Fri.’s Devo - The Four Empires

Read: Daniel 7:1-28; 1 John 1:1-10; Psalm 119:153-176; Proverbs 28:23-24
Daniel had another vision of four beasts that came out of the sea. These spiritual beings stood for empires of the earth. The lion was Assyria with Nebuchadnezzar as their leader. He was reduced to an animal but rose up to have the heart of a man. The bear was Persia which had many cruel leaders. The leopard stood for Alexander the Great of Greece and the fourth one stood for the Roman Empire that was ruling when Jesus came to earth.
Next, Daniel saw Jesus come down from heaven to earth. The last kingdom was given to him. It would be an everlasting rule that would never pass away. The horns on the head of the fourth beast were different leaders that ruled on the earth. The last leader would make war with God’s saints which would be the Anti-Christ.
Daniel had no idea what he was seeing or any understanding of what it meant because it wasn’t meant for him. It was meant for us. God’s ways are so amazing and wonderful.
First John begins like the Gospel John begins by talking about the beginning. He was explaining that Jesus was from the beginning of time. He came down to earth and they actually touched him and knew him. He brought life just as he created life in the beginning. He also was the light and when we walk in that light, we see each other differently and can fellowship and love one another in a much deeper way.
Lord, help us to walk in fellowship with you and our spiritual family.

Thur.’s Devo - Deliverance

Read: Daniel 6:1-28; 2 Peter 3:1-18; Psalm 119:129-152; Proverbs 28:21-22
Daniel was appointed one of the three administrators over the 120 satraps. The other satraps and administrators were jealous of Daniel and searched for some scandal to discredit him. His life was beyond reproach and so was his business dealings so the only thing they could find to use against him was his relationship with his God. They devised a way to trap him and the king who favored him so much. They thought their plan was a success. The king seemed to me more distressed than Daniel in his duty to throw him into the lion’s den. Daniel had seen God do too many things to worry about a few hungry lions. He spent the night with the deprived lions and saw God’s deliverance. The king got to see how God delivers the ones who are faithful to him and he became a believer of God himself.
This story is such a reminder that when we honor God, he honors us. God knows how to protect his reputation and protect his own.
Second Peter was written to remind the church that Jesus was coming back again and the earth would one day be destroyed by fire. Then God will create a new heaven and a new earth. Peter reminds us how to live as we wait for this to happen. We are to do everything we can to remain spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
Lord, may we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Wed.’s Devo - Judgement

Read: Daniel 5:1-31; 2 Peter 2:1-22; Psalm 119113-128; Proverbs 28:19-20
Belshazzar was Nebuchadnezzar’s son who did not learn from his father’s mistakes. He worshipped false gods and drank wine from the goblets from the temple that only the priests were suppose to drink from. While he was partying with his friends, God wrote four words on the wall of his palace. They could only see the hand as it wrote. The king shook in fear and called form his astrologers and soothsayers to interpret the words. When they couldn’t do it, one of them remembered Daniel and all the times he had interpreted King Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams. Belshazzar called for Daniel and offered him purple, gold and status if he could interpret it. Daniel told him he could keep his rewards then he told him the interpretation of the words. His days had been judged and brought to an end. His kingdom was to be divided and given to the Medes and Persians. That night it happened just as God said.
The days of the head of gold were over and now the silver arms were ruling just as Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed. (Daniel 2)
Second Peter explains that the angels that rebelled with Satan before time were sent to hell to be held in dungeons awaiting judgment. The people of Noah’s days rebelled and were not spared either, but destroyed in the flood and only seven people on the earth survived. Also, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were not spared but burned to ashes. Lot and his daughters were the only ones to survive. All of these were pictures of the end judgment but they are also pictures of deliverance for the godly.
The ungodly are not afraid of blaspheming God or his words. They are liars and full of lusts. The righteous escape the corruption of the world by knowing Jesus. Those who know Jesus and return to the world, are the worse at the end than at the beginning.
Lord, you are our hope and our refuge. We put our trust in you.

Tues.’s Devo - The Tree

Read: Daniel 4:1-37: 2 Peter 1:1-21; Psalm 119:97-112: Proverbs 28:17-18
King Nebuchadnezzar had another dream and none of his wise men could interpret it so he went to Daniel who he had named Belteshazzar. Daniel means “judge” but Belteshazzar means “lord of the straitened treasure”.
The dream was of a tree in the middle of the land that was enormous. A holy one called from heaven to cut down the tree and just leave the stump and its roots remain. The tree was to live with the animals and plant and his mind would change from that of a man to the mind of an animal. It would stay that way till seven years passed.
Daniel had to tell the king that he was the tree and it would happen to him just as he dreamed until he realized that God was the King of Kings and that heaven rules, not earth. Immediately, Nebuchadnezzar went mad and was driven away from the people to live in the field. He ate grass like cattle and his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails grew like the claws of a bird.
At the end of the seven years, Nebuchadnezzar’s sanity was restored, he acknowledged that God was the King over the eternal kingdom and he was given back his throne on earth.
Peter reminds us that God’s power gives us everything we need for life and godliness through his divine nature that we have.
Lord, may we walk in the divine nature of Christ today.

