Obadiah and Jonah

September 30

Obadiah and Jonah

Jonah was a man who ran from God. As long as God gave him desirable tasks all was good. But God wanted Jonah to proclaim God’s word, God’s judgment, to Nineveh, so Jonah ran. But God used Jonah in spite of his disobedience. Jonah jumped on a ship headed away from Nineveh, so God brought a storm to keep Jonah from getting too far. God calmed the storm when the sailors threw Jonah in the sea, at Jonah’s request. The sailors turned to God and worshiped Him. God revealed himself to the sailors in the midst of Jonah’s rebellion.

God provided a fish to swallow and save Jonah. While in the belly of the fish Jonah realized God’s grace for him. Though he had run from God, God did not strike him dead, but instead saved him. Jonah prayed; "“Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord.”" (Jonah 2:8-9, NIV) Jonah turned from his sin and turned to God and God extended grace.

Jonah proclaimed God’s judgment on Nineveh and the people turned from their sin and turned to God and God extended grace. Jonah welcomed God’s grace extended to him, but was angry that God extended grace to the people of Nineveh. Jonah prayed again;  “O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity." (Jonah 4:2, NIV)

Who are we to judge who God saves. We are not better, nor are we any worse than other people. God extends grace to us, but He also calls us to proclaim His grace and to extend grace to others. He does not tell us to just love those who are like us, but to love our enemies. God demonstrated this love when Jesus came and died on the cross while we were still His enemy. God is a God of grace.

 

Amos 5-9

September 29

Amos 5-9

Empty worship does not meet fool God. We can put on a show, but God knows our hearts. God is not interested in songs that do not come from our hearts, He is not interested in our sacrifices, He wants obedience. He wants us to worship Him with our lives not just with our words. Israel had made worship a show. They went through the motions, but lived lives of rebelling against God. When God checked Israel with His plumb line, she did not measure up.

When Amos, from the nation of Judah, prophesied in Israel, the prophet of Israel became jealous. He did not care that God was speaking; he was worried about his personal benefits. But God did not speak to him or through him, God brought in a shepherd and farmer who was willing to share the message God gave him to share. Israel was a mess, and God had enough. Judgment was coming and it was not going to be pretty. God was going to send Israel into exile, but the worse punishment was that He was going to be silent. "Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it." (Amos 8:12, NIV)

Israel is going to pay for her rebellion, but God does not leave her without hope. He promises to save a remnant. He promises to restore Israel. "“In that day I will restore David’s fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be," (Amos 9:11, NIV)

Our world is still broken. But God is still calling us to follow Him. He still wants a relationship with us. There are still consequences for sin, but there is also Good News. Jesus came to restore us. He came to set us free from sin and death and to give us eternal life. He came to lift us up when we are down. No matter where we have been or what we have done, God wants to restore us as He originally intended us to be.

 

 

Amos 1-4

September 28

Amos 1-4

Being the people chosen by God was a double edged sword for Israel. They liked receiving God’s blessings. They remembered His promise to make them a great nation and that He would give them a land flowing with milk and honey.  But being God’s chosen people carried with it a responsibility also. "“You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.”" (Amos 3:2, NIV) God named other nations and the sins they had committed, but Israel should have known better. Instead of listening to God, they rejected the prophets and sought lying prophets to tell them what they wanted to hear. God, through Amos, tells Israel that their punishment is coming.

God reminds them of the warnings He sent. But instead of returning to God, they continued in their sin while bragging about their worship. As God speaks you can hear His frustration with these people on whom He has poured out His love only to be jilted. He has done enough warning, He now tells them to prepare to meet their God.

I wonder what God thinks when people in His church continue to act like the rest of the world. We talk about our worship, but do we really bring God into our services. Have we gotten spiritually lazy like the women of Israel who God chastises? God wants one thing from us. He wants us to turn to Him. He wants to be the object of our affection. He wants to be the object of our worship. God wants a relationship with us. Until we turn to Him and surrender to Him, no matter what we may gain, it will all be as loss. It will all leave us empty. Are you prepared to meet your God?

Joel 1-3

September 27

Joel 1-3

"‘Even now,‘ declares the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.‘ Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity." (Joel 2:12-13, NIV)

 

There is going to be a Day of Judgment. No one knows the day or the time, but there will be a day when Jesus returns and all who belong to Him will join Him, but those who have not believed in Him will face eternal judgment. "The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?" (Joel 2:11, NIV)

No one will be able to say they were not warned. God sent prophets, and priests, Jesus came and warned of a day to come, the Holy Spirit speaks to the hearts of people. We have been warned. The message Jesus preached was “"“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”" (Mark 1:15, NIV)

God has a simple message for us; turn to Him. He wants a relationship with us. And if we will turn to Him and turn from out sin, He will not only forgive us of our sin, but will cleanse us of all unrighteousness. He wants to re-create us into the people He created us to be before sin distorted human character. There will be a Day of Judgment, but God is waiting because He wants everyone to turn to Him so that no one will face condemnation. The time has come, turn to God and believe the Good News that He proclaims.

