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July 21 Tell of God

7/20/2015

Ezekiel 37:28 "Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore."

THIS last verse of Ezekiel 37 - the "New Life" chapter as I've called it - tells us the reason God will resurrect his people into a new, living relationship with him. God has a grand and wondrous purpose to save us for two eternal reasons.

    The first reason is to unite all of his chosen people under God. The Apostle Paul explains this to the church in Ephesians 1:9-10 "making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in Heaven and things on earth." If you are among the Christians who ask, "What is God's plan for my life?" you can rejoice his plan is to unite you to him in Heaven and earth!

    The second reason God acts to resurrect his relationship with his people is found in such Scripture as Exodus 9:16 But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

    God created the heavens and the earth. All is his. He acts the same way into our lives to create us anew each day that we would proclaim and praise his name in to all we meet. Knowing God has resurrected us, why would we hold back from speaking of God, who has so mercifully acted into our eternal lives?

    Are you united with God? Give glory to his name. These are his purposes to save you.

Prayer: Thank you that you have set us apart from sin and into you, Father. As we call on Jesus as Lord and Savior, strengthen our gratitude, our love and our humility to speak your name to those in our lives. In the Spirit's power we pray, amen.

July 20 One Nation Under God

7/19/2015

July 20

One Nation Under God

Ezekiel 37:21-22 Thus says the Lord God: "Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. 22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms."

AGAIN, I hope you take time to read all of Ezekiel 37. This is our third teaching from this "new life" chapter. The first half of the chapter centers on the illustration in which the Holy Spirit breathes new life into Israel's "dry bones". God promised to save his people from their spiritual death and resurrect them into a new living faith in him.

    God moves this salvation promise a big step forward here. He commits to gather his "born again" people once again into one nation under his sovereign authority. After all, God had formed the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel) into the nation Israel with over 1 million people. He took them out of Egypt into a Promised Land he had prepared for them to live as one nation under God. But in their sin, God's one nation became two - Israel and Judah - for 300 years. (We'll pause a minute to note that it does become somewhat confusing regarding "Israel". The country is also called Samaria - its capital city - and Ephraim - named after one of Joseph's sons.) In response to their sinful practices for those 300 years, God destroyed Israel and exiled Judah. In short, all of the descendants of the original Israel were under the rule of foreign kings when Ezekiel too this message to them.

    With bold hope-filled words, God points to his grand final plan of redemption. He tells his people that he will bring them all together under his authority. They will never again be separated. And most powerfully we read a bit further to see God's promise of our eternal King Jesus. Ezekiel 37:24 "My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees."

    This is the ultimate promise of eternal life to all who are God's people. God will act to draw his own to himself. From all corners of the earth will come an eternal one nation under God.

    Rejoice and praise our Lord. He is faithful to fulfill his promises. He will save his own to eternal salvation.

Prayer: Thank you, Father, for your great love, mercy and grace. Give us joy in our hearts amid our earthly struggles as we focus on your eternal promises. In Jesus' name and the Spirit's power, amen.

July 18 Hope Raised

7/17/2015

Ezekiel 37:11-14 Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.' 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord."

THERE is no place as unrelenting as the grave. Once you are in the grave, return is impossible. Hope for life is gone. You have no opportunities to fulfill your desires, to have one more conversation with a loved one or to complete a mission God has given to you. The grave is final, without hope, unless some magnificent miracle occurs.

    As a Christian, then, are you not overwhelmed with joy that the magnificent miracle has occurred! In Jesus' resurrection and his promise of eternal life, we thank God we have the hope confessed by the Apostle Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 15:51-55 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." 55 "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"

    The image in the Valley of Dry Bones is that one of complete destruction. During the Jews exile to Babylon, their hope would have been as dried up and lifeless as those dry bones. But in his love and mercy, God offered a magnificent miracle. He promised to resurrect their hope. He spoke to them a new "born again" life message to his people.

    Would not his promise then ignite a spark of hope? Would that spark glow with anticipation for the Jews that one day they would again inhabit the Promised Land? With hope alive, they could endure their exile. They could seek God's teaching to prepare for the day of their return to Judah and Jerusalem.

