June 2013
5 posts
The Often Misquoted Jeremiah 29:11
11 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
I love Jeremiah 29:11! It’s a very encouraging verse on God’s faithfulness and sovereignty. However it’s been used countless times out of context.
Jeremiah 29:11 isn’t simply about your current stage of uncertainty, or of you being in a difficult situation, or what God can do for you in a time of pain. To better understand this verse you need to understand the context and the background when God made this promise.
BACKGROUND
*Read Jeremiah 25: In this chapter we see Jeremiah speaking to the people of Judah to repent, to throw away their gods and to worship only the True Living God. But because of their disobedience God gave them up to the Babylonians who took them captive and destroyed the walls and the temple of the Lord.
In Jeremiah 29 God tells his people to go and settle down though they are exiled, to get married and increase in number and to seek the welfare of the city they were to live in. For God had appointed only 70 years for the Babylonians to reign over them.
FAST FORWARD
In Daniel 5:17-6:3 we see that because of the pride of Nebuchadnezzar and his son Belshazzar, the kingdom was taken from them and was given to the Persians & Medes.
Darius the king of Mede & Cyrus the king of Persia ruled together. In Ezra 1, we read about Cyrus making a proclamation that every man whom the Lord stirs the hearts of should go back to Jerusalem to build the house of God.
Interestingly, over 100 years ago Isaiah prophesied about the man Cyrus. (Read Isaiah 44:24-45:13)
In the book of Ezra we see how the temple of God was rebuild… and in the book of Nehemiah we see how the walls were rebuilt and the people were revived. God fulfilled His promise. (Read Deuteronomy 30:1-5 to see what God’s promise was)
GOING BACK TO JEREMIAH 29
Seeing the bigger picture we can now better understand the context of Jeremiah 29:11. This was written in a time where the people of Judah had to face the consequence of their disobedience. It was a time where they were broken, without a nation, in captivity, and with no sure sense of what was going to happen now.
In Jeremiah 29:10 God says when the 70 years are completed for Babylon ” I will fulfill my promise to you. “
…[29:13] you will seek Me and find Me, WHEN you seek Me with all your heart. [14] I WILL BE FOUND.
The Israelites disobeyed. The were brought into captivity. BUT because of God’s grace and mercy He had already written the history for the redemption of His people.
Picture in mind the story of the prodigal son. Despite the son choosing the ways of the world, at the end of it all, the father was still waiting for him to come home.
That’s Jeremiah 29:11! It’s a picture of us in our pain caused by our disobedience but despite that God has in arms open waiting for us to come running home. It’s a picture of grace undeserved. It is the story of salvation. It isn’t just a feel good verse, it’s a verse that deals with our sin nature and points to God’s grace. It’s a verse that acknowledges our insufficiency and points to God’s sufficiency. It is a verse that tells you yes you made wrong choices before but it’s alright now because God’s got you, and God will turn it around if you will just seek Him.
This promise in Jeremiah 29:11 has to go hand in hand with the condition in Jeremiah 29:13. Seek God. You cannot be in the center of God’s will if you do not even know God. You cannot follow His will if you do not know what His will is. You cannot have the blessings of the Father if He isn’t even your father. So seek God. Come to know Him, seek Him first…and all his promises shall be given unto you,
The challenge about working for rewards is the mentality it builds. If you work hard for it you will get something in return; and if you don't then it's unfair. I realized just how much this mentality goes against the grace of God. We receive not cause we deserve it; if we do receive we should be thankful remembering it was given out of GOD's goodness and grace
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April 2013
2 posts
When God's Hand is upon you
When the hand of the Lord is upon you and you are exalted in the eyes of men, never claim the victory as something you have done on your own.
Proverbs 21:1
In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water
that he channels toward all who please him.
Lately God has been so gracious to me in the workplace. Though so much favor has been given, I am reminded that God allows these favors that I may glorify Him in whatever position I am in now.
God raised Esther up for a purpose of being a vessel for the salvation of the Jews. Esther found favor in the eyes of all, especially in the eyes of King Xerxes. In the book of Esther you will read on how Esther and Mordecai were used to save the Jews from annihilation.
Ezra and Nehemiah both find favor in the eyes of King Artaxerxes and were given blessing and provisions to go back to Jerusalem to build the temple and the wall. Both were able to do son because God’s was with them, and they found favor in the eyes of the king.
When we find ourselves in situations where we find favor in the eyes of our authorities, let us now wallow in out pride rather take that opportunity to ask God what He would like you to do for His glory.