Hosea 10-14

September 26

Hosea 10-14

Israel, like all people, struggled with walking in obedience to God. They cried out to God when they were in need, but once God delivered them, they turned away from Him. "When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me." (Hosea 13:6, NIV) How often do we cry out to God when we are facing a crisis; “God help me.” But as soon as the crisis is gone, so is our desire for God. We don’t want Him to lead our lives, but we want Him to save us when we get in trouble.

 "Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall! Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: “Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips." (Hosea 14:1-2, NIV) God does not want us just coming to Him when we are in trouble. He wants a relationship with us. The only way for us to have that relationship is for us to turn from our sin and turn to God. If we earnestly seek forgiveness from God, He will give it. "“I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them." (Hosea 14:4, NIV)

The Book of Hosea reminds us that God loves us and pursues us even when we rebel against Him. We face consequences for our sin, but if we turn to God, He will forgive us of our sin. God does not wait for us to pursue Him, He comes looking for us. We have been bought at a price, Jesus died so we could have a relationship with God. "Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them." (Hosea 14:9, NIV)

Hosea 6-9

September 25

Hosea 6-9

 "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings." (Hosea 6:6, NIV)

God gave Israel a sacrificial system to follow when He met with Moses on Mt Sinai. He gave them and extensive system that instructed the people when to bring sacrifices and instructed the priests in how to present the sacrifice before God. God is holy and people of sinful. The sacrifices represented the cost of rebelling against God. But they never took away the sin, they just atoned for them.

The Israelites began to see the sacrifice as the cost of doing business. They could live any way they wanted. They could rebel against God. They even worshiped idols, but they would come back and bring their sacrifices to God as a way to pay Him off. But that was not God’s reason for giving them the sacrificial system. God wanted a relationship with the Israelites. He wanted to be their God, not one of their many gods. Offerings and sacrifices were to acknowledge their sin and God’s holiness.

When the relationship became religion, when Israel brought the offerings as a religious ritual instead of a means to re-connect with God; God told them it is not your sacrifices I want it is mercy. It is not your burnt offerings; it is acknowledging that God is God.

Showing up at church is not God’s end goal for us. He wants us to gather as believers to strengthen one another and to worship Him, but that is not His end goal. God is not interested in our religion. God wants a loving living relationship with us. He wants to transform our lives so that we live our lives centered on Him, not having Him on the sideline as a Sunday add-on to our lives. Jesus did not die so that we could go out and live for the world all week and come into church on Sunday and think we are alright. Jesus died to give us life full and fulfilled as children of God seven days a week.

Hosea 1-5

September 24

Hosea 1-5

The first five chapters of Hosea tell Hosea’s story with his adulterous wife, Gomer. God uses His prophet as an object lesson to teach Israel about His love for them. Though Israel is chasing after the ways of the world, God still loves her. Though they worship false gods and create images out of wood, metal, and stone that they worship, God continues to pursue them. Hosea’s wife left him to return to a life of prostitution where she was enslaved, but Hosea bought her out of slavery to take home as his wife. God tells Israel that they will face consequences for their action, but He will bring them back so they will know that He is God.

No matter where we have been or what we have done, God loves us and pursues a relationship with us. Our tendency is to pursue the ways of the world. We may not say we worship idols or false gods, but we run after material goods and money and put them above our relationship with God. We are not different than the Israelites. But God has bought us from slavery. Jesus blood paid the price. God wants us to have a relationship with Him. He wants to be the center of our focus. He wants to guide our lives. He paid the price; we have to decide if we will follow Him or if we will follow the deceitful pull of the world.

 

Daniel 10-12

September 23

Daniel 10-12

Do you ever wonder why your prayers are not answered immediately? There is mystery in the power and the answering of prayers. Daniel saw a vision in 10:7 and he was told that the words he prayed to God were heard immediately, but that the response was delayed due to spiritual warfare. The good news is that the response may have been delayed, but it was not stopped. When we pray, we can know that God hears our prayer. Though we may not get the answer we want, God hears us. Though we may not see any response immediately, we can know that God hears.