    Do you feel exiled from God, from his hope? Then know the Father has come through in Jesus and through his Spirit to ignite hope into your life. Focus on the gospel message! Rejoice that through Jesus, the grave is not final. Live in the joyful hope of the Spirit's true teachings. Cast aside all doubts. Turn away from all distractions. Let go of the temporary. Turn your eyes to the eternal. Know in your soul that God has promised and has prepared an eternal Promised Land for you.

    Believe in Jesus' resurrection power: John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

    Know the hope of your salvation. It is God's life gift to you.

Prayer: Father in Heaven, I trust Jesus' resurrection for my eternal life. Holy Spirit, enliven my heart to Jesus. Thank you for the hope you have raised in my heart today. Amen.

July 17 Lord You Know

7/16/2015

July 17

Lord You Know

Ezekiel 37:1-3 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord God, you know."

WE come now to perhaps the most well-known of Ezekiel's visions. Songs have been written of the valley of dry bones, and sermons upon sermons have been preached. Indeed, it is a beautiful illustration of God's grace and "born again" life defined in the New Testament. We see this most powerfully spoken by Jesus in John 11:25-26 Jesus said to Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this, Martha?" 27 She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world."

    Let's pause on this exchange. Remember, Jesus is about to raise his friend Lazarus' "dry bones" from the grave. Is Jesus' question to Martha, "Do you believe this?" and her confession "You are the Christ." the same conversation between Ezekiel and the Lord? "And he said to me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?' And I answered, 'O Lord God, you know.'" In both circumstances, God asked, "Can I give life?" As surely as Martha confessed the power of life was in Jesus' hands, Ezekiel confessed the Lord was, indeed, the source of life.

    How many times are we confronted with this questions, "Can these dry bones live? Do you believe?" What do we confess to God when we watch loved ones live dried up in their sins? What do we believe when circumstances threaten to overwhelm us? What do we say when we face disease, accident and death to those we love?

    Before we can answer the life questions, "Can these dry bones live? Do you believe this?" we must truly know the Lord of life is life. Only in him are we born again. Trust him with your life and the lives you care for. Live in the peace, " Lord, you know. You are the Christ."

Prayer: Holy Spirit, quicken my heart to confess, "Lord you know." that I may rest in the assurance that, "You are the Christ." In Jesus' name, amen.

July 16 Deliver Us from Evil

7/15/2015

Ezekiel 36:33-36 "Thus says the Lord God: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. 34 And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. 35 And they will say, 'This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.' 36 Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it."

OUR lesson from Ezekiel yesterday focused around Jesus' first petition of what is known as the Lord's Prayer, written in Matthew 6:9-13. Today we center on the 7th and last petition from this prayer in Matthew 6:13 "Deliver us from evil." (Or some Bible translations say "Deliver us from the evil one.").

    The latter portion of Ezekiel 36 (I urge you to read it all.) is God's wondrous promise to do exactly what Jesus teaches us to pray. Out of his own grace and in his desire to restore the holiness of his name to all his earth, God will deliver his people out of their exile in evil Babylon.

    See the comforting, beautiful language of God's deliverance. Judah's cities and villages will again be filled with people. The land will be as the garden of Eden. God's presence will be with his people, and they will be with him.

    God did this for Israel so that he would glorify, he would exalt the power and the authority of his name before Israel and before all the nations.

    In his glory, God has graciously come to deliver his chosen people throughout all time in the person of Jesus and his Holy Spirit's quickening power. The Holy Trinity's deliverance from the evil of our world includes safe gospel-preaching churches to enter. He has formed Bible studies for you to gather with other delivered people to know his great love for you. He has taught you to pray, to spend time with him that evil will stay from your hearts. God has granted you the knowledge of Jesus Christ, that you will be delivered from evil forever.

    Pause today and consider the means God uses to especially deliver you, to keep you from evil. Is it a special friend? Is it five minutes a day with his Word? Is it a blessed time of music or hearing a sermon? Could his deliverance come to you in the ways you serve others for your Lord?

    God has graciously brought his Word to you in many ways. Consume what he gives to you and be delivered from sin.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, that you have sent Jesus to deliver us the evil one's grasp. Thank you the Holy Spirit is here to protect us and teach us. Give us desires to know see your hand of deliverance in many ways each day. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

July 15 Hallowed Be Your Name

7/14/2015

Ezekiel 36:21-24 "But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came. 22 Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.'"

