Mon.’s Devo - The Four Beasts

Read: Daniel 7:1-28; 1 John 1:1-10; Psalm 119:153-176; Proverbs 28:23-24 It was the first year of King Belshazzar’s reign in Babylon when Daniel had this dream. He saw a great storm churning over the surface of a great sea. Four huge beasts emerged out of the water. The first was like a lion with wings of an eagle. Its wings were pulled off and it was left standing on its two hind feet. It was given the mind of a human. Then second beast looked like a bear. It had three ribs in its teeth and a voice said, “Get up! Devour the flesh of many people!” The third beast looked like a leopard which four bird’s wings on its back. It had four heads and was given great authority. The fourth beast was terrifying. It devoured and crushed its victims with huge iron teeth and trampled their remains beneath its feet. It also had 10 horns. As Daniel was looking at its horns, a smaller horn appeared and replaced three of the first horns. This little horn had eyes and a mouth that boasted arrogantly. Thrones were put in place and the Ancient One sat down to judge. The Ancient One had white showy hair and his throne was on fire with wheels of fire. A river of fire was pouring out and millions of angels ministered to him. The court began and the books were opened. The three other beasts had their authority taken from them all the while the little boastful horn kept talking. The fourth beast was thrown into the fire. As this was going on, Daniel saw one like the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven. He was given authority over all the nations of the world. His kingdom and rule was eternal. Daniel asked one of the beings around the throne what all this meant. He explained that the four beasts were kingdoms that would arise in the earth. In the end the Most Holy would reign. Daniel asked why the fourth beast had so many horns and was so wicked and horrible. He was told that this would be the last kingdom that would rule the earth and it would be merciless. The ten horns were the ten kings who would rule that empire. Then another would arise and subdue three of them. He would defy the Lord Most High and oppress God’s people. He would try to change God’s laws and even time itself. The court will decide his fate and all his power will be taken away and he will be completely destroyed. Then the power of all the earth will be given to God’s people and the earth will worship the Lord. First John is a powerful book of the progressive Christian walk. We start our Christian walk by coming to the realization that we are sinners and need a Savior. All people sin, but Jesus came to cleanse us of our sin and bring salvation to us. As horrible as Daniel’s dreams seem, the Good News always wins in the end. Lord, may we endure until the end.

Sun.’s Devo - Take Courage

Read: Daniel 6:1-28; 2 Peter 3:1-18; Psalm 119:129-152; Proverbs 28:21-22 When Darius took over, he divided the nation into 120 provinces. He put them in charge of 3 men, one of them being Daniel. Daniel proved to be so much better in administration than the others that Darius was planning to put Daniel in charge of all of the provinces. The other administrators became so jealous of Daniel they sought to find something them could bring against him. They could find nothing. He was loyal, trustworthy and fair. So, the only things left to trick him with was his religion. He worshipped the Lord three times a day. The evil administrators went to the king with an edict to command everyone in the kingdom to bow down to only the king for the next 30 days. They had him sign it before he could think and left with their plot to end Daniel. They went to Daniel’s house and found him bowing down before God and had him arrested. They took him to the king. The king tried to think of a loop hole that he could save Daniel with but at the end of the day found none. He sentenced Daniel to the lions’ den saying that he prayed that his god would be able to rescue him. The king would not eat or allow his usual entertainment. He prayed all night and very early the next morning ran to the lion’s den and yelled in anguish, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God, whom you serve faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions? Daniel answered that God sent his angel to shut the lion’s mouths. Furthermore, he was innocent in God’s sight and he had done nothing to wrong the king. The king was so overjoyed that he lifted Daniel from the den and had his accusers thrown in to the den. The lions tore them apart before they hit the floor. Then, Darius sent out a decree that people of every race and nation and language throughout the world should tremble with fear over the God that Daniel served. He is the living God who will endure forever and his kingdom would never be destroyed and his rule would never end. Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius the Mede and Cyprus the Persian. Peter warns us of the people that will mock our beliefs that Jesus is coming again. They choose to forget that it was God that created the heavens by his word and brought the earth out from the water and then surrounded it by water. He used this same water to destroy the ancient world with a flood but it will be destroyed the last time with fire. God is on his holy week where a day is equal to a thousand years. God has all of his works carefully calculated and he is following his plan. When Jesus does come back to judge the earth it will catch those that are left off-guard. The heavens will explode with a great noise and the earth will melt in heat. It seems like this will never happen because God’s patience is waiting for others to repent. We must stay spiritually awake and not allow ourselves to be carried away by deception and error. Lord, may we have no fear of what man can do to us. They can take our natural body but only You can save our soul. May we be courageous like Daniel.

Sat.’s Devo - God’s Judgement

Read: Daniel 5:1-31; 2 Peter 2:1-22; Psalm 119:113-128; Proverbs 28:19-20 Daniel is such a uniqued book in that it deals primarily with the pagan kings of Babylon who swallowed up God’s people. King Belshazzar was the king after Nebuchadnezzar and the last Babylonian king. He didn’t learn from Nebuchadnezzar’s mistakes and did not fear God. Belshazzar was known for his cruelty and disrespect for life. He had his last banquet where he got drunk and ordered his servants to bring the cups they had taken from the Lord’s Temple in Jerusalem so they could drink from them. When they did they praised their idols. God responded. He wrote with his own hand on the wall of the kings’ palace as they watched. The people watched in horror but none knew what it meant. The queen mother heard what had happened and came to see. She was grandmother, Nitocris, who was the wife either of Nebuchadnezzar or of Evil merodach. She knew of all the things God had revealed through Daniel and sent for him. Daniel was offered royal clothes and a gold necklace and promotion to the 3rd highest position. He told the king he could keep all his gifts but he would tell him what the writing said. He explained how God had humbled Nebuchadnezzar and made him mad for seven years until he could realize that God was sovereign over the earth. But Belshazzar had refused to repent though he knew all this. So Daniel told him what the three words meant. “Mene, mene” - God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. “Tekel” - means weighed because he had been weighed in God’s balance and not measured up. “Parsin” - means divided because God was dividing his kingdom and giving some to the Medes and some to the Persians. Belshazzar awarded Daniel with everything he promised and that very night Belshazzar was killed by Darius the Mede. In Peter, he says that people are slaves to sin and corruption and the only way to be free is through Christ. He spoke against the false prophets who led God’s people astray and charged them only to make themselves rich. God would condemn them and they would meet their destruction. God didn’t spare the angels who sinned when they left heaven and came to impregnate the women of the earth. Those angels were locked up in prisons in darkness until the judgment. God didn’t spare the world in Noah’s day but destroyed it with the flood. He destroyed wicked Sodom and Gomorrah because of their sin and immorality. So, God will also punish false prophets and false teachers who deceive his people. Lord, guard our hearts and give us discernment to know your ways.

