Message from the Pastor's Desk

1 Thessalonians 5: 24 "The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it".

Keeping Promises

I am sure most of you have heard of the famous historical figure, General Douglas MacArthur. Of all the things he is remembered for, his statement: "I shall return!" spoken on the island of Corregidor on March 11, 1942, as the Japanese invasion of that island was inevitable, and MacArthur made ready to leave, is indeed most memorable. It was a promise MacArthur intended to keep and he did.

A little more than two and a half years later, on October 20, 1944, MacArthur once again stood on Philippine soil and said: "This is the voice of freedom," General MacArthur speaking. "People of the Philippines, I have returned!" General Douglas MacArthur had kept his word.

We'd all agree, I think, that keeping your word is important. The issue isn't simply a matter of living up to one's promises; it's a question of character and integrity. When you make a promise, you should keep it. When people fail to keep their word, we often begin to mistrust and doubt them, don't we?

God is faithful and whenever God makes a promise He keeps it. We can trust that He will keep His word and fulfill every promise He makes to us. As Christians, the Bible tells us that we are to keep our word too. Take a look. Look at Ephesians 4: 25, Colossians 3: 17; Psalm 15: 1-2, Ecclesiastes 5: 5 and, Numbers 30: 2 for example.

When you make promises, do you keep your word? When you promise to pray for someone, do you? When you tell someone they can depend on you, can they? When you say you’ll be at such and such a place at a certain time, are you there on time? No one is perfect, of course, and life throws many twists and turns our way. There are occasions when we all fail to keep our word and yet, because we're Christians, we must strive to keep our word when we make a promise to someone.

A New Year is beginning and many of us have made "New Year's Resolutions" promises. The question is, "will you keep them?"

Yours in Christ,

Pastor George Kaden