Mon.’s Devo - God’s Kingdom on the Earth

Read: Daniel 2:24-3:30; 1 Peter 4:7-5:14; Psalm 119:81-96; Proverbs 28:15-16
I can’t read today’s reading without thinking of what Mordeciah said to Esther: “maybe you were brought to the kingdom for such a time as this.” Daniel, Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego all stood for what they believed in an ungodly kingdom and against great odds, and God stood up for them in big ways.
God used Daniel to save all the wise men of the kingdom and give the king the blueprint for the future. He used Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego to stand up to the king, refuse to bow to his statue and see the glory of God in their deliverance from the fiery furnace. All four of them were elevated to rule the ungodly kingdom on earth. This is exactly what we are to do. We as God’s children are to stand against the odds and step out in faith for the Kingdom’s sake. When we do this, God will elevate his people to rule the earth and all the earth will be blessed by our godly rule. We are seeing this happen right now, and just like Daniel and his friends met opposition; we are too.
I have to say that First Peter kicked me into shape today. In verse 9 it says to be given to hospitality without grudging. That is a hard one for me since our son, his wife and two children have been living with us for almost two years and the end is not in sight. I have to constantly realign my heart to God’s and stop thinking carnally about my space, my time and my things. It has been a true test of my sacrifice to Jesus. I have to admit I usually fall very short. My suffering, filled with much laughter and great times is nothing compared with the suffering of Christ’s. It is not even persecution! So, once again, I put on my big girl britches and count it all joy.
We are warned to stay watchful and awake to be able to discern the attacks of the devil who is our opponent and arch-enemy. God has promised us that through all the trials we face, he is making us perfect, establishing us, strengthening us and laying a strong foundation for us. To him be the glory!
Lord, may your kingdom continue to come to earth as it is in heaven.

Sun.’s Devo - The Test

Read: Daniel 1:1-2:23; 1 Peter 3:8-4:6; Psalm 119:65-80; Proverbs 28:14
Whenever Nebuchadnezzar took over a nation, he looted the cities of their wealth and their most talented people. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were among the most talented of Judah. They were fed from the king’s table and brought before him to be tested. The king’s food was not kosher food so Daniel asked of him and his three friends to be exempt from eating it. He asked his trainer to put them to the test by feeding them kosher food for ten days and then he could decide if Daniel and his friends were not healthier than the rest. The four proved to be healthier and better nourished than the rest and were allowed to stay on his strict diet.
When the king questioned the captives, Daniel and his three friends excelled above them all.
One night, Nebuchadnezzar had a strange and frightening dream and did not want his magicians and enchanters to make up the interpretation, so he wanted to prove them. He told them that if they didn’t tell him his dream and the interpretation, he would kill them all. Daniel was grouped with this people since he understood dreams and visions.
None of the astrologers could do what the king had asked so they were sentenced to die. When Daniel found out about it, he asked for time. He came home to his friends and they prayed that God, who knew all things would give them the mystery of the kings dream. That night, Daniel had the dream himself and understood its interpretation.
In Daniel’s praise to the Lord he said a very insightful thing. He said “He changes times and seasons.” In the Hebrew it interprets “He alters a set time and time, itself.” He is giving us a clue to the universe.
First Peter tells us to be of the same mind, in unity when it comes to loving one another. We don’t pay back evil for evil, but we forgive and have compassion on one another.
Jesus suffered once for our sins and preached to the spirits that had died and raised them up with him when he resurrected. Noah and his family were a picture of baptism because they were saved by water. Baptism doesn’t cleanse our body, it cleanses our soul and gives us a good conscience with no sin or shame.
Lord, thank you for cleansing our souls that we can stand before you in righteousness and with a clean heart.

Sat.’s Devo - The Son’s of Zadok

Read: Ezekiel 47:1-48:35; 1 Peter 2:11-3:7: Psalm 119:49-§4; Proverbs 28:12-13
The spirit of life which was the water issued from the door which is Christ. It issued from the pierced side of Christs’ body to the nations. Everywhere the blood of Christ flowed it brought healing and life. The trees on the sides of the banks of the water represent the saints that have gone before and produced fruit (Psalms 1).
There was a definite boundary around the temple that held the kingdom of his people. People from every tribe and nation would be there because great revival will bring them in. The sons of Zadok had been the true ones that had never strayed from the truth. These remind me of the ones brought up in church and don’t have a testimony of coming out of the world. They are the sons of Zadok. They saw the truth and were never deceived out of it.
The possession of the Levites was in the midst of the city, their border was from Judah to Benjamin. This is a picture of the true believers coming in from the time of Jesus to his return. Jesus was from the tribe of Judah and Benjamin represents the Church.
In First Peter, Peter remembers how Jesus walked on the earth and encourages us to do what he did. Jesus never let any deceit be in his mouth. He refused to fight back when he was being wrongly accused and persecuted. Because he refused to sin, his blood has the power to heal us and his life is an example to us of how to walk in persecution and not sin with our mouth.
Lord, help us to walk with no malice in our mouths. May we be like the sons of Zadok that stay true to your commands when no one around us cares.

Fri.’s Devo - Our Rock

Read: Ezekiel 45:13-46:24; 1 Peter 1:13-2:10; Psalm 119:33:48; Proverbs 28:11
The prince in Ezekiel stands for Jesus, the Prince of Peace. The eastern gate is closed the six working day and on the Sabbath it is open. The eastern gate is the spiritual gate to the new Jerusalem. It is closed as long as time exists, but when God’s earthly week (the six days) is over, we will enter through that gate into the new heaven and the new earth. We will enter that gate with Jesus, the prince.
They were never to exit the gate they entered, depicting that we can never enter the presence of the Lord and leave the same way we came in. We should exit an opposite gate - changed.
First Peter says the same thing. If we are truly God’s children then we should be striving for holiness, not conformity to the world. The things of this world will perish, but the things of God are eternal and worth living for.
Jesus is the rock and we are stones from that rock. He is a stumbling stone to those who disobey his message of salvation. But to those who embrace him, he is the Rock of Ages.
We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. Our mission is to declare praised to the one who delivered us from darkness into light.
Lord, may we as living stones reflect the capstone which is Christ.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Eastern Gate

