God Keeps God's Promises

Genesis 15

After these things the word of the Lord came 
to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am 
your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 
2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will 
you give me, for I continue childless, and the 
heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 
And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me 
no offspring, and a member of my household 
will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of 
the Lord came to him: “This man shall not 
be your heir; your very own son shall be 
your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside 
and said, “Look towards heaven, and number 
the stars, if you are able to number them.” 
Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring 
be.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and he 
counted it to him as righteousness.
As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on 
Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness 
fell upon him. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, 
“Know for certain that your offspring will be 
sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will 
be servants there, and they will be afflicted for 
four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment 
on the nation that they serve, and afterwards 
they shall come out with great possessions. 
15 As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers 
in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 
16 And they shall come back here in the fourth 
generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not 
yet complete.” 17 When the sun had gone down 
and it was dark, behold, a smoking firepot and a 
flaming torch passed between these pieces. 
18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with 
Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, 
from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river 
Euphrates.”


The plain sense of this passage is rather straightforward: Abram wants children because he wishes to have a biological heir. “The word of the Lord” comes to Abram and promises a biological heir to Abram. Abram fell asleep and God speaks to Abram in the form of a dream; God describes a situation that no parent desires to hear: your children, your children’s children, your children’s children’s children, and your children’s children’s children’s children will be enslaved; however, God also promises to “bring judgment” on the nation that enslaves Abram’s offspring and insures “great possessions” to Abram’s offspring post-enslavement. God makes a promise to Abram as well: “you shall be buried in a good old age.” This particular passage closes with God making “a covenant with Abram and specifying the land that will be given to Abram’s offspring.

In “Homily IX” of his sermons on Genesis, the early Church theologian Origen (182 – 254) says this about Genesis 15 (Origen, Homilies on Genesis and Exodus, pgs. 150-151):

At that time in the first promise there is no reason stated why the promise is given, only that he brought him forth and “showed him…the stars of heaven, and said ‘So shall your seed be’.” But now he adds the reason on account of which he confirms with an oath the promise which will be steadfast. For he says [in Genesis 22]: “Because you have done this thing and have not spared your son.” He shows, therefore, that because of the offspring or passion of the son the promise is steadfast. This clearly points out that the promise remains steadfast because of the passion of Christ for the people of the gentiles “who are of the faith of Abraham” [Romans 4].

Origen’s interpretation is helpful because it gets us, as readers during the Lenten Season, from God’s covenant with Abram (Abraham) to “the passion of Christ.” Origen is a master of reading Scripture inter-textually and weaving together biblical narratives that help clarify one another, and the result of this inter-textual reading is what the Lutheran theologian George Lindbeck (1923 – ) calls “intratextuality”: “The direction of the flow of intratextual interpretation is that of absorbing the extratextual universe into the text, rather than the reverse (extratextual) direction” (Lindbeck, The Nature of Doctrine, pg. 118). What ought to be more normative, more real for Christians during the Lenten Season: the world of experience and sense perceptions all around us, or the world of the canonical biblical narratives inviting us into the covenantal promises of God?

We live in world where promises are often broken, both accidentally and deliberately. Earlier this week, I promised my eldest daughter ice cream if she finished her dinner. We also had a dentist appointment in the afternoon, before dinner, where we learned that she had a cavity in one of baby teeth hard to reach by a toothbrush. The dentist made it clear to both us: no sugar and no sweet desserts until this cavity is cared for. I had to break the promise I made to her, from earlier in the day, because the circumstances changed: no ice cream even if she completed eating all of her dinner. In this scenario, I deliberately broke my promise because it was in the best interests of my daughter and her cavity-stricken tooth.

