THE KEEPER OF HIS WORD by Robert Soto

April 21, 2010

THE KEEPER OF HIS WORD by Robert Soto

Titus 1:1-2 "Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness-- a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time..."

Recently there have been some good t-shirts with warnings and messages of things to come. One of those t-shirts says, "Sure, you can trust the government - just ask an Indian." It is a funny saying which has given many a good laugh, until you find yourself fighting the very government that millions have died to keep. But how true is the message? Behind the message is over 517 years of broken treaties. Behind the message is the history of a nation that really did not want what was best for another nation, but was determined to find a way to assimilate us into a culture that was foreign to us. So when it comes to the saying, "Sure, you can trust the government - just ask an Indian", you have a group of people whose history includes over two hundred years of mistrust and lies. So how can a group of people trust a governmental entity when it is a relationship based on lies and deception?

Geronimo, who trusted General Miles, was caught in the dilemma that what was promised to him was nothing but more lies. He wrote: "We had no property, and I looked in vain for General Miles to send me to that land of which he had spoken; I longed in vain for the implements, house, and stock that General Miles had promised me." Everything that was promised by General Miles was soon forgotten after Geronimo surrendered to the United States government. It seemed like they had gotten what they wanted and so keeping what they had promised was no longer important. It was just another relationship built on lies and deception. It is because of those times that we ask ourselves, "Who then can we trust?" There is only one answer to this and that is God the Creator of all men and everything we see and do not see. So whatever God the Creator promised you, He will keep. Paul wrote to Titus and said, "...a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time..." People and governments will always lie and break their promises, but our God and Creator will always keep His word.

Robert Soto, Lipan Apache and pastor of:

McAllen Grace Brethren Church
The Native American New Life Center
Chief of Chiefs Christian Church