THE HOLY BIBLE (The Message – Jeremiah 29:11-14): ¹¹ 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. ¹² “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen. ^13-14 “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. “Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree.

THOUGHTS: Generally when we hear of a ‘Decree’ it involves certain actions that a king has ordered. This ‘Decree’ is then given to the king’s law makers to carry out the ‘Decree’ because it has been ordered by the highest law maker of the day – the king, and it generally has no conditions to it. The ‘Decree’ spoken of in today’s scripture is quite different, for God declares His unswerving commitment to His people and then follows with how the people might contribute to the end result of the promise. We are all very aware of how this world came into existence, and how it was almost eradicated at one point by a world-wide flood because of man’s sin. I believe that God wants us to know and understand that He has awesome plans for us to one day join Him in heaven. He has pointed out in various places throughout the Bible that sin cannot enter heaven, so in verse 12 He has assured us that He will listen when we come to Him in prayer. This is reassuring friends, because whenever we wrong someone, we tend to stay away from them in shamefulness, thinking that they will want nothing to do with us. Instead, God tells us that He will listen! Wow! We are also assured that there will be no trouble finding God, especially if we get serious about finding Him. Why do you suppose that God would add ‘when we get serious’ to this point? I believe there are times that we simply go through the motions, and for a quick response back to a person trying to nudge us along, might simply be that we just can’t find what we’re looking for. However, when the thing/person we are searching for is our idea, and we feel it/they will impact our lives, then we exert a whole new effort into the search. We become more determined or serious about our search. Perhaps the Word says it best – when we get so serious about finding God that we want Him more than anything else, then we will find Him. Friends, we can rejoice in knowing that as we exert this extra effort and become serious about our eternal destiny, God assures us that we will not be disappointed. So how is it with you today friend? Have you gotten serious enough about your relationship with God, or about your eternal destiny, that you are ready to seek God’s face in prayer and allow Him to love on you, care for you, listen to you and satisfy your earthly needs with a heavenly peace of mind? Only God can do it, and He will only do it if you let Him into your life. Please read my ‘footnote’ for ways you can get help with this, for this is of super importance.

PRAYER: When we’ve messed up so much that we’re not sure which way is up, then we tend to look to You for help, but Lord God I pray that we will learn to call out to You on a regular basis, because we are so helpless without You. Thank You for Your reassurance today. Thank You for our eternal home with You in heaven. Thank You for being accessible to us in prayer. Please don’t give up on me, for I need You more today than ever before. Please do the same for my readers who are serious in their search for You and willing to surrender their meager abilities to a life of total obedience to You and Your precious Word. Please have Your will and way in our lives today oh Lord, is my simple and profound cry that I ask in the strong name of Jesus, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!