March 2013
23 posts
hi DJ! i just read through your blog, its beautiful, just as you are! just wanted to know if there's anything in the Bible about what you can and cannot do in relationships by in physical means. i've been reading and reading and keeping my eyes open for passages, because i'm in a relationship and i'm not sure where it's going from here, and whether the Bible had any teachings on right from wrong in a situation like this.
Dear Anon;
The Bible doesn’t have an exhaustive list of what couples should or shouldn’t do. But there’s a basic principle of purity that is repeated several times in different verses. For your reference i’ve listed some below:
- 1 Corinthians 6:18-20
-1 Thessalonians 4:3-5
-Matthew 5:8
-Colossians 3:5
-Galatians 5:19-21
-Galatians 5:13
-Romans 5:13
-2 Corinthians 7:1
- Ephesians 5:3
-Philippians 4:8
The main principle is to know in our actions what is pure and what is impure. If our actions and thoughts towards one another is no longer pure, then we need to correct it immediately.
Is it wrong for a couple to kiss? The Bible doesn’t’ say anything. However I choose to save it for marriage. It’s not a law, but it’s a preference that I’m saving up. The Bible does say that we ought not to have sex out of marriage.
During the stage of being together but not yet married, we are often faced with temptations. God wants us to fight the temptations and to be pure in both our thought life and in our actions. This is where you list down the things you personally would do (not a law in the Bible per say) but things that would help you stay pure. As long as you follow the principle in the Bible you’ll be fine. :) Stay pure, and do what is honoring in the sight of the Lord.
SUBMITTED BY: http://serlyna.tumblr.com/
More than 2 weeks ago, I was in a very dark place. I was suicidal and depressed. I already had a suicide plan written out and was ready to take my life after the birthday of a very dear friend of mine.
I didn’t.
I told myself that after the birthday of that dear friend, I would kill myself the very next day. But God happened, God came through and saved my life.
On that birthday itself, I was already putting my plans in motion. Telling people that I love them, writing goodbye letters ready to be sent out. But God had plans for me. Belle from church “forced” me out of my house and made me meet up with HauWei and Peggs at school. I didn’t wanna meet them but the alternative was them crashing my place and I wasn’t ready for that.
I went to meet them with a heavy heart. Determined to reject all their help and to push them away. Afraid of disappointments and being deemed a drama queen. Had too much of that in the past few years to stay positive, had too many people letting me down and abandoning me to have any more faith.
They broke me down. God came through for me.
I ended up telling them things that I never told any others. I told them my deepest secrets, my innermost fears. I crumbled and gave in. And it was that day which I realised that
“Every single person who wants to die, just wants to be saved.”
If only there is somebody who is patient enough and determined enough to break through all the walls and obstacles put up to prevent more hurt and let downs. If only there is somebody who would love enough to continue loving, despite all rejections and difficulties.
And it has been awesome since then. Granted, there are times when I still feel down and alone. But it is normal and I am no longer afraid, cause I know that God is closer to me than my own breath.
Fill your heart with your love of God and you will never be alone. Fill your mind with the words of God and you will never be depressed. Open up your heart and your mind to God and let Him fill you with even more love than you could ever ask for.
I have seen visions of God standing in front of me, just beckoning me to come to Him and to hug him. God has promised that he will never let go of me and that he will never abandon me. God has spoken to me through many ways, letting me know that as long as I reach out I will be saved and that he has plans for me. He will take care of me.
There is still so much behind the story of how I came to know God and the long route I have to take to come home to God. I had many chances with God in the last decade but I never did come into the kingdom of God until recently. I believe there are reasons behind them, I just haven’t got the wisdom to understand all of them yet.
But in God, I trust. Live with faith, in revelation.
And I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me.
Hi DJ ! im just wondering if you can help me reflect on Mathew 10:7-13 ? cause you really make good reflections ! REALLY ! :) thankss !
Matthew 10:7-13
New International Version (NIV)
7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven(A) has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[a] drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
9 “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts(B)— 10 no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep.(C) 11 Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. 12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting.(D) 13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you.
The context of this chapter is about the instructions Jesus gave to the 12 right after he called them in verses 1-4. Here we see Jesus set a clear instruction for His disciples to follow.
In verse 8 He says “Freely you have received, freely give!” Because God has showered them with his blessings, they too should do the same. This verse applies also to us children of God, we are blessed that we know Christ-therefore let us share this blessing that others too may know Him. It may be even through the way we treat others who don’t know him, through service, through encouragement, through being there and being a friend. Though we may not have the spiritual gift of healing, or casting out of demons, God has given us each our own Spiritual gifts that we ought to administer so that God may be glorified and others may be edified.
