God’s Plans for His Children

“For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” -Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NKJV) [Read Jeremiah 29]

Jeremiah 29 is a letter from the prophet sent to misplaced Jewish exiles in Babylon. Many thought Judah would soon be restored, since they were God’s called people. But Jeremiah saw God’s restoration differently. In Jeremiah 29:10 he told the people that after 70 years, God would restore them to the land of Judah. Here is a study outline of Jeremiah 29, a chapter which is said to be the major theme of the whole book of Jeremiah:

     1. A statement of the condition (Jer. 29:1-3)

     2. Learn to make the best of whatever situation you are in (vv. 4-6)

     3. Pray, pray, pray in whatever situation you find yourself (v. 7)

     4. Don’t listen to the wrong advice (vv. 8-9)

     5. Take the long view of the situation (v. 10)

     6. Hope in God’s plans (v. 11) [Key text, and memory verse from this passage]

     7. Above all, constantly seek the Lord and His ways (vv. 13-14)

A more modern rendition of Jeremiah 29:11 is from Eugene Peterson’s The Message Bible: “I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.” In this verse, God speaks authoritatively about His plans, with the firm assurance that His plans also include what the believers hope for in the future. Who doesn’t want the “best” for themselves and others? God Himself wants what is best for us! We must acknowledge that our “best” plans “oft’ go agley” as Scottish Poet Robert Burns so aptly stated (we would translate: “often go contrary of what we plan.”) But if we are sincere believers who “know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28, NKJV), then we can trust God to help us through any situation. Problems will be there; His power is greater than any problems we face! Selah!

Briefly stated (for it is a long story,) I give testimony to Jeremiah 29:11-13, and how it has helped me tremendously since 2002 Then I made the decision to move Grover and me to Milledgeville from the beautiful mountains of North Georgia that had been my home most of my life. There were some years away at college and a few years of “first ministry” for Grover; and then the Lord moved us to Hiawassee, and then to Epworth [in the mountains] where his ministry and my teaching—the bulk of these—occurred in the mountains. Now the story as to why we moved to Middle Georgia. In June, 2002 I decided to purchase the house next door to my daughter Cynthia’s house, and move us here (the move occurred later, February 17, 2003 when the house was ready). Grover was well into having the dread disease of Alzheimer’s. I needed family help, and received it, as well as help and support from many Christian friends I met here, and our church which ministered to both of us in such loving ways. I kept him at home with help for four more years after we moved to Milledgeville. Then in 2007, he became a patient at Georgia War Veterans’ Home here, another God-send along the long route of providing for an Alzheimer’s patient. He died January 26, 2011. I was ministered to and loved by these good people (as well as many others from long-distance, friends in the mountains and elsewhere). “I know the plans I have for you,” the Lord promised. And it has proven so true for me. “Every morning, mercies new.” God has proven in so many ways the truth of Jeremiah 29: in our “exile” here. Will I move back to the mountains? God hasn’t finished with me here yet! -Ethelene Dyer Jones 01.15.2017

The Roman Road – The Plan of Salvation – God’s Provision of Salvation

In these devotional thoughts at the beginning of this new year, I am following suggestions from Robert J. Morgan’s book 100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart (Nashville; B & H Publishing Group, 2010). Today’s progression through “The Roman Road: The Plan of Salvation” falls on the third of five verses from Romans which succinctly tell of God’s love for sinners and His provision of a Savior, and what the person should do to be saved from sin. The five verses in “The Roman Road” are Romans 3:23, 6: 23, 5:8, 10:9, and 10:10. I suggest (and so does Rev. Morgan) that we memorize each of these verses and mark them in a favorite Bible and New Testament. In this way, we can easily access them and know them when we talk to someone about becoming a Christian.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” This verse, being introduced by “but,” indicates that a statement of great truth also precedes this verse. Let us examine from Romans 5:5 and forward to this verse. Paul the Apostle writes: “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (v. 5) “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” (v. 6). “For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.” (v. 7). These verses preceding our focal verse for today tell us, as does John 3:16, that God has great love for the highest of his creation, man. He desired and did make a way for broken fellowship to be restored. The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, bears witness to the love God has for us by giving His only Son to be the sacrifice for our sins. We had no strength to save ourselves. If we tried works or godly living on our own, we failed in both respects. And since, “without shedding of blood there is no remission of sins,” God sent His Son into the world to live a perfect life and then to die for us. And that brings us to our focal verse: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (v. 8)

This is a truth that the person accepts on faith. By repentance of sins and a deliberate acceptance of God’s provision of love through His Son, our relationship with God is miraculously restored. Our finite minds have difficulty understanding a love so comprehensive and complete. But faith steps in and allows the believer to know that this is indeed true. Subsequent verses help to make our decision understandable and affirming: “Much more, then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (v. 9) “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (v. 10). “And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.” (v. 11).

