Precious Promises

“Please move away from the glass, sir.”

Startled, I immediately straightened up and stepped back.

Apparently I had become so enthralled with these sacred documents that I forgot the protocols. I had become so transfixed I had stepped forward and bent over with my face to the glass that protected these wonderful pages.

My eyes were literally inches from the most precious documents (except for scripture of course) in our nation’s history, even the world.

For the first time in my life I found myself inside the National Archives viewing the original Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

Wow!

As I looked at the signatures of our Founding Fathers, I felt tears well up in my eyes. In that moment, every patriotic emotion I have gathered came together in my heart. In that instant, I felt and knew that the six years I served in the US Navy were worth every single second, every effort, and every moment of danger. It was a pivotal moment for me. And it wasn’t just the paper and signatures or the history. It was the meaning of the words themselves.

But there is another document that I don’t have to go to a glass covered case to view. It is truly the most important document in the history of the world. I put my face up to it every single day. I have been proclaiming its truths for decades to many people over that time span. The greatest single thing in my life is to be able to share the gospel, especially the proclamation from the pulpit, and see God do his work in the hearts of people when they respond to it. When God’s truth, his gospel is proclaimed, it is literally God revealing himself through his Word to people of his creation and then they in turn respond.

Again, Wow!

He has inspired his book for us with his message for his people.

He invites us to join him in revealing the gospel treasure to the world!

What are we waiting for? Let’s do that!

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3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

2 Peter 1:3–4 NIV

©2018 by Ben Bounds. All rights reserved.

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We can come to know Christ through confession of our sins and repentance (turning away from sin). Let me encourage you to do this by talking to God through prayer. Here is an idea of how you might do that:

"Dear God, I believe your son Jesus Christ died in my place on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day following his death. I confess my sins, all of them, to you now with a humble heart. I repent of those sins and ask you to empower me with your Holy Spirit in overcoming further sin. Amen”

If you prayed this or a similar prayer committing your life to Christ and becoming one of his followers, let me encourage you to find a good, Bible-believing church. If you live in the Weslaco/Rio Grand Valley area of Texas, let me invite you to the church I attend, Mid-Valley Assembly (www.midvalleyassembly.com).

Begin talking to God in prayer and reading the Bible daily. A good way to begin to read the Bible is to start with the Book of John in the New Testament.

Feel very free in connecting with me if you need any further help in your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. You can do this via the above email or facebook page or this web page.

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Mercy Road Ministries was founded and now led by Ben Bounds. Ben has pastored churches across Texas for over thirty years and is an ordained minister with the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA). He holds a BA in Pastoral Ministry and Biblical Studies from Southwestern Assemblies of God College and did graduate theological studies at the BMA Theological Seminary.

Ben's first book, The Divine Chase: Responding to a Pursuing God, was released on 12.08.2017 through Westbow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan. It is available in paperback and hardback through your preferred bookseller (Mardels, Barnes and Noble, etc.) and paperback, hardback as well as ebook through online book retailers (www.christianbook.com, www.cokesbury.com, www.amazon.com, www.booksamillion.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, etc.).

Ben is the host of Staying in Bounds, an on-air Bible devotional broadcast multiple times daily on KWJV 103.7 FM Weslaco, TX which can also be heard worldwide online at www.kwjvthestar.com.

Ben and his wife, Linda, together have four adult children and nine grandchildren. They live in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.

Ben can be contacted for preaching engagements at benbounds695@gmail.com or 903.441.3279. Ben can also be contacted via his website @ www.benbounds.com, which is also his blog and contains more information about his ministry.

Follow Ben @ https://www.facebook.com/mercyroadministries/ and this website www.benbounds.com.

©2022 by Ben Bounds. All rights reserved.