Words by our Priest-in-Charge:

Act on Promises

And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD God of Israel : ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry , until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth .’ ” I Kings 17:13-14

We rejoice with those who are going to be confirmed today. Confirmation is more than just a ritual we have to go through. It is an expression of the commitment of the confirmees to the Lord, and a public affirmation made by the Church towards those who truly desire to follow Jesus.

At confirmation, we recognize that we are part of God’s Family. We acknowledge that God is our Faithful Father. His faithfulness in His promises to us as His children never fails. I meet from time to time, people who have been greatly blessed by our Covenant keeping God – in provisions, in experiencing breakthrough under extraordinary circumstance. Many of these wonderful saints of God acted entirely out of faith in God and love for Him. The result always brings powerful testimony to the love of God.

The widow and her son in the Bible quotation today is an encouraging account for many of us. We admire the great faith which the widow demonstrated. The man of God did not just give an instruction from the Lord to a woman in despair, “just to test her faith”. It was an instruction associated with a promise. Throughout the Bible, we see many instances where God’s instruction to His people is based on a promise He makes. The Lord promised to provide for the widow, thus the instruction to “give away” all that she had. The widow’s faith was not based on emotion. It was based on the promise of God to provide for her. God’s heart towards the widow and His desire to provide could be found in both Elijah’s words (prophetic words) and the Scriptures (the word of God) (Deut 10:18; 24:19-22).

As God’s children, we have the privilege of knowing the Father’s heart towards us, as revealed in His words. We can take great courage and comfort in His unfailing love and promises. On this confirmation, let us also reaffirm our faith in a Faithful God, and step out in faith in areas of our lives we know very well that He has made His promises to us. Act of faith for God, must be based on promises from God!