October 26, 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:

I want to focus on the oxymoron statement reflected upon on Friday: prophesying lies. Can you imagine that many people promote such theological statements as oxymorons (a figure of speech in which two terms which are apparently contradictory are placed in conjunction as one truth)? Here is a list of examples: loving God, good God, mighty God, everlasting Father, just God, caring God, Jesus Christ. Now don’t get me wrong. I am not saying they are contradictory terms at all. I do present them to remind us all of the confusion and disillusionment many people in the world from the beginning of time have held concerning the nature and character of God. I believe this happens because of short-sightedness. By that I mean they only see a part of the story and not the whole picture. We, as mighty ones of God, have considered at least one of those descriptors of God to be lacking in truth based on our own experiences. Yes, when we have been faced with the loss of a job, a spouse, a loved one, a house, a “golden” opportunity (you may add your own to the list), we have considered is God good, just, compassionate or real? We have heard it said in this way, right, “Why do good things happen to bad people” and its corollary “Why do bad things happen to good people.” We even have had a scripture spoken to us to help soothe the question. It says, “God works all things together for good.” (Romans 2.28) To which we may retort, “What has God done for me lately?” I mean we have David’s declaration in Psalm 46.1 “God is an everpresent help in times of trouble,” right? If He is “ominpresent, omniscient, omnipotent,” then why is He acting for MY good right now? Right? You see what I am saying? I am not casting dispersion on those who question God’s will or decision-making in how He assists us to get to that good end. I can see how such immediate need for action on God’s part for our lives in the moment can shorten our vision for the future. Can’t you? By the same token, this is why we are called to “live by faith and not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5.7) What is faith? Paul says it this way, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11.1)

That is why I say, such understanding of the terms mentioned above such as “good God” to be oxymorons, polar opposites standing in contradiction with one another, is short-sighted. Faith invites us to see the bigger picture even when it is not visible to our mortal eyes. We get this, right? When we look at the horizon and marvel at the sunrise or the sunset, when we are in that place where the darkness allows us to see the Milky Way galaxy from horizon to horizon (which I have been blessed to do in New Mexico), when we hold that newborn baby in our arms for the first time only seeing it with the movement inside the mother’s womb or by digital representations pre-birth, we are not seeing the whole picture. In each of those aforementioned examples, we are capturing the moment knowing full well that there is more. Yet, caught in the moment, we fail to grasp the bigger picture. That is not meant to diminish the moment. No, each moment is important whether it is a good moment or bad because it directs our attention to the presence, greatness, power and purpose of God (at least from the God-fearer, follower of Christ perspective.) Why? Because if this is all there is then what is the reason for moving forward and living on? We all have to admit to ourselves that there is something more. We do not know what it may be. We do not know how it may happen. We do not know when. We do know there is something more. For that reason, we are called to live by faith and not by sight. For that reason, we cast our hope on what is unseen believing we will see it. That is why Paul was saying to the Corinthian Christ followers, “We see things in a mirror dimly but one day we shall see all things clearly as if we are truly face-to-face.” (1 Corinthians 13.12)

Imagine being one of those exiles of Jerusalem, and of Israel, whether foreign (in Babylon) or domestic (Jerusalem or somewhere in Israel). In the moment, all would seem to be lost. Into that lostness, God spoke the truth (prophesied) in love. It was tough love and a fierce conversation. It was spoken “in the moment” for a most certain future. Who among any of them, even Jeremiah, could see seventy years into the future? Many of those alive “in the moment” would not be alive “in that moment” when God would reveal the wonder of His promise to His people. And know this. Among those who would see the wonder revealed and the people returned to their homeland, they would not see what they wanted to see. They would only see what God would reveal to them according to His Word and His plan. That means some of them would be sorely and gravely disappointed. They would speak those aforementioned oxymoronisms because of it. Good God, huh? Just God, huh? Everlasting Father, huh? And so on. They will always say it because of a lack of faith in themselves to have faith in God. It is a fact of life. Such lack of insight and foresight allowed Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. It allowed them to seal the body in a tomb and establish a guard to keep the human element from trying to make prophesy come true. The truth is “God doesn’t really need our help to fulfill His will for our lives.” He leaves it up to us to decide if we will let Him help us, trusting Him in all things and putting our hope in that same faith which created all that we see… and all that Satan is seeking to destroy. If Satan didn’t believe God’s word was true, then why would he expend such effort to the contrary. He is a walking contradiction. We are not supposed to be one, too. So let’s stop trying and seek God first, His Kingdom and His righteousness. It may seem like a long way off but it is closer than we think and closer than it has ever been.

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.