by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Ezekiel 33-36
“There will be showers of blessing…” Do you remember that song? The words were taken from Ezekiel 34:26. Ah, restoration, sweet restoration.
We’ve been plowing through some not-so-fun passages concerning the rebellion and evil in Israel and the surrounding nations. Now we are entering some of the good parts of the prophecy.
The day will come when our God will restore Israel. He will bring back the people to their land, and He will shower them with blessings … because the day will come when they will return to Him.
But it gets even better. The day will come when the shepherds will no longer be selfishly lording over their charges. The day will come when the Lord will raise up a Chief Shepherd over the house of Israel. He will sprinkle the people clean, and turn the desolate land into the “Garden of Eden.” (36:35) The “desolate and ruined cities will be inhabited.” And the nations round about will know that the Lord God has done this.
What a promise! Good days are ahead.
And there’s even more! He will give His people “a new heart and a new spirit within them; and He will remove the heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh. And He will put His Spirit within them.” (36:26-27)
So here we have a prophecy concerning the new birth and the Holy Spirit coming to live in the heart of man. At the time this was prophesied, there is no way that the people could understand it, but in retrospect, we can understand exactly what He was saying.
The Chief Shepherd is Jesus: God Himself coming to be our Shepherd. And after He pays the price, God’s people can have his Spirit living within them – guiding, leading, comforting them so that they can live their best life.
Fast forward to today, and we have all of these benefits – indeed, showers of blessing which Ezekiel prophesied.
How do we repay him for all of His benefits toward us? “I will lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord.” (Psalm 116:12-13).
That’s what I am going to do. Our Savior paid a huge price for what He did for us. Now I am going to partake of every bit of it.
What about you?
I Peter 5
How many times do we hear this reiterated? “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (V.5).
There are those who misunderstand this and think that it’s better to be down-trodden, poor, sick, and weak. Yet that is not what Peter is saying.
We can be healthy, rich, and strong – and still be humble. In fact, that is what is God’s plan for us.
So where is the mixup? Humility involves a heart which doesn’t take credit for all of the benefits, but knows that God is the source. When there is true humility, then we don’t see ourselves as higher than others, because we know that God loves them too. Maybe they are not in a position to receive all that He has, but all is available for them, as it is for us.
Now there are those who are suffering persecution because of their faithfulness to God, and Peter is addressing those also. Even those will be perfected, confirmed, strengthened, and established by God Himself. He gives them great honor now and in the life to come.
For all of us, the cares which come our way are to be “cast upon the Lord, knowing that He cares for us.” (V.7)
When we do things our Father’s way, He will lift us up at the proper time.
Such peace ensues when we are in this mode of thinking. His love is always with us.
Amazing, isn’t it?
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Ezekiel 30-32
With colorful language, Ezekiel once more comes against the pride of man.
Why is pride such a horrible thing, you might ask. Remember, it was pride which entered Satan’s heart and caused him to try to overthrow God. Thus, when pride is the root, he is not far away. The devil tries to tempt people to think that they are so great, they don’t really need God.
There are two kinds of confidence. One from the devil and the other from God.
When confidence has devilish roots, people think that they are superior to others and they arrogantly take credit for their gifts. Their intelligence, athleticism, creativity, or beauty are worn as badges for self-exaltation. Those around them sense the weight of their self-centeredness.
When confidence has godly roots, the outcome is totally different. This type of confidence comes, not from pride, but from honor of God. These people who exhibit godly confidence are optimistic and energetic because of their God and all that He has done for them. They know that He is the giver of gifts, whether the gift is intelligence or anything else. God is also the giver of favor and opportunity, paving a way for success. No room for bragging here.
Godly confidence is accompanied by kindness and compassion. People with godly confidence want to see others achieve as much s themselves. They often go out of their way to help others discover and implement their god-given gifts.
There is only One who stands tall among the rest of us. His name is Jesus.
It’s important for us to remember that!
I Peter 4
So you have gifts? Your gifts are for giving!
“As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” (V.10).
It’s obvious, isn’t it? Gifts aren’t given to us for displaying, but for giving. If you have a gift to speak, your speech should represent God and bring others closer to Him. If your gift is serving, serve with God’s strength and not your own.
Remember that everything we do is wrapped in the law of love. We love others as ourselves, and we give generously, as our father gives to us.
