Broken Resolutions and Better Promises

Have you ever broken a promise or New Year’s resolution? Or experienced someone breaking a promise to you? Whether it is in relation to finances, relationships, education, or ministry, it can be very painful.

Likewise, have you ever desperately needed God’s help? Have you ever found yourself on your knees, earnestly praying after disappointing God? Well, then, you are far from the only one!

This article takes a fresh look at the old/new covenant paradigm to discover some amazing, essential, paradigm-shifting truths that, if taken to heart, will radically and beautifully transform your Christian experience.[1]

Failing Christians

Jesus told the leaders of Israel that they were mistaken and that they did “not know the Scriptures nor the power of God” (Mark 12:24). This was true even for the great Nicodemus. In fact, even the 12 disciples often had to be corrected and rebuked for their failures and lack of faith. Could this also be the case for us? We have a lot of theological knowledge. We have the Bible on our shelves and bring it with us to church. But are we really experiencing its power the way we should?

Paul writes in Romans 7: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (verse 15, NIV). “For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing” (verses 18, 19, NIV). “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?” (verse 24, NIV).
The underlying problem of this wretched and failing Christian experience is trying to live the Christian life through human power. In these four verses alone the word “I” is repeated 14 times and the words “me” or “my” three times. Moreover, the Greek word talaipōros, translated “wretched,” is found only twice in Scripture: in Romans 7 and in the Laodicean message. “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked” (Rev. 3:16). God knew that many Christians in the last days would have a Romans 7 type of Christian experience, just as would many of the Israelites of old. But thankfully, the book of Romans does not end with a description of this failing Christian experience; it also offers God’s solution to our problem! 

The Old/New Covenant Paradigm

When the covenant was instituted at Mount Sinai, the people of Israel declared: “All that the Lord has spoken we will do” (Ex. 19:8). Yet shortly afterward they made and worshipped the golden calf. What went wrong? They had entered the covenant through a self-focused approach. This is the “old covenant” experience referred to by Paul.

Because He found “fault with them” (Heb. 8:8), a “new” covenant was needed. The problem was not with God, but with the people; not with the law, but with the heart; not with God’s words, but with their inability to commit to them in their own strength.
In the “new” covenant, the law is written in the heart, which was always the intention of God; in the “old,” it remains on stone. In the “new” covenant, everyone has a direct connection to Jesus; in the “old” covenant, the connection to God was formal and neither personal nor transformational. In the “new” covenant, there is forgiveness; in the “old,” there is not. Salvation is only in Jesus. “But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises” (verse 6). The old covenant experience is one that is based on the promises of the people; the new covenant experience is one that is based on the promises of God. The old covenant experience is about relying on our own promises and our own power; the new covenant experience is about relying on God’s promises and God’s power.

Listen to the new covenant promise:

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. . . . I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. . . . For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” (Heb. 8:10-12; see also Jer. 31:31-34; Eze. 36:26, 27).

Notice again the frequent repetition of “I.” This time it is God’s promises and power.

So how do we unlock the power of God? We need to learn to rely on His power and His promises! After Romans 7 comes the message of Romans 8 about the power of the Holy Spirit.[2]

We must understand that the Christian life is an impossible life. But praise the Lord, it is HIMpossible. We need to realize that “the reality of the gospel is not hanging on our feeble and toothless promises to God but on His unfailing and powerful promises to us!”[3] “That we are powerless, but He is all-powerful. We are incapable, but He is capable. We are weak, but He is strong. We are frail, but He is almighty.”[4] “What is justification by faith? It is the work of God in laying the glory of man in the dust, and doing for man that which it is not in his power to do for himself.”[5]

Is your current Christian experience an old covenant experience or a new covenant experience?

1888, the Most Important Year in Adventist History?

The year 1888 is undoubtedly one of the most significant years in the history of our church. The 1888 Minneapolis General Conference Session has generated a large volume of study, books, and research. God wanted to bring about a revival that would result in the latter rain and the finishing of the work. He chose to do so through a most precious message, sent to two young men, A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner. They powerfully lifted up Christ and the love of God. They presented justification and sanctification by faith, the imputed and imparted righteousness of Christ. This message, the third angel’s message, was to be presented to the world with a loud cry. But unfortunately, the message was not received as it should have been.[6]

A.T. Jones said: “Faith is the expecting of the word of God to do what it says and the depending on that word to do what it says.”[7]

So how do we unlock the power of God? We need to learn to rely on His power and His promises!

A Story of Faith

George Müller put it this way:

“What is faith? In the simplest manner in which I am able to express it, I answer, Faith is the assurance that the thing which God has said in His Word is true, and that God will act according to what He has said in His Word. This assurance, this reliance on God’s Word, this confidence is faith.”

This is not just something Müller said; this is also how he lived his life! Again and again he stepped out in faith to care for thousands of orphans without having the means, and time and again God miraculously provided. How could Müller have such a faith? A huge reason was his time spent in the Word and in claiming God’s promises. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Müller read through the entire Bible more than 100 times! On average, two times a year from his conversion until his death—each time with increasing joy. May His example inspire us to live by faith, to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, and to claim God’s promises (see Deut. 8:3; Matt. 4:4; Luke 4:4; Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38).

Putting Our Weight on God’s Promises

During the winter many lakes in the Northern Hemisphere are covered by very thick ice. The ice is so solid that people go ice fishing on the lakes. They not only bring buckets and fishing equipment; they also drive their cars—and even huge trucks—out on the lake. Some even camp on the ice in small houses. They trust the ice so much that they are willing to put their weight and the weight of their cars and more on the ice.
Do we trust God’s promises so much that we put all our weight on them? Do we dare to put our house, car, family, career, and future—everything we are and have—on the line, while believing that the “ice” is not going to break? Yes, occasionally, some people drive cars places where the ice is not thick enough, and they break through the ice. But God’s power and promises never fail!

