I just heard the election results and I am so thankful and grateful. Now it is time to rebuild, restore and mend hearts. THey want us to think that our nation is so divided, but I think it has never been so united. I wouldn't look at the numbers because we know there was so much tampering and illegals voting. I believe that Trump won by a landslide and that our nation wants the same thing, which is peace, love and the right to be free. I pray that our hearts and mouths will speak healing words today and not divisive, "I told you" words. We are in this as a nation. May God get the victory and may our nation return to him. Halleluiah!!!!

Wed.’s Devo - God’s Judgment

Read: Ezekiel 14:12-16:41; Hebrews 7:18-28; Psalm 106:1-12; Proverbs 27:4-6 God gave Ezekiel a scenario of a nation that sinned against him and God was determined to judge them either by cutting off their food supply or sending wild animals to kill them, or by war, or an epidemic. Even if the three most righteous people who have ever lived - Noah, Daniel, and Job - lived in that country, God would only save them. *** Then God asked Ezekiel how a grapevine compares to a tree. The wood from a vine is only good for fuel for fire but a tree is good for furniture and so many other purposes. The people of Jerusalem were like the wood of the grapevine - they were good for nothing but fire. If they don’t burn in the first fire, they will fall into another. *** God gave Ezekiel another message. He took Israel from nothing and made them into a great nation. He blessed them with riches and honor and gave them the best land. He gave them chance after chance to turn to him and do good, but they always chose evil. They took God’s glory for themselves and thought they had made themselves great. They worshipped worthless idols and sacrificed their own children to these idols. They committed fornication with every false god of other nations they could find. ***Because they did this, God was going to give them to the nations they worshiped and wanted to be like. They would destroy all their idols and strip them of their wealth. They would kill them in war and humiliate them in front of their women. God would stop their tribute being paid to other nations to protect them. *** The teacher in Hebrew continues to explain that the old priesthood was weak because it wasn’t able to make anything perfect or sinless. Jesus brought us the new and better covenant. Jesus as our high priest lives forever to intercede for us. He is holy and blameless and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. He doesn’t need to offer sacrifices first for himself because he already did that when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins. *** The law appointed priests who were not perfect, but then God appointed Jesus to be our perfect High Priest forever. *** Thank you that we live under the new covenant and have a perfect High Priest to intercede for us. We pray for our nation and the nations of the world that you would have grace and mercy. We are looking to you as the Savior and the Lord of Heaven’s Armies to defeat our enemies and give us back our nation.

