May 17 2011

The Automobile Warranty and Jesus Connection

“As far as the east is from the west,

so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

Psalm 103:12

Today, my wife’s car spent the day in the shop with a blown compressor and condenser.  This was an $1800 repair we had done just back in September of 2010, and it broke again on her on the way home yesterday.  With the Houston heat reaching 105 degrees in the summer, with the humidity at 110%, its obvious that it needs to be fixed.  Fortunately, the warranty covered the problem.  It was fixed 7 months ago, worked well for 7 months, and broke down again.

Kristen and I don’t have $1800 to throw at a broken AC unit every 7 months.  Its just not possible.  But that warranty really helped out.  The part is usually warrantied for 12 months/12,000 miles, however, our mechanic at First Tire and Automotive in Sugar Land, TX doubles the manufacturers warranty on all their repairs.  I wasn’t aware of this last night when I drove the car over to leave it.  I was worried, because even though we were within the 12 month time frame, we had driven 11,985 miles since the original repairs were done.  Not knowing about the doubling of the warranty sent me in a tizzy last night.

All I could think about was what we were going to do.  Were we going to have to fork over another $1800?  Would we just need to sell the car and get something else?  I started to panic, because we just don’t have the money to do either one of those things.  Imagine my relief this morning when the mechanic called and told me that the damage was covered under the warranty.  The best thing was that this warranty was free with my decision to go this particular mechanic.  Better yet, today he told me that if it happened again, that even though the warranty is from the original date of work, they would help in any way they could.

I sat at home all day today, since I had no car to go to the office.  I thought a lot about my life.  I’m covered under an eternal warranty given to me by God.  Its not something I paid for.  In fact, he paid for it himself.  All I had to do was accept it.  Thank goodness God has given me that gift.

I’ve screwed up a lot in my life.  I’ve done a lot of things that I’m not proud of.  I’ve acted in ways that many people would question whether or not I truly was a child of God.  When I start to stray away from God, I feel broken down.  I feel like all my “parts” just aren’t working right.  That’s when I remember that all I have to do is approach the throne of God and seek forgiveness.  He then does a complete system flush, and takes care of those sins.

The great thing about it is, however, that these sins aren’t recorded into a computer where he can go and check to see how long that forgiveness is good for.  As the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us!  Hallelujah!   This verse just describes it ALL!   It is just so awesome that God will forget everything we have done if we just ask Him to. I remember in the past when so called “friends” would hurt me or turn their back on me.  I know i have forgiven them, but I haven’t forgotten what they did.    That‘s a hard thing for us to do.  But God, He forgives and forgets like it never happened. we can let guilt build up in our human minds and continually ask for forgiveness,  but God says, “Forgive what?  I don’t remember any sin.“  I am so overwhelmed by His amazing love for everyone of us no matter how much we have messed up!  God is awesome!

May 14 2011

For Marty, my brother, on his birthday

From left to right, Penny, Marty and me outside his home in Memphis TN back in the early 90s.

Its hard to really get close to a sibling when there is an 8 year age difference.  Marty, my oldest sibling, and oldest of three children in the family, was born on May 15, 1970.  This year will mark him turning 42 years old.  He has three children, and is married to Penny.

Marty is the reason I am an Alabama fan.  He’s one of the reasons I went to Freed Hardeman University.  He’s one of the reasons that I’m a Huey Lewis and the News, Bruce Hornsby and the Range, and Nylons fan.

When I was younger, I thought Marty was one of the coolest people in the world.  He had cool friends, did cool things, and was someone to look up to.  I remember when my brother became a Christian, and even though I wasn’t ready, it made me think hard about my life in Christ.  My brother and I shared a room for about a year in 1985 while my parents built the house they currently live in.

Marty was given a 1957 Chevy to drive when he turned 16.  Our Grandfather Smith found it for him, and Marty drove it like it was the coolest car in the world.  In reality, it was the ugliest thing ever, but I didn’t know that then.  I just thought it was awesome.  If memory serves me correct, it was a 3 speed, had huge dents in it, and I believe Marty tried to fill some of the patches with bondo but never had the money to paint it.

My brother, Marty. Roll Tide!