Read: Ezekiel 44:1-45:12; 1 Peter 1:1-12; Psalm 119:17-32; Proverbs 28:8-10
God brought Ezekiel to the eastern gate which was to shut and was to remain that way because God had entered through it. That was the custom of eastern monarchs. The king had his own gate and out of respect, no one else could use it. Jesus will return through the eastern gate.
God told Ezekiel to pay attention to the entrances and exits of the temple because we are to pay attention to the way we enter into the presence of the Lord and how we exit. They had entered the temple with foreigners who had not been circumcised in heart or flesh. This is a picture of how we shouldn’t enter the presence of God. We can have no sin (foreigners) and our hearts must be totally the Lord’s (circumcised in heart) and flesh (our flesh needs to honor God.)
The priests of Zadok stand for the set apart ones that didn’t turn from the Lord when the people and other priests did. They would be allowed to minister to the Lord and serve him. They are to wear linen so that they wouldn’t sweat. We are not to toil in our worship to the Lord.
They weren’t to shave their heads which means they were to have a covering which our covering is the blood of Jesus. They weren’t to let their hair grow long because long hair was a picture of sin. All of the regulations of the priests had spiritual meanings that we as priests must do. The main office of the priest was to represent God to the people and teach the people about him. The reward of the priests was God himself. They would enjoy the things of God and everything offered to him - food and land.
Peter spoke of this inheritance for the set apart ones - the priests of the Lord. This inheritance through Jesus can never perish, spoil, or fade but it is kept in heaven for us.
Lord, let your set apart ones realize the inheritance that is ours.

Wed.’s Devo - The Glory of the Temple

Read: Ezekiel 42:1-43:27; James 5:1-20; Psalm 119:1-16; Proverbs 28:6-7
Ezekiel was given a tour of the temple and shown the way the Lord designed the temple to work. Ezekiel was to tell the people what he saw and just by describing the dimensions of the temple and the glory of the temple, it was suppose to make them want to repent. Every measurement, its arrangements, its exits and entrances and details about the temple was holy and had multiple meanings for them and for us. I wish I understood it all. God promised them that if they would put away their worship of other gods, he would dwell in the midst of them. If they chose to worship Him then they would need to cleanse the temple by offering sacrifices for seven days.
We are the temple of the Holy Spirit and when we put away our false gods and choose to become God’s temple, then we are cleansed daily. Daily, we offer sacrifices to God by choosing him over our own pleasure until our seventh day, which will be the end of our time on earth.
James condemned the rich people because they were not generous. They hoarded their money and didn’t give it out to help the poor or even pay people for their services. They lived their lives in luxury and self-indulgence murdering the innocent and unaware of God and his plan. One day, every man will be judged. He told the suffering brothers to patiently endure because they will be blessed and God will be compassionate and merciful to them. He encouraged them to pray, praise, anoint the sick with oil, and confess their sins to one another because their prayers are powerful and effective. He also said that if a brother strays away and we help him return we are saving him from death and covering their sins.
Lord, help us to cleanse our temple and offer our bodies as daily sacrifices to you.

Tue.’s Devo. The Inner Court

Read: Ezekiel 40:28-41:26; James 4:1-17; Psalm 118:19-29; Proverbs 28:3-5
God had Ezekiel measure every length, width and height of the temple. The word “measure” in the Hebrew means to stretch a line which was meant to be extended or stretched. It also means to stretch oneself. I wonder if this whole process that Ezekiel went through is to show us the process God goes through when he judges a person’s life. He measures everything the person has done and either justifies or judges them. Something to ponder.
What we do see is that God’s temple, of whom we represent, is very complex and intricate. We see the multiple palm trees with cherubims engraved all over the temple. I wonder if the palm trees don’t stand for every trial we have undergone and the cherubim stands for the angel that helped us overcome.
James noted that the external battles they were having were stemmed from the internal battles of their soul. They had to do with their heart. The answer was to submit to God’s heart, resist the devil and come near to God. Those that were double-minded having part of their mind to serve God and the other to serve themselves needed to be cleansed of their actions and purified in their hearts.
Lord, may we be submitted to You and your ways.

Mon.’s Devo - The Outer Court

Read: Ezekiel 39:1-40:27; James 2:18-3:18; Psalm 118:1-18: Proverbs 28:2
Ezekiel starts out by describing the event known as the Feast of Leviathan. It is the counter feast to the Feast of the Lamb. In it the food will be the one who die during the battle of Armageddon. The fallen will be eaten by the birds of prey and the beasts of the field. These birds and beasts are pictures of demons. God will set the land on fire just like he did to Sodom and Gomorrah.
After God deals with the wicked, he will restore his name on the earth and gather his people from all over the earth and pour his spirit on them.
In the 25th year of exile and 14 years after Jerusalem had fallen, God gave Ezekiel a vision of the temple. He took him on top of a very high mountain that had a city on the south side. A man in linen appeared with a measuring cord and a six cubit measuring reed that in his hand. He stood in the gate of the city and told Ezekiel to pay close attention to every thing he was about to show him so he could tell it to the house of Israel.
He measured the wall outside the house, the width of the building and the height. Then he went to the eastern gate and measured the threshold of the other gates. He measured every little chamber its width and length. Everything was six cubits or one rod. Between the chambers was five cubits. Six is the number of man and five is the number of ministry through grace. All along the inside of the gate were the chambers that each had arches, posts that were carved as palm trees and windows facing inward. There were seven steps going up to the chambers.
I don’t pretend to understand everything about the heavenly temple that Ezekiel was shown but I do understand that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit and we have chambers in our hearts where we hold treasures that we call memories. The palm tree is the tree that can weather storms - bend to the ground and spring back up. It holds the dates that are used for many different reasons from nourishment to healing.
James makes it clear that faith and works go together. By faith we do the works of God. James also has much to say about the power of the words of our mouths. We create with our mouths.
Lord, may we speak words of life and create your kingdom on earth

Sun.’s Devo - Life!