What a progression, and all a gift from God: Faith, confession, forgiveness, restoration, reconciliation, and abundant life—for this earthly life and the eternal life to come! Praise be to God who wrought our salvation through His beloved Son! - Ethelene Dyer Jones 01.08.2016

May God Crown the New Year with Bounty

“Praise is due You, O God in Zion, and to You shall vows be performed, O You who hear prayer to You shall all flesh come…You crown the year with bounty.” -Psalm 65:1-2, 11a (ESV). [Read Psalm 65]

This is the first day of a brand New Year! Welcome, 2017! The end of the year just passing and the beginning of a new year is a somber time for me: a time to reflect upon blessings, to remember, sometimes to consider regrets and to seek forgiveness, but certainly a time to look forward with anticipation to the fresh new year beginning. I highly recommend David’s reflections in Psalm 65 as a basis for our own thoughts of remembrance and reflection as we look both backward and forward and thank God for the time he continues to give us to “live and move and have our being” in this present world. May we awake each day of 2017 with this acclamation on our lips: “This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it!” (Psalm 118:24)

Why am I living in this year of our Lord, 2017? Do you consider that God had a purpose for each of us, even before we were conceived in our mother’s womb? So we are told in Psalm 22:10: “On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.”

The beginning of a New Year is a time of reflection—of looking back to count blessings, both spiritual and temporal. And among them are our beginnings, the family into which we were born. I hope each of you reading this, as I, had a loving Christian home, one where parents trained you up in the way you should go, so that when you were older you would not depart from their Christian instruction (as promised in Proverbs 22:6). I owe a great debt to my parents. And they, too, exampled for me, when I became a parent, that I had a godly responsibility to the children entrusted to me. At the closing out of the old year and the beginning of the new, I am flooded with remembrances and thanksgivings of who I am because of the foundations of faith and stability in which I was reared.

As the New Year dawns, it is a time of anticipation. David’s Psalm 65 attests strongly to God’s providence and salvation. In the Psalm the author affirms that the people will make their prayers to God and pay their vows. He anticipates that God will visit the earth, water it, make it produce. He pictures how the people will have what they need: “You crown the year with Your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance” (Psalm 65:11). What then, is my purpose, your purpose, as the new year 2017 dawns? Could our purpose be to praise and honor God, to live close to Him, to recognize His favor, to pray for and love our families and be reconciled to them? To pray earnestly for our country and its leaders, to live as responsible, caring, helping citizens, to love those with a godly love within the parameter of our influence? . Psalm 65:4 gives us an answer: “Blessed is the one You choose and bring near to dwell in Your courts!” Consider that God has chosen each believer for this time and place in history in the vast span of time and eternity. What a sobering and awesome thought!. A strong example from history happened during the reign of King Ahaseurus of Persia, who ruled from about 486-464 BC. Her Uncle Mordecai said to Esther when she was to approach King Ahaseurus on behalf of the Jews: “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14b, ESV).

What an awesome message for 2017 is contained in David’s words in Psalm 65:5-8: “By awesome deeds You answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, for the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; the One who by His strength established the mountains, being girded with might: who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at Your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.”

Prayer: O Lord, our Lord, in this year of our Lord, 2017, we are thankful to be alive! Help us reflect on Your bountiful provisions in the past and anticipate with joy Your leadership in this New Year and in the future.

-Ethelene Dyer Jones 01.01.2017

Christmas Is…

“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means God with us).” – Matthew 1:22-23 (ESV)

Christmas is ‘God with us,’

‘Immanuel His name.’

In the fullness of time

The Lord Jesus came,

Fulfillment of prophecy

In God’s plan for mankind,

To restore broken kinship

And bring peace of mind

To all who draw near

With faith deep in the heart.

This is the message

That Christmas imparts.

Christmas is Love Incarnate,

The Word made flesh;

A break through the darkness

From sin that enmeshed

Mankind in bondage

For multitudinous years.