Fri.’s Devo - Spiritual Growth

Read: Daniel 4:1-37; 2 Peter 1:1-21; Psalm 119:97-112; Proverbs 28:17-18 I don’t know the time passage from Nebuchadnezzar’s first dream and this one but apparently there was some time. Instead of humbling him, his first dream had only made him more proud, so God gave him another dream. This time it was of a big tree. A holy one came down from heaven and declared that the tree be cut down, the branches lopped off, the leaves shaken and its fruit scattered. It was left as a stump with roots into the ground. Here it was to stay for seven with the mind of a wild animal instead of a human’s. Then everyone would know that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world. When Daniel heard the dream he was so shaken, the king had to assure him he was safe to tell him the interpretation. Daniel humbly told him that the tree was him and he would be driven from society and have to live in the fields with the wild animals, living like one. Seven years would pass until he finally learned that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and givens them to anyone he chooses. Then he would receive his kingdom back. Daniel begged Nebuchadnezzar to stop sinning and turn to God so that God could have mercy on him instead. But, apparently he didn’t because everything happened just as he had dreamed. One day he was taking a walk on the roof of his palace. He looked out at his great city of Babylon and declared that he had built this city that displayed his glory. While the words were still in his mouth, God spoke from heaven and said that he was no longer the ruler of this kingdom. He would be driven from it to live like an animal till he understood that God rules all kingdoms and gives them to whoever he wants. They took Nebuchadnezzar that very hour to the field where his hair grew long and his nails became like bird’s claws. He lived this way for seven years till he came to his senses and repented. When he did, his kingdom was restored to even greater honor than before. This should bring some comfort for those who have had children who rebelled against God and the way they were raised. Sometimes we just have to let them go and fall on their own. They have to eat the bread of their own devises and reap the fruit of unrighteousness until they come to their senses. But the end for a very proud king was repentance which gives us hope. In Peter, he gives us a progression of growth to follow. First we have to have faith. We add to faith, a generous provision of moral excellence. Moral excellence is living according to God’s laws and allowing it to change our hearts toward righteousness. To this we add knowledge of God. To the knowledge we get by drawing near to God and reading his Word is self-control. Self-control is not just abstaining from something bad for us but ordering our lives in a way that we control our desires and our empty spaces. I see that empty spaces are sometimes the downfall of many. Not knowing what to do with time when we have nothing planned is when self-control is so important. Having self-control allows us to choose the right thing to do. To self control we add patient endurance. Patiently enduring suffering and the times when it doesn’t look like God is moving is hard, but God’s grace helps us to endure. The next quality is godliness which is the result of training your mind through all the others before. Last is love for the brethren and the world. That is the end result of maturity. This shows the world that we are really among those God has called and chosen. If we can grow into maturity, we will never fall. That is why Jesus spoke so much about loving God and loving one another. It all boils down to those two things. Jesus gave his Father much joy because he did these things. Lord, the only way we can do these things is by your love and grace. Pour your Spirit out upon us to walk as Jesus walked and to love as Jesus loved.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Interpretation

Read: Daniel 2:24-3:30; 1 Peter 4:7-5:14; Psalm 119:81-96; Proverbs 28:15-16 Daniel took his interpretation to the king but made it clear that he did not get his wisdom by himself, but it was God that shared it with him. No man could do what he was about to do. He then proceeded to tell the king what he dreamed and what it meant. He had dreamed the future kingdoms including his own. He, the Babylonian and Persian empire was the head of gold that was now ruling the world. He would be taken down by the Medes and Persians represented by the chest and arms.. They would be overtaken by the Graeco-Macednians which were represented by the belly and thighs. The the Roman Empire was the feet of iron and clay. They were all crushed by the rock which represents Christ. Daniel was elevated to a high position and given many valuable gives. He was made ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief over all his wise men. Daniel appointed his three friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to be in charge of all the affairs of the province of Babylon while Daniel remained in the king’s court. After hearing the interpretation that King Nebuchadnezzar was the head of gold, he decided to have built the statue that he saw in his dream. When he ordered everyone to bow down to it or be thrown into the furnace, the three friends refused. They were thrown into the furnace with their last words being, our God can save us but even if he doesn’t, we won’t bow down to any other god. Not only did they live through the fire, but Jesus walked through it with them and they had no evidence of fire or smell of smoke on them. This is the conviction we have to have in our lives. Nothing matters but God and his kingdom. Peter explains that this world is not eternal or what we are living for. We are living for eternity so how we live on this world affects how we live in eternity. We use our gifts to help one another grow so they will be rewarded. We do everything we can to help our fellow believers in however they need us. If we remain humble here, God will exalt us. We have to remember that we have an enemy who only wants to devour us. God promises to restore, support and strengthen us and place us on a firm foundation. Lord, thank you for your promises and constant reminders that the world is not our home. Our home is a place of glory waiting for us.

Wed.’s Devo.- God’s Mysterious Ways

Read: Daniel 1:1-2:23; 1 Peter 3:8-4:6; Psalm 119:65-80; Proverbs 28:14 During King Jehoiakim’s third year of reigning in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem and besieged it. He ordered this men to take the sacred objects from the Temple back to Babylon. He also ordered his chief of staff to bring the men from the royal family and from other noble families. They must be young, strong, healthy, good-looking, smart, and educated. When they arrived, they were retrained to think like Babylonians. They were taught their language, given their names and given their food. Among the ones taken were Daniel, Hahaniah, Michael, and Azariah. This lets us know that the Babylonians honored youth, wealth, heritage, beauty and knowledge. Sounds like America. What they did with these young boys was to try to brainwash them by giving them a new name, new food, new language. It is exactly what Satan wasn’t to do with us - steal our identity. Daniel asked to not have to eat the things that would have defiled him and was given a test. He passed with flying colors and was allowed to eat the diet of his land. Daniel and his three friends excelled above other because they refused to let the new name and new education change their hearts and change their god. King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream which greatly disturbed him. He didn’t want trust his wise men to get it right. He tested them and told them that if they were truly magicians, they should be able to tell him both the dream and the interpretation. They tried to talk sense into Nebuchadnezzar but he threatened to kill them if they couldn’t do it. When they came to kill Daniel, he asked for the reason. When they told him, he went straight to the king and asked for some time so he could ask his God. Daniel had some courage! The king granted him some time and Daniel prayed to God for the answer. That night, God gave him the answer. God has all the secrets of the universe and He loves to share them with us. Daniel praised the Lord for the answer and for God’s wisdom and hidden mysterious ways. First Peter has some great advise for us in today’s society. He said not to repay evil for evil. When someone insults you, don’t give it back, instead give them a blessing. Most of the time when we do good, we will reap good, but if we don’t, God will reward us. If people ask us how we can have hope in this upside down world, we can tell them about the lover of our soul, our hope forever. Jesus suffered for doing good and died sinless. When he died, he went to the grave and preached salvation to the spirits in prison. The were the only who disobeyed God while Noah was building the ark. They will get a chance to repent. They didn’t have the law to tell them right from wrong and tell them what God required. God baptized the earth during the flood. We must have the same attitude that Christ had and desire to live a sinless life. Lord, may we fear doing wrong and have a desire to follow your Word.

Tues.’s Devo - The Allotment of Land

Read: Ezekiel 47:1-48:35; 1 Peter 2:1-3:7; Psalm 119:49-64; Proverbs 28:12-13 The angel took Ezekiel to the entrance of the Temple and there was an underground aqueduct that ran from the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. It is living water which made the Dead Sea become alive and team with fish. The Dead Sea will become a fresh-water sea where fish will flourish and fishermen will line up to fish there. Trees of all kinds will grow beside the Dead sea and refresh every one. Their fruit will be for food and the leaves for healing. The land will be divided with the descendants of Joseph receiving two portions: one for Manasseh and the other for Ephraim. The land will be divided in strips in this order from north to south: Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben, Judah, the Temple with the Levites, Benjamin, Issachar, Zebulon, Gad, Simeon. That makes 13 tribes. The city was where the Temple is and there were three gate on each side. Every gate was for a different tribe. Manasseh and Ephraim went through the same gate. The name of the city is “The Lord is There.” Peter reminded us that we are pilgrims just passing through this life. We are to submit to human authority as to the Lord because it is his job to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right. He told the slaves to honor their masters even if they were cruel because when we suffer, we are fellowshipping with Christ in his suffering. Jesus experienced the worse suffering and yet he didn’t seek revenge but personally carried our sin in his body on the cross. Now, were are healed by his wounds. Wives can win their husbands over by just submitting to their authority and living pure lives before them. Our beauty is not the outward beauty that the world has but it is our spirit that is beautiful. Husbands are to love their wives and honor them so that their prayers will not be hindered. Lord, help us to honor you in all of our relationships and in all the things we face.