In the first part of verse 7, Jesus talks about a kingdom. This kingdom is not that the Jews were exactly looking for. In this time, when the people were looking for a Messiah they wanted someone like King David that would reign over them, overthrow the Roman government and lead the people. But Jesus had something better in mind. It was the unshakable eternal kingdom of God in heaven. We can all be part of this kingdom if we welcome Jesus into our hearts as our Lord, our King and our Savior.
In verse 10, the principle is really to trust God to provide what they will need. Not to stock up in excess but to live day by day by God’s provision. Travel light, for what the Lord needs is not an extravagant well paid person, but a humble man with a willing heart.
The disciples were also to go out and to look for someone who would welcome them in, if someone would do such then they should bless the household, otherwise they were to leave that house and find another. In this verse we understand that God uses other people to be blessings to his people in the ministry. Look for opportunities to serve God by helping his servants, you can pray about being a mission partner to missionaries, or if there is in any way that you can help others who are doing the work of the Lord. For we are blessed, therefor let us also bless our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Hi, I did something bad. A rumour went around about me a few years ago that I kept denying. Eventually I ended up going along with it. A lot of people thought it was true. It's a serious rumour. Even my boyfriend thought it was true. I was too scared to bring up the truth. But he found out and everything is going wrong. I shouldve said something ages ago. I just don't want to lose everything, and him over my stupid mistake. I pray every night that we'll get past it. I dont know what to do. help?
Someone once said that you can’t correct a mistake with another mistake. If you’ve been wrongly accused you should stand up for the truth. If you live in a lie, then it would be best to come out of it. I don’t know the whole context of your story, but usually things get messier when we don’t fix it as soon as possible. When we keep building up on the false things, we really just hurt ourselves in the end. If we keep brushing things under the rug, they never really go away and just resurface when the issue is brought up. Yes, there are risks to telling the truth, but it is really true that the truth shall set you free. I hope this can help, somehow. Feel free to message me again.
My husband and I both want children. We went through IVF and became pregnant with twins. I lost one baby at 8 weeks and at 5 months I gave birth to Julia Hope who was born sleeping? We are having a hard time coping with why this happened to us. I have heard and read that God doesn't take something away without replacing it with something greater. What could be greater than a child?
Dear Anon;
I know I will never be able to fully explain why God allows bad things to happen to good people. But I do know that one thing is for sure, God brings comfort to those in pain in ways that we may not even imagine. I pray that God would continue to encourage you despite your current situation. May you hold on to Him, and may your story be a blessing and encouragement as well to others. God bless!
Updates in a gist
So it’s been a while since I’ve really had time to maintain this site. But despite being so busy for more than a year, God has indeed been so good to me.
I realized just how crucial it is to know the Lord while we’re still students. It is during this time that we actually have so much time for growth and you should really maximize it. Now that I’m a working woman, it’s no joke how hard it is to make time for things. But it will really boil down to your choice if you will really make an effort to make time for the things that matters.
Despite one year of taking my quality time with God for granted, He has been so good and gracious not to let me go. This year, I really thank Him for filling me with the hunger and desire to really seek Him and study His Word again. And I’m excited to share with you the things I’ll be learning through this journey with God. :)
So how have I been?
Well, I changed my nationality from Filipino to Korean. (LOL! I’m kidding!)
Just celebrated 8 months of being blessed with my boyfriend last March 17.
Still love my job… and Lord willing, praying for a promotion. But in the meantime, I will enjoy what position God has given me :)
Being able to fill up my one blessing per day project for 2013
God is good… and this year will be a great one with Him. :) Have a blessed day!
Oh no! I’ve been away from Tumblr for so long… Will get to some message replying now :D hehe. I missed this!
You're so beautiful and your love for God makes you even more amazing.
AWWWWWW :”) Thank you Anon. <3
Help! PLEASE convince me that a guy is not worth admiring for if he steals my love for Jesus. I wanna get out of this! but I like the guy but at the same time I don't want to. I don't know!! :'( :'( </3
Hi Anon;
Sometimes there comes a point where you’ll have to choose who do you love more, God or the guy. It’s a really tough battle, but it can be won with the power of the Holy Spirit. I remember back when I was single, my constant prayers was “Lord if he is not the one, take the feelings away.” And He did. You need to do something about it though, do you put yourself in situations where you get closer and more emotionally attached? Then maybe it’s time to start lessening that. God wants what is best for you, and when we ask Him to help us want what He wants, He surely will. :)