Read: Ezekiel 37:1-38:23; James 1:19-2:17; Psalm 117:1-2; Proverbs 28:1
Israel’s remnant were like dead, dry bones laying in a valley. God asked Ezekiel if he thought these bones could come to life and Ezekiel said that only God knew the answer to that. God told Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones and tell them to hear the word of the Lord. He commanded breath to enter into them and tendons and flesh and breath to enter them. There was a noise and the earth shook as the bones came together to form people and tendons and flesh appeared. But they had no breath in them. Then he prophesied to the wind and it came from the four corners of the earth and filled the bodies and they came to life.
This was a picture of what God was going to do for Israel. They were scattered all over the world with no hope of ever being a nation again. God wanted to give them hope that they would once again have a life in their own land with their own people and he would once again be their God. They were like two sticks: Judah and Israel, but God was going to unite them as one nation.
Most scholars believe that Ezekiel 38 has to do with the end of times (vs. 8) and has not happened yet. It have always thought that this was a picture of the final battle of Armageddon. Gog is believed to be where Turkestan is now and Magog represents the Scythian nations and maybe some of India.
I love James and quote this first verse to myself many times: “…be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” It is easy to say, not so easy to do, but that is where true maturity comes in.
Purity means being able to hold your tongue, looking out for the fatherless and widows in their times of need and keeping unspotted from the world. God also warns us against showing any impartiality to people. We should treat everyone the same and love them all. The only way we can do this is with God’s grace. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
Lord, help us to walk with your heart.

Sat.’s Devo - Trials

Read: Ezekiel 35:1-36:38; James 1:1-18; Psalm 116:1-19; Proverbs 27:23-27
Ezekiel was told to prophesy against Mt. Seir which means “goat-like”. The represent those who were not chosen. Mt. Seir was given to Esau who despised his birthright and sold it for soup. Esau’s descendants had never forgiven Jacob’s descendants because of the past with Jacob and Esau so they were doomed to death. They had wanted to steal Jacob’s land and defy what God had said about Jacob’s future. They wanted to plunder the fruit of their harvest. Satan is always wanting to steal the seed and the harvest.
God spoke again and said that when Israel came back to their land, they would grow and prosper. When they lived in it before, they had defiled God’s name with their actions and God was going to use them to restore his name on the earth. Israel was always a picture for earth to see God, and Israel had distorted the way people saw God. God would set things straight by cleansing his people who carried his name. He would give them a new heart and put a new spirit in them. They would follow his decrees and keep his laws. They would bear much fruit and by them the earth would be blessed.
James was a letter written to the twelve tribes that had been scattered all around the world. The writer of James was believed to be Jesus’ brother who was the leader of the church in Jerusalem. If it was Jesus’ brother, then he witnessed first hand what godly living looked like in Jesus’ life. He wrote James to encourage the chosen to live godly lives. He opened up talking about trials we all face and their importance in our lives. They are to mature us and grow us in patience. If we need wisdom, all we have to do is ask. God is wisdom personified. To be exalted in the kingdom, we have to go low on the earth. We will be blessed for every trial we go through if we persevere and don’t give up.
Lord, thank you for all the gifts you give us to walk uprightly on the earth. May our trials bring us joy and maturity.

Fri.’s Devo - Sons of God

Read: Ezekiel 33:1-34:31; Hebrews 13:1-25; Psalm 115:1-18; Proverbs 27:21-22
God always referred to Ezekiel as a son of man. Jesus always referred to himself as the son of man except when he was speaking to his disciples or to people who would become his disciples and then he used the term “son of God”. We were sons of men until we became a new creature in Christ and then we were called sons of God. As sons of God, like Ezekiel, we can hear the voice of God speaking to us.
God’s word to Ezekiel was that he had to speak what God was telling him about the land and the people or he would be held responsible for their sins. He was God’s voice to warn them of what was going to happen to them if they didn’t repent. He was their spiritual father who was sent to discipline and warn them of their punishment if they continued in their sin and their reward for turning away from their sin.
God was angry at the spiritual leaders of their day because they didn’t hear from him and didn’t warn the people. Their lives were as sinful as the people’s and they would be held responsible. One day, the Shepherd of the people would be Jesus Christ and he would bring showers of blessing on the ones who listened and obeyed his voice.
What we read in Hebrews can be summed up in this: honor one another and set your heart on loving God. He will provide for your every need. Be aware of the spiritual world that is all around you and be grateful!
Lord, we are truly in awe of the great love you have for us and this world. Help us to live as sons of God today.

Thurs.’s Devo - God’s Sanctification

Read: Ezekiel 31:1-32:32; Hebrews 12;14-29; Psalms 113:1-114:8: Proverbs 27:18-20
Today we go back to the 11th year of Israel’s exile and read what God said about the king of Egypt. He compared him to Lucifer in the garden of Eden. He was the envy of all the trees in the garden of Eden in his beauty and majesty. He was lifted higher than any other and let pride consume him. The king of Egypt would be brought down just as Lucifer was.
A year and a half later, God sent Ezekiel to the king of Egypt to give him a rebuke. God compared him to a lion and a sea monster who muddied the water. But God was going to bring destruction and mapped out his downfall. He was going to make Egypt desolate and strip the land of everything in it, then everyone would know that God was the Lord.
In the 12th year of Israel’s exile, God spoke of Egypt’s destruction again and of Assyria’s. All of these prophecies are foreshadows of the end of the ages when it will happen again in the same places.
Hebrews tells us the importance of being sanctified - letting God purify you. Without it we will never see God. God begs us not to miss the grace he gives us to be pure. Grace is not the license to sin and be forgiven, it is the power not to sin. He gives us the example of Esau who chose the pleasures of this world over the things of God. The new covenant is so much better than the old. Jesus’ blood has so much more power than the blood of animals and the heavenly Mt. Zion is a much better place than the earthly Mt. Zion.

