Tues.’s Devo - Life in Christ

Read: Ezekiel 20:1-49; Hebrews 9:11-28; Psalm 107:1-43; Proverbs 27:11 During the seventh year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity (which is how they kept time). The elders of the city came to Ezekiel wanting to know what God said. All their false prophets had prophesied a quick victory and now their king had been in captivity for seven years so Ezekiel’s prophecies were becoming more correct than their prophets. God was not happy that they were now interested in what He had to say. He told Ezekiel to bring charges against them to make them see how wicked they and they ancestors had been. He recited of the people's rebellions during five distinct periods: in Egypt, the wilderness, on the borders of Canaan when a new generation arose, in Canaan, and in the time of the prophets. He reminded them that obedience would have given them life but they chose death every time. It was too late for them so they might as well worship their false idols now. The time would com when they exiles returned, they would obey Him. They would be a pleasing sacrifice to Him and they would be repentant and have a heart to love and worship Him. God told Ezekiel to turn and face the south and speak against it. Jerusalem was in this area and it would be set on fire. Everyone in the world would see it. Ezekiel told the Lord that the people thought he was talking in riddles. They didn’t have ears to hear or a heart to interpret his words. Their hearts were closed to revelation but it didn’t matter. One day they would read his words and understand what he was saying and realize it wasn’t so hard to understand, they were just deaf to God’s voice. In Hebrews, explains that Christ became our High Priest when he carried his own blood to heaven when he resurrected. He sprinkled it in the Tabernacle in heaven to not only cover our sins but to purify our consciences from sin. The blood of animals could never do that. God gave Moses the blueprints of the Tabernacle to be built on earth by seeing the one in heaven and scaling it down to earth size. The true Holy of Holies was in heaven. God made a way through the blood of Jesus for all of us to come into his presence and worship Him. Christ will return to bring salvation to the earth. Lord, thank you for the great sacrifice of your son, Jesus Christ. It is in him that we live and move and have our being.