Angels declared the message:

“Rejoice! Have no fears

For behold, we bring you

This message of peace:

“Christ is born in Bethlehem”

Sin’s bondage will cease!”

Think how our gratitude

Should swell up in praise;

Let us serve Christ the Lord

Through all of our days!

“Christmas is the day

That holds all time together.”*

Christmas is “God with us.”

Let no power that bond sever.

-Ethelene Dyer Jones

*”Christmas is the day that holds all time together.” -a quotation by Alexander Smith.

Prayer: May the deep meaning of Christmas permeate our hearts and minds on this Christmas day and give us hope for living a victorious life in the year 2017. Amen. - Ethelene Dyer Jones 12.25.2016

The Compassion of the Lord – A Messianic Prophecy

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and our labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast sure love for David.” – Isaiah 55:1-4 (ESV).

      Beginning with Isaiah 54 and continuing through Isaiah 55, the prophet changes from the Suffering Servant and vicarious sufferer theme, both of which Christ became in His life. Isaiah 54 declares the eternal covenant of peace with the invitation: “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtain of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.” (Isaiah 54:2). The prophet also told of the splendor of the kingdom and its domains: “I will set your stones in antimony and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of agate, and your gates of carbuncles, and all your wall of precious stones” (Isaiah 54:11b-12). Many, in anticipating the coming of the Ruling Messiah, saw Isaiah’s prophecy as the ushering in of and age of prosperity and wealth. Since they had endured much at the hands of oppressing nations, they would welcome restoration. They wanted their holy city of Jerusalem rebuilt with the finest materials available. But was God meaning a literal restoration of the kingdom of Israel? Or did he intend this picture from our focal passage to provide a glimpse into the eternal city prepared in heaven for the faithful?

      The invitation that opens Isaiah 55 is all-inclusive: “Come, everyone who thirsts…” God invites everyone to receive His blessings. Who doesn’t have need for water? Water difficulties and loss of water even for a short period cause great concern. Thirsting, the need for water is a universal condition. God’s invitation in this Messianic prophecy is for everyone. Farther on in Isaiah 55:6-7, he urges: “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” Seeking the Lord, returning to Him, and appropriating His compassion are part of the believer’s beginning in the new kingdom. God offers salvation to all, but each individual must make the move toward God and accept His offer of help and salvation.

      Isaiah’s prophecy reminds us of Jesus feeding over five thousand, a miracle recorded in all four gospels (see, beginning with these references and following the account: Matthew 14:15, Mark 6:35, Luke 9:12 and John 6:1). Jesus, in His ministry, was moved with compassion on the crowds. He performed the miracle of feeding, but he also healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead. He was the Messiah acting to meet people’s needs. When the crowd followed Jesus still expecting a constant hand-out without working for what they received, He reprimanded them: “You seek me not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man shall give to you, for on Him the Father, even God, has set his seal (John 6:26-27, NASV). Asking how they might do the works of God, Jesus answered, “This is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (John 6:29) Jesus’ word to them was a direct fulfillment of the invitation prophecy given by Isaiah. Note the strong verbs in Isaiah’s invitation: “come, come, come; listen, incline (your ear), hear! All these denote actions prior to receiving “the food that endures to eternal life.” The steps are to go to the Messiah, seek Him with the whole heart, hear His words and accept Him as Savior. The actions of these verbs—go, seek, hear, accept—also precede a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy in 54:13: All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.”

      Prayer: Lord, especially at Christmas time when we are prone to join in the secular rush of the season, help us to hear and heed Your plea to “Come…take of the water of life.” Help us to “hear…that our soul may live.” In Jesus’ name. Amen. - Ethelene Dyer Jones 12.18.2016

Abraham’s Seed to Bless the Gentiles…A Messianic Prophecy

“And in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, and statutes, and my laws.” -Genesis 22:18; 16:4 (ESV).

      When God promised to bless all the nations of the earth through Abraham’s offspring, the context was extremely impressive. Abraham had undergone a great test of his faith. He heard God’s command to him to offer as a sacrifice his son Isaac. He went to the mountain with his son to perform the act of sacrifice. God intervened and stayed Abraham’s hand from killing Isaac. The writer of Hebrews in later centuries noted: “He (Abraham) considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back” (Hebrews 11:19). The commendation from God was that Abraham had obeyed His command. He had carried through on the intent to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Was this act on the part of Abraham—offering his son—not a foretaste of same type of sacrifice God Himself made in offering His only begotten Son as a propitiation for sin? The Messiah was in the ancestral lineage of Abraham. Through the Messiah all the nations of the earth have been blessed, are still being blessed, and will continue to be blessed.