In the Word of God there are literally thousands of promises waiting to be claimed. Imagine what could happen if we truly took hold of them by faith! Would not heaven’s storehouse be unlocked? Would we not see that the God of the book of Acts is the same yesterday, today, and forever (see Heb. 13:8)? Would He not “do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Eph 3:20)? Would we not be empowered to quickly finish His work, and then enter into our Promised Land—the heavenly Canaan?

The Iron Man of Love

The story of Rick and Dick Hoyt is a heartwarming story of a devoted father and his son that has inspired millions of people.[8] Rick, Hoyt’s firstborn son, was born in 1962 with cerebral palsy. The doctors told the parents that he would have a minimal quality of life and recommended that he be institutionalized, because “he will be nothing but a vegetable.” The Hoyts cried. But they decided not to put him away. Instead, they were determined to give him the best life possible. For the first 12 years of his life all Rick could do was laugh, cry, and move his head to answer questions. However, with the invention of “the hope machine,”[9] he could finally make his voice heard. His parents fought tirelessly to ensure he got access to educational opportunities. The Hoyts’ perseverance paid off! In 1993 Rick became the first nonspeaking quadriplegic to graduate from Boston University.

At age 15 Rick used his hope machine to ask his father if they could run a five-mile race together to support a lacrosse player from his school who had recently been paralyzed. Although his dad was 40 at the time and not a runner, he said yes. Back home, after completing the race, Rick told Dick, “Dad, when I am running, it feels like my disability disappears!” That powerful message, from someone unable to use his arms and legs, stirred something in his father’s heart. Dick Hoyt knew he had to keep running. Their life was never the same.

Marathons and Ironmans are two of the most challenging athletic endeavors on the planet, the ultimate test of strength and endurance. They’re considered by most as barely possible, but not for the Team Hoyt father-son duo. Dick could not swim and had not ridden a bike since he was 6. The challenge seemed insurmountable, but Dick attacked it with a fury that could be fueled only by love. Through pushing and pulling his son in specialized wheelchairs, bikes, and boats, he completed their first grueling Ironman: a 3.8-kilometer (2.3-mile) swim, a 180-kilometer (112-mile) bike ride, and a 42.2-kilometer (26.2-mile) run. This, however, was only the beginning. In total, they completed more than 1,100 races, including, 72 marathons, 255 triathlons, and 6 ironman triathlon events. They have run across the United States of America from west to east, through 18 states. In total, they ran 6,011 kilometers (3,735 miles) during 47 consecutive days, from Los Angeles to Boston.

In short, “This is one of the greatest love stories of all time. A father who climbs mountains, runs marathons, travels to the ends of the earth to give his son a better life, a life that transcends the limitations of his body. This story shows that through perseverance and determination, love conquers all.”[10] This is a story of unconditional love!

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1). Beloved of God, His love for you is even deeper and stronger than Dick’s love for his son! And just as Rick could not possibly complete a marathon on his own, neither can we live the Christian life in our own power. But the good news of salvation is that God is strong enough! Not only to take care of the penalty of sin but also to break the power of sin in our lives. And one day soon, as the plan of salvation comes to an end, He will remove the presence of sin from the universe for all eternity.

Dear reader,

Why not let His love transform you?

Why not let His Spirit empower you?

Why not trust, claim, and live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God?

That’s my desire and commitment.

“Lord, take my heart; for I cannot give it. It is Thy property. Keep it pure, for I cannot keep it for Thee. Save me in spite of myself, my weak, unchristlike self. Mold me, fashion me, raise me into a pure and holy atmosphere, where the rich current of Thy love can flow through my soul.”[11]

[1] Two excellent resources on this topic is chapter 32 in Ellen White’s Patriarchs and Prophets, entitled “The Law and the Covenants,” and Skip MacCarty’s In Granite or Ingrained?

[2] If you have not done it already, I strongly recommend that you read Ron Clouzet’s Adventism’s Greatest Need: An Outpouring of the Holy Spirit and Helmet Haubeil’s Steps to Personal Revival.

[3] Craig Harding, executive director at Riverside Farm Institute, Facebook wall post, July 7, 2023.

[4] Mark Finley, “God Has More for His Church,” sermon excerpt, July 2025 (video on Facebook), as quoted in Adventist Review.

[5] Ellen G. White, Manuscript Releases (Silver Spring, Md.: Ellen G. White Estate, 1993), vol. 20, p. 117.

[6] Lineage Journey, The 1888 Message, July 2, 2025, YouTube video, 5:56, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSyA_ejdfXg. 

[7] Alonzo T. Jones and Ellet J. Waggoner, Lessons on Faith, 17.This is the kind of faith the centurion had, to whom Jesus declared: “I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel” (Matt. 8:10).You can read or listen to the book for free at ellenwhiteaudio.org.

[8] This summary of their story is based largely on Gary Kent’s “Devoted—A Father’s Love: The Hoyt Team’s Inspiring Story,” The Incredible Journey, Aug. 31, 2018.

[9] The Hope Machine was a computer with a cursor capable of highlighting letters in the alphabet. This contraption let Rick spell out words by tapping his head against an attached headpiece.

[10] Gary Kent, “Devoted—A Father’s Love: The Hoyt Team’s Inspiring Story,” The Incredible Journey, Aug. 31, 2018, YouTube Video, 28:30, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQSrCBv0n1A. 

[11] Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1900, 1941), p. 159.