When Daniel encountered the holy vision, he was left weak and helpless, but the man said; "“Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed,” he said. “Peace! Be strong now; be strong.” When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength.”" (Daniel 10:19, NIV)  We face struggles in this world. We are involved in spiritual warfare even when we don’t know it or understand what is happening. But when we receive the peace of God, the struggles of this world cease.

Paul wrote: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7, NIV) As we lift up our prayer and petitions with thanksgiving, the peace of God guards our hearts. Our prayers may not be answered when we want them answered. They may not even be answered the way we want them answered, but we can be sure that God hears our prayers and answers our prayers and if we put our trust in Him, He will give us strength and peace to persevere down the path He has called us to follow.

 

Daniel 7-9

September 22

Daniel 7-9

 Daniel’s dream can be confusing. There have been various interpretations of the kingdoms represented by the four beasts. The point of Daniel’s dreams we can know without a doubt is that God knows the future. God not only knows the future, the future is in His hands. Nothing that has happened, that is happening, or that will happen take God by surprise. The Kingdom of God will not be overthrown by the powers of evil that seem to rule the earth. When Jesus returns, He will reclaim His creation and will rule in righteousness.

 

"Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’" (Daniel 7:27, NIV)

 

We can know that in the end God will make all things right. That does not mean we will not face challenges in the present. There is and will continue to be turmoil in the world. Evil will battle against God’s Kingdom. People will turn from God and do their own thing rejecting the law of God. But God continues to call people to himself. He continues to invite people to be a part of His Kingdom. God is a just God and will bring judgment upon the earth, but He is also a loving God inviting all to come to Him through Jesus to receive His gift of eternal life.

Daniel 5-6

September 21

Daniel 5-6

There are a lot of people who mock God. Many say they do not believe in God and that the bible is a story book filled with myths passed down through the generations. Belshazzar had no fear of God and mocked Him as he drank with his friends. He decided to bring the goblets that had come from the temple which had been dedicated and set aside for holy purposes. As Belshazzar drank from the goblets fingers appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall.

God was not playing games with Belshazzar and his rebellion against God. Daniel told Belshazzar; "you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways." (Daniel 5:23, NIV) God overthrew Belshazzar’s kingdom and he died when the Mede’s took over the kingdom.

There are people today who mock God. Some do it blatantly; others play games by acting one way on Sunday and another way the rest of the week. God does not play our games. He knows our hearts. He wants a relationship with us, but if we try to fool Him, we will face the consequences. God holds our lives in His hands, we either turn to Him and walk in obedience to Him or we face eternal condemnation. The stakes are high but God allows us to choose; our choice now decides our eternal destiny.

 

Daniel 3-4

September 20

Daniel 3-4

 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to compromise their faith in God by bowing down to the image of gold made by the king. The king threatened to throw them into the furnace if they did not bow down, but they refused. They replied to the king; "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”" (Daniel 3:17-18, NIV)

They knew God could save them, they just did not know if He would. But even if God did not save them, they refused to worship another god or an image of gold. Many martyrs have died in the name of Jesus. We can wonder why God does not deliver them in front of their persecutors. But those who die, by faith, know that even if they die, their persecutors cannot take their soul. Jesus said; "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28, NIV)

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the furnace, but God stepped in and protected them from the flames. God did not protect them for their sake, but to reveal to the king and the people of Babylon that He was Almighty God and all the other images and gods were powerless in His presence. God can do more than we can even imagine. Are we willing to step out in faith and to stand up for what we believe even if it could result in persecution? Do we really trust God that much?

Daniel 1-2

September 19

Daniel 1-2

"But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way." (Daniel 1:8, NIV)

 

Daniel made up his mind before he ever faced the temptation. “Daniel resolved not to defile himself.” Daniel made up his mind that no matter what punishment he may face, he would not defile himself. Daniel was determined and steadfast in his decision, but that did not mean he was arrogant or rude to his captors. Daniel asked for permission, though he had already resolved not to defile himself. He found favor with the official because he did not make a big scene and shout that he would not eat the food brought to them. He asked permission and he found favor. He resolved not to defile himself and God gave him favor.

 

Peer pressure is intense no matter how young or old we are. If we do not resolve not to defile ourselves with the pleasures of the world, we will be easily swayed to follow the crowd.  There are certain boundaries we need to decide before we ever get into a circumstance that will bounce us up against those boundaries. How far will we go in a dating relationship? What is our stance against drugs or alcohol? How far in debt will we go and what will we borrow money to buy? There are too many examples to give here, but many of these things we need to decide before we face them in the midst of peer pressure.

 

We do not have to react to these circumstances in a judgmental or condescending way. If we resolve not to defile ourselves, when we face circumstances that will take us beyond the boundaries we have set, we can just excuse ourselves or even ask permission, if the circumstance warrants it, to abstain from the activity presenting itself. If we resolve not to defile ourselves and stand strong in our convictions, God will walk with us and protect us and empower us in the challenges we will face.

