“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.“ (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV)
In the real estate world, they say “location, location, location!” In Bible study world we say “context, context, context.”
How many times have you and I read this Scripture and claimed this promise for ourselves or someone we know who is feeling down? Many, many times in my case. Well, I have good and bad news.
The bad news is that we often pull this Scripture out of context. It is, frankly, so encouraging, I just want to hear it over and over and over. But as you’ve guessed, there’s a little more to it – God qualifies the promise just a bit (we’ll talk about that on Sunday).
The good news is that this promise is true. It was true for Israel in Jeremiah’s day and it is true for you and me today. If we will seek the Lord in whatever situation we find ourselves – good or bad – then God’s prosperous plans for our future can come to fruition. Join us Sunday to find out the part you play in this promise.
Another note: My wife, Christine and I, will be starting a Bible Study called “Watering the Word.” We’ll meet (men and women) on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month and we will dig a bit deeper into the sermon preached the previous Sunday. So this week we’ll be discussing together Jeremiah 29. As always, you can take notes on your weekly bulletin, but you can pick up more extensive notes at the Welcome Center. We hope you’ll join us.
Hope to see you on Sunday…we have a cookout after church!
Pastor Jim