Marty gave us a scare a few years ago when he was 36.  He has, for the longest time, struggled with sleep apnea.  It finally caught up to him and he had a heart attack followed by open heart surgery.  Thank goodness he made it through that time, and is healthy and living life to its fullest now.  He even rides a scooter now!

For the longest time now, I’ve called my brother a goober, but I mean that in the nicest way possible.  I often think he’s stuck in the 80s, loving his old music.  However, he has a heart of gold, would do anything for you if you asked him, and he finds the simple things in life make him happiest.  To my brother, I wish you a happy birthday.  May God continue to bless you with many more, and may he bless your family as well.

By lanewidick • Posted in Family
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May 14 2011

Just Add Water – A Look at Being a Christian

On June 10, 1992, I became a Christian.  There are many thoughts out there today as to how one becomes a Christian.  I believe the New Testament gives plenty of examples that the way to Christ and salvation eternal is through hearing the word of God, believing in what it says, changing your sinful ways, confessing that Jesus is Lord, and giving yourself over to him in immersion through baptism.  When you give yourself over to Jesus, you do it completely.

I remember the night I became a Christian.  My father baptized me after I walked down the aisle to the Church of Christ classic song, “Just As I Am”.  I remember making my confession before the 30 or so people at the Bethel Church of Christ that night, my father plunging me into the water, and re-emerging as a new creature buried in Christ, with the gift of the Holy Spirit.  I told God that night that I wanted to give my life to Him, completely.  While I have not even come close to being perfect, I have tried my hardest, and am committed to raising my family in a Christian home.

Recently, Billy Graham’s son Franklin was asked if he believed that Barack Obama was a Christian.  He stated “He has told me that he is a Christian. But the debate comes, what is a Christian? For him, going to church means he’s a Christian. For me, the definition of a Christian is whether we have given our life to Christ and are following him in faith, and we have trusted him as our Lord and Savior. That’s the definition of a Christian. It’s not as to what church you are a member of. A membership doesn’t make you Christian.”

A membership doesn’t make you Christian – there’s a lot of validity in that.  For a lot of us, we feel that just going to church makes you a Christian.  We believe that if our name is on the roll in a congregation of some sort, that we’re on God’s roll for entry into Heaven.

In an article challenging Franklin’s response of Obama’s Christianity, Roland Martin  a syndicated columnist for CNN and author of “The First: President Barack Obama’s Road to the White House.”, said “Any Christian will tell you: If a person verbally professes Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, that person is considered saved. No ifs, ands or buts. That’s when the conversation should end.”

I can’t help but think its not that simple.  First of all, “any Christian” will not say that.  True Christians will say that there is more to following Christ than just saying Jesus is my Lord and Savior.  The apostles left their nets, their jobs, their families and their livelihood to follow Christ.  Jesus told the Rich Young Ruler to sell everything he had and give it to the poor so he could inherit eternal life.  Jesus never simply said “Believe in me, and that’s all”.  In Matthew 28, Jesus tells those of us who have given our lives over to him to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them everything I have commanded you.”

We see in the following years of the first Christians that they did this.  In Acts, we see that the Christians dedicated themselves to each other.  They helped each other out.  They committed to being together, in a “corporate” setting and in their own personal lives.  We can’t simply just add water to our spiritual lives and expect it to grow into a full, mature Christian.  We can’t expect to just add water, never commit to God’s church, and expect that he approves of it.

We’ve read of professional athletes being kicked off their teams, traded away, or even fired simply because they didn’t show up to practice.  Practice is an important part of being an athlete.  They can’t just show up to the games and expect to first of all be a team, but second of all, to be any good.  When you don’t practice together, you don’t know each other’s game, and therefore can’t be productive.  One or two people may be successful, but as a team you will not succeed.

Yet, for some people, they treat their eternal salvation, their identity with God, as a casual social club.

Now, I’m not going to tell you that if you fail to go to church services every time the doors are open, that you’ll be eternally condemned.  I’m not going to tell you that if you fail to meet with fellow Christians every day to encourage each other and to teach the lost, that God won’t have a place for you in eternity.

