Hope And A Future

What if the most quoted promise of hope was first spoken to people who had lost almost everything? We open Jeremiah 29 and set the coffee mug aside long enough to meet the exiles it was written to—men and women far from home, grieving, and unsure of who they would be next. That wider frame changes how we hear, “plans to give you a future and a hope.” It becomes less about instant rescue and more about God’s slow, steady work across years, communities, and generations.

From there, we trace how hope actually lives: in patience learned through illness, in the humility to wait when every muscle wants to run, and in testimonies of provision that arrive as quietly as a line of chickens marching to a shed. We also wrestle with the strange poetry of history—numerical patterns that make headlines, eerie parallels between presidents—and ask what these echoes might prompt in us. Do they lure us toward superstition, or do they nudge us back to the center, where character, compassion, and prayer shape our days?

The conversation does not stay abstract. We sit on the curb with a family trying to make a hotel bill, swap names, share food, and exchange a phone number to chase real work. Along the way, we examine the charged language around life, dignity, and the body, and we weigh cultural slogans against the self-giving pattern of Jesus. Hope becomes more than a feeling; it becomes a habit we practice for the good of our neighbors and the peace of our city. If you’re moving through a long night or just need a reason to keep going, this one meets you in the middle and walks with you.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Kickoff And College Football Heat
• 1:58 30 Verses In 30 Days
• 2:29 Jeremiah 29:11 In Context
• 4:47 Exile, Community, And Long Horizons
• 5:37 Encouragement For Hard Seasons
• 6:21 Reading Jeremiah 29 Aloud
• 7:55 Patience Learned Through Illness
• 8:17 Sign-Off And Blessing
• 8:35 Numerical Patterns And Tragedy
• 11:16 Moral Claims On Life And Body
• 13:40 Providence And The Chickens Story
• 17:27 Street Ministry And Compassion
• 19:20 Exclusive Claim About Jesus
• 20:38 Lincoln And Kennedy Parallels

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:31

Hey guys, it's B-Rob, it's the Food for Thought Faith Cast, and it is a lovely day. I am feeling a little better today, so we're gonna talk a little something, something today. Man, did y'all see them bulldogs last night let loose on them Texas long homes? Yeah, that was crazy. That looked like a scrimmage game. Proud of uh Gunner Stockton and the boys. Um, Georgia looking real good going into the postseason atmosphere here. That's what you gotta do in college football. It's kind of like the MLB playoffs. Whoever's hot. Yep, that's who's going. So uh just keep that in mind, guys. Um a lot, been uh reading my Bible, and we are um I'm doing 30 famous Bible verses in 30 days and it's pretty cool. I like it. I like it. I'm on uh verse eight. I I know it's the uh 16th day, but I lost about two weeks in the hospital. So uh the verse today is Jeremiah 29, 11. 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 hope and a future. It's one of my favorite verses because it is all about hope. And just what it said. It I mean, plans to give you hope and a future. And you can find that in Jeremiah 29, that's uh verse 11. And this verse really just reminds us that God has not forgotten us, he's still working for our good, even when life is long and life is hard. The verse was written to people in crisis, not just one person, but to people. They'd been evaded invaded by a much powerful nation than theirs, taken to exile, far from their home, they lost their loved ones, their homes, and they were at risk of losing their whole identity. Yeah. Today's rough, but it ain't that crazy, is it? I mean, they did try to make it, but it it's not. Like many people today, they look at the brokenness around and couldn't see God working or God's bigger plan. They were so devastated and so blinded and wondered, is God really there? Because of their devastation that could happen to them, because of the the blindness that this devastation has caused. So they're asking themselves, is God really there? Does God really see me? Does he really care? Well, the cool thing about this verse, it insists that God sees our pain and has a plan for good. And to be clear, the verse was written to a group of people, like I just said, not individuals, and the plans to prosper didn't come until a lot of these individuals had already passed away from the original audience of the verse. And that's because the story of the Bible spans over hundreds and thousands, hundreds of years, right? It's not focused on just one generation, but on how diverse people can interact with God through many places, many centuries, and many cultures, right? So the Bible is a it's a long-term deal. It's not just instant gratification, although there are some in there that have that. But um guys, if you ever felt forgotten by God during a hard time, let this verse remind you that God is still working, God is still close, and he still cares for you. Let it be a staple, God. Even though you don't see it. This verse reminds you. God is still okay. God is still here that's a great thing. Jeremiah twenty-nine. For thus says the Lord, after seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform my good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord. Thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and go pray to me, and I will listen to you, and you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord. I will bring you back from your captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord. And I will bring you to a place from which I cause you to be carried away. And I don't like being confined in one place. People that know me know that. Even when I'm home, I don't want to sit still. But I have had to learn patience and the sitting of stillness in the past three weeks. I just want to thank you, God. I want to thank you guys for listening. I want to thank you guys for tuning in. Um, I love you guys. I hope you tune in next time. We'll get some clips for you, maybe some news. Love you guys. God bless.

