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August 1 Orderly Living

7/31/2015

Ezekiel 46:9-10 "When the people of the land come before the Lord at the appointed feasts, he who enters by the north gate to worship shall go out by the south gate, and he who enters by the south gate shall go out by the north gate: no one shall return by way of the gate by which he entered, but each shall go out straight ahead. 10 When they enter, the prince shall enter with them, and when they go out, he shall go out.

READING through more details of God's instructions for the new temple and restoring worship to Jerusalem, I paused on these two verses. "Why would it be important how one entered and left the temple?" I wondered. Here's what I learned.

    To enter by the north gate and leave by the south, or vice-versa, indicates two important aspects of worship. First of all, if a person in worship turned around and left by the way he came, it would symbolize one was turning his back to God. Moving forward through the two temple gates they were permitted to use was a symbolic act of reverence before God.

    Second, such a process brought order to the general congregation's worship. Most of us like to know the "Order of Worship" when we go to church. It's good to participate in what is happening, and it's good to anticipate what is coming next. For people to come in and go out the same gate while others are coming in would cause confusion and disorder. God requires order to worship.

    We can use these lessons for our daily lives, too. People I know who have a regular time with God each day do so because they have established an order to their lives. Households that are at peace have an order to their activities, determining what is best to do with purpose and not just to be busy doing things. Businesses and nations that succeed have a proper order of functioning under right laws.

    Life with God is simple if we follow his orderly words. Jesus said such order begins with this: Matthew 22:37-39 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Prayer: May my love for you, Lord, and my love for others be the order of my life. May I enter and leave each day with my face turned toward you. In the Holy Spirit's power I pray, amen.

July 31 True Leadership

7/30/2015

Ezekiel 45:8(b)-12 My princes will no longer bully my people, running roughshod over them. They'll respect the land as it has been allotted to the tribes. 9 "This is the Message of God , the Master: 'I've put up with you long enough, princes of Israel! Quit bullying and taking advantage of my people. Do what's just and right for a change. 10 Use honest scales — honest weights and honest measures. 11 Every pound must have sixteen ounces. Every gallon must measure four quarts. The ounce is the basic measure for both. 12 And your coins must be honest — no wooden nickels! (from THE MESSAGE)

GOD instructs Ezekiel further regarding his plans to restore his people to Jerusalem. He has shown to Ezekiel the rebuilding of the physical temple and reforming the acts of worship through the priests. Now God instructs the political renewal of Judah.

           The term "prince" relates to a government official who will rule. As you may recall, Ezekiel describes God's judgment over 25 ungodly, idolatrous men (See Ezekiel 11). One reason for God's judgment on Judah was in response to its ungodly leaders. Judah cannot fully be God's nation if its political leaders are not fully God's men (something to think about).

           God teaches the traits that must mark the new princes - the future leaders. They must replace greed with grace. They are to be fair and true in all their dealings with the people. In no way are they to take advantage of their power for personal gain. In the language of "ThE MESSAGE" we can hear God's imploring words - straighten up and do what's right!

           These are lessons for today. Certainly most of us are pointing our fingers at political or church leaders we know who do not live into these commands. But let's consider our own hearts. First, are you willing to lead? As a Christian, you must be willing to lead for Jesus wherever you are. You are to do so with these same traits God describes here. You must also lead for Jesus by the means of holding fast to his gospel wherever you are.

           You've heard the phrase, "lead people to Jesus" haven't you? The best way to do so is to live and speak with integrity the truth of God's commands. Lead true with your actions and your words. If you don't, who will?

Prayer: Lord God, stir my heart to lead people to know you. Amen.

Note: Historians believe it was July 31, 593 BC when God called Ezekiel to his prophetic ministry.

July 30 Do You Know?

7/29/2015

July 30

Right Teaching

Ezekiel 44:23-24 They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. 24 In a dispute, they shall act as judges, and they shall judge it according to my judgments. They shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts, and they shall keep my Sabbaths holy.

