“The time will come,” says the Lord, “when I will fulfill all the good words that I have commanded the house of Israel and the house of Judah.”
Jeremiah 33:14
Many people would have laughed at Jeremiah when he said these words. Why? Because God seemed to have abandoned Israel and Judah.
At this point in biblical history, Israel disappeared—it was destroyed by an invading army. Now Judah is left alone, with another vast army standing at their gates to destroy them too. The situation could not be more hopeless.
Have you experienced something similar? Maybe it was a life-changing loss or incredibly difficult news. In such painful moments, it may seem impossible to trust God’s promises. The people listening to Jeremiah must have felt the same way. But this was not the end of their story, because circumstances cannot destroy God’s promises.
Yes, the enemy broke in and took God’s people captive for decades. But God did not abandon His people and did not abandon His promises. In time, He freed His people from captivity and brought them home.
God has not left you in your pain either. You may feel that there is no way out of your situation, or that your choices are robbing you of God’s love. But God keeps His promises.
For generations after the return from captivity, God’s people struggled. They continued to face grief, failure, crowding, and captivity. But when they least expected it, God fulfilled His promise. He sent His Son Jesus to lead everyone, including the people of Israel and Judah, to a new and better future.
God’s promise of a better future applies to you too. When we follow God with our whole lives, we find peace, strength, and contentment. And we live with confidence knowing that one day we will spend eternity with Jesus. We live a new life, believing that God has fulfilled His promise.
“And you will call to Me, and go, and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.” — Jeremiah 29:12
When Pastor Timofey wears a priest’s white collar during his travels, he is often stopped by strangers. “Pray for me, please,” people say at the airport when they see the white ribbon on his simple dark suit. On a recent flight, a woman spotted him and knelt down by his seat, pleading, “You’re a pastor? Will you pray for me?” And Pastor Timofey prayed.
A passage from the book of the prophet Jeremiah sheds light on why we believe that God hears and answers prayer. God does not care! He assured His beloved, but sinful, exiled people: “For I know the thoughts that I think about you,” says the Lord, “thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you a future and hope” (Jer. 29:11). God foresaw the time when the people would return to Him. “And you will call to Me, and go, and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me, and you will find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart” (vv. 12-13).
The prophet learned this and much more about prayer while in prison. God assured him: “Call to Me – and I will answer you, and I will tell you about great and incomprehensible things that you do not know” (Jer. 33:3).
Jesus also calls us to pray: “Your Father knows what you need, even before you ask” (Mt. 6:8). So “ask”, “seek” and “knock” in prayer (Mt. 7:7). He knows us and wants to hear us. Bring your worries to Him right now.
How often do you pray? What will you say to God today?
Dear God, Your care and knowledge inspire me to pray. Thanks for the answers.
Author: Patricia Raybon
Have you ever encountered a situation where two people should have been in agreement, but they weren’t? Maybe it was your parents, or your boss and your boss’s boss, or two friends. You had a certain question, and you got a completely different answer from one person than from another. How confusing is that?
This never happens with God and His Son, Jesus.
In the Gospel of John 3:34-35 it is said: “For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God and is filled with the Spirit of God. The Father loves His Son and has given Him authority over all things.” These verses let us know how special Jesus is to God and how much power and love God has given Him.
Jesus speaks God’s words, knows God’s will, and has God’s power. The Lord God and Jesus are always in agreement.
Because Jesus speaks the words of God, we can be sure that every word He says is true and accurately reflects the nature of God.
Since Christ has sent us the Holy Spirit, we can trust that He is in complete harmony with the will of God.
Because Jesus has the power of God, we can believe that what He says will come to pass.
God loves Jesus. God empowers Jesus. God speaks through Jesus. It means we can trust Jesus completely. He has all power and authority and speaks the Truth because His words come directly from God.
In our daily lives, we often face moments of uncertainty and darkness. Sometimes our lives become confusing or difficult because of arguments and disagreements. But no matter what, we know that God and Christ are one. Jesus was the perfect reflection of God’s heart, so His love and sacrifice teach us even more about Who God is.
So, let’s apply this message in our lives. We must fully trust Jesus, because He speaks on behalf of God and has unlimited power. Let us also try to be like Jesus by speaking the words of God and believing in His power.
Imagine: your brother has been dead for four days. Grief is so all-consuming that every part of you feels numb. Your tears have dried, but the pain is far from gone.