 

Ezekiel 48

September 18

Ezekiel 48

The last chapter of Ezekiel deals with the division of the land between the tribes of Israel as God had done when Joshua led the people to take the land originally. But throughout God’s instructions He tells them; “in the center of it will be the sanctuary of the Lord.” God was going to restore Israel, but He wants to remind them what caused them to be exiled in the first place. God was not satisfied with being one of many gods. He was not satisfied that they brought their offerings as part of a religious exercised. God wanted to be the center of the community, the center of the lives of the people of Israel.

God does not change. He wants to be in the center of our lives. God does not want to be someone we put on the side of our lives until Sunday morning or until a crisis occurs. God wants to be the center of everything in our lives. If there are parts of our lives where we don’t want God involved, we need to examine whether they are activities in which we need to be involved.

God left the temple and allowed Jerusalem to be destroyed because they were going trhough the motions, but were not walking in obedience to God. They were not putting Him at the center of their lives. It is easy to get busy with life and to lose focus. Periodically we need to do a self evaluation and to ask ourselves, ask God if He is in fact at the center. If He is not, we can always re-center our lives around Him.

 

Ezekiel 45-47

September 17

Ezekiel 45-47

Ezekiel had a vision of a river that began as a trickle coming out of the temple but grew to be a great river that brought life wherever it flowed. Jesus may have been referencing this vision when at the Feast of Tabernacles; "Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified." (John 7:37-39, NIV)

Just as the river began as a trickle at the temple, Jesus’ ministry began small. Jesus and His twelve disciples traveled the countryside where Jesus taught, healed, and encouraged people to live for the Kingdom of God. The ministry grew as people heard about the miracles and teaching of Jesus. After His death, 120 people gathered in prayer, seeking what God had next for them. The Holy Spirit came and filled the believers in that room and “streams of living water” flowed from within them as they began to minister throughout the known world.

God still fills those who believe in Jesus and streams of living water still flows from those who come to Jesus to drink. God wants to use each of us as He used to early apostles, to take the good news of the Gospel to the ends of the earth. God wants to bring life to a dying world.  "Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live." (Ezekiel 47:9, NIV)

God wants to use us to bring the river of life where people are thirsty for God. In our world today, many people desire something more. They may not know what they are thirsting for, but they thirst for God. May the river flow out of you as you point others to the source of the river of life.

Ezekiel 42-44

September 16

Ezekiel 42-44

In Ezekiel 10, Ezekiel saw the glory of the Lord leave the temple in Jerusalem. God had enough of the idolatry and rebellion of the people. He no longer dwelt in the midst of the people of Judah. It was a sad day for Jerusalem. The One who was their protector left, while they depended on other nations to protect them from their enemies. But God did not move out forever. Ezekiel saw another vision in which he saw the glory of the Lord return to the temple and filled it with His presence.

 

Paul wrote; "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, NIV) The temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70AD, but God’s presence no longer dwelt there. Jesus spoke of His body as the temple because where God dwells is the temple. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came and dwelt in the believers and continues to fill and dwell in those who receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Therefore, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

"Now let them put away from me their prostitution and the lifeless idols of their kings, and I will live among them forever." (Ezekiel 43:9, NIV) God’s desire is to fill us with His presence and to live in us, but He will not live in the midst of sinfulness. God comes to cleanse us and to make us whole. If we will put aside our old self and allow Him to fill us and to use us, He will dwell with us forever.

Ezekiel 40-41

September 15

Ezekiel 40-41

Ezekiel goes through great pains to reveal the details God gave him as he measured the temple revealed to him in his vision. The temple had been destroyed when the Israelites were sent into exile, but God showed Ezekiel that a new temple would be built. God instructed Ezekiel to make sure the temple met God’s blueprint. He was reminded of the offerings to be made for the cleansing of the people. He gave assignments to the priests. This section is reminiscent of the instructions God gave Moses on Mount Sinai. But it is a message of hope. God is showing Ezekiel a vision of restoration while they are stuck in exile with no hope of getting out. God in effect is saying that He is still in charge and that though things look like they cannot get any worse; they can look up and know the day of restoration is getting closer every day.

People get frustrated. We hear it every day. The world seems to be spinning out of control. People seem to be getting more self centered. It seems like more and more people turn their backs on God each day. If you watch the news on television, it is easy to lose any sense of hope. But we also have a vision to give us hope in the midst of hopelessness.