THE Lord continues to reveal to Ezekiel his plans to restore to Jerusalem the temple, true worship and righteous law. It's almost as if Ezekiel is a second Moses. Moses was God's lawgiver to teach Israel God's ways as they came out of their slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land. Ezekiel is conveying God's laws to Israel as the Lord prepares to bring them home from their exile to Babylon.

           The lesson is very clear. The priests are to teach and live out God's true ways. God's people can only be God's people when they know the differences between God's rule and the world's chaos. Certainly as Christians, we must know the difference between right and wrong, living toward God and toward one another.

           Yes, the lesson is simple. But are you heeding God's teachings? Do you know the differences between God's Word and the world's words? Recently, I heard a pastor remark with despair how many in his church were unaware of the Bible's teaching on certain issues that mark our headlines today. He summed his despair with, "I can't believe they didn't know! The Bible's teachings are so clear."

           But they are not clear if we don't know them or haven't heard them. The truth gets covered and cloudy when we do not pick up the Bible to clear away the fog of lies around us. It takes time to sit down to God's order and to shut down the world's disorder. A purposeful heart is required to open up to God's clear teachings. Effort is necessary to learn what is seldom taught. As Christians, we have responsibilities to clearly know, teach and live God's true laws.

           Furthermore, we are to be as priests in our homes. We must teach the Bible to our children and other family members. Be responsible. The knowledge of God is to begin in the home. I pray you make your home a holy temple unto the Lord. Be one who learns. Be a teacher. Be as a priest to teach what is wrong and what is right.

Prayer: Turn my mind each day to know your words, Lord. Make me as a true priest of the Lord among my family. In Jesus' name. Amen.

July 29 The Glory Returns

7/28/2015

Ezekiel 43:1-4 Then the man brought me to the gate facing east, 2 and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory. 3 The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when he came to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown. 4 The glory of the Lord entered the temple through the gate facing east.

TWO months ago on May 26, we looked at Ezekiel 10 to read that God's glory lifted up from the temple and left Jerusalem. God removed his glory - his power and authority - from Jerusalem and Judah. The Jews had long neglected and disobeyed God. He left them in their sin to destruction, death and exile.
           Now God gives to Ezekiel a sign that the judgment and exile will end. As he shows to Ezekiel the form of the new physical temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem, he also shows that his glory will once again fill the temple.
           Each time we see in the Bible God's instructions to build a worship center such as the tabernacle in Exodus and the first temple in 1 Kings, God completes the physical construction with the anointing of his holy glory, so his power will be known to his own people.
           God's grace to re-establish his glory in the second temple is a picture of our salvation today. We are born without God's glory, dead in our transgressions. By his grace, God comes to his own to rebuild us spiritually with the building stones of the gospel. As the Spirit awakens our dead souls to life in Jesus' sacrifice, God's glory enters into us that we may be strengthened more and more securely in our relationship with God.
           This strengthening process is sanctification. We need God's glory to be sanctified toward God to truly and fully live in his power. The Apostle Paul, fully aware of this, offered this wonderful prayer for all whose faith proclaims Jesus, "My Lord and Savior." Ephesians 1:18 "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength."
           Be thankful this day that God's glory returned to his temple in Jerusalem. Rejoice God's glory is now present in you who call on the name of the Lord. Be joyful to remember as Paul also reminded us 1 Corinthians 3:16 "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?"

Prayer: In awe and wonder Ezekiel worshiped you that day, Lord. May I live in the worship of your glory to save me. Amen.

July 28 Be Priest-like

7/27/2015

Ezekiel 42:13-14 Then he said to me, "The north and south rooms facing the temple courtyard are the priests' rooms, where the priests who approach the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. There they will put the most holy offerings — the grain offerings, the sin offerings and the guilt offerings — for the place is holy. 14 Once the priests enter the holy precincts, they are not to go into the outer court until they leave behind the garments in which they minister, for these are holy. They are to put on other clothes before they go near the places that are for the people."

