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Showing posts from November 15, 2020

Plans to give you hope and a future

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  Jeremiah 29:11 is one of the most famous verses in the Bible. "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future. " It's an inspirational verse. It adorns my Bible. It's written on graduation cards, Get Well cards, and offered as words of encouragement. There's nothing wrong with that. On it's surface, the verse is one of encouragement. Indeed, the Lord wants us to prosper and have hope (though, maybe not prosper in the way that many adherents of the Prosperity gospel would have us believe.  One thing that can be dangerous about the Bible, though, is taking passages out of context. On it's surface, this is a wonderful verse that we can all cling too-- but focusing only on that aspect of the verse can lead to a feel good gospel, which is not Biblical. So, when I was reading this the other day, I asked myself what the context was. Well, for starters, Jeremiah was a pr