Mon.’s Devo -The Prince

Read: Ezekiel 45:13-46:24; 1 Peter 1:13-2:10; Psalm 119:33-48; Proverbs 28:11 In this perfect kingdom that Ezekiel was being shown, the people brought their sacrifices tot the prince and the prince would offer them at the festivals, celebrations and Sabbaths. Every year on the first of their religious calendar (Nisan 1) they were to sacrifice to purify the Temple. The priest was to apply blood on the doorposts of the Temple and the four corners of the upper ledge or “settle” of the altar and upon the posts of the gate of the inner court. The doorposts stood for the cross and where the blood was applied at the first Exodus from Egypt. The Hebrew word for “settle” is azrarah which means “court, settle”. So the priest was to apply blood to the judgments of the heavenly court so they would be covered with blood. They were to do this on the seventh day also for everyone that had been deceived or erred through ignorance. On the fourteenth day, they were to celebrate the Passover for seven days. He shall do the same on the fifteenth day of the seventh month (which is the Feast of Tabernacles.) Passover celebrated man’s personal walk with the Lord and Tabernacles represented the nation’s walk with the Lord. The prince was the only one allowed to enter the eastern gate and stand and watch the sacrifices of the priests. He would bow in worship in front of this gateway. He would offer a sacrifice every Sabbath day. He would leave the way he came. The prince stands for Jesus who observes our heart and our sacrifices of our heart. He can leave the same way because he is the same yesterday, today and forever. The people were to enter either the north or south gateway and they were to exit the opposite door than when they entered because they were to be changed from the time they entered to when they exited. When we are in the presence of the Lord, we should always be changed. If the prince chose to give a gift of land from his inheritance to one of his servants, then the gift had to be returned at the Year of Jubilee, but if he gave the land to one of his sons, it was his forever. Then, the angel took Ezekiel to the west wall where there were rows of rooms where they would cook the meat for the guilt and sin offerings. The would also take the grain offering and make them into bread and bake them there. They did it there so they could avoid carrying the sacrifices through the outer courtyard endangering the people by transmitting holiness to them. It is God’s mercy that he doesn’t reveal his holiness to the world. They would not be able to stand. In Hebrews, we become God’s children with a renewed mind before we can do anything for God. We are declared holy as God is holy because of whose we are. We have been cleansed from our sins and reborn into a life that will live forever. This new life has to be cleansed of the past sins and start craving new spiritual milk just like a newborn baby craves milk. We are to cry out for this nourishment. Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of the building that God is building in our hearts - the Temple of the Holy Spirit. We are the priests of the sacrifices of our hearts. We are identified as God’s people - his children. Thank you, Lord for your mercy and the sacrifice of your son, Jesus Christ, our hope and salvation.

Sun.’s Devo - The Priests of the New Temple

Read: Ezekiel 44:1-45:12; 1 Peter 1:1-12; Psalm 119:17-32; Proverbs 28:8-10 The angel brought Ezekiel back to the eastern gateway of the outer wall of the Temple area and gave him strict instructions about the eastern gate. No one was to open it or walk through it because God had entered it. Only Jesus was allowed to sit inside this gateway to be in God’s presence and he could only come into the entry room of the gateway. The angel took Ezekiel through the north gateway to the front of the Temple. There he saw the glory of the Lord in the Temple and fell on his face. The Lord told him to take note of everything he heard and saw because God wanted his earthly temple cleansed of all the unholiness. From now on, no uncircumcised foreigner or person who had not surrendered themselves to the Lord would be allowed in the Temple. The Levites who had rebelled could only be Temple guards and gatekeepers and they were allowed to slaughter the animals brought for sacrifices. They could not longer approach the Lord to minister as priests or touch any of God’s holy things or the holy offerings. They would have to bear their shame and only work as Temple caretakers, maintenance workers and doing general duties because they had led the people into idolatry. The family of Zadok would continue to minister in the Temple to the Lord because they remained faithful when everyone else turned away. They must enter the gateway to the inner courtyard wearing only linen clothing so that they never sweat. (Ministering to the Lord should never be “work”.) They were to wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments to symbolize our thoughts and all that they did in secret should be holy. They had to take off the clothes they wore while ministering and leave them in the sacred rooms and put on other clothes so that they wouldn’t endanger anyone by transmitting holiness to them through their clothing. That sounds weird but it meant that we can’t throw our pearls before swine. We can’t share with the world the intimacy’s we have with the Lord because they would not understand and think it was ridiculous. It would do them more harm than good because they are not spiritually equipped to handle or understand it. They were to keep their hair trimmed and not drink too much wine to be an example of self-control. They would judge the people according to the law and keep themselves clean. Everything they owned must belong to the Lord and they were to tithe the tenth. When they divided the land, they were to section off a large section for the temple and for the priests. The priests of the land would no longer oppress the people but care for them. We will see these proportions and regulations in the millennium. Peter wrote three letters and we begin reading the first one today. It is worthy to note that Peter’s wife suffered being martyred and he encouraged her to face it with courage and faith. That might be why he was so excited about the priceless inheritance we are anticipating in heaven. He encourages us to be truly glad even through our trials because they are only temporary. Being tested purifies us like gold and helps our faith to grow stronger. Salvation is something the prophets foretold even though they didn’t understand what they were saying. Even the angels have been eagerly awaiting this day. Lord, thank you for your perfect plan for our future. It may look uncertain to us but it has been planned from the foundation of the earth and it is perfect.

Sat.’s Devo - God’s Holiness

Read: Ezekiel 42:1-43:27; James 5:1-20; Psalm 119:1-16; Proverbs 28:6-7 Today, the angel led Ezekiel out the northern gate to the Temple courtyard where there were a row of rooms along the north wall of the inner courtyard. One block of rooms face the inner courtyard and the others looked out onto the pavement of the outer courtroom. They were both three levels high like a ziggurat getting smaller as they got higher. This was to allow for walking on the roof below since there were no columns to hold up the next level. That was on the north side of the Temple. On the south side there were blocks of rooms just like on the north side. These rooms on both sides were where the priest were to offer sacrifices to the Lord would eat the most holy offerings. They would store the excess sacrifices in the rooms. They were to take off their holy clothes before exiting the building to be with the people. Then Ezekiel was taken outside to measure the outside of the temple. It was a 500 reed square. He was taken to the east gateway and suddenly the glory of the Lord appeared from the east with the sound of a rushing mighty wind and the whole landscape shone with his glory. It entered the eastern gate and filled the Temple. God spoke and told Ezekiel that this was the place where his throne and where He would rest his feet. He declared that no longer would his Temple be defiled by evil kings or other idolatrous gods. God wanted Ezekiel to take the measurements back to the people and tell them all that he saw. All of the numbers spoke of complete holiness. God hoped that it would cause the people to want to become holy. He gave Ezekiel the measurements of the altar and the instructions for sprinkling the blood on the altar to purify it for the time being. It would be the picture of the altar of Jesus Christ. In James, he rebuked the rich who spent their lives in luxury at the expense of the poor. Their treasures would testify against them. But to his brothers and sisters in the Lord who were waiting for Jesus’ return, he told to be patient. He reminded them of Job’s suffering and his end which was so rewarding. God is full of tenderness and mercy. He admonished them to sing praises, pray, anoint with oil and to pray in Jesus’ name. Confess their sins to one another and pray because the prayers of the righteous are very strong. We are to bring back the ones who have wandered away and bring them to repentance and forgiveness. Lord, thank you for reminding us that you are a holy God who requires us to be holy. You have equipped us to be able to live a holy life by the power of the resurrection of Jesus.

Fri.’s Devo - God’s Heavenly Temple

Read: Ezekiel 40:28-41:26; James 4:1-17; Psalm 118:19-29; Proverbs 28: 3-5 Reading the measurements of this heavenly temple gets confusing but what I do get from it is that it is like an upside down ziggurat. It is the heavenly temple which is maybe why we are seeing it that way. God’s holy place was the top floor and it was the biggest. The angel led him out to a large building that stood on the west. It was facing the Temple courted. Inside there were palm trees with cherubim between the trees. The cherubim had one face of a man that looked at the palm tree on one side and the face of a young lion that looked at the palm tree on the other side. The palm trees and cherubim were to be a picture of the Garden of Eden which God wants to restore his relationship with man. This could be why there were the faces of the man and the lion. He showed him the altar that stands before God’s presence. The doors to the sanctuary and the Most Holy Place had double doorways with two swinging doors. On the doors were carved cherubim and palm trees. These were the gateways that God had to guard with cherubim when he threw Adam and Eve out of the garden, but now they are accessible. In James he warns us from being jealous of what others have and fighting to get it. He calls adulterer those who are in friendship with the world. We can’t like or love the world and be a friend of God. We can’t serve two masters. So we have to humble ourselves before God and resist the devil and his pleasures. We are not to judge the law and decide if it applies to us. God is the Judge and he has the power to save or to destroy. He will bake care of all that is going on in our nation. Lord, may you bring your righteous justice in our lives and our nation. We refuse to be a friend of the world but choose to love you above all.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Fear of the Lord