Tues.’s Devo - Our Eternal High Priest

Read: Ezekiel 12:1-14:11; Hebrews 7:1-17; Psalm 105:37-45; Proverbs 27:3 A message came to Ezekiel while he was in Jerusalem to show him what was going to happen to the people in the city. He was told to pack a bag like he was going into captivity. He brought his baggage outside during the day so they could see him. Then in the evening, he began a long march. He was to dug a hole through the wall and went through it. Then he put the pack on his shoulders and covered his face so he could not see the land he was leaving. *** The next morning, he spoke to the people and told the people that this was a message for King Zedekiah. It was a picture of what he would be doing soon. He would try to escape this way and be captured but never see the land he was taken to. His servants and warriors would be scattered and eventually killed, but a remnant would be taken to Babylon and confess all their sins to them. *** This exact scenario played out. When the leaders heard that Babylonians had come through the wall. Zedekiah and the leaders tried to escape through a hole in the wall. They were captured and his eyes were put out so he went to Babylon but never saw it. *** Ezekiel proclaimed that there would be no more false prophecies of escape for them. God will deal with the false prophets. They followed their imagination and not the Lord. They prophesied false visions and made lying predictions and would be banished from Israel. They would have their names blotted out of Israel’s record books and will never return to the land. They prophesied peace when God was saying, ‘war’. *** God told Ezekiel to expose the women who prophesied from their own imaginations. They ensnared the souls of the people and taught them magic. They prophesied discouraged the righteous that God said would live and promised life to the wicked, encouraging them in their sin. *** They sold magic charms to wear as bracelets for a few handfuls of barley. God would tear these bracelets from their arms and set them free from being their victims. *** Some of the leaders of Israel came to visit Ezekiel to hear what he would say to them. God told him to tell them that they had set up idols in their hearts. They embraced things that would make them fall into sin. God would reject all who do this and then come to the prophet for advice. God would turn against all who do this and make an example of them in a terrible way. They would be eliminated. All the false prophets and those who listen to them will be punished. The will learn not to stray from the Lord. *** In Hebrews, it tells us that Melchizedek was a priest of God from the city of Salem (Peace). Melchizedek met Abraham after he defeated the kings of evil. Melchizedek blessed Abraham and in turn Abraham gave him one tenth of his spoils. Melchizedek was not of this world and had no mother or father on earth. He is an eternal being who served God as a priest. *** Abraham recognized the greatness of Melchizedek when he gave him his tithe. Later, in the law of Moses this became a requirement of the people to give the priests a tenth of their produce. Melchizedek was greater than Abraham because he blessed him and was greater than the priests because he never dies. So if the priesthood was not perfect and eventually died, and had to tithe to someone greater, God needed to establish a different priesthood after the order of Melchizedek instead of the order of Aaron or Levi. *** Jesus was coming to be the perfect High Priest forever and he wasn’t from the tribe of Levi, but the tribe of Judah, so the law had to be changed. We will read more about this tomorrow. *** Lord, may we listen to the right report and hear your voice plainly. Thank you for being our High Priest and interceding for us. Salvation belongs to you!

Mon.’s Devo - God’s Spirit Leaves the Temple

Read: Ezekiel 10:1-11:25; Hebrews 6:1-20; Psalm 105:16-36; Proverbs 27:1-2 God spoke to the man in linen who had marked the people of righteousness. He told him to take of handful of burning coals from the living creature and scatter them over the city. Ezekiel watched him do this. *** The man in linen entered the south entrance of the Temple and the inner courtyard filled with a cloud of glory. The sound of God’s glory could be heard in the outer courtyard. *** God told the man in linen to get more coals from between the wheels of the living creature and the man took them out of the Temple. When it describes the four cherubim this time there was no rainbow and the cherubim and the wheels were covered with eyes, including there hands, and the faces had changed in order. The ox was in the front this time. They flew out the east gate of the Lord’s Temple, taking the glory of God with them. *** The Spirit of God took Ezekiel to the east gateway of the Temple where he saw 25 prominent men of the city. Among them were Jaazaniah and Pelatiah who were princes of the people. These men were planning evil and telling the people to build houses because the city was as safe as an iron pot. Ezekiel was to prophesy against them. He told them that they had murdered many in the city. This city was an iron pot but not for safety; it was full of the victims of their injustice. They would be judged for lying to the people and for their sins. The sword they so greatly feared will come against them. While Ezekiel was prophesying this, Pelatiah fell down dead. Pelatiah means “Jehovah’s way of escape.” Death, for them, would be their only way of escape. Ezekiel immediately fell down praying for mercy. God told Ezekiel what the people left in Jerusalem were saying about them. They were saying that since these people had been taken away, they could now own their land. God says that he would protect those taken into captivity and bring them back to their land. When they return, they will remove all the vile detestable idols and God will put a new spirit within them. He will give them a heart to serve the Lord. Then they will truly be the Lord’s people. *** The cherubim that took the glory of the Lord from the Temple rose into the air and left the city. It stopped above the mountain to the east. Then, God took Ezekiel back to Babylon where he told the exiles all he had seen. *** In Hebrews, the teacher was ready to go on to more mature matters than the foundations of our faith. He explains that once a person has known the goodness of the Lord and experienced his power and then turned away from him, it is impossible to bring him back. He gives us the example of a field that bears a good crop and a field that bears only thorns and thistles. The farmer will soon burn the field of thorns because it is unproductive. That is the same of people. *** He then commends the ones who have worked hard in God’s field and loved their fellow believers. He encourages them to keep their hope alive and endure through the hard times putting their faith in God who is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. God has given us his promise and his oath so we must with confidence believe him. *** Lord, we believe your promises because you have proven to us over and over again that you are faithful and true.