 "We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words." (1 Thessalonians 4:14-18, NIV)

No matter how bad things may seem we have a hope. Jesus promised He would return and He would usher in His kingdom and we will be with the Lord forever. Even death cannot stop God’s plan. He will raise the dead and we will be joined together. We will receive heavenly bodies that will be like Jesus’ glorified body. There is hope, so encourage each other with these words.

Ezekiel 37-39

September 14

Ezekiel 37-39

 Chapter 37 of Ezekiel is probably one of the most popular sections of his writings. God led Ezekiel to a place where it looks like a battle occurred many years before. There are dry bones scattered through the land. Where men had fought to their dying breath, only sun bleached bones remained. The flesh was gone, only bones remained. There was no life in the valley, but God told Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones; to share the word of the Lord with them.

Ezekiel prophesied to the bones and tendons, flesh, and skin covered the bones as they came together. "Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’”" (Ezekiel 37:9, NIV) The breathe came and the bodies came to life. We are not told what happened to the army brought back to life by the breath of God spoken into them by Ezekiel, but God has a message in the miracle. Though Israel was dead, the land abandoned, the temple destroyed, God was going to bring life where it seemed there was no life.

When we look around and it seems like everywhere we look it is spiritually dead, we can remember that God can breathe life where there seems to be no life. If He can resurrect dry bones on the valley floor, He can breathe life into our lives, into our churches, into our communities, and into our world. God is a God of life. Death is a result of sin and Jesus won the victory over sin and death when He came out of the grave that first Easter morning. God wants to bring abundant life into your life. He wants to breathe life into the dry areas of your life. He wants to fill you and show you that He is God.

"I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”" (Ezekiel 37:14, NIV)

Ezekiel 34-36

September 13

Ezekiel 34-36

"I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws." (Ezekiel 36:25-27, NIV)

God reveals His plan for all the nations. God has a plan for restoration, for re-creation. People by their nature turn away from God; they are self centered and want their own way instead of God’s way. But God has a plan; He is going to give people a new heart, a heart for Him instead of a heart of rebellion. He has a plan to cleanse us of our sin and to fill us with His Spirit so that we will want to walk in obedience to Him and will be empowered to obey Him.

 Jesus provided the way; we just have to allow Him to cleanse us and to fill us with His Spirit. God gave Ezekiel an image of baptism where we are cleansed by the water as an indicator of what Jesus has done through His death and resurrection. We are the new creation Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 5:17. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit whom Paul tells us; "The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;" (Romans 8:6, NIV)

We have no excuse. We can look at the Israelites and wonder why they continued to turn away from God. We can think of them a foolish when they walked away from God, faced the consequences, then turned back to God only to rebel again. But we have a great advantage over them. They made regular sacrifices to cover over their sin, they brought birds, goats, and bulls to be slaughtered but their offerings did not change their hearts. Jesus came to wipe away our sin; to purify us, and to give us new hearts filled with the Holy Spirit.

Israel had the law. They knew what God wanted from them, but they did not have the power to overcome their sin. We have been given that power through the Holy Spirit, we have been given new hearts, and we have been given a new start washed clean by the blood of Jesus. We have the power to overcome the world and to live our lives in obedience to God.

 

Ezekiel 31-33

September 12

Ezekiel 31-33

Ezekiel returns to the image of a watchman on a wall crying out to the city when the enemy is approaching. God has made Ezekiel, as well as all Christians, watchmen called to proclaim the Word of God, calling for people to repent, to turn from their lives of wickedness and rebellion and to turn to God. God does not want to destroy the nation of Israel and He does not want to judge people for hell, His desire is that everyone turns from their sin and turns to Him. "Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?’" (Ezekiel 33:11, NIV)

 God brought disaster upon Israel, not so He could bring destruction, but to bring correction, to call the people to come back to Him. To show them that He is God and that He is more powerful than their greatest allies. God brings situations in our lives to call us back to Him. He does not want anyone to go to hell, but He continues to allow people to choose. "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9, NIV)

God is patient with us; He wants everyone to come to repentance. He continues to woo us, to call us into a relationship with Him. His goal is to save us from our self destruction. We are each on the road to destruction until we turn, turn from out evil ways, turn from our sin and turn to Jesus. He loves us and wants us to come to Him for our salvation.

Ezekiel 28-30

September 11

Ezekiel 28-30

"“Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “‘In the pride of your heart you say, “I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas.” But you are a man and not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god." (Ezekiel 28:2, NIV)

The pride of men is usually their downfall. We see the pride of the king of Tyre and the pride of Pharaoh as their ultimate sin. They lifted themselves up to the seat of God. They claimed to be gods. In the Garden of Eden the serpent knew the weakness of humanity. We want to exalt ourselves to the place of God. "“For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”" (Genesis 3:5, NIV) These words stuck in the heart of Eve and Adam and led to the fall of humanity.