Wed.’s Devo - Our Just God

Read: Ezekiel 29:1-30:26; Hebreews 11:32-12:13; Psalm 112:1-20a; Proverbs 27:17
In the tenth year of Israel’s exile, Ezekiel prophesied against the king of Egypt calling him a great monster of the sea. God pronounced 40 years of captivity for Egypt because of the harm they did to the children of Israel. Egypt would never be the great power in the earth that it had been.
In the 27th year on the first day of the year (Roshashana) God had Ezekiel prophesy about Babylon. God had used Babylon to defeat and punish Tyre and for its reward, God was going to give them Egypt. How amazing is that! God is so just God that he rewards the just and the unjust. On the day that he did this, God promised to start raising up his people. Many of them would die in the destruction of Egypt. Egypt would be sold to evil men and lay wasted. All its idols would be destroyed and all its temples with their images of their gods.
Hebrews starts out with a list of men God used to bring justice on the land. They conquered kingdoms, served justice and obtained the promise God had given them. These wonderful men and women that have gone before us - some having escaped and others having suffered to the point of death. These people are part of our cloud of witnesses that cheer us on to finish the work they started.
Lord, we are so grateful that you discipline us because it means that you love us and we are his children.

Tues.’s Devo - Tyre and Sidon

Read: Ezekiel 27:1-28:26; Hebrews 11:17-31; Psalm 111:1-10; Proverbs 27:15-16
In Ezekiel 27, Tyre is depicted as a merchant ship that is built of the finest materials and equipped with the finest of goods. It trades with all the countries and brings back the best the world has to offer. It was used to enrich the whole world and they would see it crash and be shattered by the sea and look upon its destruction with horror and fear. Tyre means “distress” which is suffering, agony and anguish. These synonyms describe Satan’s plan very well.
In Chapter 28, the king of Tyre is addressed as a type of the anti-christ to come. We see in him the picture of Satan and his pride before his fall from heaven. He will also die on the seas as he will be thrown into the lake of fire. We learn that Satan was created blameless but chose wickedness. He was a guardian cherub but his pride over his own beauty and splendor caused him to become corrupted in his wisdom. He was thrown to the earth and made a spectacle before kings (which are us). The horrible things he does to the earth will come back on him and he will have a bad end.
Ezekiel also prophesied against Sidon which means “hunting”. They were Israel’s malicious neighbors who were like painful briers and sharp thorns. God was going to make himself known to them in judgment.
In Hebrews, Abraham was the picture of God who gave his only son to die and be raised again. By faith, Isaac could see the future promise given to Jacob and Esau and when Jacob was dying, he spoke the future over his sons. When Joseph was about to die, he spoke the future over his whole family, the children of Israel. He said that they would come out of Egypt and when they did, they were to bring his bones with them and bury them in the promised land. Moses’ parents saw the future plan God had for Moses and hid him so he could live. Moses believed what they saw and gave up the world’s throne and position to become what God chose for his life. He was able to do this because he saw the one who was invisible - God. By faith, Moses observed the Passover and believed that God would kill the first born if he didn’t apply the blood. He believed that if he would lift up his staff, God would make a way through the Red Sea. He believed that God would give him Jericho if he just did what God told him to do. Even Rahab, a Canaanite, believed God by faith which led to her salvation. Faith is the currency of the Kingdom of God.
Lord, your works are faithful and just; all your precepts are trustworthy and steadfast for ever and ever.

Mon.’s Devo - The Plan

Read: Ezekiel 24:1-26:21; Hebrews 11:1-16; Psalm 110:1-7; Proverbs 27:14
Ezekiel had been giving them a countdown to destruction and today God pronounced the day that Babylon would lay siege to Jerusalem. That day: the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year was the day God would put the pot (Jerusalem) on the fire to cook its contents.
Ezekiel, as the watchman on the wall had to carry a heavy burden as their prophet. God told him his wife, the pride and delight of his eyes and object of his affection would die and he was not to mourn for her. When this happened the people asked what it meant and he told them that they would lose their families and the things they loved the most and not be able to mourn for them either.
God would punish all the nations that were glad when Jerusalem was plundered - the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Edomites and the Philistines.
Two years later, God pronounced a sentence against Tyre. Her beautiful port and city would become an empty rock. Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon would batter and beat it down to the ground and it would no longer be a wealthy metropolis of parties and opulence, but a fallen city of God’s wrath never to be rebuilt.
Today we read the “faith chapter” in Hebrews. Faith is defined as being able to imagine what we cannot see, believing that one day it will manifest on earth. We have a list of people in the Bible who’s lives are examples of faith.
Abel had faith to give God an offering that was perfect making him righteous. Abel was the picture of Jesus, our perfect sacrifice.
Enoch walked straight into heaven bypassing death. His life pleased God and was a picture of the rapture of the Bride.
Noah believed what God said about destroying the earth and built the ark according to God’s blueprints. He was a picture of the Church that would go through the Great Tribulation.
Abraham left his homeland by faith to travel to a land he had never seen looking for a city that God would build. He is a picture of the father of the New Earth.
In these four examples we see the whole picture of God’s plan for the world. All these people were living through their imagination seeing something that never manifested in their lifetime but will one day and they will see it and be a part of it.
We sometimes forget that life is short, but we get to live eternally and never die. We are walking out on earth and setting up structures and plans that will live on through eternity. What we begin down on earth will live on through our children and their children and one day it will all make sense.
Lord, help us to see the importance of what we are doing on this earth. We are walking out lands, preparing futures and setting examples for those to walk behind us. We are part of the kingdom and the family of God.

