Jeremiah 29:11, I'm told, was the most searched and claimed verse in online Bibles last year. It says "I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. Plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."

It's a beautiful verse. It has some context, though. It was said to a whole nation, Israel. And before that was said, God told the Israelites to settle down and plant gardens and have children and increase in number and seek the peace and prosperity of the city in which they were in. And... you're gonna be doing that for 70 years before I make Jeremiah 29:11 come true.

It's pretty obvious that we're living in some scary times. Here are five declarations you can say to yourself today to help defeat the fear that creeps in.

It's not every day that you hear the story of a church being robbed. That's a bummer when that does happen. But what's even rarer is for the person who committed the crime to return what was stolen with a written apology.

You’ve probably heard the story of Zacchaeus, the tax collector. (Luke 19). He’s collecting taxes for the Roman empire from his own people, and getting a kickback from the take. So this means he’s a traitor to his own people, the Jews. Is there a Zacchaeus in your life? Someone everyone has written off as irredeemable?

Are you feeling a little bit (or a lot) like you can’t get seem to get your act together?

Even if that may be true (you’re probably being too hard on yourself, but let’s go with it for now), the truth is….your identity is secure and completely intact…because of Jesus.

In Christ, WHO you are matters infinitely more than anything you do or don’t do!

What is your deepest heart's cry? Sometimes, we need to release our securities to discover God's true healing.

My hope for you today is that you have a minimal number of difficult people in your life. Notice that I didn't say zero, because nobody gets away with that. We’ve always got at least one!

George Mallory was a British explorer who took part in the first 3 climbs ever of Mt. Everest, the highest mountain in the world, about 100 years ago. Many have since made it to the summit, but many also lost their lives trying.

One of his team members wrote these words as they tried to rise to the top of the mountain, and I think they have a powerful word for us today.

The truth is, we are pretty terrible at telling ourselves the truth about ourselves. Like I’ve done, you could be sitting there, rehearsing your past and mired in your shortcomings.

Yet… God is calling you to a future filled with power and promise.