But I will say that you’re missing out on your full potential as a Christian.  This isn’t an argument for whether or not baptism is essential to salvation.  This isn’t an argument about what church you have to belong to in order to have eternal life.  Those discussions are for a different time and place.  This is a plea that we need to restore the community found in the New Testament church, so that we aren’t just Christians in name, but that we are Christians in every aspect of our lives.

A business person seeking to climb the ladder of success would never think of just phoning in their work each week.  They know that they have to live that life daily, as best as they can, so that they can succeed.  They are going to devote themselves to that company, so that the presidents and managers can see how much it means to them, and that they are committed to the cause.

Instant coffee is okay, but slow drip is better.  TV Dinners suffice, but are nothing compared to a meal someone prepared in love all day long.  When we commit to the Christian life,  instead of just pulling it all together once a week, or once a month, God will take note and reward our hard work, in this life and the next.  May God be praised as we all dedicate ourselves to Him.

May 13 2011

Follow Jesus on Twitter

In preparing for my sermon next week on “Blessed Are the Persecuted”, I ran across this video.  While it doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with persecution, it does ask the question about how well we are doing in “following” Jesus.  Give it a look!

May 12 2011

For My Sister, Mary Anne, On Her Birthday

Mary Anne, around 1990.

For as long as I’ve been alive, I’ve had a sister.  Mary Anne was born on May 13, 1974.  She suffered greatly as child, being sandwiched between myself as the youngest child, and our older brother Marty, who is 4 years older than her.  She was the dreaded middle child, and on top of that was the only sister/daughter in the family.

If I think back to people who taught me over the years, Mary Anne probably taught me more than anyone.  She would come home from school and teach me the things she had learned.  I always knew that she loved me.  She tolerated me for years as I would steal her Barbie dolls and torture them, making them play with my He-Man and A-Team action figures.  She endured countless times of me telling on her for doing something she probably didn’t do.  She never killed me for picking up the phone and listening on her conversations.

I remember as young children, we would put a record on the record player or a cassette in the tape player and sing along, giving concerts to anyone who would listen.  I remember always begging her to play with me as we got older, but she insisted on reading a book.  As we both got older, I think we got closer to each other.

I’ll never forget when she went to college.  On the way to Freed Hardeman to drop her off, I kept playing the song “Letting Go” by Suzy Boggess over and over again.  When we drove away, and I looked in the rear window as she walked back to her dorm room, I wept.  My sister and friend was entering into a new stage of her life, and I wasn’t going to be a part of it.

Mary Anne and her beautiful picture while undergoing chemo.

While she was in college, she always supported me in everything I did.  She came home to see my plays and theatrical productions.  She came to listen to the chorus sing.  She would bring her friends home from college, and she never tried to hide me away.  She wanted me to be a part of the group.

At the beginning of April of 2009, my wife Kristen and I moved to Houston, TX.  We had been here about a week when my parents called me and told me that Mary Anne had been diagnosed with breast cancer.  My heart sank.  I was no where near her, and wasn’t going to be able to help her through this time.  It was not me, or anyone else for that matter,

that was an inspiration to her, but rather she was an inspiration to all of us.  She took it in stride, and came out victorious.  Daily she would post encouraging Bible verses applicable to the junk she was going through.  She impacted many through that time in her life.

As it happens often in life, my sister and I have grown apart somewhat.  Its inevitable that when families are hundreds of miles apart that the closeness is hard to maintain.  However, Mary Anne has always had an impact in my life, and will always continue to do so.  Her husband, Kevin, and her two children, Faith and John Derrick, will always be blessed to have such a Godly woman in their lives.

Mary Anne, you will always be my sister, and even though we’re not together on your special day, know that I love you, and that you’ve always been a friend and great sister.  I count it an honor to have you as a sister, and I can’t wait to see you again.  May God bless you on your birthday.  May he bless you with many more!

At the Titans' game on Christmas Eve with Mary Anne and her husband Kevin.

