House, Garden, Family, And City
Sunday, April 21
Jeremiah 29:5-7 (NIV)
““Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, 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.”
Devotion
Those who follow Jesus are in exile. Our citizenship is in heaven. Though we are aliens and strangers, Jesus wants us to make efforts and offer prayers to be fruitful where we are. Are you often manipulated, contrary to this Scripture, to focus on your nation? Here, we are instructed to pray for the peace and prosperity of the city where we live. The focus of the instructions here begin at home and expand outward only to one's city.
How much have you prayed this year for your city compared with worry, political efforts, and prayer focused on the national level? Repent of thinking you will prosper when your nation prospers. Believe the good news. Pray to the LORD for the peace and prosperity of your city. Because if it prospers, you too will prosper.
Today’s Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father,
I confess I have often been manipulated to focus on national and international events thinking my peace and prosperity were closely linked to them. These words of this Scripture are counter-intuitive for me. Help me to repent and believe them. Help me to be content planting and serving and growing in my current situation. My current town, my current job. Help me to be faithful in the little, trusting You, to bring more at the right time in the right way. Help me remember to pray for my employer and my city and my house and my garden. In the Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Apply It Today
Pastor Franklin encouraged us to value where we are. How can we demonstrate that we value where we are? Today is a good day for an attitude check, for being grateful for where God has put you. Ask God for one or two specific ways you can demonstrate that you value where you have been placed for now, and do these well and cheerfully.
Resources:
- Watch the message, “Acres Of Diamonds,” and be encouraged to embrace God’s plan for your life where you are.
- Check out the Upcoming Events at a Free Chapel location near you, and get plugged in.