SPEAKER_01: 7:59

What if I told you the numbers are whispering again? Not in superstition, but in precision. November 4th, a quiet day on the calendar, suddenly becomes a mirror of history.

SPEAKER_09: 8:13

Tonight, breaking news as we come on the air in the west.

SPEAKER_01: 8:16

There is The news breaks. Dick Cheney, the vice president during 9-11, has reportedly died. And then, hours later, UPS Flight 2976 falls from the sky. The same number, 2976, the number of lives lost on September 11th. Two tragedies, decades apart, linked by identical digits, too precise to ignore. The plane, an MD-11, a model retired from passenger use exactly 11 years and nine days before the crash. 11. 9. 9 slash 11. The symmetry is impossible to unsee. And when reports confirm nine dead, 11 injured, the pattern completes itself. That same night, Donald Trump posts the words, and so it begins. A phrase pulled from the Lord of the Rings, the Two Towers. A story about towers falling and power awakening. It feels less like news and more like a ritual repeating itself through numbers, names, and time. Is it coincidence or the system resetting? Maybe. Just maybe, the universe speaks through patterns.

SPEAKER_02: 9:40

Satan would kill God if he could, but he can't. So he kills babies because he knows it wounds the heart of the father that causes chaos on the earth. You see, abortion is actually the sacrament of Satan. Because abortion says, you must die so I can live. But Christ says, no, I must die so you can live. And chooses to enter human history in a uterus of all occasions to redeem mankind from their sins. This is why Peter Kraft, the Catholic philosopher, still alive, said, spoke more prophetically on the issue of abortion than any Protestant I've ever heard. And he said, Don't you know, Church, abortion is the demonic parody of the Eucharist? That's why it uses the same holy, holy words. This is my body. But with the opposite blasphemous meaning. And because Blind Parenthood is not only the largest abortion provider in the world, they're the largest provider of transgender drugs. They call both of those mutilations health care. Did you know this? What do they call transgender surgeries? Gender affirming? What do they call abortion? Reproductive? Right. They call them both health care. And so if they can't get the babies in the womb, they'll get them outside the womb. They defend both practices using bodily autonomy arguments. This is not if I want to kill what's inside of my body. Who cares? Because the serpent told me in Genesis 3, ye shall be as God's. Abortion is the sacrament of the religion, secular progressivism. So when Christ says this is my body, I go break it for you now. Take an eat in remembrance of me. Guys, all human conflict is ultimately theological. It is not a coincidence that the argument for abortion is quoting the words of our Savior.

SPEAKER_08: 11:56

The 50 years you guys were preaching? Well, this might sound like a small miracle to some people, but it was big for us at the time, she said. She said, We woke up one morning, they had no income from preaching. They just preach on the street out of Bible college and believe, you know, just trust God. So she said, I woke up, there was no food for breakfast. So she said, I got ready to pray. And all of a sudden, what does the Bible say? Trouble chases sinners, blessings pursue the righteous. She said, Before I could even get one word out, I saw chickens marching down a hill. They're living in West Virginia towards our house. Twenty-one chickens. So you know, normally chickens aren't on the move, they keep them in a pen. So she said, I watched them. They're walking in a straight line, came down the hill on our property, took a turn, and all 21 went in the shed. So she said, I followed them in the shed to see what they were doing. All 21 chickens laid an egg. She said, I gathered all the eggs in a basket, then the chickens went back up the hill. She said, I followed them up the hill. They all went back about a quarter mile up the hill to the pen they came from. And my grandma's super honest. She knocked on the door, lady answered, Hey, can I help you? She said, Your chickens got loose and they laid eggs on my property and wanted to know if you'd like them. The lady said, Those can't be our chickens. My husband hates those chickens. Ever since he's bought them, they've never laid one egg. My grandma said, My grandmother told her, We don't even own chickens. She said, I promise you they're yours. She said, If they're landing on your property, you can keep them. For the rest of the time that my grandparents lived there. Those chickens, every time, every time they started getting low on eggs, the chickens would come back down the hill, go in the shed, and lay eggs and leave. My grandmother never had to clean up after them. She never had to feed them. She never had to build a pan. Just collect the blessing. Hallelujah. And I tell you in the name of Jesus, if all you've known is struggle, when God anoints your head with order, trouble doesn't find its way to you. The blessing of God will come without your permission.