It’s part of God’s plan. He gives and we do, too.
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Ezekiel 27-29
Have you ever been awed by the prosperity of a region? Maybe in your travels you have seen such opulence – and such commercial genius at work – that you have wondered how these people could have accomplished what is evident.
That’s the way Tyre was in the 6th century BC, when Ezekiel was prophesying from Babylon. It was a wealthy city. In fact, some of the mariners from Tyre had actually sailed as far as Spain and had established ports in that area. They were very energetic and very rich.
As Ezekiel is prophesying over the city of Tyre, he takes an interesting turn. He begins to prophesy to Satan himself – who he calls the Prince of Tyre. Satan’s headquarters are always endowed with wealth, because that’s his key for ruling his world. (Promised riches are the reason behind dealing drugs, prostitution, the Mafia, political corruption, etc.).
So Ezekiel prophesies to the Prince of Tyre, Satan, and we get more understanding of who he is and where he came from. Lucifer was a beautiful archangel, and one of God’s closest creations. He was “full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.”(28:12) But because of the “abundance of his trade” (his wealth), he was filled with violence and sinned against God. So Lucifer was thrown down to earth, and became Satan, the ruler of the kingdom of darkness.
Then the prophecy goes on to say that the kings of the earth will be appalled at him, and he will be no more. (28:19). The day will come when he will be thrown into the Lake of Fire.
We know that Jesus defeated Satan once and for all. He has no power over us, if we resist, because he is no match for the Holy Spirit who lives within us.
Satan is still roaming about, trying to trick us, but when we know who he is and who we are in Christ, the devil is no match for us! He’s under our feet.
I Peter 2-3
We are a “chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that we may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.”(2:9)
So what is Peter saying? We aren’t the same people we were before we got born again. If we receive the magnitude of what our God has done for us, our very lives are a witness to our God’s love, mercy, and transforming power. We are a new race of people – new “Creations in Christ.”(II Corinthians 5:17). New, because we have been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb and filled with the Holy Spirit of God.
We are a royal priesthood because we are now kings and priests to God. We can personally go boldly into the throne room of God and talk with our Father. And as kings, we represent our Father to the world. We speak His word, and we follow His leading to share His love with others.
We are a holy nation, because now we belong to the Kingdom of God.
And we are His. We belong to our Father. He watches over us, protects us, guides us, provides for us, and empowers us to accomplish His purposes in the earth.
If we will take the time to meditate on this special verse, we will never be the same. Our faith will sky-rocket and we will see our Father’s hand at work like never before.
What a joy to be His! What a delight to be a new creation and part of our Father’s kingdom!
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Ezekiel 24-26
Our God is God. The Creator of the Universe and the Author of all things good. He is the beginning and the end.
The day will come when there will no longer be any evil because our pure, holy God will rid His creation of Satan and all who follow him. He is all good; He is also all-powerful.
When we read the current chapters of Ezekiel, it gets pretty heavy, because we don’t normally think in terms of judgment. We think of God as a loving Father – which He is. But He is also holy. If God were to judge everything according to His standards today, there wouldn’t be much left. But there will come a day when it’s all over.
I’ve always thought that if anyone really understood who Jesus was and what He did for us, they would receive Him. His love is unconditional, but we have to receive it. We have to know Him personally and allow Him to order our steps.
Our choices are clear. Light versus dark. Life versus death. Love versus hate. Good versus evil.
I choose Jesus with all the light, life, love and good He brings.
I Peter 1
All of the letters we have read so far have been written by the apostle Paul, who never saw Jesus in the flesh.
Remember, he was called by the Lord when he was on the way to arrest some Christians. Then for three years he spent time with the Lord, re-reading the Old Testament scriptures and understanding God’s plan of redemption. During this time, God revealed to Paul what had been hidden up to that point, that is the new birth and the Holy Spirit now living within the hearts of man.
Peter had a different perspective. He not only knew Jesus; Peter was one of the three disciples who were with Him in the most eye-opening times. (The transfiguration and when He raised Jairus’s daughter from the dead). One of Jesus’s closest disciples.
Yet throughout the three plus years Peter was following Jesus, he never really understood what was about to take place. Actually it takes the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth to people, so the full understanding couldn’t come until after Jesus was resurrected and Peter was born again.