May 12 2011

Community

In Acts 2, we read of many wonderful events that took place as the Church began to take form.  We see the Holy Spirit make a dramatic entry into the disciples as they are all together.  We read of Peter’s great sermon of how he explained what had happened, gave a great account of Christ and his death, resurrection, and exaltation, and finally a plea for all to repent and be baptized.  About 3000 people who witnessed the events of this day gave their lives over to Christ, but more importantly, gave their lives over to each other.

In the verses following these great events, we read in verses 42-47 of how the Church community began to form.  It was marked by the people devoting themselves to the work of teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer.  From these verses we learn that the church was not just a gathering of people who came together on Sunday for an hour or two, but a group that was dedicated to each other at all times.

The church is facing an interesting dilemma right now across the country.  Generations are growing more and more segregated over issues.  Most of these issues are not even scriptural issues, but traditional issues.  When this occurs, the congregations become even more divided, and you end up with 3 or 4 different camps within one body.  Maybe the reason churches are struggling more over these things is because there is a lack of community in the church.  Sadly, people are more willing to argue and divide than they are willing to devote themselves to each other as the first century church did.

Acts 2:47 says they praised God and enjoyed the favor of all the people.  Because of that, God added to their number daily.  Will you enjoy the favor of all the people you worship with today?  Will you be willing to make that happen more than just on Sunday morning?  Can we put petty differences to the side and join together to spread the good news of Jesus to all?  Let’s be a community of believers, and devote ourselves to each other!

Apr 19 2011

The Happiness Algorithm

Matthew 5:6 – “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”  It is very doctrinal – it emphasizes a very fundamental doctrine of the gospel – that salvation is entirely of grace, and that is a free gift from God.

It says “Blessed are those”, or in essence, HAPPY are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.  It suggests that the only truly happy people are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.  Who is looking for happiness?  I would suggest we all are!

We go to school, to get into college, so we can get a good job, so we can make money, so we can have a nice home, car, possessions of all types, so we can be…HAPPY.  Behind just about everything we do, every act and ambition, the work and striving, behind all effort is the great motive known as happiness.

The problem is, we go about interpreting this verse all wrong.  We are not to hunger and thirst after blessedness.  We are not to hunger and thirst after happiness.  BUT this is what a lot of us do.  We make happiness and blessedness as the main object of desire.  The scriptures never really tell us to seek out happiness directly.  It is always something that results from seeking something else.  This is true for Christians and non-Christians alike.  The whole world is seeking happiness.  They try to find it, they make it their goal, their objective.  BUT they don’t find it because when you put happiness before Righteousness – you probably won’t be successful.

The great tragedy of the world is that, though it seeks for happiness, it never seems to find it. It searches for happiness in seemingly everything — leisure activities like basketball, golf, fishing; in pre-marital or extra-marital sex; in drugs, alcohol, and tobacco; in work and business; in money and possessions.  The world has made happiness its goal, its objective.

I’m afraid that there are many within the church who have never learned this lesson either. They search for happiness in conventions, or conferences, or classes, or they move from church to church, always looking for happiness.

What does the person who is hungering and thirsting for righteousness look like?  First, it is the man who sees that has separated him from God, and longs to get back into that old relationship.  Second, it means a desire to be free from the power of sin.  Ephesians 2 says:  “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.”   We realize that Satan has been blinding us to various things, and we long to be free from it.  It is a desire to be free from the very desire for sin.  The sad fact is that sin has such a hold on us, that not only do realize that we’re in the bondage of sin, but that we like it, that we want it.

The person who is hungering and thirsting after righteousness is longing to be holy.  It is the person who wants to exemplify the Beatitudes in their daily life.  It is the person who wants to show the fruit fo the Spirit in every action and in the whole of his life and activity.  It is a person whose supreme desire in life is to know God and to be in fellowship with Him, to walk with God.

God asks, in Isaiah 55:2 “Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?” Only God satisfies. So, we need to come to the place where we are hungry for God. We must desire Him so passionately that our desire causes us to do something about it. Nothing less than that passion will cause us to act properly.

The beatitude simply says, “They will be filled,” but the meaning is: “They will be filled with the fullness of divine and perfect righteousness,” because that is what they have been hungering after.