IN the previous teaching, we looked at being as a cherub, which is one type of angel. Today we'll look at being as a priest. Now, I know we view the occupation "priest" in different contexts based on our understanding of church. But we must put our cultural and worldly knowledge aside and know the Bible teaches us what it is to be as a true priest in Jesus' church.

           First of all, there is only one true priest. He is Jesus Christ. Hebrews 4:14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.

           The priests of the Old Testament law were formed by God and set apart from the others as demonstration of God's holiness. They were also the picture of the eternal work Jesus would accomplish as our priest. The priests offered daily sacrifices to atone for the Jews' sins. Jesus has offered the one eternal sacrifice to atone for the sins of all who call him, "Lord and Savior."

           Out of Christ's priesthood, then, comes this remarkable relationship between Jesus and his own described in Revelation 5:9-10 And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." This is the fulfillment of God's promise to Israel in Exodus 19:6 "You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."

           Being a priest as Jesus, then, isn't a job, but its characteristics mark your eternal relationship with God. Through Jesus' priesthood, you become "priests to serve our God". A true priest as Jesus is set apart unto Christ and has intimate access to God. A true priest as Jesus lives with Jesus in eternity.

           As we consider how we are to be as cherubs (from yesterday) to guard and proclaim God's Word, and as priests to serve him, consider this: The Bible keeps pointing God's merciful salvation to mankind. God created us in his image. He set apart mankind from all other animals to form a holy relationship with us. Since sin entered the world, God has given to us living examples through himself, his angels and his priests, so we will know he desires to set us apart from sin to be with him in an eternal holy relationship.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for loving us so very much. In Jesus' name, amen.

July 27 Be Cherub-like

7/26/2015

Ezekiel 41:18-20 It was carved of cherubim and palm trees, a palm tree between cherub and cherub. Every cherub had two faces: 19 a human face toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side. They were carved on the whole temple all around. 20 From the floor to above the door, cherubim and palm trees were carved; similarly the wall of the nave.

ARE you an angel? Perhaps your response related to how good, gentle and kind you are. We like to think of angels that way, don't we? But maybe some of God's angels have very different characteristics.

           For example, see the references to cherub (plural cherubim) in this Scripture regarding the reconstruction of God's temple in Jerusalem. What is a cherub? And why would God command such images engraved on posts and walls in his holy temple?

           We first see cherubim in the Bible assigned to guard paradise after Adam's & Eve's sin. Genesis 3:24 After God drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. With great power and authority, they protected God's holy command. God could not trust mankind to obey him. He needed guards over his Word.

           Next, we read in Exodus 25:18 that cherubim were formed of hammered gold and placed on the mercy-seat - the place of God's presence - in the ark of the covenant. Cherubim forms were also embroidered into the inward curtain of the Tabernacle and the veil. Symbolically, these images represented Heaven's power to guard God's holy presence.

           Later in Israel's history, King Solomon built the first temple. He enlarged the cherubim to cover the entire space of the Holy of Holies. Again, this was symbolic of protecting God's holiness from his people's sin.

           Then we see what a cherub looks like in Ezekiel 1:4-10 "I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north — an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, 5 and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was that of a man, 6 but each of them had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides they had the hands of a man. All four of them had faces and wings, 9 and their wings touched one another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved. 10 Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle."

           Are you forming a different mental picture of angels? Do you want to be one? True, there are other forms of angels. But we must note in these views of the cherubim how God has shown to us his authority and your responsibility to protect his true Word.

           It has been said that combining all references to the cherubim in Scripture. (See also the cherubim's worship of God in Revelation 4:6-10). The traits of the four faces symbolize what traits we are to have as God's people. Facing four ways, they face all quarters of the globe to represent our duty to make God known worldwide. The wings show swiftness of obedience. The ox shows strength. The lion shows kingly authority. Also, the cherubim are always present with God to guard his Word and to worship him.

