The Future Looks Bright!
The future looks bright!
How’s your future look? You might say forget about the future, what about today? It’s sad to hear about all the sickness, death, and disease today. The COVID-19 virus is putting a damper on life. We are being limited on what we can do, where we can go, and who we can be in contact with. Some of us have lost our jobs during this pandemic. Truly pressing and turbulent times. If you’re like me you are probably asking, when will this be over so we can get back to our normal daily lives?
Sometimes life doesn’t go the way we plan. Let’s take a look at Daniel. Daniel spent the early part of his life in captivity in Babylon. His people were being punished by God for being disobedient and rebellious. Daniel’s people spent 70 years in foreign captivity. 70 years! We are struggling with a few weeks of house arrest. Daniel kept his eyes on his God, the LORD. One day Daniel was reading from the prophet Jeremiah. He was learning that his people’s captivity was drawing to end. They had about 3 years left to go. Daniel came across a passage in Jeremiah that gave him great hope. Let me share this passage with you. It’s found in the book of Jeremiah in the 29 th chapter and we will pick up where Daniel was reading in verse 10: “For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. 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. 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. I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.” (Jeremiah 29:10-14 NKJV) Very reassuring words to a nation and a people who have been held captive for 67 years. Only 3 more years had to seem like a very short time to go when you get to go home.
If you are living on planet earth (which I hope you are!), we are in a captivity of sorts ourselves. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden the whole earth fell captive to sin. Nature, wildlife, and humans are living under sins curse. We are born with the stain of sin. The Bible tells that the wages for sin is death. In other words, since we were born sinners, we all must pay our sin debt to God with our lives. That does not make for a bright future does it? Well, like Daniel, there is a passage of Scripture we can read that will give us a bright future and a hope! These words for us are found in the Gospel of John, in the 3 rd chapter. Jesus was having a conversation with Nicodemus who was a man of the Pharisees, a ruler of the Jews. He was talking to Jesus at night and Jesus told Nicodemus these words: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned;
(John 3:16-18a NKJV).
We, just like Daniel, can have a promising bright future if we put our faith, hope and trust in Jesus. We do this by turning the Jesus, confessing and repenting of our wrong doing (our sins), and living life the way God wants us to live. We learn how to do this by reading the Bible. If you are not sure how to do that reach out to any member of Pursuit Friends Church or any other Bible teaching church and ask how. We would love to introduce you to our Savior and LORD, Jesus Christ!
Jesus will give you a new life and a bright future with Him for eternity.
Blessings, peace, and hope to you!
Ron