JESUS taught his disciples to pray, "Hallowed by your name." (Matthew 6:9) as the first petition of the Lord's Prayer with very good reason. God is very jealous of his name. He will not allow his creation to abuse, profane and disdain it - to cause it to become unholy (or not hallowed). He commands his holy name in the third of the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20:7 "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain." This is the only command with a direct reference to God's judgment on the command breaker.

    Israel had certainly profaned God's name. This doesn't necessarily mean they spoke the Lord's name profanely. We don't know what they spoke in everyday conversation. But we do know how they acted. God judges his people because they profaned his name through their irreverent and blasphemous actions against their Holy God. Breaking God's commands in thought, word or deed is profaning God's name. The Israelites' actions formed a poor reputation of God among the nations.

    For example, if I say, "I'm Curt's son." and I sin, I profane my father's name. I don't have to say anything. My actions would tell you that my father must not have taught me right rules and disciplined me properly. My sin would place a black mark on my father's name in your sight. To restore the integrity of his name, my father would punish me and then restore me to a right relationship with him.

    To restore the holiness of his name to his people and all the nations, God punishes his people in their exile. Then he promises he will do a remarkable work of redemption. He will draw his people out of exile's punishment and restore them to a bounteous land. He will show to the world the wonders of his holy love. More on that tomorrow.

    Consider this day how your actions reflect on the name of the Lord. As the church of Jesus Christ, are your actions and words keeping his name holy in the sight of those around you?

Prayer: Hallowed be your name, Lord, in all we say and do. In Jesus' name, amen.

July 14 Saving the Children

7/13/2015

Ezekiel 36:12-15 "I will let people walk on you, even my people Israel. And they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no longer bereave them of children. 13 Thus says the Lord God: Because they say to you, 'You devour people, and you bereave your nation of children,' 14 therefore you shall no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children, declares the Lord God. 15 And I will not let you hear anymore the reproach of the nations, and you shall no longer bear the disgrace of the peoples and no longer cause your nation to stumble, declares the Lord God."

IN this text, God is speaking through Ezekiel to the mountains of Israel - to the land in which his people live. This is a literary technique designed to demonstrate the Lord's sovereign authority over his entire creation. Psalms 50:1 The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

    Graciously into Israel's exile, God speaks to offer hope for his people and the future generations of Israel as he declares, "therefore you shall no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children."

    As we have mentioned and the Bible repeatedly declares, God's people Israel had worshiped man-made, demon formed gods such as Baal and Molech. An element of this evil was the sacrifice of children into a fiery altar. Imagine throwing your 4-year-old son into a fire to appease a lifeless god! This evil was bereaving the nation of its children and causing other nations to point an accusing finger at Israel. God's people were defaming the holy name and nature of God.

    God says in his grace here that this will end. And, indeed, it does. After God restored Israel from their Exile to Babylon, all such heinous child-killing worship ended. Public idol worship stayed in Israel's history. In grief, God's people would look back to ask in horror, "What have we done?"

    Your task is to pray to God he will speak such words to our nation and the world today. Pray that he will end the abomination of abortion, that we will no longer bereave the nation of our children. Our nation is bereaved of over 53,073,000 children since the Supreme Court legalized murder in Roe vs. Wade. Pray our courts and leaders will arise today and ask, "What have we done?"

Prayer: Lord, stir our hearts to anger against the murder or your children. Stir our hearts to pray salvation for our nations. In Jesus' name, amen.

July 11 Showers of Blessing

7/10/2015

Ezekiel 34:25-31 "I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26 And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. 27 And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. 29 And I will provide for them renowned plantations so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the reproach of the nations. 30 And they shall know that I am the Lord their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord God. 31 And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God."

WE have read much in Ezekiel of God's judgment upon his people and other nations. Sinful pride was the underlying reason the righteous God acted. Israel was too proud to listen and obey God's decrees, commands and laws. God's chosen people proudly chose to dispossess God to form their own demon-influenced gods. They sought security from other nations. Other nations and cities such as Egypt, Assyria, Tyre and Sidon became powerful under God's provision. But then they said, "Look at what we've done!" And God said, "Enough!"