           As a Christian, you are called to be as a cherub. Are you willing to extend the truth to the world, to swiftly obey, to be strong in the Lord's power, to receive God's authority over your life and to worship him?



Prayer: Father, may I be as a cherub. Form my heart, mind and soul may I be swift to declare your glory. In Jesus' name, amen.

July 25 Precise

7/24/2015

July 25

Precise

Ezekiel 40:1-4 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very day, the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me to the city. 2 In visions of God he brought me to the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which was a structure like a city to the south. 3 When he brought me there, behold, there was a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring reed in his hand. And he was standing in the gateway. 4 And the man said to me, "Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel."

GOD comes to Ezekiel 25 years after the first Jews went into exile into Babylon. This is 14 years after Babylon had utterly destroyed Jerusalem and the Lord's temple as they exiled more Jews away from their homes. There are 45 years remaining in the exile.

           But God has a precise rebuilding plan, and he reveals this to Ezekiel. Just as he had taken Ezekiel in the Spirit to Jerusalem to show him several visions of judgment, God now sends Ezekiel in the Spirit to show Judah's restoration - its salvation. God begins by revealing he has a plan to rebuild the temple. Reading through the vision describing the four temple gates and the various courts, one may feel the details are beyond our need to know.

           But know this. We must understand how this Scripture reveals again how God is precise in all he does.

           Think for example of all creation. The precision with which the earth sits on its axis and orbits the sun must be exactly as it is. Off one degree, the earth could not sustain life. In the same manner, God's salvation plan is established on the foundation of God's exact words. We see this in God's exact requirements of repentance through his sacrificial laws, even to the point God the Father was precisely required to kill God the Son, so you would be precisely saved forever.

           I urge you then to read this new temple blueprint with great gratitude and awe of God for two reasons. One, God didn't have to restore the temple or call his people back to Judah. They had sinned. But in his mercy, God moved to restore the temple to prepare for the Savior.

           Second, be in awe and wonder that God is doing this to build his own into living temples. Saved in Jesus, the Bible says you are a living temple. 1 Corinthians 3:16 Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?

           Celebrate each day that God is so precise. Worship him for the way his salvation blueprint builds your life anew and forever as God's own.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for precisely saving me that I can be assured of my life forever in you. In Jesus' precious name and the Holy Spirit's power I pray. Amen.

July 24 A Great Conversation

7/23/2015

July 24

A Great Conversation

Ezekiel 39:28-29 "Then they will know that I am the LORD their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. 29 I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD."

ARE you feeling exiled from God? Does he seem far away and uninvolved with your life? Do you need him in a special way today, but you're not sure he would welcome you?

           Please be assured. God wants you to know he desires to meet with you. Meeting with a person face-to-face is the best way, isn't it, to get to know and to develop a relationship with someone. God is willing and eager to look at you face-to-face, so you get to know him. You see, he knows you. He knows what you need. He knows what you have done. He knows what you have not done. I know, that can be scary - and you might think, "I'm not going near God. He'll just judge me."

           Yes, it's true. The lessons of Ezekiel and the entire Bible tell us that he will judge your sins because he's holy. BUT KNOW THIS - the lessons of the Bible also graciously teach you that he's willing to turn way from your sin and to forgive your sins as you confess them. He will even forget them! Listen to these assuring words from God regarding his amazing grace:

Hebrews 8:10-12 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more."

Realize, loved one, that you will only have this wonderful relationship with him when you know him. Go to him in prayer and in Scripture. Meet with him through a small group Bible study. Connect with God through the teaching of godly people. Say, "I want to be right with your laws and your teachings, Father."

           You see, God wants you to get past your past and move on with your life. As he did with the nation Israel, he wants to conquer the evil that attacks you. And then he will open the way to welcome you home to him. God's will is to restore you into a righteous life so that you delight in him.