Read: Ezekiel 39:1-40:27; James 2:18-3:18; Psalm 118:1-18; Proverbs 28:2 God declared absolute defeat on his enemy of Gog, the ruler of Mesheck and Tubal. God told Ezekiel that when he starts judging them, shame will fall on the world. The people of Israel would pick up the small and large shields, bows and arrow, javelins and spears and they would use them for fuel. This fuel would last them for 7 years. God’s people would plunder those who planned to plunder them and they would rob those who had planned to rob them. If this isn’t a picture of what is going to happen in America, I don’t know what is! When God starts judging the people who have done such evil and deceit, it is going to bring the fear of the Lord on the nation and the world. People are going to see that money can’t save them and evil will be punished. It will take them 7 months to bury the bodies and cleanse the land. It will be a glorious victory for Israel. It will be a glorious victory for America when the wicked leaders are sentenced and jailed. Ezekiel was to call all the birds and wild animals to gather and eat the flesh and drink the blood of the slain. This is known as the feast of Leviathan. This is also a picture of the very end of time. On the first day of Nisan, the month of Passover, God brought Ezekiel to him in the people to Israel and set him down on a very high mountain. From there he could see a city in the south. There was a man, an angel who met him at the entrance and gave him a measuring rod and a cord. He told him to measure everything. The wall on the outside of the house, the house itself, and the gate. Inside were champers and he was the measure them, the porch, the entry of the gate, the space between the little chambers, the narrow windows and the posts within the gate, and the arches. Each post was a palm tree. Each side, north, south, east and west had the same chambers and seven steps. Everything he measured was significant. In Hebrews we read that faith motivates action. They work together. He gave a warning to teachers because their mouths are what they use to instruct others. They will be held responsible for every word that comes out of them. Our words are super powerful and the intentions of our heart are just as important. God’s wisdom is the opposite of jealousy and selfishness. Wisdom from God is peace loving, gentle and loves others and is full of mercy and good deeds. Lord, may we plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. May the fear of the Lord fall upon our nation.

Wed.’s Devo - Our Mandate

Read: Ezekiel 37:1-38:23; James 1:19-2:17; Psalm 117:1-2; Proverbs 28:1 I blog two weeks in advance so today is actually the day after the election and we don’t have a definitive declaration yet of who is the president. I know what God says so this scripture reading today is super prophetic to where we are. God is not a God that he would lie and he has said that Trump would have four more years and continue his mandate to drain the swamp and bring prosperity and justice to our nation. God sent Ezekiel in the spirit to a valley where all he could see was dry bones on the valley floor. These bones were completely dried out. God asked him, “Can these bones become living people again?” (Can the deceived left-winged Socialists of our nation have any of God’s spirit in them? Can America become a God-fearing, Jesus-loving nation again?) Ezekiel’s reply was, “You alone know the answer to that.” Then, God told Ezekiel to prophesy over the bones and tell them that He was going to put breath into them and make them live again. Ezekiel did prophesy over them and the bones come to life and muscles appeared and flesh covered them, yet they had no breath in their lungs. So God told him to prophesy breath into them and breath came into their bodies so that they lived. They stood up as a great army. God told him that this army represented the nation of Israel. They were saying that there was no hope for this nation. But, God was saying that he could call them back from their hopeless, dead state and put his Spirit in them and they would come home to their inheritance. (God wants us to prophesy the same thing to America.) Next, God told him to take two pieces of wood and carve Judah on one and Ephraim on the other. He was to hold them together and they would become one piece of wood in his hand. (This is like carving Republican on one stick and Democrat on the other.) God promised to bring them together as one and unify them into one nation. One king, one president would rule over them and they would never pollute themselves with their idols and vile images and rebellion. God would save them and they would become his people. Generation after generation would live there. God would make a covenant of peace with them and God would put his temple inside them and make them holy. (Amen! So be it for America!) Chapter 38 is the picture of the battle of Armageddon. After Israel is living in peace and prosperity, then the nations of Gog, Magog, Meshech and Tubal will come against Israel and God will fight them with rain, hailstones, fire and burning sulfur. It will be the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah all over again. James tells us how to keep our soul clean. God has planted the Word of God in our souls and when we rid our souls of anger, filth and evil then it can grow. If we keep bringing ourselves to accountability to what the Word says and control what we say and see others as God sees them then we will have his mercy and do his works on the earth. Lord, help us to do just that. Help us to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with You. We prophesy to our nation that she would once again have the Spirit of God in her and rise to walk in the mandate that God has put upon her to be a blessing to Israel and the rest of the world.

Tues.’s Devo - Taking the Mountains

Read: Ezekiel 35:1-36:38; James 1:1-18; Psalm 116:1-19; Proverbs 27:23-27 Mt. Seir was the land of the Edomites who descended from Esau, who hated Jacob. The Edomites had long been enemies of Israel. They continued to kill the Israelites when God had finished punishing them so it is their turn to be destroyed for their wickedness and hatred towards God’s people. They were like Esau who had no fear or regard for God or the promises of God. The whole world will rejoice when they are destroyed. I can’t help compare this to what is happening right now in our land. When we overturn abortion and drain the swamp the whole world is going to rejoice. God told Ezekiel to prophesy to the mountains and prophesy a take over. Instead of being run by other nations, they will be prosperous once again. Mountains stand from institutions: religion, politics, arts and entertainment, education, finances, family, and medical. Once again they would rule these mountains and prosper. God was going to do this not because they deserved it but because he wanted his glory on the earth. He would put a new heart in them and they would have a new spirit - His Spirit. He would then be ready to hear their prayers and increase their numbers. We begin James today. It is amazing to know that he wrote this book right before he was martyred. He had gone to Jerusalem for Passover and was set on a pinnacle of the temple by the scribes and Pharisees. They begged him to restrain the people who were in large numbers embracing Christianity. "Tell us," said they in the presence of the people gathered at the feast, "which is the door of Jesus?" James replied with a loud voice, "Why ask ye me concerning Jesus the Son of man? He sitteth at the right hand of power, and will come again on the clouds of heaven." Many thereupon cried, Hosanna to the Son of David. But James was cast down headlong by the Pharisees; and praying, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," he was stoned and beaten to death with a fuller's club. (Jamieson, Faust, and Brown Commentary). James begins by enthusiastically telling us to consider it an opportunity for great joy when we are tested with troubles. These tests are the opportunity to let our faith grow so we will be complete, needing nothing. Wisdom is ours for the asking because our daddy is Wisdom. He gives us himself any time we ask. He has placed us all in different social circles, jobs, families, churches, paths so that on our journey, we will influence the people we are to influence. Temptations test our resolve and cause us to call upon God’s grace. It is always there to help us overcome all temptation. God doesn’t tempt us; he gives good gifts that help us in our journey. Lord, may we live our lives so that we receive your gifts and use them to do the work you have destined for us to do. Thank you for your grace to overcome.

Mon.’s Devo - The Watchmen

Read: Ezekiel 33:1-34:31; Hebrews 13:1-25; Psalm 115:1-18; Proverbs 27:21-22 Watchmen were prophets who could discern the future. They could see what was coming and were responsible for telling the people so they could prepare spiritually and physically. If they saw what was coming and didn’t warn the people then they would be held responsible by God. If the watchman told the people then it was the people’s responsibility to do their part and the watchman would not be held responsible. The only thing that turns God’s wrath away is repentance. A man is measured by how he ends up. If he ends up living righteously, then he is saved. If a man has been warned and he dies living in willful disobedience, he will not be saved in death. During the 12th year of their captivity, a man returned from Jerusalem and reported to Ezekiel that the city of Jerusalem had fallen. God told Ezekiel to give the Jews a word from Him. They had believed that because the land was given to Abraham, that they were entitled to it. God said that they had eaten meat with blood in it, worshipped idols, murdered innocent children, committed adultery and not repented. Why would they think they deserved the land that God promised Abraham. All of the land would be destroyed and then they would come to hear what Ezekiel said and maybe they would choose to obey. God rebuked the shepherds who were suppose to feed the Word of the Lord to the people. Instead, they took their money, spent in on their own lusts, and led the people in idolatry. The shepherds would be held responsible for the people’s sins. Now they would eat justice. The people would be rescued, but the leaders would be judged for leading the people astray. God would protect and feed his people. He promised to shower down blessing upon them and break their chains of bondage. Their land would become famous because of their crops and they would never suffer from famines or the insults of foreign nations. They would then recognize the Lord as their God and He would call them as his people. In Hebrews, God tells us to keep on loving one another and empathizing with each other’s pains and struggles. God said to honor marriage and to not love money. God has promised never to fail us but to help us, so there is nothing to fear in love. In the old system, the animal’s bodies were burned outside the camp but their blood was brought into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin. Jesus’ body was crucified outside the city but his blood was brought into heaven and offered on the holy altar of heaven. Jesus’ believers were cast out of the sanctuary and had to bear the disgrace of that just like Jesus. They offer praise instead of the sacrifice of blood to the Lord. Father, thank you that you gave us our new covenant of grace and forgiveness in the blood of your son.

