God knew from the beginning those who would accept Jesus as their Messiah. He brought us out of the dark and into the light of the world, Jesus Christ.
Pray for the country, the state and the city where He placed you! In its peace you will find His peace.
Romans 13:8 Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law
Holy Spirit does not condemn us but He corrects us in love.
The name the angel gave Joseph and Mary's baby, "Jesus," is the Greek form of the Hebrew name "Joshua." Originally written "Hoshea" (Numbers 13:8; Numbers 13:16), Moses later changed it to "Jehoshua" or "Joshua" (Numbers 13:16).
After Israel's exile to Babylon, this name changed again, this time to "Jeshua," from which is derived the Greek name "Jesus." This name, which means "Yahweh saves," signified the purpose of His mission (Matthew 1:21). And in Matthew 1:23, we see Jesus would also be called "Immanuel." This denotes not what He does but who He is: "God with us."
Only our Savior is Jesus Christ. "Christ," meaning "Anointed One," is not part of the name Jesus' parents gave Him, but it is a title. It refers to His role. To call Jesus "the Christ" is similar to calling Him "the Messiah" (from the Hebrew Mashiach, also meaning "Anointed One"). This title honors Him as the One prophesied by more than 300 Old Testament scriptures, including the prophecy of the virgin birth in Isaiah 7:14. The Messiah was understood to be a king chosen by God to save people from their sins (Numbers 24:17-19; Isaiah 53:5; Psalm 118:22-24) ... and that's exactly what Jesus did.
"... To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:12-13). First5
We are not on this journey alone.
We are invited to let the love spill.
And who knew that it would require bravery to spill kindness in our world? Go figure. Sabbath Moments
Jeremiah 29:4
4 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. 6 Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished. 7 And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace.
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; The New King James Version
The Hebrew term used here, shalom, conveys all aspects of peace, safety, security, welfare, and prosperity. Jeremiah’s advice to seek the well-being of their enemy’s homeland would have been surprising and offensive, but the success and prosperity of the exiles depended on the peace and stability of their new home.
Yahweh assures the exiles that His long-term plan is good and that He has not abandoned them. Their national calamity would have precipitated feelings of hopelessness and abandonment.
A promise of salvation based on Deuteronomy 30:3 and a common image in the prophetic books. Faithlife Study Bible
Jeremiah reminded the exiled community that ultimately it was God, not Nebuchadnezzar, who had caused them to be carried away captive. Jeremiah had proclaimed a period of 70 years of Babylonian exile.
For the meantime, he counseled the people to settle in and carry on their normal daily activities. The terms build and plant are significant because they fulfill the particulars of Jeremiah’s call. Exile did not necessarily mean imprisonment or enslavement, but displacement and resettlement in unknown lands. If the people were faithful in the circumstances of captivity, God would cause them to prosper with children and with fertile crops.
The exiles were instructed to seek and pray for the peace, or well-being, of Babylon and the other towns where they were deported. As a result, they themselves would live in peace as beneficiaries of God’s gracious sovereignty over the nations.
The Lord here places considerable emphasis on His unchangeable plan to bring peace and not evil.
God had not terminated His relationship with Judah; He remembered His covenant promises of restoration. The promised response of the Lord to the people’s prayers stands in contrast to His refusal to hear in 7:16.
The picture here differs greatly from the usual depiction of the heart of the people of Judah as stubborn and wicked. God would search the people’s heart and reveal its true character.
Those who seek God with a whole heart will find Him and experience His renewal. God was the captor, and He would restore His people from captivity. The NKJV Study Bible
Ezra 6:10 that they may offer sacrifices of sweet aroma to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and his sons.
Jeremiah 24:5 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans.
Jeremiah 29:28 For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘This captivity is long; build houses and dwell in them, and plant gardens and eat their fruit.’ ”
1 Timothy 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,
1 Timothy 2:2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
Deuteronomy 4:29 But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Deuteronomy 30:3 that the LORD your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the LORD your God has scattered you.
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