God does not break his promises. This is the world that the biblical narratives invite us into as participants: a world where promises are not broken no matter the age of the characters, the circumstances of sin and suffering, nor the pains involved with the sacrifice of a son/Son. In our world, the world of experience, promises are often broken: sometimes for good reasons and other times for no reason at all. In the world of the biblical narratives, one of the consistent and constant features of the character of God is that God refuses to break promises made to God’s people. Abram is old and tired of waiting on his biological heir: God keeps his promise, and Abraham has two sons. God promises his covenant for all people, Jew and Gentile alike, yet the Gentiles are not the biological heirs of Abraham: God sends his Son in the form of Jesus of Nazareth to engraft Gentiles into God’s covenant with God’s people. The Gentiles refuse to act like God’s people, within the covenant, and throw away the Law: the Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans that God remains faithful even if, even when God’s people do not. Why is this? Because God cannot, does not, and will not break God’s promises. And this helps us properly identify a feature of the world that Christians are invited into during the Lenten Season: a world in which God does not break God’s promises to his people. We await the promised, crucified one (Good Friday); we await the promised, resurrected one (Easter Sunday).

Dr. Jacob L. Goodson serves as Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Southwestern College. He is the author of Narrative Theology and the Hermeneutical Virtues: Humility, Patience, Prudence (Lexington Books, 2015). He is a member at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, where he teaches Adult Education classes on Christian doctrine. His wife, Angela McWilliams, is in the Lutheran Deaconess Association and works as a Chaplain at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita. He has two daughters: Sophia Grace is 9 years old, and Seraphina Rose is 7.

Hope for the Hopeless

Romans 3: 21-31, (NIV)

Righteousness through Faith
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness 
of God has been made known, to which the Law 
and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is 
given through faith in[a] Jesus Christ to all who 
believe. There is no difference between Jew and 
Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of 
the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely 
by his grace through the redemption that came 
by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a 
sacrifice of atonement,[b]through the shedding 
of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this 
to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his 
forbearance he had left the sins committed 
beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to 
demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, 
so as to be just and the one who justifies those 
who have faith in Jesus.
27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. 
Because of what law? The law that requires 
works? No, because of the law that requires 
faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified 
by faith apart from the works of the law. 29 Or is 
God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of 
Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,30 since there 
is only one God, who will justify the circumcised 
by faith and the uncircumcised through that same 
faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? 
Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

After spending some quiet time reading this scripture along with Romans chapters 1 and 2, I realized the transitions that happen throughout the text. The scripture above gives me the ultimate mindset of hope. Paul says “righteousness in given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” As a Christian and a follower of Jesus Christ, I consider my walk and journey with Him never ending and ever growing. I make mistakes and find myself falling but always being able to get back up again. Through my faith in Jesus Christ I have realized He will never leave me without hope and that is powerful beyond measure. Hope pushes us to keep going. It is a glimpse of a future we cannot see or touch but feel coming through our faith. Who more powerful and righteous to feel hope through than Jesus Christ himself? Though there are dark days and days where it may seem all hope is lost, we cannot give up our faith. When we fall into the arms of Jesus Christ we are allowing ourselves to feel the warmth of His embrace and know that we are not alone. Hope is reaching out in this scripture above.


Lauren Strain is a senior majoring in Psychology.

Psalm 77

Psalm 77 (NIV)

1 I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to 
hear me. 2 When I was in distress, I sought the 
Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands, and 
I would not be comforted. 3 I remembered you, 
God, and I groaned; I meditated, and my spirit 
grew faint. 4 You kept my eyes from closing; I 
was too troubled to speak. 5 I thought about the 
former days, the years of long ago; 6 I remembered 
my songs in the night. My heart meditated and 
my spirit asked: 7 "Will the Lord reject forever? 
Will he never show his favor again? 8 Has his 
unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise 
failed for all time? 9 Has God forgotten to be 
merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?" 
10 Then I thought, "To this I will appeal: the years 
when the Most High stretch out his right hand. 
11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, 
I will remember your miracles of long ago. 12 I 
will consider all your works and meditate on all 
your mighty deeds." 13 Your ways, God, are holy. 
What god is as great as our God? 14 You are the 
God who performs miracles; you display your 
power among the peoples. 15 With your mighty 
arm you redeemed your people, the descendants 
of Jacob and Joseph. 16 The waters saw you, God, 
the waters saw you and writhed; the very depths 
were convulsed. 17 The clouds poured down water, 
the heavens resounded with thunder; your arrows 
flashed back and forth. 18 Your thunder was heard 
in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world; 
the earth trembled and quaked. 19 Your path led 
through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, 
through your footprints were not seen. 20 You led 
your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Every human on this earth has had at least one moment of doubt, one time where their faith is not at it's strongest. We fall prey to the words of the enemy and ultimately we begin to doubt our Lord. What we must remember is that we serve and love a God who is constantly active in our lives and in the world around us. He is present in the joy and equally present in the sorrow. At times our hearts forget to listen. Let's train ourselves to never forget everything the Lord has already done for us and prepare our hearts to recognize his presence among us, even in the times that we have doubts.

