of saying this is “With God everything is possible.”

I have found the above scripture great help in times of need.  This is why it is one of my Promised Land scriptures.

The Promised Land

"Be careful to observe all the commandments I enjoin on you today, that you may live and increase, and may enter in and possess the land which the LORD promised on oath to your fathers. Remember how for forty years now the LORD, your God, has directed all your journeying in the desert, so as to test you by affliction and find out whether or not it was your intention to keep his commandments. 1 He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your fathers, in order to show you that not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD. The clothing did not fall from you in tatters, nor did your feet swell these forty years. So you must realize that the LORD, your God, disciplines you even as a man disciplines his son. "Therefore, keep the commandments of the LORD, your God, by walking in his ways and fearing him. For the LORD, your God, is bringing you into a good country, a land with streams of water, with springs and fountains welling up in the hills and valleys, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, of olive trees and of honey, a land where you can eat bread without stint and where you will lack nothing, a land whose stones contain iron and in whose hills you can mine copper. But when you have eaten your fill, you must bless the LORD, your God, for the good country he has given you." (Deuteronomy 8: 1 - 10)

Before the Journey, I read and reread the above scripture.  What is today is true in accordance with the above prediction.   What will come will be will be incomparable in beauty, grandeur and scope in the fullness of time.  We are aliens here on earth.  Our permanent residence is in heaven.  God gave us in the above scripture, a little window into our permanent home.  

The Lord Himself will fight for you

"But Moses answered the people, "Fear not! Stand your ground, and you will see the victory the LORD will win for you today. These Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again. The LORD himself will fight for you; you have only to keep still." (Exodus 14: 13 - 14)

In the fall of 1986, the above scripture opened my eyes to the power of the word of God.  I was in a very tight corner.  I was working in Paris with Unilever as an expatriate manager.  My job was threatened and I faced an imminent cancellation of my contract. I was lying awake one night tossing on my bed, restless and sleepless when my eyes caught the above scripture.  It filled me with hope and power.  I had nobody to defend me but God alone.  And He promised to do it.  I believed it.  The result was victory snatched from the jaws of defeat.  The consequence was great faith in the power of the word of God that has lasted till today.
Thank you Holy Spirit for 1414.

Continual Guidance

“While from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears: "This is the way; walk in it," when you would turn to the right or to the left.”  (Isaiah 30: 21)

I cherish very much this promise of continual guidance.  What would you do if you know that every step you take will be guided by the Holy Spirit?  My answer is:  I will live with complete abandon, almost reckless.