It may seem that a paradox exists: God will satisfy us, but we will continue to hunger and thirst. I’m satisfied when I eat chips and salsa at a good Mexican Restaurant, but I always want more! The satisfaction one chip provides also increases my desire for more of the same. That is a picture of what righteousness is for the saved – the more we are filled with the fulfilling taste of Christ’s righteousness, the more we desire it.

Feb 22 2011

Bieber Fever? A Confession…

I’m a fan of Justin Bieber.  There, I got that out of the way.

But, I’ve never once listened to any of his music.  I’ve never read any lyrics to his songs.  I couldn’t tell you the name of one his songs.  But I’m a big fan.

I know I may get ridiculed for having “Bieber Fever”, but I really don’t care.  The kid is just awesome.

In a society of teen pop culture icons, its good to see that so far, one of them has kept their head on straight.  After seeing the downfalls of so many going from child star to young adult inmate, its refreshing to see that Justin, to this point, has not met that demise.  I hope that he won’t ever fall from where he is right now.

Recently on Extreme Home Makeover, Justin Bieber was a guest star in support of a family who lost their daughter to texting while driving.  You can read more about that episode by clicking HERE. That night, he had a concert and invited the younger sister of the victim to be his guest of honor.  Being a young teenager, she was thrilled, and got to bring along several friends.  She had a private pre concert party with Bieber, and then Justin told her that $1 from every ticket sold that night was going to help their cause of stopping teens from texting and driving.  It was that night I became intrigued as to how such a young guy could have such a big heart.  Since then I have found out about several other things he does to help out.

Last summer, Bieber gave a sizable donation to victims of the Nashville Floods.  He speaks out against bullying in school.  He donates to the Children’s Miracle Network.  $1 from every ticket sale to all of his concerts goes to Pencils of Promise, an organization that builds schools for third world countries.  A simple google search will reveal many charities he helps out with, and he seems to be always looking for a way to help.

As a parent of a young child, I hope that future child and teen stars can look to him as a way to get it right.  I know he was raised right.  Recently, Bieber’s mom issued a public prayer request to ask all his fans to pray that he would continue in the ways he seems to be headed, and not be influenced in a negative way by his fame and fortune.

Feb 17 2011

Great Balls of Fire!


There are many narratives told throughout the Bible that are impossible to let go of.  From the beginning of the Bible to the end, many jump out as tall tales, fascinating adventures, or love stories.

–         Noah’s Ark and the Flood
–         The Captivity and Exile of the Israelites
–         The Walls of Jericho
–         The Herculean Samson
–         David and Goliath
–         Jonah and the Big Fish

Aside from the description and accounts of the Life and Death of Jesus, no other story sticks out in my head like the one of Shadrach Meshach, and Abednego.

I believe the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is so powerful, that I believe you could pull this one story out of the Bible and encapsulate every aspect of who God is, and every aspect of who we as Christians should be in our service to Him.

In a nutshell, King Nebuchadnezzar builds a giant statue and tells everyone that when the band plays, everyone of any race, creed, or color must bow down and worship the image.  If  you did not bow, you would be thrown into a fiery furnace to be destroyed.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, 3 Jewish men who were in Babylon due to the captivity of Israel, refuse.  These men have already been mentioned in the first chapter under different names, but they were promoted and honored in the land to positions of authority.

Nebuchadnezzar brings them in and asks them to bow down when the band plays.  He reveals his true egotistical self in the statement: “What god will be able to rescue you from my hand”.  Here, Nebuchadnezzar asserts his own power above all gods.   Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego give an answer at this point that reminds of the devotion that one would expect find in a great love story: “We don’t need to defend ourselves before you in this matter”, OR – Your threats mean nothing to us.

They then go on to show their true faith in their God.  They talk of if you throw us into the fire, the God we serve can rescue us from it, or anything else you throw at us.  BUT IF NOT, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference, O King.  We still wouldn’t serve your gods or worship  your statue.  This obviously makes the King mad, and he orders the furnaces 7 times hotter, and the men thrown in to the blaze.  They were bound, wearing all of their clothing, and thrown in.  The men who threw them in were killed from the intensity of the heat.

The King looks up at the furnace and notices they are walking around, unbound, and there is a 4th person in the fire with them.  He recognizes this person as a son of the gods, later to recognize the person as God.