 Israel leaned on Tyre and Egypt, trusting them to protect Israel when enemies came for battle. God had promised to protect them, but they trusted nations instead of trusting God. They substituted these human institutions for the all powerful creating God. God would not stand by forever while His creation claimed His position. God promised He would send calamity on the people. Each nation would pay for their rebellion and sin against God. He would reveal himself so that there would be no doubt that He was God.

We may not claim to be God, but many in our society make that claim by their actions. We set our eyes on our own goals. We decide we are going to do things our way regardless of God’s desire or commands. God wants to guide us, to help us, to protect us, but we are headstrong and refuse to turn to His ways. But we all should remember; there will be a Day of Judgment when we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." (2 Corinthians 5:10, NIV)

 

Ezekiel 25-27

September 10

Ezekiel 25-27

No matter how great a nation may think they are, they operate at the mercy of God. At any time, He can bring another nation, a greater nation to power to administer discipline on a nation that has turned from Him. God did not just choose to destroy Jerusalem; He named the nations around Israel and promised to bring destruction to each of them for their actions. But God does not bring judgment just to destroy; He brought judgment to bring repentance. God brought disaster in order to bring the people of all nations to a place where they would know that He is God.

God did not just love Israel and hate the other nations. God wanted to use Israel to reveal himself to the other nations, but when Israel rebelled, the other nations did not see a true representation of a nation living for God. Some of the nations enjoyed seeing Israel face judgment not realizing they would face the same end. God so loved the world, He tried to call all the nations to himself. Finally He sent His Son to bring salvation to all nations. To all who believe, to those who receive Jesus will receive eternal life, those who reject Him will receive eternal damnation.

God wants to use us to spread the good news. He does not want to destroy people and sent them to hell. He wants to bring restoration to our souls, He wants to give us lives that are full and that fulfill His purpose for us. We have a choice, we can repent and turn to God, or we can face His judgment and face hell. God is calling us to himself, and He is calling those around us. We may be the tool He uses to pluck our neighbors out of eternal damnation, will you step up when He calls.

 

 

Ezekiel 22-24

September 9

Ezekiel 22-24

"“I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none." (Ezekiel 22:30, NIV)

 
When God was about to destroy Sodom, Abraham interceded for the city and asked God to spare the city if there were ten righteous men in the city. God could not find ten righteous in all of Sodom and the city was destroyed. God is about to destroy Jerusalem and He looked for one righteous man to stand in the gap, to stem the tide of destruction and moral decay, but none could be found.
 

Who will stand in the gap in our day? Who will continue to intercede before God as Abraham did for Sodom, seeking God’s grace in the midst of His judgment? Where are the people who will pray for the national leaders? Where are the people who will stand up for what is right in a world that is going wrong? God is seeking people who will build up a wall, people who will stop the moral decline. God is looking for people who will stand in the gap between a holy God and unholy people. God is looking for people who will pray for our land so God does not have to destroy it.

Sometimes we look at our world and wonder what difference we can make a difference. The task seems to be beyond anything we can change, but we have to remember, we are not alone. God is looking for people who will stand for what is right and good. God is looking for people to intercede between God and people. God is looking for people who will live lives of righteousness in the midst of an unrighteous world. When He looks in your community, will He say; “I found one”?

 

Ezekiel 20-21

September 8

Ezekiel 20-21

Why would people do it? Why would people want to make an idol out of stone, wood, or metal and bow down and worship it as god when the living God, the creator of heaven and earth wants a relationship with us. The worship of idols blocks our relationship with God. He will not listen to us when we come to Him if we are bowing before these false gods. Over  and over again Israel worshiped the gods they had made instead of worshiping the God who delivered them from slavery in Egypt.

God withheld His hand from wiping out the Israelites several times. Moses interceded and reminded God that the nations around would wonder what kind of god He was if He delivered them out of Egypt only to wipe them out in the desert. Israel was supposed to be an example for the other nations of what it looked like for a nation to live in obedience to God. Instead they rebelled and wanted to be like the other nations. God said; "But I withheld my hand, and for the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out." (Ezekiel 20:22, NIV)

God brings judgment on Israel, but once again He reminds them of His grace. He is going to disperse them and destroy their cities, but He also promises to bring them back and to restore them as His people. "You will know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name’s sake and not according to your evil ways and your corrupt practices, O house of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”" (Ezekiel 20:44, NIV)

Thankfully God still deals with us for His name’s sake and not according to our sin. Through the name of Jesus, because of His life death and resurrection, we have salvation available to us. When we turn to God and accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we are purified by the blood of Jesus and God sees us through His name instead of according to our evil past.

