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Ultimate Design

06 Aug

Ultimate Design

Jeremiah 29:11-13   For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

This passage is some of the most comforting words in the Bible in my humble opinion. God spoke to, and through, the prophet Jeremiah when the leaders and people of Judah were being exiled and held captive. They, in truth, were suffering the punishment from God for their idolatry; they had bowed before idols in good times and bad. Jeremiah had told them of this coming 70 years they must suffer. But in the midst of it, was a promise in it; God was with them and would bless them in their exile if they would seek Him. They were told to keep their eyes on God and to make the best of a bad situation; a situation that was designed by God. God’s Sovereignty is shown all throughout Jeremiah’s prophecies in this book.

Can you see and feel the comfort of this passage to all of us? Can you see how much of the power of God’s design and heart for you that is wrapped up in these words of Jeremiah to those that understand He is in control; to those that seek him and his will for their lives in all of it? When you are in the middle of the trial, your eyes may become blurred from the pain and tears of it; but in it is His Will for your life. 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Grasping a small bit of the understanding of his sovereignty, allows you to grasp a portion of that peace of which He describes. I can’t help but think of the disciples in the boat during the great storm at sea, the fear they had for their lives, their lack of faith. Mark 4:37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”

When you get to the other side of His design, you are able to look back at it, and see where he was in it all along. He will take you down roads you would not dare to travel. He will take you through pains to mold you in ways you would not take at any cost. He will alter your life’s path that you had desired, all to put you on the path he desired. When you come to understand this, peace comes in the fire. Cool waters fill your heart in the midst of the heat of the storm. When you look back and learn, carry that knowledge in your heart for the next trial that He brings your way. You will be stronger, your faith will be greater, and your relationship with your Father will be closer; which is His ultimate design.

 
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Posted by on August 6, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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It all works out

25 May

It all works out

Jeremiah 29:11-13    For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

The prophet Jeremiah was speaking to Judah, telling them to hang in there and not forsake God in their captivity. God was promising to deliver them from their captivity at the end of seventy years. There was hope that lied in Jeremiah’s prophecy for those that kept the eyes and hearts on God. God’s sovereignty is something we simply cannot grasp in our limited understanding; He is all knowing, past, present, and future. He holds everything in control, and he is not limited by time. We come to question the events in our lives, but this is doubt planted by Satan, and a small grasp of sovereignty will secure that hope in our hearts. Matthew Henry put it well, “We are sometimes ready to fear that God’s designs concerning us are all against us; but he knows the contrary concerning his own people, that they are thoughts of good and not of evil; even that which seems evil is designed for good. His thoughts are all working towards the expected end, which he will give in due time.”

Everything in your life, good or bad, is either allowed, or designed by God. All of it can either draw you closer to Him, or take your eyes off of him. When you know that you under His sovereignty, you will rest in it. You will seek Him to understand, or better yet to just draw closer to Him in it. The understanding may not come on your timetable, but the trial produces intimacy only found during them. James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. When you are getting knocked down, and those 1 2 3 blows seem to come, go to your knees, in prayer. Pour your heart out to God for strength found only in Him.

I am speaking to myself, for I have had a couple weeks full of punches. I have had “Murphy’s Law” two weeks at work, almost to the point of being comical to keep from crying. I have seen my oldest son get sick, when I thought he was ok and passed it off. I have had a rough couple of weeks while my wife has been on a mission trip abroad in many ways. She is out spreading the Good News of the hope that lies within her, and Satan has tried to take our eyes at home off the One she is speaking about. Spiritual warfare is fought on a heavenly plain; one that we cannot see, but we can feel. Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. In the great trial of Job, he did not understand that God meant if for good, but Job ultimately came to that understanding in God’s timing when he did not let his faith fail.

 
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Posted by on May 25, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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You want me to what?

27 Nov

You want me to what?

Jeremiah 32:42-43 “For thus says the Lord: ‘Just as I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them. 43 And fields will be bought in this land of which you say, “It is desolate, without man or beast; it has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.”

The prophet Jeremiah was in prison for the words he spoke from the Lord. He had delivered the prophecy that Judah was about to pay for its sin. He had told king Zedekiah of Judah that he would meet king Nebuchadnezzar face to face and be taken captive. Judah had been surrounded, the prophecy was taking place. In the middle of all this turmoil, Jeremiah purchased a tract of land from his uncle. Why would you buy a property that was about to be captured? Because God had promised him that he would again give the land back to Israel; that He would turn their hearts back to Himself; that He would be their God again. Jeremiah 32:37 Behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely. 38 They shall be My people, and I will be their God; 39 then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them.

God never breaks a promise; never forgets you, never leaves you alone in any situation as a child of His. He may be allowing all these calamities in your life to draw you near to Him. How else can He get your attention if all is well and you don’t have time, or even give thanks to Him for the blessings He bestowed? He may allow you to feel trapped; a siege wall being built around your life like Judah. You may have only one way to look then – up. In all of this He is at work. He made a promise to Israel, and as a child of His you inherit that promise also. He will never forsake you. He will punish you for your sin, and turn your heart back to Him as a result. 40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.

We want the easy life; we want Christianity to be a bed of roses. The lives that are beds of roses are living for their rewards now, and suffering the consequences eternally for that decision. Matthew 6:1-5 speaks to those who do things to be seen; to elevate themselves. They have their reward now but forsake it in eternity. Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. When you ask the why of the trials that you are facing, go before God to ask if their is sin in your life that needs repentance first. If God does not show you a sin, it may be part of His greater purpose in keeping His promises. Isaiah 55:9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

 
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Posted by on November 27, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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A favorite book

29 Oct

A favorite book

2 Timothy 3:16-17    All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Do you have a favorite book? It doesn’t seem like too long ago I would have said no, simply because I did not read at all. Maybe the occasional magazine or newspaper article, but never an entire book. The list of them in a lifetime was counted on one hand. When God began to stir in my heart, I wanted to know more; and I knew where to find more, between the pages of the Bible. I made the effort to start reading my Bible a small bit every day. An employee and now very close friend gave me a NLT(New Living Translation) Bible, for he had heard me speak about having trouble understanding. The language was much clearer and God began to open my mind through my heart with it.

Everything you need; everything you want to know; everything about God is found in the Word of God. You will never begin to understand; you will never grow in your faith; you will never learn more about God until you seek God in the Bible. God’s words through the prophet Jeremiah to Israel still apply to us today; Jeremiah 29:13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.  What does with all your heart mean to you? It can’t mean to expect God to leap off the page with a revelation given to you in a flippant effort grudgingly performed. It takes a humble heart seeking God in prayer before opening the Word. That effort comes from an act of love and expectancy from God revealing Himself to you in the pages the times before. Once God begins to open your eyes in His Word, you heart leaps at the opportunity to see and hear Him again.

You want your faith to grow don’t you? It will not grow out of experiences, it will grow out of time in God’s Word. No experience can ever take the place of God’s Word. The experience may excite for a time, but the experience can be moved to a point of worship and seeking it again. I personally can attest to that. God is found in your heart; and your heart must be prepared and opened to receiving what He reveals to you in the time you spend in His Word. You will begin to hear Him, and hearing Him changes everything. Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. My library may be growing, but I have one favorite book that stays on my desk and goes with me to church. It is a rainbow of color with highlights, underlined texts, my own comments, my own heart between the pages of Gods revelations. Select you one copy, and make a consistent effort to seek God with it. Your life will never be the same for you will hear God in it.

 
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Posted by on October 29, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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