Here are 5 points I was able to pull from the story to apply to us today.

  1. The Love story here is reciprocal :  They love their God so much, they’re not willing to betray Him, and He loves his servants so much, he would never betray them
  2. There is power in companionship. Surround yourself with good friends.  Could they have done this alone?  The three men believed that God could save them from anything, but their loyalty was NOT contingent on their rescue.    This loyalty had to be easier to have when the loyalty comes with the companionship.  Surround yourself with believers, so you won’t be tempted to abandon God from time to time.
  3. We can’t let an emotional response to God rule our faith. Nebuchadnezzar had several “mountain of God” experiences, in previous chapters, but these emotional outbursts of his allegiance to the God of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were seemingly short lived.  Emotion is not a bad thing, and an emotional response to God is not a bad thing.  However, we can’t base our entire faith on the emotional responses to God.  It has to be rooted, like the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
  4. God saved the three men IN THE FIRE, not FROM THE FIRE. God could have extinguished the flames, but he did not.  This is interesting to note that God saves us the same way today.  He saves us IN the world, not FROM the world.
  5. God continues to confirm His promise to us as He did for Israel. This was an encouragement for Daniel’s Day.  Remember things are bad.  They’ve been in captivity, their land was devastated, their people were scattered, and the situation looked hopeless.  What an encouragement this could be in giving hope to the hopeless.  This story becomes a strong message to the people.   Jehovah is still on the throne.  God hasn’t forsaken us. He will one day fulfill His promises to His people

Interesting to note that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s names were originally something else: Hananiah is a Hebrew name that means “Yahweh who is gracious”. Misha’el means “Who is like Yahweh?” and it also means “to feed” or “to provide” as in how a husband provides for his family. The Hebrew name Azariah appropriately means “Yahweh has helped”.  God certainly did all of those things for these men in this challenging time.

Jan 22 2011

Course Correction

In Jeremiah 29:10-14, we read a story of a group of people who had everything going for them, and then their lives got turned upside down and shaken up over and over as well.

We’ve heard it said that God loves us and has a wonderful plan for our lives. It’s easy to agree when we like the plan. But sometimes, things in our lives take a turn.

The same thing is true of the Jewish people in Jeremiah 29. The year is 597 BC. God is judging the nation of Judah because of their unfaithfulness. The Babylonians have attacked Jerusalem. They’ve taken 3000 prisoners back to Babylon, including the king, the court officials, and the craftsmen. And the Jews are saying “This isn’t supposed to happen to us! We’re the chosen people! We’re the apple of God’s eye! What is going on?”

The Babylonians invade the land of Judah in 597 BC, the captives are probably thinking, “This isn’t going to last long. God is going to come through for us like He always does! The prophet Hananiah said in Jeremiah 28 that in two years, God will break the yoke of the king of Babylon, and we will be free! We’re coming back home! Praise God!”

But in Jeremiah 29:1-6, Jeremiah writes a letter to the captives in Babylon. And basically, he says “You’re not coming home for a while. Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters. Be fruitful and multiply.” In other words, ‘You’re not ready to go home because I have plans for you right here in Babylon.”

And then in verse seven, Jeremiah says, “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.”

And the Jews would have been thinking, “You want us to pray for the community that carried us into captivity? Jeremiah, have you lost your mind? These people are the enemies of God! These are the people who ransacked the city of Jerusalem! How can you ask us to pray for these people?”

And then down in verse ten, God says something else that would have gotten the Jews riled up. He says “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.”

The Jews had to be thinking, “You mean we gotta live in this rotten country for the next 70 years? Most of us are going to be dead by then! What kind of a plan is this, God?”

But if you look at the Old Testament, you will see that God accomplished great things in the lives of His people during those seventy years.

Number one: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were three of the captives that were taken to Babylon. They went on to become three of the best administrators that the country ever had.

Number two: Daniel was another one of the captives that was taken to Babylon. And because Daniel was able to interpret the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar, he was made ruler over the entire province of Babylon.