Sun.’s Devo - Love and Good Deeds

Read: Ezekiel 23:1-49; Hebrews 10:18-39; Psalm 109:1-31; Proverbs 27:13
God compared Israel’s capital, Samaria, to a prostitute named Oholah and Judah’s capital, Jerusalem, to a prostitute named Oholibah. Oholah means idolatrous sanctuary which was how God looked at Samaria. Oholibah means my tent is in her because God’s tabernacle was in Jerusalem.
God gave the people a vivid analogy of the idolatry they had entered into. It’s not a passage you would want to read out loud in church because it is so disgusting and distasteful. But it was the perfect picture of their sin and their lust for the power and the gods of other nations. God had entered into covenant with his people to be their father, their husband and their god. They had rejected them in all three and as a loving father, he would have to discipline them.
Even under the new covenant, there is no room for deliberate sin. Jesus took our sin from us so to keep sinning after salvation is to face judgment. Eve was seduced into sin, but Adam chose to sin. Sin didn’t enter the world when Eve ate the forbidden fruit, sin entered when Adam ate it. The devil can seduce us to sin and we can be forgiven of that sin, but when we know it is sin and choose to defy God, that is to crucify the Lord again. In my limited understanding, I think that God is saying that there is nothing other than Jesus blood that can forgive sin. So, when we apply his blood to our lives we are forgiven once and for all. We become new creatures that don’t have a heart to sin and to defy that is to step outside our salvation into death. That is why the writer of Hebrews tells us to think of ways we can encourage one another to love and good deeds. If we are trying to turn from sin and do good, we will not be choosing it.
Lord, help us in our weaknesses to overcome the tricks of the enemy. Show us ways to encourage one another in love and good deeds.

Sat.’s Devo - A Better Covenant

Read: Ezekiel 21:1-22:31; Hebrews 10:1-17; Psalm 108:1-13; Proverbs 27:12
Ezekiel was to prophesy against the sanctuary - their worship, and against the land of Israel. God was going to cut off the righteous and the wicked of the land because no one was standing in the gap for their nation.
God told Ezekiel to go out to the people and groan as if his heart was broken and he was grieving. When the asked what he was doing he was to tell them that he was grieving over the news God had given him about them and their nation. The sword was coming and it would be devastating to them.
Ezekiel was to draw a picture of two roads for the king of Babylon to take. They were to start in Babylon then meet at a fork where the king would consult his mediums and idols. They would choose Jerusalem, so he would begin to besiege Jerusalem. The priests, the ones wearing the turbans and the kings, the ones wearing the crowns would be brought low. God would give their hats to one who was humble, Jesus, who would be both priest and king. He is the one whom it rightfully belongs to.
God looked for a person who would stand with Ezekiel in the gap and found no one so everything he said would happen.
In Hebrews we see that the law was just a shadow of the good things to come, so the law spoke of good things. In the law there were several offerings and sacrifices we could bring to get forgiveness, God’s favor, and God’s blessings. Their promises expired every year and had to be done over and over every year. God set it up that way to remind them of them every year so that when he fulfilled it through Jesus, they would know what he was doing.
Jesus offered his own blood to perfect those that are sanctified forever then he sat down on the right hand of God. There he prays for us.
Lord, thank you that your plan gets better and better.

Fri.’s Devo. - The Power of The Blood

Read: Ezekiel 20:1-49; Hebrews 9:11-28; Psalm 107:1-43; Proverbs 27:11
Three times Ezekiel made the statement that the man who obeys God’s decrees will live by them. This statement sounded like a parable to them that they couldn’t understand just like Jesus told parables that the people didn’t understand. What God was saying to his people through this parable was that He was the only one who could give them abundant life on earth and eternal life in heaven. The way to get it was by obeying him. He gave them Sabbaths as a sign of his covenant with hem. But they desecrated his Sabbaths and chose to reflect his laws and follow the statues of other nations that were not good for them and follow other gods that could not bring them life but would give them death instead.
At the end of his prophecy he spoke expressly to the people in the south. Jerusalem was in this region. Judgement that could not be stopped was coming and it would be a consuming fire.
Everything good on earth is a copy of what is in heaven. In heaven there is a priesthood and a tabernacle and all the furniture that was in Moses’ tabernacle. Moses was shown heaven’s tabernacle and told to duplicate it on earth. Jesus had to die on earth to take his blood to heaven to cleanse the tabernacle there once and for all. He put an end to sin once and for all. When he appears again he will be bringing salvation to the earth and a nation will be saved in a day.
In Hebrews we learn that Jesus became the high priest of heaven’s tabernacle which was cleansed by his own blood, not the blood of animals like the tabernacle here on earth. The tabernacle here on earth was a picture of what God’s tabernacle in heaven was like.
Lord, help us to grasp the power of your blood and the redemption you bought for us that we can now have a clear conscience and stand before you without sin.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Power of the New Covenant

Read: Ezekiel 18:1-19:14; Hebrews 9:1-10; Psalm 106:32-48; Proverbs 27:10
In Ezekiel, God dealt with many of their “sayings”. One of them was: “The fathers eat sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” It is like the saying we say: “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” God was not pleased with this because he wanted them to know that they didn’t have to be the product of their parents, they should choose to change and make their own decisions. We don’t have to be the product of our parents, we can choose to become a new creature in Christ.
They didn’t have Jesus, but they had the Father and he wanted them to know that they were responsible for their own sins. Even then, God was explaining that they could have a new heart and a new spirit.
In Hebrews, the writer explained the process of the first covenant and the significance of the furniture in the tabernacle. Everything about the old covenant was strategic and symbolic of the new covenant that Jesus would bring. It was a shadow of the the better. The old covenant was not able to clear the conscience of the people but the new covenant would.
Lord, thank you for the new covenant that makes us clean on the outside and the inside. Thank you for the blood of Jesus.

