Plans

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Plans

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Is it a secret? The plans He has for you are they a secret? This is an inspiring, invigorating, motivating verse. However, taken in context, it is not secretive. God promised His people He would restore them back to their homeland. 

It is important that when we recite this verse, we keep it in context. We have to know what God's plans are for our lives. It does you no good to recite this verse without knowing His plans for your life. In Jeremiah 29:10 God tells Israel His plans. In verse 11 God is expanding on what He has already promised. Verse 11 is not a mystery verse of hopeful expectations. It is an explanatory statement tied to verse 10. God is referring to the prophecy He gave to Jeremiah. He is reassuring Israel of His good intentions.

What are the dreams God has placed in your heart? In Jeremiah God is speaking to captives and telling them I have a dream for you. A dream of freedom and restoration. He even tells them the time frame for the fulfillment of the dream. So, when verse 11 is made it is not something new it is the confirmation of an intended result. 

What dream do you have buried in your heart? What dreams have laid dormant in your life for years? Bring those dreams to the fore of your mind and then repeat express, recite and claim verse 11 of Jeremiah 29.

What if God has placed a dream in you too turn the world back to Him.  For years your dream has laid dormant in the furthest recesses of your mind. But now your God is saying to you "I know the plans I have for you." He is saying to you this is the time, this is the place I will bring this about through you.

All of the promises of God require one thing your action. Even the free gift of salvation requires something. John 3:16 (KJV) ¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The condition of salvation is a belief in Jesus. 

The plans of God for you require the same thing your belief in Him.  Those dreams long regulated to the area of fantasy are they dreams God has placed in your heart? Dreams that require no more than belief in the God who put them there?  You must believe His plans for your life are for your benefit.

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The Gospel

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The Gospel

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. Romans 1:16

We are put down humiliated, teased and denigrated for the gospel of Christ, yet it remains the best and only hope for mankind. No other religion, ideology, philosophy offers salvation to man. Only the gospel of Christ offers us any hope but hope with evidence. The evidence is the resurrection of Christ.

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Light of Life

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Light of Life

12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12

If you compare this verse with the reality of today, you can easily understand the darkness with which the world lives.  The world lives with false hope, hope based on the intellect and ambitions of man.  Not being able to see the light that is Jesus the world stumbles about thinking that their darkness is light.  For those of us that have the light of life which is Jesus, we have hope that will not fade that will not fail that is a lighted living path to follow. We are grateful to God for the light of life He has provided. We, indeed live in the light of Christ.



 

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Derived

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Derived

so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:5

Your faith is not derived from nor was it ever intended to be derived from introspective thought or analysis. Nor from the hallowed halls of academia. There is but one source for your faith, and that is the ever present God Himself.  We derive faith in the unseen God because of the evidence of His seen power in our lives. We have faith in Him because of His living in us.

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Our Hope

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Our Hope

23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.  

Life is about hope everyone hopes for something better. Everyone desires for something to improve in their lives. Which is natural. But in what do you put your hope? Jesus is the only one that promised rest, salvation, life, forgiveness, love, restoration and freedom. He is the only one that proved an ability to provided those things as a result of His resurrection. He is the only source of hope. Only He can fulfill your hope.

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Where Can I Go?

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Where Can I Go?

1 You have searched me, Lord,

and you know me.

2 You know when I sit and when I rise;

you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3 You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue

you, Lord, know it completely.

5 You hem me in behind and before,

and you lay your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10 even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast. Pslam139:1-10

These verses are both exhilarating and frightening.  If you belong to God, it is wonderful to know that where ever you are He is with you. It is reassuring to know that He knows you inside and out that He is with you always these are things that we who call upon Him cherish. 

For those who are fighting aginst or are in opposition to Him, they must find these verses to be utterly frightening. Knowing that God knows you better than you know yourself must be sobering and frightening. Knowing that none of the beneficial promises of God pertain to you must be demoralizing, to say the least. I imagine the only hope for those in opposition to God is that He does not exist. A vain hope of an undeniable reality. For God is alive, Always has been and always will be. 

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The Currency Of Heaven

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The Currency Of Heaven

¹⁹ Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
²⁰ But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

²¹ For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:19-21 (KJV) 

 

The underlying theme of these verses is currency, money, wealth anything of value. Notice that all the currency in verse 19 can be lost in one way or another. In verse 20 it is saying save a currency that will not be destroyed. When you consider that after the resurrection all will be made new, a new body a new earth, what currency can we possibly store in heaven? The answer is that which will exist forever, the soul of man. How many souls will be saved because of your efforts? Though we don't have any way of knowing the answer to that question we know that the more we use our lives to bring people to Christ the greater will be our currency in heaven. There is no other action or result God will honor in heaven, the currency of God is the soul of man.

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Living On The Edge

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Living On The Edge

⁷ For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV) 

 The next apropos question is what is faith?   

11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)

This is the most challenging verse in the Bible.  It is asking us to put life into our faith. It is asking us to actually go out on a limb and live what we believe.  To actually, walk around day by day being the miracle we so dutifully proclaim. Living life expecting the word of God to be alive in us. It is commanding us to live our lives to the fullest potential of what God has gifted us with. It is living in expectation of victory which only God can perform, not just occasionally but every day of our lives.  "To live by faith and not by sight" is to live life on the edge of existence. Whatever that may be for you. Knowing that God will provide the next step in your journey. A walk of faith is total dependence on God. It is that place where the carnal and spiritual meet and we become subordinate to the spirit of God. 

