I will share about Christian books I have read or listened to.
I will be sharing about my life before and after Christ. I will include stories about my pet and other pets I have encountered.
Blessed in Trust
Jeremiah 17 begins with a rebuke. God is calling out the Israelites for their idolatry, for trusting in other gods and forsaking Him and His teachings. Like a parent with a child who's made a terrible choice, God makes it very clear that these choices have led and will lead to consequences. And yet, rather than only focusing on all that's been lost and will be lost because of Israel’s terrible choices, Jeremiah takes a moment to bring a refreshing reminder:
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.”
Jeremiah 17:7 NIV
He calls those who trust Him “blessed,” even as chaos, sin, and idolatry reign around them. He says that people who trust in God “will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:8 NIV)
We get to choose who and what we worship. Who is your confidence in? Who do you trust? If it is the Lord, take heart knowing that in this you are blessed. An abundant life in God, full of fruit even when sin is all around, is the mark of having chosen to trust Him. What an incredible thing it is to be able to make this choice!
The Best Plans
Jeremiah 29:11 is a popular verse that’s often slapped onto journals, etched into coffee mugs, and printed on t-shirts.
“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
And God does have a plan for you.
God does want to bless you.
God does want to give you hope and a future.
But, we should also pay attention to the original context …
In this case, God was speaking through the prophet Jeremiah to the people of Judah—people who’d recently been exiled to Babylon for 70 years.
The Jewish people were banished to a foreign land because of their insatiable appetite for sin. In fact, for 23 years Jeremiah had been warning them to stop rebelling against God or prepare to face the consequences.
God is patient, but He is also just.
In other words, the Jews were sent to timeout. And as you can read in the preceding chapters, God made a case against His ...
