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A God of Empty Promises

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September 01, 2022 | NATIONAL Pastor Fernando Villicana, Correspondent

I recently came across this story, it was told by “Dear Abby” in a response to someone’s question.

A young man from a wealthy family was about to graduate from high school. It was the custom in that affluent neighborhood for the parents to give the graduate an automobile. "Bill" and his father had spent months looking at cars, and the week before graduation, they found the perfect car.

On the eve of his graduation, his father handed him a gift wrapped Bible. Bill was so angry that he threw the Bible down and stormed out of the house.

He and his father never saw each other again. It was the news of his father’s death that brought Bill home again.

As he sat one night going through his father’s possessions that he was to inherit, he came across the Bible his father had given him.

He brushed away the dust and opened it to find a cashier’s check, dated the day of his graduation - in the exact amount of the car they had chosen together.

As I thought about this story, I couldn’t help but wonder how many people in this world have done the same thing to God. Literally tossed aside a wonderful promise, because they didn’t understand it, or they didn’t believe that it was possible.

In our world, we are taught that; “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” So many of us have been taken in by “empty promises,” that we are leery of anything or anyone that tells us we can have something for nothing.

THE WORLD SIMPLY DOESN’T WORK THAT WAY!

But, you know what – God does – God never made a promise that was too good to be true.
The truth of the matter is, the world is full of empty promises. We watch TV, and the advertisements tell us that we can be happy, sexy, rich, or famous, if we only purchase a certain product. It doesn’t take long before we have been fooled enough to know that the world’s promises are full of emptiness. But, God is different. Instead of promises full of emptiness, on Easter, he gave us emptiness that is full of promise.

Blessings,

Pastor Fernando Villicana
Fire Service Chaplain

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Pastor Fernando VillicanaCorrespondent

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