Sun.’s Devo - The Shaking of Kingdoms

Read: Ezekiel 31:1-32:32; Hebrews 12:14-29; Psalms 113-114:8; Proverbs 27:18-20 Egypt had once been the greatest empire in the earth. The Assyrians were becoming more powerful than the Egyptians as there was a shift in the power structure. God compared Egypt to Assyria, the land that got its water from the rivers that flowed from the Garden of Eden. He gave them a parable about trees in the Garden to explain his point. He called Egypt the big cedar tree in the garden. The big cedar was taller and fuller and more beautiful than all the other trees in the Garden and all the other trees envied it. This was what was happening on the earth. The other nations looked at powerful Egypt and envied its power and wealth. All of what everyone envied of Egypt would be destroyed by the Assyrians. They would ascend to the pit of hell and death. All the nations will tremble when Egypt fell because if that could happened to Egypt, there was no hope from them against the Assyrians (Babylonians). The Babylonians were the “terror of the nations”. Other nations had either met their fate of Babylon or were going to meet the same ending: Assur, Elam, Meshech, Tubal, Edom and Sidon. Many of them never recovered and are no longer nations. They went down to death in shame and dishonor because of their sins and the terror they brought on people while they lived. In Hebrews we are encouraged to live on earth as we will live in heaven: a holy life, free of bitterness and jealousy. God compared the fearful meeting the children of Israel had at Mt. Sinai to the joyful meeting we experience when we come to God. We meet with the angels in heaven - the first born children of God, to God himself, to the spirits of the righteous humans who walked the earth and to Jesus who mediated this great new covenant between God and people. His covenant speaks of forgiveness instead of vengeance. All the earth is being shaken now as kingdoms in the heavenly realms are falling but the kingdom that God is bringing is unshakable. Lord, may we live on earth as they live in heaven. May our hearts be holy and forgiving. May we not lose hope. You are the Joy of the whole earth.

Fri.’s Devo - Looking Forward

Read: Ezekiel 27:1-28:26; Hebrews 11:17-31; Psalm 111:1-10; Proverbs 27:15-16 Tyrus or Tyre was a stronghold that was besieged by many nations without success. It was finally Alexander the Great that broke through and took it down. Tyre was divided into two cities. Old Tyre was on the land and surrounded by walls and well fortified. New Tyre was on an island one half mile from the coast. We read of all the wealth and articles it traded in. It was the gateway of trade for the Middle East. Every nation had a principality assigned to it. In Chapter 28 we read about the principality that ruled Tyre. It was a guardian cherub by the same name that had been in the Garden of Eden. It was very beautiful and adorned in all kinds of precious stones set in gold. No wonder that the city would trade in precious stones. It was blameless until evil was found in it and its wealth led it to violence and then sin. God had to cast Tyre down from his position in heaven and threw him to the ground with the other angels. On earth, this principality tough men to be dishonest in trading. In heaven its place was among the stones of fire (vs. 16) so on earth that fire ended up coming out of him and consuming the city he was over and himself.(vs. 18-19). God had a word against Sidon also. Sidon means “hunting, in the sense of catching fish”. So it hunted fish. Fish is a metaphor for “men”. For their judgement, they would be hunted from every direction and killed. Then God gave a blessing upon Israel. They would again live in their own land. They would be gathered from all the places they were scattered to and return. They would live safely in Israel and build homes and plant vineyards. When God punishes their enemies, they will know that he is Lord. The people of Hebrews 11 did things that prophesied into the future. Abraham offered up Isaac as a picture of what God would do many years later on Calvary. Isaac gave promises to his sons Jacob and Esau that would pave their destiny. Jacob blessed his sons in his last days that determined the destinies for their posterities. Joseph commanded that his bones be taken to the promised land and buried with his family to show that their posterity belonged in that land. Moses’ parents saw that there was something unusual about Moses and refused to let him be killed. They knew that he was meant to live and his life preserved the whole nation and brought them into their promised land. He refused to stay in the land of Egypt where he was lavished with wealth and position. He was looking ahead to a much greater reward. He left Egypt not fearing the king’s anger. His eyes were on the one who is invisible. He commanded the people to keep the Passover because he knew that it was important to their future. The Passover was their salvation and their passage through the Red Sea was their baptism. By faith, Joshua led the people to march around the city of Jericho seven times then the wall came down. By faith, Rahab saw salvation in these Israelites and joined their side. All these people refused to see life as being about just them and their lifetime. They saw into the future and the next generation. Lord, may we seed into the next generation and live our lives for them and what is ahead, not just what is right now.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Great Race

Read: Ezekiel 24:1-26:21; Hebrews 11:1-16; Psalm 110:1-7; Proverbs 27:14 It was the 10th day of the 10th month and God told Ezekiel to write that date down because on that very day the king of Babylon was beginning his attack against Jerusalem. To illustrate this, Ezekiel was to put a pot on the fire. He was to pour water in the pot and put pieces of the most tender cuts of the best sheep in it. Then he was to light the wood under the pot and boil the meat. He explained that Jerusalem was the pot whose corruption couldn’t be cleaned out. They were a city of murderers. Then he was to take the meat out in random order to illustrate the leaders who had murdered innocent children. Their blood would be scattered on the rocks to pay them back for not honoring the blood of the children they had murdered. Afterwards, he was to bury the bones and then empty the pot and let it continue to burn on the fire. The fire would not be able to burn out the impurities meaning that God had tried to cleanse them of their impurities but they had refused to repent. It was now time to judge the wicked for their actions. Then as an act of a better illustration, God told Ezekiel that his wife who he dearly loved would die the next day and that he was not to mourn her publicly or allow anyone to comfort him in his grief. This would be a picture of what would happen to them when they lost the ones that were dearest to them. They would not be allowed to mourn or bury their own children. Then God gave a message to Ammon. Because they had cheered when His Temple was defiled and had mocked and laughed when Judah went into exile, they would be destroyed completely and no longer be a nation. Moab said that Judah was just like all the other nations so they would be judged like Ammon. Edom would be wiped out because they came against Jerusalem. They would become a wasteland. The land of Philistia took bitter revenge against Jerusalem so God would take revenge against them. Tyre was a seaport that rivaled Jerusalem for trade. They had rejoiced when Jerusalem fell because they would now be the only trade route and get all of the trade for themselves. God would come and destroy the city of Tyre and it would become the prey of many nations. God would use Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon to do all of his destroying work. When Tyre fell, all the nations would tremble in fear. Tyre had been the great military giant of the world so when it fell, there would be no hope for the rest of the world. In Hebrews we learn that faith is believing in evidence and manifestation that is not yet in the physical realm. Chapter Eleven is the “hall of faith” where we read about some of the great men of faith. God had a reason why he named these particular men. The first is Abel. He is a type of Jesus who died and his blood still speaks from the ground. Abel’s blood speaks of vengeance but Christ’s blood speaks a better word of salvation and forgiveness. Enoch was a man who walked with God so closely, he was taken to heaven without having to die. He speaks of eternal life and the final victory over death. Noah is next and is a type of the perseverance and faithfulness of God. God carried Noah through the storm and the flood to the other side. He condemned the world and received righteousness by faith. Noah represents our passing through this life to the other side of death into heaven. Abraham obeyed God by leaving his home and going blindly to a land that he had no idea about. He is an example of our walk on earth while we look forward to a new heaven and a new earth even though we have no idea what it will entail. We follow the Holy Spirit as our guide just as Abraham did. Sarah was given faith to believe in an offspring and an inheritance that seemed impossible to have. She believed what God said about her inheritance even though it looked hopeless. All of these people died without seeing the fruit of their faithfulness in their lifetime. They saw it through their spiritual eyes and didn’t give up. They now see it from heaven and they see the fruit of their labors. They are our cloud of witnesses we will read in the next chapter. They are cheering us on to finish the race they started. Lord, thank you that we are a part of a blood line that started at the very beginning and we are just doing our part in the timeline. Help us to keep our eyes on the race and endure till the end.