           Remember this: In all who you are, God loves you. All the seemingly incomprehensible imagery of Ezekiel 38 & 39 is about God's ultimate, life-giving power to his people. At the end of time he will bring his own "home" out of the worldly exile of sin and into his glorious eternal home. Go ahead. Stand before him. Sit down with him. Talk with him. Trust his forgiveness. Tell him your fears and your needs. Tell him your hopes and desires. I'm sure you'll have a great conversation!

Prayer: Thank you, Holy Father, Son and Spirit for offering yourself so completely to me. Thank you for meeting with me face-to-face to teach me your truth, to turn my heart to you, to forgive my sins, to welcome me home. In Jesus' name, amen.

July 23 Passionate God

7/22/2015

July 23

Passionate God

Ezekiel 38:18-23 "This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign Lord. 19 In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground. 21 I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign Lord. Every man's sword will be against his brother. 22 I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. 23 And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord."

AS we learned yesterday, Gog has no firm identity in history. There are theories of who Gog is, but the main understanding is that Gog represents Satan's power coming against God's people Israel in Ezekiel's time and God's people the church in our time and the future end of time.

           Two points from this Scripture are first God is passionate to protect his people. And second God is passionate to judge his people's enemies. Note these points here: "When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused." As we witness and experience attacks on Jesus' church from within and without today, be comforted to know God is watching over your soul to protect you who are his church from evil. Keep in mind Jesus' final words to his disciples from Matthew 28:20(b) "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

           Be reminded, too, that Jesus prayed for all who would believe in him with these loving words recorded in John 17:26 "I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them." Stand firm and confident - stand in joy - against the daily slings and arrows from the enemy. Know God is jealous to protect you, and he is loving to be with you. You have no greater protector than the Holy God, who created you and called you to his side.



Prayer: Father, thank you for your great eternal protection over my soul. Strengthen me to be bold in my faith, knowing none can harm me and keep me away from you. Lord, I pray you deliver your church from evil. In Jesus' name, amen.

July 22 Prepare for War

7/21/2015

July 22

Prepare for War

Ezekiel 38:1-3, 5-7 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 "Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him 3 and say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal...5 Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer and all his hordes; Beth-togarmah from the uttermost parts of the north with all his hordes—many people groups are with you. 7 "Be ready and keep ready, you and all your hosts that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them."

TWO of the most destructive attacks against America came on days we were not prepared. There were warnings about a possible Japanese assault on Pearl Harbor, but few really believed Japan would strike with such deadly force on December 7, 1941. And yes, there were concerns of terrorist attacks on the United States, but could anyone have expected such death on September 11, 2001? Regarding both attacks, when our nation looked back, there are strong possibilities we could have been more prepared to protect our military and citizens from our enemies.

    Ezekiel 38 - 39 is a grand, consuming picture of the threats against Israel in the context of God's people at Ezekiel's time and in his church forever. John also refers to Gog in Revelation 20:7-8 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. "Gog" is a term God uses to represent Satanic nations stirred by the evil one to come against his people at the end of the age.

    Take some time in the next two days to read through God's prophecies regarding war against his people and the salvation he will bring to them. I urge you to do so that you may be prepared for Satan's attacks we experience each day. We must know he strikes with deadly force, and he will not be stopped if we are void of God's Word to warn us and to protect us. Satan will consume and devour those who are unprepared for battle. Sorely unprepared are those who cannot conceive of such evil force. Empty of urgency, ignorant of God's warnings, people will become complacent, and they will perish. God has warned us of the attacks to swell over us from all directions. That is precisely what is happening today. And such attacks will continue to end of the age.

    Heed God's warning: "Be ready and keep ready, you and all your hosts that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them." Don't look back on your life to say, "I knew the attacks could come, but I didn't know they would be so deadly." No being is more deadly than Satan. Thank God that he has been faithful to warn us and promise us victory. Will we listen?

Prayer: O merciful Father in Heaven, we praise you for your warnings. Protect us from evil. Strengthen our hearts and minds to trust you with our eternal lives. In Jesus' name, amen.

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The Kingdom of Our Lord and of His Christ
Looking Toward the End and the Beginning