Number three: With Daniel’s help, Nebuchadnezzar becomes a believer in God. In Daniel 4:37, he says, “I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride He is able to humble.” This beautiful moment in the king’s life would probably not have happened if it weren’t for the presence of the Jewish people in the land of Babylon.

Number four: Because the Jewish people were able to live in peace under the leadership of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar, they had time to write some of the greatest books of the Old Testament. 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Psalm 137 were all written during this seventy year period.

Number five: Most important of all, during this 70 year period, the Jewish people were beginning to realize that they needed to get right with the Lord! They were beginning to see that they needed to apologize for the mistakes of the past. Jeremiah 4:18 says that “Your own conduct and actions have brought this upon you.”

How many of you have ever had someone say, “Your own conduct and actions have brought this upon you?” I probably heard that a million times as a child growing up.  But there are times when we need to hear it. And this time, the Jewish people need to hear it. Because for years, they have been under the impression that because they are the chosen people, and because they are the guardians of the temple of the Lord, they can live their lives any way they please. And God says in Jeremiah 7:4, “Do not trust in deceptive words. If you reform your ways and change your actions, I will let you stay in the land.” But they didn’t listen. And God is using these seventy years of exile to show the Jewish people where they went wrong. And what they need to do to make things right.

So when you look at the big picture, you can see that God is working behind the scenes in the hearts and in the lives of the Jewish people. Even though they can’t see it.

God’s plan isn’t always what we thought it was going to be. But God’s plan is always best. Even if we don’t understand it at the time. Even if we can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. Even if we would never have chosen this path for ourselves.

And that brings us to Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.” And then Jeremiah says that “God has plans to prosper you and not to harm you.”

When I talk about God prospering us, I’m not talking about everyone in church winning the Powerball jackpot (as appealing as that may sound). I’m talking about enjoying the everyday blessings of God that are mentioned in verses 4-6. The blessings of a place to live, food to eat, families to love, and communities to pray for. All of these things are a sign that we are experiencing God’s plans to prosper us and not to harm us.

Then Jeremiah says that God has ‘plans to give you a hope and a future.’ For the Jewish people, that meant going back to the promised land. But for us, it means going UP to the Promised Land.

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you have a hope and a future that goes far beyond the parameters of this life. You have a hope and a future where you will be living in eternity with God himself. You have the hope that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. You have the hope that God will someday be finished with the work He’s doing in your life, and that you will reign with Christ forever and ever! You have a certain hope that God’s promises in your life will come true.

In fact, the whole message of Jeremiah is that the word of the Lord always comes true. In the first 25 chapters of Jeremiah, God says over and over again, “I am going to judge the nation of Judah because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water.” And that’s what happened. Because the word of the Lord always comes true.

And in Jeremiah chapter 30:3, God says “The days are coming, when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their forefathers to possess,’ says the LORD.” 50 years later, the Medes and the Persians conquered the kingdom of Babylon. And the Jews were allowed to go back home. Because the word of the Lord always comes true.

And in Jeremiah 31:31, the Lord says “I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. With this covenant, No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ’Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

630 years later, God ratified this new covenant when He sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins. And because of what Jesus Christ did for us on that cross, we all have an opportunity to know the Lord for ourselves. We all have an opportunity to be forgiven! This helped prove once and for all that the word of the Lord always come true.

And because the word of the Lord is coming true in our lives, we need to reach out to the God who makes His word come true. Jeremiah 29:12-14 says “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.  I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.  I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which carried you into exile.”

It is clear that based upon verses 11-14, that God wants us to prosper, he wants to take care of us.  But I want you to look closely at the condition of them being able to re-occupy the lands they were taken from…

In order for the Jews to get their lands back, they had to obey.  They had heard God, but now they had to obey.  How did they obey in this situation?  They had to call on him, come to him, and pray to him.  And they had to do it with all of their heart.  THEN, they would find God, and THEN they would bring them back from captivity.

I don’t know what is holding you captive in your life today, but if God is not first in your life, and if you are not earnestly seeking after HIM, then you can’t expect to find your new beginning.  Today, will you seek him?  Will you search for him with all of your heart?  God wants to release us from the captivity that has hold of us, and help us prosper…but He can only do that when we look for God before we look for anything else.