Fri.’s Devo - Thatira and Sardis

Read: Amos 4:1-6:14; Revelation 2:18-3:6; Psalm 130:1-8; Proverbs 29:21-22 Amos addressed Samaria, the capital of Israel and called the people “fat cows”. Their women were the ones he had so much to rail against. They oppressed the poor and were always making their husbands bring them another drink. These women would be led away by the hoops in their noses like fish on hooks. He sarcastically told them to keep offering tithes to their idols so they can brag about it. God had tried to get their attention with hunger and famine and lack of rain but they refused to return to the Lord. God sent plagues and war and destroyed their cities with fire but they refused to return. So God was going to continue with the disasters he had promised in Deuteronomy. Next, Amos spoke to the people of Israel. It was about to fall, never to rise again. He told them to stop worshipping the golden calves at Bethel and Gilgal or Beersheba. If they didn’t return to him they would be destroyed with fire. They hated justice and truth. They trampled the poor and took their money to build their own houses. If they would turn to the Lord, his Heavenly Army would fight for them. If they brought back justice and truth then maybe God would have mercy on the remnant of his people. It was not going to go well for the rich who lounged in luxury while they worshipped idols and oppressed the poor. God hated their arrogance and the Lord was about to give the command to the Army of God to attack and destroy. In Revelation, John wrote his next letter to the church at Thyatira. It was known as the Pagan Church. The Roman Catholic Church was the main church and they appointed a Pope and began kissing his feet and doing all sorts of ritualistic things to honor a man instead of God. The belief in Mary’s immaculate conception began. Mary was proclaimed the Mother of the Church. The Jezebel it mentions is the Mystery Babylon, the bride of Satan. God promised to bring her followers great suffering and death. They will get what they deserve. To those who had not given in to her false teaching, God told them to hold tightly to what they know is true. The Pagan Church of Thyatira will last through the Dark Ages till 800. The church went deeper into Satanism. Those who were victorious till the end were given authority over the nations to rule the nations. The fifth church was Sardis. It was the church of the Reformers like Martin Luther. They were called to “wake up” the Church and bring them back to truth of the gospel. The organized church was selling indulgences which were licenses to sin. A few godly monks rebelled against the apostasy of the church and were martyred for their faith. The Dead Church lasted until 1790. Lord, may we be awake and alive to your truth and your salvation. Bring justice and peace to our nation, we pray.

Wed.’s Devo - Faithful Till the End

Read: Ezekiel 23:1-49; Hebrews 10:18-39; Psalm 109:1-31; Proverbs 27:13 God gave Ezekiel a parable of two sisters named Oholah, the older and Ohlibah, the younger. They were both prostitutes who God married. Oholah was Israel and Ohlibah was Judah. Both of these women were unfaithful to their husband God, and went after other lovers from Egypt, Assyria and Babylonia and other nations. They worshipped their gods and lusted over their wealth and strength. They committed adultery over and over by worshipping their idols and the committed murder by sacrificing their children to their gods. They would sacrifice their children then come into God’s Temple to worship him all on the same day. God was totally disgusted with them. To punish them, God was bringing an army against them to terrorize and plunder them. In Hebrews, God lets us know that now that Jesus died, we are welcome to come into the Holy of Holies that only the High Priest could enter into before. We now have access to heaven and God’s presence. He encouraged us to keep meeting with one another so we can be encouraged and affirm our hope. But, if we deliberately keep sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover those sins. That person will receive the terrible judgment that will come to his enemies. This is a much worse sin than refusing to obey the law in Moses’ day. He reminded them of the zeal they had when they first learned the truth about Christ and were willing to suffer for it. He told them to not forget the love they had at the first and to stir that love up and let it grow instead of letting it die. He reminded them that the were the faithful ones whose souls will be saved. Lord, thank you for giving us eyes to see and ears to hear and a heart to yearn for you.

Tues.’s Devo - God’s Sword

Read: Ezekiel 21:1-22:31; Hebrews 10:1-17; Psalm 108:1-13; Provers 27:12 God told the people through Ezekiel that he was about to pull his sword and use it on them. He would destroy the righteous and the wicked and not stop until he had finished. To make his point, he told Ezekiel to show them a sword and brandish it twice flashing it to the left and the right to give them a visual picture of what was about to happen. Then he told Ezekiel to take a map showing the road from Babylon to Jerusalem. There was a fork in the road where they could take the road to Ribbah or Jerusalem. The Babylonians were at that fork right then. They were doing all kinds of incantations to see which road to take. They would take the road to Jerusalem and come and destroy them. The people of Jerusalem felt a false sense of hope because of the treaty they had with Babylon, but their king had rebelled against that treaty so there would be no mercy for them. Then God reminded them of their sins. They had killed for money, oppressed orphans and widows, violated the Sabbath, falsely accused people and sent them to their death, worshipped idols, violated their bodies with unsanctioned sexual acts with relatives and others, and the list goes on and on. (Sounds like many of our politicians.) Their priests had violated the law of God and defiled the things that were holy to the Lord. They didn’t teach the people the difference between what was holy and not holy and they would be held responsible. The political leaders were like wolves who destroyed people’s lives for money. Their false prophets covered for them by announcing a false narrative. (Sounds like our new media.) God had looked for someone to stand for righteousness and couldn’t find one. Thank God, we have men that are standing up and rebuilding the wall of righteousness and intercessors standing in the gap. In Hebrews, God is comparing the old system of the sacrifices of the priests to the new covenant where Christ became the final sacrifice for out sins. Now, God has written his laws in our hearts and written them on our minds and he will never remember our sins or lawless deeds. Hallelujah! Thank you, Lord for your sacrifice for us. Thank you that we don’t have to wait till the Day of Atonement to be cleansed but we can walk in your sanctification process every day. We can stand before you as righteous because of your blood.

Mon.’s Devo - Redemption.

The elders came to Ezediel to hear a new word from him. They wanted to know if he agreed with what their false prophets were saying. Ezekiel waited to hear what God would say and when he responded it was not what they wanted to hear. God rebuked them for the sins of their ancestors back to Egypt. They had adopted the gods of Egypt and refused to let them go so God had punished them over and over and sent them prophets to call them to repentance. Since they refused to listen, God was finished calling them back. He told them to continued worshipping their idols because they were going to burn, but one day after the 70 years, a different people would return and they would want to follow him. As for Jerusalem, it was going to burn with a fire that would not be quenchable. In Hebrews, God explained that Jesus entered heaven’s throne room with his own blood and poured it on the altar in heaven. It not only cleansed our bodies like the blood of animals had done, but it cleansed our consciences also. Now, we are eternally free of the penalty of our sins. When Christ returns, He will not be coming to deal with our sins but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. Lord, Thank you for your redemption plan. Thank you that we are eternally clean before you because our your blood.