Wed.’s Devo - An Allegory

Read: Ezekiel 16:43-17:24; Hebrews 8:1-13; Psalm 106:13-31; Proverbs 27:7-9
Israel constantly lived for the moment. They forgot their rich heritage of God’s deliverance through the Red Sea and all the wonderful miracles God did for them to show them his great love for them. They added lewdness to their idolatry which in the Hebrew means heinous crimes. He described them as being like their mother who hated her husband and her own children. God was their husband and their children were the ones they were teaching. Ezekiel told them that their mother was a Hittite. Esau had married Hittite women which were so evil it made Rebecca send Jacob off to marry women from his own family. He said that their father was an Amorite which were from the incest relationship between Lot and his daughter. Their sister was Sodom who were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned. They neglected helping the poor and needy. Their sins made their enemy’s sins look good.
God gave them an allegory of two eagles. The first eagle represented Assyria’s god, Nisroch which symbolized a bird with wings. It came to Lebanon which was another name for the temple in Jerusalem, since the temple was built from the cedars of Lebanon. The highest branch that the eagle took represented King Jehoiachin who was taken to Babylon.
The second eagle was the god of Egypt. King Zedekiah, Jehoiachin’s uncle and successor became ambitious and tried to rid himself of Babylonian rule to find help in Egypt. This was rebellion against what God had decreed for him so he would be caught and brought back to Babylon where he would pay for his rebellion.
In the end, God would plant a branch in Zion, Jesus, who would bring forth his Church. God will bring down the kingdoms of the world to exalt his kingdom in the earth.
In Hebrews we learn that Jesus was never to be a high priest on earth according to the old covenant. The old priesthood was only a copy of God’s priesthood in heaven. Jesus was to be the high priest in heaven after the order of Melchizedek. Jesus’ blood was the only sacrifice needed to cleanse us forever of sin.

Tues.’s Devo - Jesus, Our High Priest

Read: Ezekiel 14:12-16:42; Hebrews 7:18:28; Psalm 1061-12; Proverbs 27:4-6
God said that if the nation rebelled against him and he judged the people, only the righteous would be saved. Everyone would be judged according to their own lives, not the lives of their fathers. He used Noah, Daniel, and Job as the examples of righteous people. Each of them lived righteously in a very unrighteous time in history.
God explained to the people that he had chosen to serve other gods symbolizing having an Amorite father and a Hittite mother. God had made a covenant with Abraham to be his God and his seed would be his children. God had blessed his descendants and made them multiply. Instead of being grateful and loving him back, they had chosen to wear their beauty as an ornament to entice lovers of other gods instead of being an example of God’s people. They had prostituted themselves and paid other nations to teach them their idolatrous ways. They had run after sin so God was going to hand them over to their lovers to strip them of their pride and put a stop to their prostitution. When they were humbled, God would not be angry any more.
Hebrews explained that the law never made anyone sinless. Jesus came with a new covenant where he would be their high priest forever. He would be a perfect high priest who was sinless not like the high priests they had had before. He would be able to intercede for us because he walked the earth and was tempted in every way we are tempted so he is compassionate and worthy to intercede for our weaknesses before God.
He would not have to offer sacrifices for his own sins like the priests did before, but His blood would be suffice for our sins past, present and future.
Jesus, thank you for your blood that covers our sin and your priesthood that intercedes for our sin.

Mon.’s Devo - Prophetic Acts

Read: Ezekiel 12:1-14:11; Hebrews 7:1-17; Psalm 105:37-45; Proverbs 27:1
Ezekiel was told by God to do a prophetic act to show the people what was going to happen to them. He was to act out the process of going into exile. When they asked what he was doing with a packed suitcase digging through the wall, he was to tell them that he was a sign to them. They would be taken to Babylonia and never see their land again. Only a few would be saved. The rest would die.
Next, Ezekiel was to eat his food trembling and shuddering in fear to show them that they would one day eat their food in fear and despair because of the violence that was coming to their land.
God told Ezekiel to prophesy against the false prophets who said that Ezekiel’s prophesies were for a time in the far future. He was to tell the people that God was going to bring all the disaster that Ezekiel said upon them very soon. God was angry at the lies of the other prophets and they would be judged for saying things out of their own imaginations and not out of God’s heart.
The elders came to listen to what Ezekiel had to say, but the Lord saw their hearts. They were two-faced with idolatrous hearts so they were stumbling blocks for the people. They were hypocrites in their devotion to God and God was having no more of their lies. He was ready to cut them off entirely from being his people.
Hebrews tells us exactly who Melchizedek is. He is the priest of God. God told Moses to build the tabernacle like the one he saw in heaven - it was God’s temple he was copying. Everything in heaven is copied on earth so we will understand God’s kingdom.
Lord, help us to see earthly things and understand spiritual things.

Sun.’s Devo - Secrets of Heaven

Read Ezekiel 10:1-11:25; Hebrews 6:1-20; Psalm 105;16-36; Proverbs 27:1-2
Ezekiel was among the exiled taken to Babylon when God gave him this vision of what was happening in Jerusalem. He is taken to heaven to get a heavenly perspective of what was happening.
There are three heavens mentioned in the Bible. One is the sky we see, the second is the heaven where angels and demons operate and the third is where God’s throne is. The expanse is the crystal floor of heaven so that is why the throne was above the heads of the cherubim. Cherubim can go to all three heavens. The man in linen is one of God’s heavenly priests. He was to put coals from the table of incense in the hands of the cherubim so they could scatter them over the city. This was to mark their destruction.
The cherubim took the place of the ox in the faces of the four creatures because they were to be God’s servants to bring judgment. The face of the ox was on the front this time because he was in charge.
God showed Ezekiel the twenty-five elders who stood at the door of the gate of the city. They were the ones who executed judgements for the people. Two of them were named: Jaazaniah and Pelatiah. Their names mean “God has heard” and “God has delivered”. The one whose name meant “God has delivered” died the day that Ezekiel told the people his prophesy. God was making the point that the day of deliverance had died. Ezekiel saw the parallel and fell on his face and cried out, “Ah, Sovereign Lord! Will you completely destroy the remnant of Israel?”
God, in his kindness, showed Ezekiel the bigger picture. Israel would be driven from their land and dispersed throughout the land, but they would return one day and they would have undivided hearts and God would give them a new spirit. They would follow God’s decrees and carefully keep his laws. They would be his people and he would be their God.
Hebrews explains that a person who is born again will drink in the water from heaven and produce fruit for the kingdom. A person who is not born again will produce curses and briers. Briers in the Greek means a crow-foot which is a three-pronged obstruction used in war. In other words they will bring death.
God has promised us that our works will be judged and we will be rewarded by them but the works of the heathen will also be judged and they will be rewarded for them.
Lord, may our works bring honor to you and remain in the end.

