Jeremiah 29:1

 Jeremiah 29:1 says, Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon;  Jeremiah sent a letter to all the remaining elders, priests, and prophets and all the people who were carried away as captives by Nebuchadnezzar.  Verse two adds, (After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;)  The king, queen and the craftsmen had also been carried away.  This would be after Jeremiah's prophesy had come to pass.  Verse three states, By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying,  Jeremiah sent the message by the same messenger that Zedekiah had sent a message to Nebuchadnezzar by.  This was a more important message than a message from an earthly king, though, because it was a message from God.  Verse four declares, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;  God said that the message was for all who had been taken away captive into Babylon, just as the gospel is for all who have been taken away captive by sin today.  Of course, this was written to those who were supposed to be God's people already.  God said that He had caused them to be carried away and that He was still with them.  Verse five adds, Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;  Jeremiah said that God told them to go ahead and build houses and plant gardens and live there.  Their captivity was not going to be a short one.  After we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, though this world is not our permanent dwelling place, we are still to live here under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Wherever we are or whatever our status, God will be with us.  Verse six continues, Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.  God told the people of Judah to continue to marry and have children, so that their numbers might increase even in captivity.  Life goes on after we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, and God expects us to continue to live our lives.  Verse seven states, And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.  God said that they were to seek peace in the land where they were and that they were to pray for it.  We may not like everything that goes on in the world today, but as followers of Christ we are to seek peace in the world and pray for it.  Verse eight warns, For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.  God through Jeremiah warned them not to be deceived by false prophets and those who claimed to have a dream sent by God.  We today need to be just as careful about who we listen to that claim to speak for God.  Verse nine adds, For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD.  Just as many false prophets said that the people of Judah would not be carried away captive, there were still those false prophets who would claim to speak for God while the people were in captivity.  We need to make sure that those who claim to speak for God today speak a message that is consistent with God's word and also rely on the Holy Spirit to enable us to know what is truly God's word.