Then Jesus appears – your friend, who is considered the Messiah, who was prophesied, the Savior of the world, who performed amazing miracles. Only… He wasn’t there to keep your brother from dying.
But then He does something completely unexpected: He tells your brother who has been dead for four days to come out of the grave… and your brother listens. Lazarus comes out alive.
Jesus knew that the resurrection of Lazarus was only a foretaste of what was to come. In the end, he will conquer death—for good. After all, the grave will not have the last word. Those who believe in Him will never truly die, but will pass from this broken world to something far better.
This is why the very words that Jesus spoke to Lazarus’ sister, Martha, just before Lazarus’ miraculous moment, are the same words that Jesus would speak to you…
“I am the resurrection and the life! – Jesus said. – Whoever believes in Me, even if he dies, he will live. And no one who lives and believes in Me will ever die. Do you believe this?”
John 11:25-26
Martha probably had a billion questions and maybe just as many doubts. But she was with Jesus, she saw His power, and she could not deny His love. And so Martha answered:
“Yes, Lord! – she said. — I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, Who was to come into the world”
John 11:27
Although our earthly bodies will die, God has more than we can imagine.
Do you believe in this?
Let our hearts echo the heart of Martha, believing that the Lord is exactly who He calls Himself. Let’s trust God more than our eyes see. Let us have faith to follow Him to the end.
“Life appeared, and we saw, and we testify.” — 1 John 1:2
In 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine attracted the attention of the whole world. When the scale of the accident became apparent, government officials rushed to the critical task of containing the radiation. Deadly gamma rays from the highly radioactive debris continued to destroy the robots involved in the disaster response.
So we had to use “biorobots” – people! Thousands of heroic people became “Chernobyl liquidators”, disposing of hazardous material in “shifts” of ninety seconds or less. People, risking their own lives, did what technology could not do.
Long ago, our rebellion against God also caused a disaster that led to all other disasters (see Gen. 3). Because of Adam and Eve, we divorced our Creator and turned our world into a toxic mess. We would never have been able to clean it ourselves.
This is the meaning of Christmas. Apostle John wrote: “Life has appeared, and we have seen it, and we testify, and we announce to you the eternal life that was with the Father and appeared to us” (1 John 1:2). Then John proclaimed: “The blood of Jesus Christ, [God’s] Son, cleanses us from all sin” (v. 7).
Jesus provided what His creation could not provide. When we believe in Him, He restores us to right relationship with His Father. He eliminated death itself. And life appeared.
How do you go about cleaning up your own mess? How can you give your problems to Jesus today?
Loving God, thank you for sending your Son into this world to clean up our mess.
Author: Tim Gustavson
One of the most important topics in the Bible is your own heart. Throughout the story of the Bible, God shows that He is not as interested in your money, time, or services as He is in your heart.
Why is this important? Jesus taught His disciples that the heart is the center of our life. Our emotions and desires flow from the state of our heart. If God gains access to our heart, the rest of our life follows.
In Matthew 6:21, Jesus says that where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. The things we value in our lives reveal where our heart really is. What we think about, what we spend our money on and use our energy to achieve is where our heart is.
But it is not enough to simply prevent our hearts from focusing on these things. Instead, we need to train our hearts to focus on Jesus. The Apostle Paul encourages us to focus on what is of God:
In conclusion, my brothers and sisters, I will tell you this: think only of what is true, noble, just, pure, pleasant, honorable, excellent, and worthy of praise!
Philippians 4:8
Such thinking prompts our hearts to treasure Jesus as our treasure above all things on earth.
If you are honest with yourself, where would you say your treasure is right now? What are you spending time and money on? Think about how these things show where your heart really is. Spending time in God’s Word and prayer is a great way to turn our hearts to God.
“And he began to ask everyone to cling to the Lord with a resolute heart.” — Acts 11:23
“Solid inspiration”. With this phrase, John Tolkien described the personal support that his friend and colleague Clive Lewis gave him during the writing of the epic trilogy “The Lord of the Rings”. Tolkien’s work on the series was painstaking and demanding, and he personally rewrote his lengthy manuscripts more than twice. When he sent them to Lewis, he replied, “All the long years you’ve spent on this are worth it.”
Perhaps the most famous inspiration in the Bible was Joseph of Cyprus, better known as Barnabas (meaning “son of comfort”), the name given to him by the apostles (Acts 4:36). It was Barnabas who interceded for Paul before the apostles (Acts 9:27). Later, when the pagans began to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, Luke tells us that Barnabas “began to ask everyone to cling to the Lord with a determined heart” (Acts 11:23). According to Luke, he “was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith”, and through him “many people joined the Lord” (v. 24).