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Overwhelmingly Lonely and Frightening

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 Overwhelmingly Lonely and Frightening

27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. Hebrews 9:27-28

I do not fear death because I know after I die I will be in the presence of God. I look forward to beginning eternity in the presence of a great, wonderful benevolent God.  There is great peace, a peace that passes the understanding of man. I am in no rush for that inevitability, but I do not fear it. 

Can those who reject God say the same thing? All over the world humanity struggles to remain alive. Death is the only thing that you truly do alone. To the glory of God, I have the assurance of salvation and eternal life with Christ. What does the rest of humanity have? The certainty of not knowing. It must be so overwhelmingly lonely and frightening to have no hope, no assurance, no peace as to their eternal destination. They don't know what is coming.

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Praise the Lord!

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Praise the Lord!

1 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! 2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. 3 Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. Psalms 146:1-3

Praise God for He is our hope there is no man or woman that we can turn to that will provided the salvation we need for this life and the one that is to come. Leaders and governments are inadequate in resolving the problems of man. We need to turn to the only sure hope for man, and that is God. Praise Him and seek Him only.

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The Lord Is God

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The Lord Is God

³ Know that the Lord, he is God!
    It is he who made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Psalm 100:3 (ESV) 

We, as much as we may desire on the contrary are His people. Every one of us good bad or in between are His people we can't opt out. We can not choose to be excluded from His people. We may choose to be sinful, rebellious and an outcast but we are still His people. We do not have the ability to extricate ourselves from Him.  As a result, we will answer to Him, we will not escape His judgment. He will judge us by His standard by His power by His will, none of those He has made will be exempt, and He has made us all.

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Before the Ages

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Before the Ages

² in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began. Titus 1:2

We read this, do we pass over? Do we simply say that's nice and move on.  Stop! Look this is the quintessential promise of God before anything existed it was Gods intent that we should spend eternity with Him.  

This thought that God intended that you should spend eternity with Him, is sufficient to keep your mind in awe for several days. 

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Expectation

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Expectation

¹⁷ ‘Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.  Jeremiah 32:17 (ESV) 

Should we expect anything from God?  If you read chapter 32 at the very end, God said to Jeremiah  "for I will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord.”  For me, I need to expect God to do something for me. Not just because I need him to but because He is Great. Because if I expect nothing from Him I will receive it. Most importantly if nothing great happens in my life how is God glorified? I need to expect Him to do for me according to His will. I need to expect Him to show up in my life situations the same way I expect the sun to rise every day. 

I need Him, I expect Him to be the Father He claims to be.

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A Different Life

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A Different Life

⁴ And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelations 21:4

No more tears, no more death, no sorrow, no crying, no pain, for life as we know it will cease. This is the promised hope of Christianity.  You really have to sit back and contemplate on what this verse says to fully appreciate what's  in store for us in the future. I have not seen, heard or have been offered a better life. Humanity has not come up with a better offer. The life God promises is what we are seeking a life of peace, joy, love and happiness.  

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Spirit of Wisdom

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Spirit of wisdom

¹⁶ I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, ¹⁸ having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, Ephesians 1:16-17 


Paul is praying that we would receive the spirit of wisdom and revelation so we can understand what our hope in Christ is and what we have to look forward to. He wants us to know intimately what God has prepared for us.  Not figuratively but through unmovable belief, we should expect the fulfillment of the inheritance we have already received and will forever continue to receive. He is praying that through the spirit of wisdom and knowledge we become aware of the immovability of the hope and the promise of life in Christ. This life and promise is undeniable and is secure in God Himself. 

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Expectation

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Expectation

¹¹ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Matthew 7:11 (NKJV)

 

This verse says, that God your Father has prepared some excellent gifts for you. My question is, if God has great gifts for you what are you expecting? I know for me, I need to start expecting great things from God. Why would or should He give me something great if I am not expecting Him to? Every gift I have given to anyone is with the expectation that they will use it and enjoy it to their benefit. Wouldn't be reasonable to think that every gift He gives us is to be used and enjoy for our benefit?  Look at this he is expecting us to ask Him  "give good things to those who ask Him!" I expect that He, God is expecting us to call for the great thing. So that He can be glorified in the use of the great thing you have requested. I want to start living with an attitude and posture of expectation of receiving the gifts of God. I am ready and expecting to receive the great gifts God has prepared for me. Are you? 

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I Will Lead the Blind

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I will lead the blind.

16 And I will lead the blind

in a way that they do not know,

in paths that they have not known

I will guide them.

I will turn the darkness before them into light,

the rough places into level ground.

These are the things I do,

and I do not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16

Do you think God is speaking about the physically blind?  No, He is speaking to us that are or were spiritually blind.  It means that while we are spiritually blind we can not see the path of salvation that He has prepared for us. It means we need to be guided by him on a path that will lead to physical salvation and spiritual life.  He will turn the darkness, hopelessness of our lives into the light of His life and he will never leave us. He will not tell us where to go and leave us to flounder on our own' He will go with us and guide us to His truth and Life.

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He Can Do All Things

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He Can Do All Things 

““Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?”
Jeremiah 32:27 NKJV
There is nothing that God can't do.  He is the one with the answer to your problem. He is the hope of your soul. Turn to Him because He can help you. 

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Your Legacy

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Your legacy

The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” Exodus 34:6-7 
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, Deuteronomy 7:9  

Two potential legacies, you are the one that will break a curse or start a blessing. 

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To and Fro

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To and Fro

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.2 Chronicles 16:9

God is looking, He is actively searching throughout the world, to bless those who are totally committed to His righteousness. He is looking for the heart that is comepletly devoted to His heart. He doesn't just want to bless that person, but He will strongly support that person. This does not apply to the occasional Christian; it applies to those that are one hundred percent invested in Christ one hundred percent of the time. 

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