Quenton Todd is a senior majoring in music education. 

Seeking Security

Job 5:8-27 (NIV)

“But if I were you, I would appeal to God; 
I would lay my cause before him. 9 He 
performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, 
miracles that cannot be counted. 10 He 
provides rain for the earth; he sends water on 
the countryside. 11 The lowly he sets on high, 
and those who mourn are lifted to safety. 
12 He thwarts the plans of the crafty, so that 
their hands achieve no success. 13 He catches 
the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of 
the wily are swept away. 14 Darkness comes 
upon them in the daytime; at noon they grope 
as in the night. 15 He saves the needy from the 
sword in their mouth; he saves them from the 
clutches of the powerful. 16 So the poor have 
hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.
17 “Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so 
do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.[a] 
18 For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, 
but his hands also heal. 19 From six calamities 
he will rescue you; in seven no harm will touch 
you. 20 In famine he will deliver you from death, 
and in battle from the stroke of the sword. 
21 You will be protected from the lash of the tongue, 
and need not fear when destruction comes. 22 You 
will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not 
fear the wild animals. 23 For you will have a covenant 
with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will 
be at peace with you. 24 You will know that your tent 
is secure; you will take stock of your property and find 
nothing missing. 25 You will know that your children 
will be many, and your descendants like the grass of 
the earth. 26 You will come to the grave in full vigor, 
like sheaves gathered in season.
27 “We have examined this, and it is true. So hear it 
and apply it to yourself.”

In our family’s decision to move to Kansas two years ago, we experienced the turmoil of the unknown. A few years back, as a single person, I had been up for adventure and risk; but now, with a husband and child, I had a deep desire to make a responsible and “safe” decision. We prayed, calculated family budgets, made “pro” and “con” lists, crafted family priority charts, and sought much counsel from wise friends.
In today’s passage from Job, we read the words of Eliphaz the Temanite, a wise friend from whom Job sought counsel in the midst of extremely difficult circumstances in Job’s life. After the loss of his possessions, the deaths of his children, and the loss of his own health, Job chooses not to curse God. He calls upon wise friends for guidance, and Eliphaz offers counsel first. In a reading of the entire book, we see that some of Eliphaz’s advice is deemed inappropriate, but much of what he has to say in today’s passage is worthwhile advice.
What can we learn from this wise friend’s advice? First (vs. 8-16), Eliphaz focuses on the saving power of God, and suggests that Job “lay his cause before him.” Sometimes it is easy to lay our cause before God, and other times it is harder. It is difficult when we, like Job, feel that we have lost everything. It is tempting to be angry at God and turn to other sources of relief. Other times, like our family decision I referenced, we may pray first, but then get lost in worry and the “what if’s.” We lay our case before God, but then we take it back.
In the second half of Chapter 5, Eliphaz instructs Job to “not despise the discipline of the Almighty.” This may sound curious, since you can read at the beginning of Job that God did not inflict Job, but that Satan was to blame. Despite Eliphaz’s questionable theology here, his advice can help us to see the opportunity for God’s redemption in difficult circumstances. God will “bind up,” “heal,” “rescue,” and “ransom.” It is especially beautiful to note how these words echo the hope to come in Christ.
Back to my family’s decision to move to Kansas. Perhaps the most difficult part of moving was the insecurity of moving to a town we’d never seen, into a financial situation that was somewhat unknown. Near the end of today’s passage, we hear the words, “You will know that your tent is secure…” This short phrase resonated deeply with my own sense of insecurity. The tent symbolizes all of our basic needs for security on earth – food, clothing, housing, even community. Indeed, God has made our Kansas tent secure! We have all we need, and a wealth of friendships – many wise friends from whom to seek counsel should we reach a difficult place once more.
As we journey through Lent together, remember that we can seek counsel and community; and that wise advice leads us to lay our cause before the Lord, for in his hands we find our greatest security.