 

Ezekiel 17-19

September 7

Ezekiel 17-19

 God’s greatest desire is for all people to turn to Him and to have a loving relationship with Him. Like a loving husband He wants a loving committed relationship and does not tolerate His people running after every idol in the land. If we will remain in a relationship with Him, He will never leave us or forsake us. But if we turn from Him, we will face His wrath. "Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?" (Ezekiel 18:23, NIV)

In Ezekiel 18, God says that a wicked person who turns from their sin and turns to Him will be will be forgiven and will live. But He also says that if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and turns to wickedness, his righteous acts will not be remember for He will die for his sin. God does not want any to perish but for all to have eternal life. But our choices have consequences. God pleads with people to turn away from their sin and to turn to Him. He gives us free will and we have to choose to follow. When we do God empowers us to continue in Him, though we still have the choice to leave. "Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!" (Ezekiel 18:31-32, NIV)

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter told the people “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”" (Acts 2:38-39, NIV) God is the same today as He was in Ezekiel’s day. He is seeking a relationship with His creation. God loves us and does all the work to pursue us for a relationship, but we have to choose to turn from our sin and turn to Him. He is a holy God and cannot stand our sinful rebellion, but if we will turn to Him, He will cleanse us and make us whole and we will have a relationship with Him and eternal life.

Ezekiel 14-16

September 6

Ezekiel 14-16

 Have you ever felt like your prayers are bouncing off the ceiling? That is what was happening when the elders of Israel came to Ezekiel to inquire of God. God had had enough of their idol worship. God felt like the husband of a wife who had turned to other men. God can no longer sit by while the Israelites worship idols and accredit them with the blessings God has poured out on them. God’s message to the Israelites was; “Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!” (Ezekiel 14:6, NIV)

Israel continued to rebel and to worship idols instead of turning to God, so God punished them for their actions, but He left them with a promise. "“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will deal with you as you deserve, because you have despised my oath by breaking the covenant. Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you." (Ezekiel 16:59-60, NIV) God’s goal is not to destroy Israel, but to bring her back into a relationship with Him.

God says; "Then, when I make atonement for you for all you have done,’”" (Ezekiel 16:63a, NIV) God made atonement for all we have done when Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sin. Jesus message was the same as the message of God to Israel; “Repent!”

When we ask God to intervene in our lives, the first thing He is going to do is to call us into a right relationship with Him. If we aren’t living for Him, we can’t expect Him to answer our prayers. Confession is always a good way to begin our time of prayer, then taking time to listen as God directs our paths.

Ezekiel 11-13

September 5

Ezekiel 11-13

Israel’s history was like a rollercoaster. God delivered them, they turned from God, God brought punishment upon them, they turned back to God, and God delivered them again. The pull of the world, the worship of the idols of other nations, the sinful hearts of the Israelites were all too much to keep them walking in obedience. God has sent them into exile again, but he has sent them out with a promise. This time God promises to not only bring them back to Him, but to give them new hearts, hearts that will empower them to walk in obedience.

"I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God." (Ezekiel 11:19-20, NIV) God fulfilled this promise on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit filled the believers. He continues to fulfill this promise as those who accept Jesus are also filled with the Spirit. The Spirit works in us and gives us new hearts and makes us into new creations. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV)

The sin nature we are all born with is too powerful for us to overcome on our own. We, like the Israelites fall, turn to God, only to fall again. But when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are new creations with new hearts and our direction changes. We follow God’s decrees and are careful to keep His laws because He lives in us and empowers us to life for Him.

 

 

Ezekiel 6-10

September 4

Ezekiel 6-10

God does not just punish Israel for no reason. He does not just get mad at them and decide he is going to bring disaster upon them. God brings discipline in hopes of bringing correction. "Then in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will remember me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices. And they will know that I am the Lord; I did not threaten in vain to bring this calamity on them." (Ezekiel 6:9-10, NIV) God’s plan is to remind the Israelites that He is God over heaven and earth and He is all powerful.

The Israelites had turned their eyes to the idols of other nations. They trusted themselves instead of trusting God. They trusted the armies of allies more than they trusted God. The only way to bring them back to a right relationship with God was for discipline to come. God told them ahead of time so they would not think it was the power of the Assyrians or their gods, but it was God Almighty who was bringing this calamity upon them. After the proclamation of the disaster to come God said; “Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

God still brings discipline. God still calls us back into a relationship with Him. We have a choice. We can turn to God or continue to do things our way. Not always, but sometimes, we face trials because we reject the counsel of God. God wants our relationship more than He wants us to be comfortable. If He has to bring trials into our lives to turn our hearts to Him, He will. He does not bring them because He wants to see us suffer. He brings the trials to get us to look to Him and to turn back to Him. He wants us each to know that He is the Lord and nothing else can take His place in our lives.

