October 17, 2025

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“‘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 [certain] future.’“

(Jeremiah 29.11)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

You might be surprised as you read the verses around Jeremiah 29.11 as posted above and reflected on now for several days. The surprise would be that God sent word to the exiles in Babylon to be faithful to His word and not create a rebellion or insurrection. It is the same advice and encouragement which was given to Daniel in his days in exile. The summation of it would be: be the people of God who are faithful and true. In other words, don’t assimilate but duplicate. What were they to duplicate? The very image of God as had been revealed to their forefathers. It was a call to return to the faith of their fathers which they had received from whom we know, mighty ones of God, as Abba. The very beginning of this verse is the revelation of that truth, “For I know….” No one knows better than God what the truth of our lives is. Jeremiah was called to combat the lies which were being substituted for the truth and called truth by the priests who were in Jerusalem and those who then were taken on to Babylon. They presented themselves as wise counsel and the definitive spokespersons for God. This was the root of the very cause for Jerusalem to fall, Israel to be taken over and the leadership to be in exile in Babylon. The letter which was sent from Jeremiah to the exiled king spoke of God’s primacy of meaning and purpose. It was God’s directive to be truly Jewish in a distant land.

Why was this important? Too many placed their hope in the Temple as if it was God Himself. This meant that they saw those who ministered in the Temple to be the very presence of God outside of the Holy of Holies and thus more than they truly were. They had put their hope in what some of us have heard said, “God in a box.” We know the Old Testament stories of the Ark of the Covenant. When it was carried before the people into battle, they were successful. When Joshua had the priests carry the Ark across the Jordan into the Promised Land, the waters were held back so they crossed on dry land. We remember the story of the Ark being captured and set next to the image of Dagon, a foreign god. The next morning that statue had fallen as if bowing to the Ark of God’s presence. And while such belief in the Ark continues to exist today inspiring all kinds of stories of power and mystique, that was not the purpose of the Ark as God commanded it to be. It most certainly was to bring the focus of the people of God to bear on who they were and whose they were. It was to inspire a sense of worth, value and presence which was different from the rest of the world. And for all that the Ark was, it was not God and it was not the image of God. It was with God and it was the testimony of God and His calling over their lives.

Hear again the introduction to John’s gospel: “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God indeed the Word was God and it came to dwell among all men.” We, mighty ones of God are created to be “arks” of God’s presence. We are called to go before the people in power and in truth. We are called to be separate from the world yet in the world so that it will know the truth and the reality of Almighty God. We can see the very excellence of this concept in Jesus Christ. He testified to the Word being the very Word itself. The world sought to hide the truth as the Ark itself remains hidden. The problem exists for the world that the truth cannot be hidden like a box or a cadaver in a cave. It is not the box but what exists within the box that is “the way, the truth and the life.” What exists within the box and within “the people of God” is the essence of all power, dominion and authority which is God Himself. In Jesus Christ, Immanuel- God with us, we are able to know the Word and live by it. There can be no other “way, truth and life.” This is what God had Jeremiah say to the exiles.

It was said in order to keep the mindset and the consequences of keeping that mindset at the forefront of all decisions for life. The people in exile whether under the spiritual and prophetic leadership of Jeremiah, Daniel or Ezekiel were called to maintain their identity as they had first known it. They were called to return to their first love (as we hear Jesus warn the churches in Revelation) and to keep it holy. God was not punishing Israel with exile so they might give up all hope. He was expanding their horizon to understand the value which He placed in their lives. If they focused on the truth and lived by it they would prosper. They would become a testimony of the immutable God who existed in them in exile as much as He existed in Jerusalem 800 miles away. They were called to keep themselves holy before God in the midst of their present company. They were commanded to not compromise their faith nor their identity as the true people of God. It would mean they needed to repent and turn away from the lies which the false leaders proposed. They were to hold to the basic and holy truth of God in word and in actions.

Mighty ones of God, we are called to do the same. This is our identity and purpose in Christ Jesus in whose image we have been remade and reborn. There is no greater opportunity to do so than in these days. We are in exile. This world is not our home but it is our mission field. Draw close to God who has drawn close to us in Jesus Christ. Believe and obey. Trust and commit. Only God knows the way, the truth and the life and He has revealed it to us so that we will no longer be as exiles but as the true people of God.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.