SPEAKER_04: 13:55

How you doing? Not good? Is there anything I can get for you?

SPEAKER_05: 14:00

Anything helps, whatever you can get.

SPEAKER_04: 14:02

I'm homeless too. I got like 10 bucks. These are your kids? Where do you guys sleep at night?

SPEAKER_05: 14:06

Yeah, I get it in the hotel.

SPEAKER_04: 14:08

How much money is it for a hotel room? How much do you have right now?

SPEAKER_05: 14:13

Eight dollars.

SPEAKER_04: 14:14

Will you be here like in 30 minutes?

SPEAKER_05: 14:16

I'm not going nowhere.

SPEAKER_04: 14:17

Okay. Alright. I'll be back. God bless you.

SPEAKER_05: 14:20

God bless you.

SPEAKER_04: 14:21

I got you some food. I got you a coke. The food? You like pizza?

SPEAKER_05: 14:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04: 14:31

I got you pizza, bro.

unknown: 14:33

Okay.

SPEAKER_06: 14:34

You walk up.

SPEAKER_03: 14:39

A ver.

SPEAKER_04: 14:43

Love you, buddy. What's your biggest prayer right now? How long have you been on this situation? Even with these babies? What's your dream for your kids? Thank you. I'll give you the blanket tomorrow. I can't take the blanket from you. You guys don't need this. You get cold. Can I give you my phone number too? In case I can find you a job, please, because I wanna work.

SPEAKER_05: 16:23

A job is a job to me. I don't care. My little man.

SPEAKER_04: 16:31

Love you.

SPEAKER_09: 16:32

The Lord took me out there. And let me say to the whole world. There's only one God in heaven. And the only one you will ever see. Jesus. With all love and respect, you ain't gonna see no prophets coming to your rescue. You're not gonna see Muhammad. You're not gonna see Buddha. You're not gonna see Krishna. You're not gonna see none of these. There is only one true divine God. His name is Jesus Christ. This is the truth. Believe you me. I'm not saying it because I'm a Christian. Let me tell you, my Jewish people, let me tell you my Muslim people, let me tell you my atheist people. Let me tell the whole world and the whole Christians as well with them. Let me tell you this. This has got nothing to do with me being a Christian or not. It has got nothing to do with me being a bishop, dressed up in this outfit or not, nothing whatsoever. It's got to do with the truth. His name is Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_00: 17:33

Amen and hallelujah. His name is Jesus Christ. My name's B Rob, but thank you for tuning in to the Food for Thought Faith Cast. I've got one more clip, one more Food for Thought.

SPEAKER_01: 17:47

What if I told you that two men, born a century apart, lived the same life and died the same death? Not in some symbolic sense, but in eerie mathematical precision. Names, dates, deaths, all aligned. It began in the halls of Congress. Abraham Lincoln elected in 1846. John F. Kennedy, exactly 100 years later, in 1946. Both rose to the presidency. Lincoln in 1860, Kennedy in 1960. Both driven by justice. Both haunted by the question of civil rights. Their fates? Identical echoes. Each shot on a Friday. Each in the head. Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy. Kennedy's secretary was named Lincoln. Both assassinated by Southerners. Both succeeded by men named Johnson. Andrew, born in 1808, and Lyndon, in 1908. Even their killers mirrored one another. John Wilkes Booth, born in 1839. Lee Harvey Oswald, born in 1939. Each name, 15 letters. Each known by all three, and both silenced before trial. Lincoln was shot in Ford's theater. Kennedy, in a Lincoln, made by Ford. Lincoln's killer fled to a warehouse. Kennedy's killer shot from one and ran to a theater. And then comes the twist that chills historians to this day. A week before his death, Lincoln was in Monroe, Maryland. A week before his death, Kennedy was with Marilyn Monroe. Two presidents, two centuries. The same tragedy, replayed with cosmic precision. Maybe time isn't a line, maybe it's a loop.