 

Ezekiel 1-5

September 3

Ezekiel 1-5

Ezekiel, like Isaiah, encountered God and attempts to describe his encounter. How do you describe the indescribable? It is difficult to describe God and the activities going on around His throne, but when anyone encountered God; their response is to bow before Him. When God shows up, we realize how sinful and undeserving we really are. But God does not condemn Ezekiel; instead He calls him to proclaim a message to the Israelites.

Ezekiel had a job to do. God did not call Ezekiel to change the people or to clean up the nation. God called Ezekiel to deliver a message. God told Ezekiel; "You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious." (Ezekiel 2:7, NIV) Ezekiel was not responsible for the response; he was responsible to deliver the message. In chapter 3 God told Ezekiel that he was to proclaim a warning to the people like a watchman on a wall. If Ezekiel did not proclaim the message the blood of the people would be on his hands for not warning them. If Ezekiel did proclaim the message and the people ignored him, their blood would be on their own hands.

We, as followers of Jesus, are watchmen on the walls. God calls us to share the message. Share the good news that Jesus came and died for our sins and that if we turn to Him, He will cleanse us and forgive us and we will receive eternal life. We are not responsible for the response; we are responsible to deliver the message. When people reject the message, they are not rejecting us, they are rejecting God. If we do not share the Good News with others, we are responsible for their eternal damnation. We each have a calling every bit as real as Ezekiel’s calling. Are you speaking the words of God?

 

Lamentations 3-5

September 2

Lamentations 3-5

Jeremiah laments over the destruction of Jerusalem and God’s judgment and exile of His people. Jeremiah feels lonely and abandoned. He cries out words of mourning; "Even when I call out or cry for help, he shuts out my prayer." (Lamentations 3:8, NIV) Jeremiah is as down as a man can get. He is spiritually and emotionally spent. He poured out all he had proclaiming the word of God. Words of warning of the coming disaster, but the people would not listen. God fulfilled His word and all Jeremiah had known was gone.

We all face times of grief. We all face times when it seems like our prayers are going nowhere. We wonder where God is in the midst of our struggles. We wonder why the things that are happening are happening to us. We may not see our hometown destroyed by enemy invaders. We may not see our friends and neighbors carried off in exile. But we have times when we battle depression and our souls are downcast. But we do not have to stay there.

"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”" (Lamentations 3:21-24, NIV)  Though everything may look like there is no hope, we have access to the author of hope. We can always turn to Jesus and know that He is there for us. He intercedes for us as we lift our voices to God. God is a judging God, but He is also a compassionate God.

When we are suffering, if we will remember that God is good all the time and all the time God is good, we can find hope in the midst of the hopeless situation. God wants what is best for us. We can rest in the fact that what we face on this earth is nothing compared to eternity. This world is not our home. We may face struggles, we will face struggles on this earth, but the worst thing that can happen is we die, and to die is gain as Paul wrote. We can live for Jesus no matter what the trials and when we die we will see Him face to face.

"Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." (Psalm 42:11, NIV)

Lamentations 1-2

September 1

Lamentations 1-2

"The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The oracles they gave you were false and misleading." (Lamentations 2:14, NIV)

Jeremiah mourns after the fall of Jerusalem. He cries out to God and he cries out to the people of Jerusalem. Jeremiah is heartbroken because the people would not listen to the message God had given him to proclaim to a nation that was disregarding God who had blessed them and given them all they had. Their prophets told them what they wanted to hear instead of the truth proclaimed by God. Men claimed to have a word of prosperity from God, while instead God was promising destruction.

Paul warned Timothy that men of his day were not much different. "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." (2 Timothy 4:3-4, NIV)

It does not matter what people say; what God says is what really matters. We may not want to hear the truth, but that does not make the truth any less truthful. People in our day are no different than the people of Jeremiah’s day or the people of Paul and Timothy’s day. The truth of the Gospel, the truth of the Word of God cuts us sometimes and we do not like what it reveals about our lives and our standing before God. But it is better to know the truth and the heed it than to continue on the road to destruction ignoring the difficult truth.

God convicts us, not to make us feel bad, but to bring correction and to restore our relationship with Him. He wants what is best for us and sends the Holy Spirit to guide us. God does not want to kill all our fun, He wants to give us fullness of life, but that fullness is only found when we turn to Him and away from the false messages the world proclaims.