In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. – Jeremiah 33:15

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 26, 2025): Jeremiah 33

In 2009, I did something that I had said I would never do; I planted a church. The name of the church was, and still is, “VantagePoint Community Church.” In the early days of the church, I was often asked where the name came from. I could provide a spiritual response: the name actually originated with Jesus's words in the Sermon on the Mount.

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16).

For me, VantagePoint indicated that town on a hill. I wanted to be part of a movement willing to let its light shine from the mountain to the community surrounding us. However, the reality is that the name had been used as a placeholder name for quite a while. The name was the place where dream ministries went, a place where all the things we didn’t think we could do at the time, but that we hoped to try someday, were housed. A common phrase became: “At VantagePoint, we will do this.” VantagePoint was the “when the time is right” place.

I think we all have a VantagePoint. It is the place where we put future plans: the things we want to do but, for whatever reason, do not believe we can do right now. So we wait, we dream, and we find other dreams to put in the same place. We also monitor opportunities that might arise for us to put our dreams into action. We wait for the time to be right.

No matter what was happening with Israel, God still had hope. He found a place to put his dreams. And in that day, he would do what he couldn’t do in the present when the prophecy was given. But he wasn’t about to forget Israel or the line of David; instead, the dream was filed under “In those days.”

Those days finally came in Bethlehem. The angels announced the arrival of the day; the Messiah had been born in the town of David. A righteous branch was now growing out of the line of David, and God’s dream was about to become a reality. Like a lot of our dreams, the dream didn’t happen quite as we might have expected. Our dreams often don’t unfold as we wish. But the day and the dream were eventually fulfilled.

“In those days,” God would do something new. Jeremiah couldn’t have imagined the shepherds in the field having a visit from the angels, Magi from the east coming in search of the new King, or even a baby in a manger. But “in those days,” something would happen. And it is our privilege to live the God dream with him and of having him involved in our “in those days” moments.  And that is an exciting place to be.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Proverbs 12

Originally Published on November 30, 2010