Sun.’s Devo - The Old and the New

Read: Ezekiel 18;1-19:14; Hebrews 9:1-10; Psalm 106:32-48; Proverbs 27:10 They had an old proverb that said, ”The parents have eaten sour grapes, and their children’s teeth are set on edge?” This is the same question that Jesus was asked when they brought the blind son to Jesus. They wanted to know if he or his parents had sinned. God said, that this proverb was not his proverb. His proverb was “the person who sins is the one who will pay for it”. Then he went into a long examples of people who live sinfully and repent and people who life righteously and then turn and do wrong. It is how you end up when you die. Everyone is responsible for their own actions. God told them this to let them know that just because it was not going well for their nation, it did not have to go badly for them individually. God was giving them another chance to repent. Chapter 19 is an allegory of the last kings of Judah after Josiah. Jehoiahaz was king and he was so evil he was taken to Egypt in hooks. Then his son, Jehoiakim ruled. He was evil also and was taken to Babylon. So was the next king, Jehoiachin. He ruled 100 days and was taken to Babylon. Lastly, Zedekiah ruled and he was no better. He ruled over the ones left and he was eventually taken to Babylon and Jerusalem was burned to the ground. In Hebrews the writer explains the old system of worship where only the High Priest could enter the Holy Of Holies once a year with sacrifices to cover their sins. Only priests could enter the first room where the table of shewbread, the menorah and the altar of incense were. That was the old system. The new system says that we are all priests and can all enter into the Holy of Holies and present our offerings to the Lord. We all have an audience with God anytime we want it. We an all sit at his table and have communion with him. Thank you, Lord for this better covenant and better way. Thank you for making yourself available for all of us no matter who we are.

Sat.’s Devo - The Branch

Read: Ezekiel 16:42-17:24; Hebrews 8:1-13; Psalm 106:13-31; Proverbs 27:7-9 When God finishes his punishment against Judah and their sins are repaid, God’s anger will subside. But he explains why he had to punish them. They had forgotten their youth and their covenant. They had far surpassed the other nations in sinning. Sodom was wiped out for its detestable sins of pride, gluttony and laziness and ignoring the needs of the poor and suffering. They sinned worse than Samaria, the capital of Israel who had golden calves that they worshipped. One day, God would restore Sodom, Samaria and Judah. Judah was lewd and did detestable sins. They took their vows they had made to the Lord lightly and did not fulfill them so in the future they would remember this in shame. God gave Ezekiel a vision of an eagle that came and took the highest branch of the cedar tree and carried it off to a city of merchants and traders. There the branch took root. This highest branch was King Zedekiah and his leaders. Nebuchadnezzar came and took the leaders of Israel to Babylon where they lived in exile. Zedekiah stayed in Jerusalem and then rebelled against the king of Babylon and hired Egypt to help him. The army of Babylon came back and took Zedekiah and scattered the rest of the people all over the land. But God was going to plant his righteous Branch and give him the highest place of honor. It will grow and prosper and produce fruit. In Hebrews we read about the Branch and his system of worship. It is modeled after the worship in heaven. Jesus as our High Priest mediates for us a far better covenant with God based on better promises. His laws will be in our minds and hearts, and everyone - from the least to the greatest will know Him and He will forgive their sins. Lord, we couldn’t come up with a better plan than what you have devised for us. We are so grateful for the day we are living in and we are thankful for those who have gone before us to pave the way for us to walk on.

Fri.’s Devo - Useful

Read: Ezekiel 14:12-16:41; Hebrews 7:18-28; Psalm 106:1-12; Proverbs 27:4-6 God gave Ezekiel a scenario to consider. What if a nation sinned against the Lord so much that he had to crush them by cutting off their food supply and sending a famine to destroy them and their animals? Would one man’s righteousness be able to save them? The answer was, “NO”. Not even if they were Noah, Daniel or Job. Noah was the only righteous man who had not fallen to then sin of mixing his DNA with demons (Genesis 6). He stood alone in his stand to stay true to God. The whole world was destroyed and he and his family were the only survivors. Daniel stood for God in a very evil land. He had the exalted position in the kingdom of Babylon yet he refused to bow to their gods or defile himself with their food. Job was persecuted without a cause and it looked like the culprit was God, yet he refused to blame God. He stood by himself in his faithfulness to God even though his wife and friends told him to curse God and die. These three stood alone and were vindicated by God and that was God’s point. Israel had fallen so deeply into sin that God would not save the nation for the few. The few faithful would only be able to save themselves, but they were not enough to save their nation. The people of Israel had become useless to the Lord because of their choices. God went through their history and how he had chosen them to lavish his affection and glory on. But, instead of thanking him and serving him, they had turned to other gods and other nations to defile themselves with. God had had it and it was time for punishment and payment for their crimes. In Hebrews, it was the requirements for the priesthood that were useless. In its place, God appointed Jesus to be the High Priest. The Old Testament priests died but Jesus lives eternal so he is forever our Priest. His sacrifice on the cross paid for our sins forever and like the Old Testament priests, Jesus offers prayers for us eternally. He is the perfect High Priest because he never sinned and can’t be removed. Lord, thank you that you don’t consider us useless but we are so loved by yo

Thur.’s Devo - Our High Priest

Read: Ezekiel 12:1-14:11; Hebrews 7:1-17; Psalm 105:37-45; Proverbs 27:3 Because the people were so rebellious and refused to listen to what he was saying, God told Ezekiel to act out the motions of going into exile and everything that was going to happen. When the people asked him about what he was doing, he was to tell them that this is what is soon going to happen to them. Even their king Zedekiah would try to escape through a hole in the wall and then be captured and taken to Babylon though he would never see it. He would die there. This is exactly what happened to Zedekiah. He was caught trying to escape and had his eyes gouged out before he was taken to Babylon, so he was there yet he never saw it. Ezekiel told the people that they should be shaking in fear of what was about to happen to them but they told each other that the time was far away. Ezekiel said it was time for every prophecy to be fulfilled. The false prophets had been inventing their own prophesies and their words were giving them false hope like a whitewashed wall. They offered false security. Even the women were prophesying and ensnaring the souls of God’s people with magic charms and magic veils. They were not only trapping others with their lies but bringing destruction down on themselves. Their words were killing those who shouldn’t die and promising life to those who should not live. They discouraged the righteous with their lies when God did not want them to be discouraged because he was going to bring them through it. They were encouraging the wicked by promising them life causing them to continue in their sin. Some of the leaders of Israel went to visit with Ezekiel and while they were sitting together God gave Ezekiel a message to tell them. They had set up idols in their hearts and determined to worship them so why should God listen to their prayers. Their idols enticed them to sin. The people had followed them and God was crying out to them to repent and turn away from their idols. If they don’t, they would be made an example of what God does to those who refuse to repent. God determined that he would have a people that worshipped him. This reminds me of the false prophets of the media. It produces fear in the Christians who watch it and promises false hope to the wicked who want to continue in their sins. God is going to shut them down and their own sin is going to be their destruction. In Hebrews, God explains that Melchizedek was the king of the city of Salem and also the High priest of God in heaven. Abraham had given him a tithe of a tenth of the spoils of war. Melchizedek means “king of justice” and Salem means “king of peace.” He had no human genealogy because he was not of this earth. The descendants of Abraham gave a tenth of their wealth to the priest who was a descendant of Levi. Melchizedek was not a descendant of Levi, yet Abraham tithed to him and he in turn blessed Abraham. The earthly priests died but Melchizedek was eternal. Levi gave tithes to Melchizedek through the loins of Abraham. The law made the priesthood change to Levi and then the cross made the priesthood change to Jesus who was from the tribe of Judah. Jesus was a priest in Melchizedek’s order - the heavenly order that is eternal. In this new age, God’s children become priests to God with Jesus as the High Priest. Lord, may we as priests offer up pleasing sacrifices of praise to you.

