Jesus came to earth knowing His ministry. It was foretold 500-600 years before by the prophet Jeremiah. Along with others, God gave Jeremiah the important task of proclaiming the word of God and sharing His prophecies with the people of Judah. But it wasn't easy. Oh, Jeremiah obeyed God faithfully, but when he spoke, no-one listened. By human standards of success Jeremiah was a failure. However, by God's standards Jeremiah was deeply loved for fulfilling His will.
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| Week Two Amaryllis |
"The time is coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the Lord. "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the Lord. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, "Know the Lord," because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the Lord. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more," (Jeremiah 31:31-34 NIV & Hebrews 8:8-12 NIV).
Jesus fulfilled this and many other prophecies. His purpose in life was to walk with us and teach us the Word of God so we would surrender ourselves to God and believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior.
"But Jesus' priestly work far surpasses what these other priests do, since he's working from a far better plan. If the first plan--the old covenant--had worked out, a second wouldn't have been needed. But we know the first was found wanting, because God said,
"Heads up! The days are coming when I'll set up a new plan for dealing with Israel and Judah. I'll throw out he old plan I set up with their ancestors when I led them by the hand out of Egypt. They didn't keep their part of the bargain, so I looked away and let it go. This new plan I'm making with Israel isn't going to be written on paper, isn't going to be chiseled in stone; This time I'm writing out the plan in them, carving it on the lining of their hearts. I'll be their God, they'll be my people. They won't go to school to learn about me, or buy a book called 'God in Five Easy Lessons'. They'll all get to know me first-hand, the little and the big, the small and the great. They'll get to know me by being kindly forgiven, with the slate of their sins forever wiped clean." (Hebrews 8:6-12 MSG).
Jeremiah had a ministry. Jesus had a ministry. We each have a ministry, too. It is our purpose, just as it was for the prophet Jeremiah, and our Savior Jesus Christ.
My ministry, my act of serving is to use my life to help others learn, grow in faith, and believe in Jesus Christ. I hope one day I will hear God say, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" (Matthew 25:21 NIV).
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