Sat.’s Devo - Jesus, Our High Priest -

Read: Ezekiel 7:1-9:11; Hebrews 5:1-14; Psalm 105:1-15; Proverbs 26:28
The end had come and the day that God was going to do all he had told his prophets for years had finally arrived. The people who lived in the fields would be killed by the sword and the people in the city would be killed by famine and plague. When this happened, the people would race to the prophet for a vision but there will be none. They would want to know what the law says, but there would be no one to teach them. They would want to know the wisdom of the elder, but they would all be gone.
That night, God came and took Ezekiel by the spirit to show him what the elders and the priests were doing in secret. The elders were worshipping idols and offering incense to idols instead of to God. The priests were bowing down to the sun. Ezekiel watched as God called one of his heavenly scribes, the man clothed in linen who had a writing kit at his side. He was to go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieved and lamented over what was going on - those whose hearts were pure toward the Lord. Then, he was to kill all who didn’t have the mark. He was to show no compassion or mercy - that time was over. Ezekiel watched in horror wondering if anyone would be saved.
This is a picture of end time judgment.
Hebrews explained the selection of the high priest. He had to be a man who knew how hard it was to overcome temptation because he had experienced it himself. That is why Jesus had to come to earth as a man. He had to go through the same hard temptations that we do. He learned to obey God laying down his own passions. He had to become perfect the same way we become perfect and that is through hard trials. James says that our trials make us perfect. We think of Jesus as never sinning, and we think it means he never made a mistake. I think he made plenty of mistakes and learned by each of them just as we do. We are perfect through his blood and he became perfect through his own sufferings.
His life on earth qualified him to be our high priest in heaven on our behalf as Melchizedek was God’s high priest in heaven on heaven’s behalf. Everything on earth is a prototype of what is already in heaven, minus the evil.
Lord, thank you for becoming our high priest that we might have an advocate in heaven.

Fri.’s Devo - God’s Rest

Read: Ezekiel 3:16-6:14; Hebrews 4:1-16; Psalm 104:24-35; Proverbs 26:27
We left Ezekiel yesterday sitting in wonder after seeing the vision of the four living creatures. He sat for a week and then God spoke and told him his mission. He was to be a watchman for the house of Israel. It was his responsibility to listen to Gods’ voice and warn them of what he said. If he didn’t warn them then Ezekiel would be held responsible for the man’s sin. That was a heavy responsibility, but Ezekiel agreed to it. He was to act out the people’s sins and God’s judgements on the sin. Ezekiel was to be a living picture of what God was doing on the earth.
Ezekiel was told to draw a picture of the city and construct siege works against it. After that he had to lie tied in ropes on one side for 390 days to bear the sin of Israel and 40 days on his other side for the sin of Judah. During that time he was to eat measured out wheat to show that their food would be portioned out during the siege.
He was told to shave his beard and head and divide the hair into thirds to show that a third of the people would die by the sword, a third by the famine and a third would be scattered over the earth. God was coming to judge the gods Israel had come to trust in instead of him.
Ezekiel gave up his life totally to serve and suffer for his people. It cost him dearly to be God’s spokesman on earth.
Hebrews talks much about the word “rest”. God rested on the seventh day but he didn’t rest like we view rest, he sat to rule. His work was over. It was his plan that the children of Israel were to rule the earth, but they failed to enter into their destiny because they hardened their hearts. He is still calling to us to enter into that place of rulership where we cease from doing our own thing and we choose to rule and reign with Him. He judges the thoughts and the intentions of our hearts.
Lord, may our thoughts and intentions honor you. May we rule and reign with you on the earth.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Awesomeness of God

Read: Ezekiel 1:1-3:15; Hebrews 3:1-19; Psalm 104:1-23; Proverbs 26:24-26
Ezekiel was the son of the priest Buzi who was a faithful priest of the Lord’s. I have to remind myself that there were a remnant of faithful believers in God in the midst of the rebellious people that Jeremiah prophesied against, just as there were scribes and Pharisees during Jesus time that were pure in heart. Ezekiel was one of these. He left Jerusalem willingly because he believed what Jeremiah said that they were to go with the Babylonians and serve them in their land; one day they would return. God started to speaking to Ezekiel when he was to Babylonia and was camping by the Kebar River.
God took Ezekiel into a bizarre vision much like Daniel would have years later. He saw these four creatures in the midst of a windstorm. They were lit with light and had a forward face of a man, a face of a lion on the right, an ox on the left and an eagle in the back. They were on wheels within wheels so they could travel forward and backwards on one wheel and side to side on the other. So, picture the wheels as an “X” if you were looking down on them. These faces corresponded with powers in the natural then and men who would later rule spiritually.
The man stood for Greece and the man, Luke who wrote his Gospel to the Greeks and his message was that the Messiah was the Son of man. His wheel was connected with the eagle behind him which stood for Rome and the apostle John who wrote his Gospel to the Church. His message was that the Messiah was also the Son of God.
The ox, a creature of burden stood for Persia and the apostle Mark whose audience was the Romans and whose message was that the Messiah was a Servant. He was on the same wheel going side to side with the lion who stood for Assyria and the apostle Matthew whose audience was the Jews and his message was that Jesus was King of the Jews.
Jesus became a man that he might show us the way to heaven. We are born as a man - a sinner but we are saved to soar in the Spirit. We go from man to eagle.
Jesus began as a servant, under the weight of sin. Once we are saved we are resurrected as a king. We serve here on earth just as Jesus did, to be raised kings and queens. We go from ox to lion!. How awesome is that?
In Hebrews we read that Moses was the faithful servant, testifying what was to come in the future. But Christ was the faithful son over the house we are a part of. Moses built the structure but Jesus came and filled it with his Spirit. Hebrews encourages us over and over to just believe. Believe the Word and everything that it says because it is true.
Lord, open the eyes of our understanding to see your great and marvelous plan.