The value of words of encouragement cannot be measured. When we offer words of faith and love to others, God, who gives “everlasting comfort” (2 Thess. 2:16), can work through what we share to change someone’s life forever. May He help us to offer someone today “solid inspiration”!
Who would you like to cheer on? How can you share God’s love with them through a kind deed or a kind word?
Dear God, please help me to be an encouragement to someone today.
Author: James Banks
Have you ever stumbled in a dark room or tried to walk at night when there was no light? You may have bumped into a wall or kicked something. Do you remember how great it was to turn on the lights so you could see where you were going?
God’s word says that we also walk in darkness. Our life without Jesus is characterized by just that – darkness. When we try to live life on our own, we inevitably fail and create problems.
Jesus is the light that shines in the darkness of the surrounding world and in our own lives. He illuminates the truth of the world so that we do not remain prisoners of our old ways, but can be transformed by Jesus through forgiveness.
Without His light that shines in the darkness, we would not recognize the truth.
Jesus is also the One who directs our paths. Just as we stumble in darkness without physical light, Jesus is the light that illuminates our path in life.
John 1:5 also tells us that the light of Jesus cannot be defeated. There are no spiritual forces or cultural events that can surpass the light of Jesus. And there is nothing anyone can do to separate us from God’s love and light.
No matter how bleak our circumstances may seem, we are called to walk in the light of Jesus. The physical world illuminates the world around us, but the light of Christ illuminates beauty in everything.
Spend some time in prayer today, thanking Jesus for the salvation you have and asking Him to continue to illuminate your path in life. Then let the light of Jesus shine through you, through your love for the people around you.
“Who is a God other than You, who forgives iniquity?” — Micah 7:18
On the eve of the national holiday of Thanksgiving, the President of the United States welcomes two turkeys to the White House before granting them a presidential pardon. Instead of becoming the main course of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner, turkeys will live out the rest of their lives safely on the farm. Although the birds cannot grasp the freedom granted to them, this unusual annual tradition highlights the life-giving power of mercy.
The prophet Micah understood the meaning of pardon when he wrote a stern warning to the Israelites who were still in Jerusalem. He said that God testifies against the people (Mic. 1:2) for their desire for evil and indulgence in greed, dishonesty, and violence (Mic. 6:10-15).
At the same time, despite these disobedient actions, Micah ends his book with hope, which is based on the promise that God is not angry forever, that He forgives iniquity and forgives sin (Mic. 7:18). As the Creator and Judge of all things, He can authoritatively declare that He will not hold our works against us because of His promise to Abraham (v. 20), which was finally fulfilled through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
To be forgiven of all sins is an undeserved gift that brings great blessings. As we grasp more and more of the benefits of God’s full forgiveness, we will respond to Him with praise and thanksgiving.
What are the benefits of forgiveness that God offers? How does it encourage gratitude?
Merciful Father, help me to live with a sense of gratitude for the forgiveness You have given me.
Author: Lisa Samra
Scripture is absolutely clear that Christians are to be known for their love. Again and again the Word of God tells us that love should be our most important quality.
You may be familiar with the words of Jesus in Matthew 22:36-40, where He says that the greatest commandment is to love God with all our being. But it is equally important that we love others.
Jesus even says in John 13:35 that everyone will recognize us as His disciples by how we love others. We are not recognized by our knowledge of the Bible, by our families, by the career path we choose, or by the amount of time we spend in church. While all of these are important, Jesus says that the most important quality is how we love other people.
Peter 4:8 tells us the same thing: we should be among the most beloved people on earth, and our goal should be to love one another deeply. Peter, the author of this verse, also says that love is the key to forgiving others. Just as Jesus forgave us, our love for others should move us to forgive those who have wronged us.
Forgiving those who have wronged us is one of the most difficult tasks: for this we must love deeply. This is why forgiveness is the evidence of a life marked by God’s love.
So, if your closest friends were asked about your best qualities, what would they say? Would your greatest quality be how much you love others? If not, know that you are not alone. None of us are perfect and we all need to do better.
So what steps can you take to love others more? Are there people who hurt you that you need to forgive? Are there people you’ve offended that you need to make up with? Make a list of ways you can show love to other people. Take some time today to ask God to help you become more loving.