      In Genesis 26:4, the word of promise is to Isaac, Abraham’s son. The covenant was continuing. At that time, a great famine was in Israel. Isaac went to Gerar to King Abimelech of the Philistines no doubt to seek help with food due to the severe famine. God appeared to Isaac, telling him not go into Egypt (as Abraham had done at the time of a previous famine [see Genesis 12:10]). Then God renewed basically the same covenant as He had made with Abraham, Isaac’s father. He promised Isaac his offspring would be as numerous as the stars of the heavens because Abraham, his father, had obeyed God’s voice, kept his charges, his commandment, his statutes, and his laws (see Genesis 26:5). An amazing truth about this promise made to Isaac is that he was a person with flaws of character—not perfect by any means. But through people, as imperfect as they are, God accomplishes His purposes. Did this promise made to Isaac come true? Here is the response from Paul the Apostle: Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, ‘and to offsprings, referring to many, but referring to one. ‘And to your offspring,’ who is Christ” (Galatians 3:16). In Hebrews 6:13 we read: “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater by whom to swear, He swore by himself, saying, ‘Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” God’s promises are guaranteed by God’s own perfect and trustworthy character. There is no one greater than God who can assure the promises He Himself makes. God’s oath for blessing all the nations of the earth through “the offspring”—the Messiah—was made upon God’s own character. From the days of Abraham until the seed of Abraham came to Bethlehem to enter earth in human form as a tiny Baby, God was working out the pledge He had made to Abraham and to Isaac. Wrapped up in that tiny Baby in a manager was the means of blessing all the nations of the earth. And “the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations,” (Mark 13:10) which is a sign of the close of the age. Until then, we basically have the same work as assigned to Abraham: “to obey God’s voice, to keep His charge, His commandments, His statutes and His laws.”

      Prayer: Lord, it is amazing to think that we now are the recipients of the promise made to Abraham and to Isaac. Thank You for working Your purposes out through ordinary people with extraordinary assignments until finally Jesus came a baby who was Emmanuel, God with us, to save God’s people from their sins. And, Lord, that same Emmanuel will come again to reign in Glory. Thanks be to God. We rejoice! Amen! - Ethelene Dyer Jones 12.11.2016

God’s Promise, God’s Command

“No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.” -Joshua 1:5-7 (ESV).

      Joshua was a leader after God’s own heart. Moses, the great leader of Israel, had just died. Joshua had been named his successor. Ahead of him lay the task of possessing the Promised land for the Israelites. His was not an easy task, as Joshua often led an unbelieving, grumbling, hard-to-please large, large group of people. We are told that the Israelites numbered “six hundred thousand men on foot” (that is, those men who were able to walk and engage in battle, not counting the crippled, infirm, and elderly that might have had to be carried on a litter or to ride in carts or on animals). Not included in that great number under Joshua, the new leader’s command, were the great number of women and children in the Israelite camp, awaiting entrance into the Promised Land.

      Many battles lay ahead for Joshua, the new leader. God reminded him to be “strong and courageous.” He had a heavy responsibility and recognized his need for dependence upon God. Following conquest of the land, and settlement by tribes, Joshua called the leaders together at Shechem, a major city, and there the covenant was renewed between people and the Lord God. Joshua’s statement was firm and positive, and established his stand for God before the people: “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15b). His statement was his commitment and indicated his manner of life. He was a leader after God’s own heart.

      A summary of Joshua’s leadership is found in Joshua 24:31: “Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, and had known all the work that the Lord did for Israel.”

      We learn from this inspiring account of Joshua and his time as commander of Israel that a strong, God-fearing, courageous leader can make a decided difference in a nation. The lesson also teaches us that individuals with purpose and commitment can be used mightily of God to set the course of righteousness for themselves and others. God’s promise for such a leader is: “I will be with you; I will not leave your or forsake you.” God’s command for such a person is “Do not turn from Me to the right hand or to the left.” Recognizing God’s strength, the committed person’s courage and following God are keys to a job well done and are according to God’s purpose. - Ethelene Dyer Jones 12.04.2016