October 23, 2025

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ‘Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.’ Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.’“

(Jeremiah 29.4-9)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

As things get worse in the world around us, the more “we” see signs of the end. As these “signs” are pointed out, the more the desire for the end of this “age” increases. It isn’t any different now than it was in the first century as the vulgarity of the Roman Empire seemed to grow exponentially violent and obscene. The Apostle Paul was a victim of that culture and climate because he was a follower of Christ. John the Elder of the churches in Asia Minor and exiled to Patmos for speaking the truth of the gospel was a victim of it. As the news of the original disciples/apostles’ deaths (executions) became known the believers’ countdown to the return of Christ was seen as nearing its finality… 3,2,1. It wasn’t so easy as that, however. Jesus anticipated the human desire for bad things to end in this age and for the peace and prosperity of God’s Kingdom to endure forever. One of His familiar teachings on the “end of time” was “No one knows that day or time but God alone.” (Matthew 24.26) It was thought that when the “last” disciple of the 12 had passed, then Jesus would return. Paul warned to beware of such thinking because it deceived the mind of the believer and caused their attention to focus on the reward instead of the journey. The reward, life in the Kingdom of Heaven, was already guaranteed by the fact of Jesus as the Christ before and after the cross and the grave. There was nothing that could be done to hasten the end nor to earn the right of Heaven save believing that Jesus is the Christ and follow Him all the days of our lives. It is in the following of Jesus as the Christ all the days of our lives the world most perfectly witnesses the power of faith and the reality of the promise that “good indeed overcomes evil.” Further, the promise which Jesus made to those same disciples before His ascension did not establish a specific time for His return. Rather, He promised a continual presence with them throughout the current age; essentially all the days of their lives and the lives of those “legacy” believers. By “legacy” I mean the next generation of believers who carried the gospel to the ends of their world, and so on and so on until He does return as He promised He would and will. Instead of a countdown 3,2,1 we should be counting on His word 1,2,3.

1. Go back then to the days of Jeremiah and his ministry to the exiles of Jerusalem in Babylon while he was still in Jerusalem. I have wondered what he may have thought knowing that Babylon had taken away all the key individuals and their families except for him. Did he cling to the belief that God had used His hand to hold Jeremiah in place as much as He used His hands to carry the exiles away? Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, suffered greatly for his faithfulness to God. He suffered at the hands of those who were left behind. Those who abused him may have felt a bit of jealousy because they were not taken either. Maybe some of those who were left to administer the Temple processes even in its deconstructed state believed they should have been taken instead of some others. It was a very trying time of mental, emotional, physical, social and spiritual challenges. What thoughts were considered to bring an end to the struggle and the establishment of the “true people of God” forever? It is in this light that God sent word to Babylon to “stay the course.” God gave them His timeline. It was one they could count on and anticipate from beginning to end. Their loss of position in Israel had been foretold. Their false actions and thinking did have the prophesied consequence. God did not lie even while some throughout the decades and centuries may have proposed “God doesn’t really mean it.” They could say it until they couldn’t say it any longer. For some it was longer than they thought. For others it seemed like no time at all. What was anyone supposed to think? What they should have thought was “God said. God did. So must we say and do as God says.” This is Jeremiah 29.8 in a nutshell.

2. There were false prophets in Babylon and in Jerusalem who denied God’s promise and warning. While the people dreamed of a quick restoration, it stood in stark contrast to the seventy years God had defined as their sentence of punishment or discipline. Isn’t it strange that they would do this? Perhaps not. After all, it was Jeremiah who was the spokesperson for God. Who was Jeremiah but one “left behind”? Consider the consequence of a speedy return? I mentioned the “time out” image as a way of looking at the exile in Babylon. It was a time to consider the need for transformation and reclamation. It was a time to repent and return to God in all His ways. It was going to take time to make the adjustment. All they had now was time. It was a time, nearly two generations worth of time, to be used wisely under the directives which God had given. They were called to “practice the faith” of their fathers: Abraham, Isaac, Joseph and David. These were far from perfect men. God used them, however, to bring about the spiritual redirection so that God would be the “polar star” of all life. It was time for those in exile (as well as those at home) to do the same. A part of that was to ignore the false prophets (prophecy is defined as revealing the truth of the consequences of actions) who said it would all be over soon. Imagine how much change of heart, mind and soul there would have been if that had been true. It would amount to our New Years’ resolutions, wouldn’t it? We intend to do good, but we quickly fall back into our old ways and old thinking. We dream of the “good old days” and long for them. We even think that the “savior to come” will return us back to “the way it was.” We hear it today. Every generation has heard it (except perhaps the generation of 1929). It was the Messianic promise which the false prophets declared. It said that the Messiah would come and Israel would be justified. It didn’t say they would have to change their lifestyles but that all their enemies would be defeated. God said “Don’t listen to them and don’t surrender your reality to the dreams of easy fixes.” Sage advice!

3. Mighty ones of God, we must heed that same sage advice today. We are called to be a generation of repentance and pursuit of righteousness not as we see and say but as God sees and says. His ways are higher than ours. His thoughts are greater than our thoughts. But, His ways and thoughts can become ours if we commit our time on earth to Him and Him alone. It isn’t easy but it isn’t impossible. We have the blessing of the Holy Spirit and the promise of Jesus Christ to lead, guide, direct and empower us to stay the course all the way through the end of our age and for those legacy believers who will follow after us until He returns! His return will mean our return. Isn’t that what we really long for?

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.