When we read the letters from Peter, we get a little different slant of the same message. The new birth, the living hope, the promises which are here now and the ones to come.
Peter addresses those who are currently suffering for their faith. There are various trials which people are going through, but their faith is compared to precious gold to be revealed at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
I’d like to point out one very encouraging word, encouraging to us when we have loved ones who just don’t seem to “get it.” Peter speaks of the fact that we have been “born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living Word of God.”(V. 23)
When we have shared the gospel of Jesus with someone, that seed is imperishable seed planted in their heart. They might not pay any attention to us at the time, but that seed has been planted and it won’t go away. It will never die.
At the right moment that person, knowing they need help beyond their own abilities, may reach out to God. And in that moment, that imperishable seed of God’s Word is still there within them reminding them of God’s plan of redemption.
I have seen this happen many times. I have shared the gospel with someone who seemed to ignore what I was saying, only to find later that they had received the Lord. And I have seen parents who have shared with their children, only to find them going astray. Yet at the right moment, that Word would cause the young ones to turn around and receive the Lord.
Once the Word of God is shared, it will not go away. It may lie dormant for a long time, but the Word is there, and it will spring forth at the right time.
That brings great hope to those of us who are praying for our loved ones. Hopefully, we will never give up!
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Ezekiel 19-21
“What was your mother? A lioness among lions. She lay down among young lions. She reared her cubs. When she brought up one of her cubs, He became a lion.” (19:2)
This is a picture of Israel in her former days. A strong, powerful mother to many young lions. Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Josiah…many young lions who embraced their heritage of honoring the Lord God as their king.
What happened? We can look around today and see the same things.
When people begin to have a “spirit of familiarity,” they don’t honor what they have. They take it for granted.
Have you ever seen cows grazing in a pasture? If not, let me share some interesting lessons to be learned. If you watch them long enough, you will see a few go over to the fence, stick the tips of their noses through, and graze “on the other side of the fence.” (This is where we get the phrase, “The grass is greener on the other side of the fence.”)
You can scan the pasture and readily see that the greenest grass is within the fence, but these cows don’t seem to appreciate it. They like the “other side” better.
That same spirit is here in our modern society when it comes to those who have been brought up in Christianity. A rebellious spirit can rise up and cause people to think that the “grass is greener somewhere else.”
When we look at humans instead of cows, this plays out in people wanting to look to other religions instead of their own. There are so many out there. Could they all be wrong?
The answer is “Yes, they can all be wrong.” There is only one God and only one way to Him.
There is only One who paid the price for their sins. There is only One who cleanses us, forgives us, heals us, and empowers us with His Spirit actually living within us. There is only One who arose from the dead. Jesus is the only One.
When we look at Israel in the time of Ezekiel, the Jews were looking on the other side of the fence and they saw many cults around. Surely they couldn’t all be wrong. Yes, they could. There was only One God. Jesus hadn’t yet come, but God was laying the groundwork to bring Him to the earth. He was developing His people to receive Him into their heritage and help to save the world.
If they would just listen and remain faithful.
We could learn a lot from Israel.
James 5
“The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” (V.16)
This is a verse to keep in mind when we are praying – especially when we have a crisis before us.
James compares us to Elijah. He prayed and the rain stopped in his land for three years. Then he prayed again and the rain started back. Powerful!
Do you think that your prayers can accomplish that much? James says that they can.
One difference between Elijah and us is that Elijah believed his prayers would be answered. Do you remember the story about his prayer for rain to return?
First he “heard” the sound of rain. (In his heart he knew that it was time). Then he went up on the mountain, put his head between his knees, and began to pray. He told his servant to go and check to see if he saw any signs of rain, but the servant saw none.
He then sent the servant seven times, as he was praying, to check for rain. Finally, the servant returned saying that there was a cloud the size of a man’s hand.
It was here! Elijah then told the servant to run and tell Ahab to run for cover because torrents were on their way. And that is exactly what happened.
Elijah knew what he was praying for and he knew that it was time. So he refused to give up until he saw the rain.
Our prayers too can avail much if we press into what God wants us to. We can hear by the spirit what he wants us to pray for – and we can push forth in faith and patience to receive.
Are you wanting awakening in your family? In your country? In the world? You know that it is God’s will and it is definitely time. Pray and don’t stop until you see your answer.
You are a righteous man, and your prayers can avail much.
