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27 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will plant the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals. 28 Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the LORD. 29 “In those days people will no longer say, ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ 30 Instead, everyone will die for their own sin; whoever eats sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge. 31 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors 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. 33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people 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. 34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘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 31:27-34 NIV)
Happy Wednesday, dear Friend. May God's grace and peace flood your heart, mind, and spirit with His goodness and grace. May your love for God bubble out of your heart and into the streets; start now to make this world a better place. Truly we can win the world for Jesus!
My former seminary roommate has kept in touch with me after all these many years, and this morning he called to share the joy in his heart about two of his church members who were able to attend a Walk to Emmaus retreat for Women held not far from the church he presently serves. The two were blessed and bubbly with joy of seeing and feeling the Lord at work in their lives through this three day retreat. The retreat started in the early 1980s by the United Methodist Church's Board of Discipleship is based on an older retreat started by the Catholic Church called El Cursillo, meaning a short course, and the course is all about Jesus. There are fifteen talks on different aspects of God's love, ten are by lay people, and five by clergy. The retreat has diminished some what through the years and only two retreats are held in this area; one for men, and one for women. It is a life-changing event that when it ends, the retreat attendees are told, "The world m which you live may have changed, and you are on a spiritual high, but the world you left behind is still the same; pray for God to help you prepare to face it again." (Or something along those lines).
The people of Israel during Jeremiah's time as their prophet stayed firmly in the unchanged world, while Jeremiah tried offering them God's world. They were too blinded by what the unchanged world offered, and so chose to stay right where they are. And what makes this story so sad is that it's our story as well. God has given us so many opportunities to make changes, but we are blinded and chose foolishly to stay right where we are. The sad thing was that when Jeremiah is sharing what he's sharing the final days of Israel were drawing near.
Israel’s history had been marked by cycles of faithfulness and failure. They had broken covenant after covenant. But in this new promise, God shifts the center of obedience from stone tablets to living hearts. The transformation He envisions isn’t external compliance—it’s inward renewal. The old covenant told people what to do; the new covenant changes who they are.
In Christ, we see this promise fulfilled. The blood of Jesus seals the new covenant, and the Holy Spirit becomes the ink that writes God’s truth within us. No longer do we simply strive to follow God—we are invited to know Him personally. This knowing is intimate, not institutional; it’s love-driven, not law-driven.
Jeremiah’s message still challenges us: have we allowed God to write His truth on our hearts, or are we merely trying to follow Him with our heads? Transformation begins when the Word of God is not just read but absorbed—when His love reshapes how we think, feel, and live. But, we have to choose what God offers, not what the world does. God's offer is one of life and love, eternal and everlasting; the world has no such thing to offer.
PRAYER: Gracious loving Lord, thank You for the promise of a new covenant written not on stone, but on my heart. Forgive me when I try to live by my own strength instead of Your Spirit. Write Your truth deep within me—reshape my desires, renew my mind, and let my life reflect the grace of knowing You. Thank You for Jesus, whose love has made this covenant possible, in Whose strong name we pray, Amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. OUR CALL TO ACTION: Spend time this week meditating on one verse that reminds you of God’s covenant love—and let it take root in your heart, not just your memory.
I love you and I thank God for you! You matter to me and you matter to God. Make others feel like they matter to God and should surrender themselves to Him.
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