Shannon Sigler is an adjuct faculty member at Southwestern College. 

(Credit: Job Confessing His Presumption to God Who Answers from the Whirlwind, William Blake, 1803-1805)

Dead or Alive?

Ephesians 2:1-10

1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions 
and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you 
followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of 
the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work 
in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived 
among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of 
our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. 
Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is 
rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when 
we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you 
have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ 
and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in 
Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he 
might show the incomparable riches of his grace, 
expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through 
faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift 
of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 
10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ 
Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in 
advance for us to do.

Throughout the season of Lent, we are reminded that it is a season of penitence. We read Scripture passages that remind us, such as this one, that we are sinful beings by nature. We are disobedient, selfish, and worldly. We are sinful. We deserve nothing but death and condemnation. The first few verses of this passage focus specifically on that. Then comes the much awaited “but." This but could not be any more anticipated. We were dead, but because of God’s grace and mercy, we have been made alive in Him. What a great reminder of how important this time of Lent is. We haven’t been redeemed because of good works we have done. We have been showered in God’s grace, which gives us new life. This ultimate sacrifice Christ made for us is what gives us hope during the season of Lent, as well as throughout our walk with Christ. Throughout this season, remember why we are celebrating. We were once dead in our sins, but now Christ has made us alive. There isn’t any better reason to celebrate.

Abby Warnke is a sophomore majoring in Business

Trust the Potter

Psalm 25:1-10

1 In you, LORD my God, I put my trust.
2 I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame, 
nor let my enemies triumph over me. 3 No one 
who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but 
shame will come on those who are treacherous 
without cause.
4 Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths. 
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are 
God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. 
6 Remember, LORD, your great mercy and love, 
for they are from of old. 7 Do not remember the 
sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according 
to your love remember me, for you, LORD, are good.
8 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs 
sinners in his ways. 9 He guides the humble in what is 
right and teaches them his way. 10 All the ways of the 
LORD are loving and faithful toward those who keep 
the demands of his covenant.

The season of Lent is full of rich imagery that helps us as journeyers place our stories into the larger narrative of Jesus’ journey to the cross. These images are great because although they are only analogies, they help us to understand better what God has already proclaimed to be true and how he is calling us to respond. An image that I find particularly meaningful for the season of Lent is to imagine our lives like clay in the hands of a skilled potter.
In a sense, we are like clay. Clay can be soft or hard; pliable and plastic or stubborn and disobedient. Naturally, hard clay is much harder to work with. It seems like hard clay wants to fight the potter, as if it doesn’t trust the craftsman to shape it into something beautiful. The clay may resist the potter’s touch because it’s internalized the lie that it is too far gone, too hard to offer itself for the potter’s use.
The best thing about hard clay is that it doesn’t have to stay hard clay.
When I read the words of Psalm 25, I hear David yearning to be shaped in the image of God. He trusts that God will teach him right paths and will guide him in truth. In other words, he is praying that his heart may become like soft clay so that God can craft him in truth.
As you embark on this journey to the cross this Lenten season, I encourage you to trust that God is both able and willing to lead you closer to him. What is required is to trust that the potter will form in his ways if you offer yourself to be molded. Even if you feel like the clay of your heart is far too hard to be re-wedged and re-worked, have hope because God has a marvelous way of softening our hearts when we offer our lives to him with a yearning to go deeper. And when you submit your heart to the potter’s touch you will find that the shaping process becomes more natural as the form of your heart more closely reflects the intention and character of the one who is forming you.

