“PRAY FOR YOUR CORONADO”

In 586 BC, God sent the Babylonian Empire to the Kingdom of Judah. The Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and the walls of the city. They destroyed the Holy Temple that Solomon built. And they forced the people to leave what was left of their homes and live in exile in Babylon. 

God did this because His people had abandoned Him. They stopped living the lives of love and faithfulness He called them to live. Instead, they gave their hearts to idols such as Baal, Ashtaroth and Molech. They engaged in sexual immorality as they worshiped their idols during fertility rites. And they sacrificed their own babies by burning them alive to please their idols. In order to get His people to repent and love Him again, God took them away from all that He had given them: their land, their homes, and the Holy Temple where He used to meet them in worship. 

As they arrived in Babylon, God told the Prophet Jeremiah:

Seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive and pray to Yahweh for it; for in its peace, you will have peace. - Jermiah 29:7

It's great to be living in Coronado. People from all over the world come here for a vacation and many have worked and sacrificed their entire lives in order to be able to live here. But this city is not our home. Our home is in heaven which is referred to as the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2). We're just passing through Coronado, so to speak. This is why the Apostle Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2:11:

Beloved, I urge you as aliens and sojourners to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul. 

We too, are called to pray for our city. While we're here, we are called to pray for the peace of Coronado. The Hebrew word for peace that's used in Jeremiah 29:7 is shalom. The word shalom also means wholeness, prosperity, welfare, and harmony. As we long to go to our true home, heaven, we pray for God to bless Coronado with His shalom. 

We can look forward to that day when we will finally arrive at our true home and experience God's shalom in full. Until then, may the Lord fill your earthly homes with His shalom.  

In Christ,


Pastor David

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