When I think of the word “Promise,” my mind reminisces back to the innocent days of my idyllic childhood. As a little girl, I can remember when making a solemn promise to one of my friends, that I would follow my promise with the phrase, “Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye”. Needless to say, in many cases, before the day was over, I had broken my “Promise.” In the foolishness of my youth, I did not realize it took commitment to keep a promise.
The word Promise is actually a Latin derived word (Pro= forth + mitre = to send) that literally means to send forth. Funk & Wagnalls defines promise as: “An assurance given by one person to another that the former will or will not perform a specified act”.
Life is filled with promises that we make. When I married Mike, I made some promises: “to have and to hold,” “to love and to cherish”. When our son Jeremy was born, Mike and I dedicated him to God and made a promise to raise him up in the love, fear and admonition of the Lord. When we bought our first car, we signed a “Promissory” note. When we bought our house, we signed another “Promissory” note. The list goes on and on.
Sometimes as humans, we fail to keep our promises, but God is always faithful to keep His word. God promised in Isaiah 7:14 that He would send forth His son to us as a baby born in Bethlehem. Even though centuries passed before it was fulfilled, God kept His promise one dark night in an obscure stable. The birth of Jesus reassures us that God always keeps His promises. Thankfully, Jesus’ birth is not the end of the story. The promise God kept with the birth of our Deliverer continues with Jesus’ death on the cross. With ordinary nails and a wooden cross, Jesus changed the world forever.
Underneath all the tinsel and glitter of this season, lies the true meaning of Christmas¾the glory of the cross, and the promise of eternal life to whomsoever will. (“Then Peter said unto them, repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Acts 2:38-29).
The choice is up to us to live by the Promise. Best wishes to all for a Christmas filled with Promise!
I am thankful that our God keeps His promises and that I have been a partaker of His promises. Beautiful post, Sis.
Love,
‘lynnie
Wonderful Words of LIFE!! I PROMISE!
Hey Keek,
I love your new header. It’s very festive!
Love,
‘lynnie
Keek: I re-read this. I think YOU have captured the essence of Christmas–SERIOUSLY!!
Uncle you forgot your HAW! at the end of your comment,But your still right aunt kiki SERIOUSLY captured the essence of christmas HAW!!!.
[…] I’ve been reading a lot of blog entries on Christmas (and so many have been so good), but I really feel that my sister Karen this time has captured the ESSENCE of Christmas (whenever the exact birth of Christ was) in her blog entry called, CHRISTMAS IS A PROMISE. Here is the site for that. Just click on it: https://kikikaria.wordpress.com/2006/12/12/christmas-is-a-promise-kept/ and as my sister Carol mentioned in one of her comments, “There’s no place like ‘Keek’s’ for Christmas.” (Keek is the nickname for my sister Karen.) Keek’s husband (my brother-in-law, Mike) totally decorates the living room and family room with “old-time village decor,” decorates the outside with lights & sights, and Keek makes her coveted LASAGNE (second, of course, to Carol’s florentine [but Carol–you’re behind Aunt Mer’s authentic italian–LOL]) among other delectables. We “got it good” with this family. WE GOT IT GOOD! (AND, we got GOD too!) But DO see my sister Karen’s entry; it’s short, to-the-point, AND SO TRUE! Don’t forget to comment on her entry if you haven’t. Published in: […]