Daniel Reffner is a sophomore Religion/Philosophy major at Southwestern College

Daniel's Prayer

Daniel 9: 1-14 New International Version (NIV)

Daniel’s Prayer
9 In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes[a] 
(a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over 
the Babylonian[b] kingdom— 2 in the first year 
of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the 
Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD 
given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation 
of Jerusalem would last seventy years. 3 So I 
turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in 
prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth 
and ashes.
4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed:
“Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his 
covenant of love with those who love him and keep 
his commandments, 5 we have sinned and done 
wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; 
we have turned away from your commands and 
laws. 6 We have not listened to your servants the 
prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, 
our princes and our ancestors, and to all the 
people of the land.
7 “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered 
with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of 
Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the 
countries where you have scattered us because of our 
unfaithfulness to you. 8 We and our kings, our princes 
and our ancestors are covered with shame, LORD, because 
we have sinned against you. 9 The Lord our God is 
merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled 
against him;10 we have not obeyed the LORD our God 
or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. 
11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, 
refusing to obey you.
“Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law 
of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us,
because we have sinned against you. 12 You have fulfilled 
the words spoken against us and against our rulers by 
bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven 
nothing has ever been done like what has been done to 
Jerusalem. 13 Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, 
all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought 
the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our sins 
and giving attention to your truth. 14 The LORD did not 
hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the LORD our 
God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not 
obeyed him.


The Lenten season is an opportunity for us, the followers of Christ, to reflect on the sacrifice Christ made for us during His time here on Earth. We are to turn to the Lord as Daniel
did in verse 3, “in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.” This season is not a time for celebration, but rather a time to pray, reflect, and walk around with ash covering our foreheads. The celebrating, though, will come soon enough.
Daniel’s prayer is one that also invites the reader into a time of prayer and reflection. This passage gives us a reminder of who we are and who God is. First, this prayer is one we may confess of ourselves: “we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened…” We have all fallen short of God’s glory and fail to live up to the commands He has given us to live by. This time of Lent is a time for us to reflect upon our shortcomings and to ask forgiveness of our sins. However, Daniel’s prayer also gives us hope by reminding us who God is: “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands…” “Lord, you are righteous…” “The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving…”. Our God is one of love, of righteousness, of mercy, and of forgiveness. Nothing, not even our own short comings, can separate us from the love of God. As the season of Lent progresses, I encourage you to reflect on your sins and shortcomings, as Daniel did, but also remember the joy that is to come in the sacrifice that God made for us.

Tana Tyler is a sophomore majoring in Psychology.

I Want to Know Christ

Luke 9:18-25 New International Version (NIV)

18 Once when Jesus was praying in private and 
his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who 
do the crowds say I am?”
19 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; 
others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the 
prophets of long ago has come back to life.”
20 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do 
you say I am?”
Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”
21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to 
anyone. 22 And he said, “The Son of Man must 
suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, 
the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and 
he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be 
my disciple must deny themselves and take up their 
cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to 
save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their 
life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for someone 
to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?

Lent, ultimately is about renewal. It’s a time when we—as a community—claim for ourselves Paul’s words in Philippians chapter 3: “I want to know Christ—to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, even becoming like him in his death.” It’s a time when we set our eyes toward the cross of Christ and allow the Lord to shape us further into His image.
Just as Jesus fasted in the wilderness for forty days, we too practice laying aside those things that distract us from remembering what—or rather who—we truly need.
We fast. We pray. We focus. We remember. We remember what God has done for us in Christ. We remember that when Christ calls us to follow Him, he calls us to die. And we press into the glorious truth of Colossians 3: “you have died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”
It’s for this reason, then, that some have called the season as the “bright sadness.” We descend with Christ in the hope that He will raise us to new life in Him.

Matthew Sigler is the interim campus minister at Southwestern College.

A special thanks to Kyndra Fuqua for taking the time to draw images for the Lenten season. They look great!