    The lesson is clear. God will discipline his prideful people so that, "They shall know that I am the Lord their God." When mankind truly knows who God is, our pride crumbles into worshipful humility. Humble hearts turn to seek his Word with attentive ears. God's decrees, commands and laws become truth for our life.

    From this obedience will come "showers of blessing". Our Lord defines some of these blessings as material comforts - rain, crops, security and peace. Certainly the "showers of blessing" are also God's spiritual presence with his people. As we turn to him, he will bless us with the peace of his Spirit upon us.

    This is the gospel message. Lovingly, as Jesus prepared for the cross, he encouraged his disciples with this peace blessing recorded in John 14:26-27 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."

    Israel had to learn that showers of God's blessings would come to them as they humbly lived in the peace of God's Word. Jesus gave to us the same message for his church (each saved person) today. Will you humbly receive his Word and live in his blessed peace?

Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, that you send your Spirit to be our Helper, your Truth-Giver. Humble our hearts, Spirit, that we live in the Father's peace. In Jesus' name we parry, amen.

July 10 The Good Shepherd

7/9/2015

July 10

The Good Shepherd

Ezekiel 34:11-16 & 22-24 For thus says the Lord God: "Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice....22 I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23 And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken."

PERHAPS no image of Jesus is more comforting to us than that of the Good Shepherd. How wonderful, assuring, loving and restorative are Jesus' words to his disciples in John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." And we certainly know the great comforting word of Psalms 23:1 "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."

Ezekiel 34 is another place where God proclaims he is the Good Shepherd to his faithful people. And let's note the eternal promise in his words "And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd." Remember this is spoken about 300 years after David lived. The reference is clearly to the Son of David - Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, to come and lead us to Heaven.

As I read Ezekiel 34, I see God's judgment upon the unfaithful and I see his promise to care for his own. I sit here verbally proclaiming, "Wow. Unbelievable. Amazing." The Scripture stirs my heart to gratitude of God's eternal comfort. His Word humbles my heart that he would lead me to the place of rest and plenty. I am overwhelmed at the expressed reality of God's amazing love spoken from his mouth to us his creation. How do these words impact your heart? How do they impact your life?

Prayer: O Lord, we give you praise and thanksgiving that you would shepherd us out of sin's barren desert and into Salvation's plentiful pastures. In the Good Shepherd's name we pray, amen.

July 9 When Will They Ever Learn?

7/8/2015

July 9

Will They Ever Learn?

Ezekiel 33:21 In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and said, "The city has been struck down." ... 30 As for you, son of man, your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, 'Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.' 31 And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain."

MANY of us remember Pete Seeger's song, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" It was popularized by the trio Peter, Paul and Mary and spoke of the recurring sad cycle of war through generations. Young girls picked flowers. They married and the young men went off to war. Too many soldiers went to graveyards. And the graveyards turned to flowers. Young girls picked the flowers...

           The cycle of war moved from generation to generation. The haunting refrain, "When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?" left one wondering, "Yes, when will we ever learn to stop killing each other?"

           Ezekiel could have sung that song. AS you know, Ezekiel had been warning the Jews of Jerusalem's coming destruction. The Jews had ignored him. But then Babylon destroys Jerusalem. The strong fortified city is burned and thousands die. How do the exiles respond? People who mocked Ezekiel began to talk well of Ezekiel, and they went to listen to his words.

           But sadly they did not listen to put the words into the fiber of their faith and obedience to God. They are the church members who come to hear a popular speaker, but they do not care what he says - they just like the way he talks. Certainly God's words are not for them! Surely they would never do what is heard from the pulpit and the Holy Bible.

           Yes, that is far too often the hearts of Jesus' church. We enter the sanctuary, pretending to desire to know what God says. But we do not do his words. We keep on in our sinful patterns, and we wonder why nothing changes.

           Where, people of God, has God's truth gone? From generation to generation we have too much ignored him. When will we ever learn?

Prayer: Open our hearts to learn your Word and to put it into the habits of our daily lives, Lord God. In Jesus' name, amen.

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

July 21 Tell of God

July 20 One Nation Under God

July 18 Hope Raised

July 17 Lord You Know

July 16 Deliver Us from Evil

July 15 Hallowed Be Your Name

July 14 Saving the Children

July 11 Showers of Blessing

July 10 The Good Shepherd

July 9 When Will They Ever Learn?

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

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