Our Promises

I realize I haven't done anything with this website in over two months and I'm sorry for that. I feel like it really applies to the lesson I've planned on doing though. So, here goes.

Since Kadesh (and Dry Creek for some) are a few weeks back from us how have you been since then? Did you make any promises to God while you were there? Do you remember what they were? How have you done with keeping them? If you're starting to feel a little guilty you aren't the only one. I came back from Kadesh all charged up for God but a few simple days later I fell right back into sin, into slavery.

In Blue Like Jazz Donald Miller says something that I think applies to this: "Early on, I made the mistake of wanting spiritual feelings to endure and remain romantic. Like a new couple expecting to always feel in love, I operated my faith thinking God and I were going to walk around smelling flowers. When this didn't happen, I became confused." I think the same thing happens to us at these Christian camps. We go there, the Holy Spirit overwhelms us, we make all these promises to God saying, "I do." The Christian camp is like some sort of an amazing honeymoon with God. We spend our week singing, praying, and reading the bible and then we come back and everything falls apart. That spiritual romance sticks around for awhile, but then we become slack, things start falling apart, and we forget the promises that we make.

In Ecclesiastes chapter five Solomon talks about how we should act while we are in 'the house of God.' This could mean when we go to church, or when we spend time in our Christian camps and make all these changes. I think it's talking about anytime we come before God. He says, "As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut! Don't be a fool who doesn't realize that mindless offerings to God are evil. And don't make rash promises to God, for he is in heaven, and you are only here on earth. So let your words be few." We go to church or these Christian camps and we have some sort of amazing spiritual experience where we decide to make a promise to God and change our lives. This is good, but so often we say things like, "I'll never sin again!" and how rash a promise! Solomon goes on to say, "When you make a promise to God, don't delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. It is better to say nothing than to promise something you don't follow through on."

So by now you might be feeling really guilty, but you aren't the only one. I went to Kadesh and told God that I would give up my sin and now I realize that this was too rash of a promise to make. I plunged right back into it when I came back home. It says that it is better to say nothing rather than to make a promise and not keep it. I've already said it, but I need to work on keeping it. It's not going to be something magical where I give my life to God and never struggle again. Our group at Kadesh spent a long time talking about where it says to "shoulder your cross daily" and follow him; it's something we have to work on every day. Another promise I've made God is my ministry through this website. It's something that I've let myself go months without writing time and time again. I hope that this time I can keep this website up. I hope that this time I can really turn from my sin and my slavery instead of falling back into it. I hope I can keep my promises to God. We just need to shoulder our cross daily and follow him.

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Quotations taken from: Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller p.60, Ecclesiastes 5:1-2, 4-5, Luke 9:23

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