Promises are often hard to acknowledge because we often wonder will the promises made be kept or honored. We hear it said “I promise not to tell”, or “I promise I’ll be there.” “I promise I’ll follow up.”. You’ve heard it said: “ Promises made are promises broken.” I am always reminded of the words of Dr Arthur Kirk Jr, “You can pretend to care, but you cannot pretend to be there.” I’ll never forget how I promised the Lacrosse team of St Leo that I would be at a game. I couldn’t be there till the end. I was attending my parents, although I did watch the live stream, but as they left the stadium, there I was congratulating them at the gate as they left the field, and the smiles on their faces “ Father came”. I kept my promise. The important thing to them was I kept my promise and I showed up and was there for them.

Today we are reflecting on God’s faithfulness to His Promise. In His promises we will see great ability and power manifest over our lives. You see we too are called to be promise keepers. In Deuteronomy 18 we here Moses telling the people:

“A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you
from among your own kin; to him you shall listen.”

Amongst the Hebrew People there was none like Moses chosen by God to be a prophet and liberator. Yet here we are told of another, as Christians we know that new prophets is Jesus the Christ. Look at John 4:19. The Samaritan woman says: “The woman said to him, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet”. Jesus is more than a prophet he is Prophet par excellence! No only a prophet but more the very Son of God.

In living in the fulfillment of God’s Promise we see that God cares for us and has a genuine love for us. We’ve all experienced broken promises, love abuse and misuse, things have not gone our way nor as we had hoped they would, but we know that God has favored us, and that the power of the enemy couldn’t triumph over us the favor of God is over our lives because God is faithful to His promise.

Look at the Gospel of Mark we see Jesus in that place of prayer the Synagogue. As he is teaching the people are astonished at the authority at which he speaks. In the midst of His teaching the demons present recognize him. “We know who you are”. Oh how similar today as the devil showed up in the synagogue he can show up in our churches. See the power of Jesus

“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are the Holy One of God!”
Jesus rebuked him and said,
“Quiet!  Come out of him!”

Jesus has power even over the demonic, the divisive presence and he cast them out. You see Jesus’ genuine power and love is over our lives, our families and our Church our nation. We need to tap into Jesus’ power. As the enemy seeks to divide and destroy God’s faithfulness to His promise brings favor over our lives. The enemy cannot triumph over you because God’s favor guards your life. Our families, church and society cries out for the power of God’s favor to heal, restore and anoint our lives. Let us be promise keepers, let us walk and live in the power of God’s Favor!