Wed.’s Devo - God’s Promises Always Come to Pass

Read: Ezekiel 10:1-11:25; Hebrew 6:1-20; Psalm 105:16-36; Proverbs 27:1-2 While Ezekiel was in Babylon, he intentionally looked into the spiritual realm and saw the Lord and what he was doing. God was speaking to the man clothed in linen that had marked the people of God. He told him to go under the cherubim between their wheels and take the coals and scatter them over the city. So the man in the linen went into the Temple where the cherubim were and one of them gave the man the coals from between the wheels of one of the other cherubim. The man took them and went out. The four creatures went up out of the Temple and went and hovered over the east entrance of the city. The Spirit of God lifted Ezekiel and took him to the eastern gate where he was shown the 25 leaders of Jerusalem plotting evil things. They were saying that Jerusalem was safe and was like an iron pot and they were like the meat in the pot. Nothing would get in and hurt them so they should plan their future right there. God had Ezekiel prophesy to them and tell them that he knew every word they said in secret and every thought that came to their mind. This city was an iron pot but the pieces of meat were the victims of their injustice. They would soon be dragged from this pot and be made to face the sword of war. They would be driven out of Jerusalem and handed over to foreigners who would carrot out God’s judgments against them. While he was prophesying, Pelatiah suddenly died. His name means “Jehovah’s way of escape. Meaning that death would be their better escape. God told Ezekiel that they people left in Jerusalem were saying that those taken captive were the ones far away from the Lord and they themselves were the remnant who the land had been given to. God told him to say that He would bring the scattered back to Jerusalem and they would come back with a new heart and a new zeal to follow Him. Then the cherubim left carrying the glory of the Lord to a mountain in the east. Later, the Spirit brought Ezekiel back to the exiles in Babylon and he told them everything that had happened. In Hebrews, God wants us to keep growing and moving forward. To turn back after experiencing the goodness of God is to be cursed and is likened to crucifying the Christ again. The writer didn’t think that this applied to them since they were meant for better things. God doesn’t forget the things we suffer for him and the good works we do in his name. It is God’s promise to bless us and cause us to be a blessing to those around hs. It is our part to wait patiently for him to act. Abraham was given a promise and had to keep waiting even when he didn’t see anything happening. We have to do the same because it is impossible for God to lie. Lord, thank you for the promises of God and thank you for faith to believe them. May we always wait patiently for God to act and bring His promises into manifestation.

Tues.’s Devo - Wordly Priests vs. God’s Priest

Read: Ezekiel 7:1-9:11; Hebrews 5:1-14; Psalm 105:1-15; Proverbs 26:28 Ezekiel saw the disaster coming before it got there. He described to the people what was coming. Their sins were being called into account and they were going to pay for them. Sin had reached its maturity and it was time to judge. No one would escape God’s fury. During the sixth hear of King Jehoiachin’s captivity in Babylon, all the leaders of Jerusalem were in Ezekiel’s house. Ezekiel had a vision of the Lord. He appeared in his glory and reached out and took Ezekiel by the hair. The Lord transported him to Jerusalem to the north gate of the inner courtyard of the Temple and shoed him a great idol near the altar. Then he took him through the wall down a hidden doorway into a room where the walls were covered with engravings of crawling animals and detestable creature. The room was full of idols and 70 leaders standing with incense burners offing them to their idols. Then he took him to the north gate of the Temple where women were crying for their god Tammuz. Next he brought Ezekiel into the inner courtyard of the Lord’s Temple at the entrance of the sanctuary by the bronze altar and there stood 24 men facing east and bowing down worshipping the sun. God wanted to show Ezekiel what Judah was doing in secret that they though He didn’t see. God called his six angels to punish the city. One of the men was dressed in linen carrying a writer’s case. He was instructed to go and mark the foreheads of the men who wept and sighed because of the detestable sins being committed in their city. The other five were to kill everyone who was not marked. They began by killing the 70 elders. In Hebrews, we learn that the high priest was a man chosen to represent people in their worship to God. He is able to have compassion on their humanity because he is also a man and understands their weaknesses and frailty. That is why Jesus had to become a man so he could have empathy for people. He learned obedience from the things he suffered just like we do. He became the perfect High Priest because he suffered without sin. If we obey Him, he becomes the source of our eternal salvation. Lord, thank you for what you did on the earth. Thank you for the suffering you endured to purchase my salvation and to become my High Priest.

Mon.’s Devo - The Promised Rest

Read: Ezekiel 3:16-6:14; Hebrews 4:1-16; Psalm 104:24-35; Proverbs 26:27 Ezekiel had sat in silence for 7 days after his encounter with God and seeing the four living creatures in heaven. After the 7 days God gave him a message for him personally. He told him that when He gave him a message for the people he was obligated under the penalty of death to deliver it. He was only held responsibility for giving the message, not their response. Their obedience would be up to them and they would pay the consequences of their response. God told him to go to the valley where he saw the vision he had seen before then God told him to go into his house and shut himself in. There, he would be tied with ropes and not be able to speak until the Lord set him free and told him what to say because the people were rebellious. When he was let out, God told him to draw the city of Jerusalem on a clay brick and make a small replica of a siege around the brick. Then he was to lie on his left side and place the Israel’s sins on him. He was to lie on that side for 390 days - one for each year they sinned. Then he was to lie on his right side 40 days for the years of Judah’s sins. He was to do that staring at the siege of Jerusalem that he had built. To prepare for his days of lying on his side, he was to mix wheat, barely, beans, lentils, millet, and emmer wheat together in a jar. With the grains he was to make bread to eat during the time he would be laying on his side. He was to cook it over fire made from dung. He was to ration out the amount so it would last the whole time. He was to do this with drops of water also. This was all to show the people the severity of what was coming if they didn’t repent. Next, he was told to take a sharp sword and shave his head and beard. He was to weigh the hair and evenly divide it into three groups. These hairs would represent their people. One third he was to place on the brick of Jerusalem and burn it to show that the people left in Jerusalem would die of the fire. A third was to be chopped by his sword to show that one third of the people would die in the battle. The last third, he was to throw them into the wind showing that they would be scattered by the wind to the nations of the earth. He spoke to the mountains of Israel which would mean the leaders of the civil and religious. They would be demolished along with their pagan temples and idols. They were responsible for the people because they had been set up as leaders. Instead of leading them to God, they had led them to all kinds of detestable abominations. They would be punished for that. In Hebrews, the writer spoke of a rest that no one had yet entered in because they couldn’t believe and chose to disobey God. It is being offered again to us. We do that by resting from our labors and obeying God. This takes a great act of our will to trust God in the midst of very uncertain circumstances but we can do that with his grace. Lord, help us to enter into your rest and cease from our labors.

Sun.’s Devo - God Strengthens Us

Read: Ezekiel 1:1-3:15; Hebrews 3:1-19; Psalm 104:1-23; Proverbs 26:24-26 Ezekiel’s name means “God Strengthens”. God came to strengthen him and sent him to give a message to a strong-willed people. Ezekiel was from the priestly family who trained under Josiah’s reforms in Jerusalem. His prophesies overlapped Jeremiah’s and went beyond. He ended up being exiled to Babylon under the second group that left Jerusalem and had his first vision on the River Chebar which was a canal on the Euphrates River. He saw the heavens open and out of the clouds came the four living creatures from the throne of God. They each had four faces facing the North, South, East, and West. They had wings that touched each others and arms below the wings. Each had a face of a man, lion, ox, and eagle. They rode on wheels that had many eyes, that went both forward and sideways. Flashes of lighting were all around them as they appeared to be on fire. The sky above them shined like crystal and above that was a throne made of but lapis lazuli. On the throne sat the figure of a man who shone in glory and brilliance. A glowing halo like a rainbow shone over his head. A voice thundered from the being telling Ezekiel to stand up because he wanted to talk to him. Ezekiel was so undone the spirit had to help him to his feet. He told him he was sending him to the nation of Israel - to a rebellious obstinate people. He was to speak to them whether they listened or not. God was going to make Ezekiel as stubborn and obstinate as the people so that he would not lose heart but speak what God told him. God handed Ezekiel a scroll and on it were written on both sides words of funeral songs, words of sorrow and pronouncements of doom. God told him to eat the scroll and when he did it tasted as sweet as honey in his mouth. He was to become this word and let it sink deep in his heart, then he was to tell it to the people no matter if they wanted to hear it or not. Ezekiel didn’t want to return to earth but God took him back to his exile. It is amazing how the New Testament just mirrors the Old. God told Ezekiel to go to a rebellious nation and speak to them but to first heed the word himself. That is the same thing Hebrews is telling us. We are to look at what happened to the children of Israel and not let our hearts get hardened like they did. Moses was an Old Testament example of a person who was faithful till the end but even Moses sinned and was not able to cross into the promised land. Jesus is our better example. He is our Savior and High Priest who is the builder of the whole universe. God wants to build his house in each of us but it is all determined by our hearts. Lord, may our hearts be fertile ground for your spirit to build its home in us.