Sun.’s Devo - The Idolatry of Jerusalem

Read: Ezekiel 7:1-9:11; Hebrews 5:1-14; Psalm 105:1-15; Proverbs 26:28 Ezekiel heard a message from the Lord that said the end was here. All hope was gone and it was time for God’s wrath to be poured out on his people for their detestable sins. God would send disaster after disaster until they were all destroyed. No one who was twisted by sin would survive. *** Jerusalem was experiencing war outside the walls and famine and disease within the city. The soldiers had given up hope and refused to gather for battle. The things they once held dear meant nothing to them now. God had brought the most ruthless of nations against them to break through their pride and their fortresses. The evil they had done to others would now fall on them. They will receive the punishment due them. *** During the sixth year of Jehoachin’s captivity the leaders of Judah were in Ezekiel’s house in Babylon where they had been taken into exile. Ezekiel saw a vision of a man with fire from his waist down. His upper torso looked like gleaming amber. He reached out and took Ezekiel by the hair and took him to Jerusalem in a vision. He was taken to the north gate of the Temple where he was shown a large idol that made the Lord very jealous. It was the grove of Astarte, set up by Manasseh as a rival to Jehovah in His temple. It was the Syrian Venus, worshipped with licentious rites; the "queen of heaven," wife of Phoenician Baal. All who came to worship the Lord had to pass by this scene. *** Next, the angel took Ezekiel to the door of the Temple courtyard where he could see a hole in the wall. He was told to dig through the wall where he found a hidden doorway. He was told to go in and look. He saw the walls covered with engravings of all kinds of crawling animals and detestable creatures. Seventy of the elders were there with Jaazaniah in the center. These were the religious leaders who were suppose to be guarding the Temple from idolatry. The one whose name means “Jehovah will listen” was standing in the midst of them to show that God was hearing everything they said. Instead of keeping the people from idolatry, they entered into the rituals to Tammuz. *** Tammuz was a Sumerian shepherd who married the goddess Ishtar. When he died, fertility ceased on Earth. Since he was a vegetation deity, the women of Judah were weeping for him in order to restore fertility by bringing him back from the dead. They would turn their back on the Temple to face the east and worship the sun. In the King James version verse 17 says they provoked the Lord’s anger by ‘putting the branch to their nose.’ This was a cedar branch which was the symbol of immortality associated with the cult of Tammuz. To inhale the cedar was supposed to give life-giving powers to revive Tammuz. *** God then called forth six men who carried a battle-ax in their hand. One of them was clothed in linen and had a writer’s horn at his side. The glory of the Lord left the Temple and God sent the men throughout the city of Jerusalem to mark the foreheads who cried over the abominations of the Temple. They were to kill all who didn’t receive the mark. *** Ezekiel cried out for mercy, but the Lord would have none. He would recompense everyone’s sins upon their own head. *** In Hebrews, God explains the office of the high priest. He must be called by God like Jesus was. He must first offer sacrifices for his own sins, then he could offer them for others. *** Jesus learned to obey God through the things he suffered. He offered him self as the sacrifice for all sins. God qualified him to be the perfect High Priest in the order of Melchizedek which was God’s priest in heaven. *** The writer gives the definition of a mature Christian - one who has trained himself to recognize the difference between right and wrong. *** Lord, may we train ourselves to recognize the difference between right and wrong. Thank you for being our High Priest and for making atonement for our sins. We worship You, alone!

Sat.’s Devo - Ezekiel’s Responsibility

Read: Ezekiel 3:16-6:14; Hebrews 4:1-16; Psalm 104:24-35; Proverbs 26:27 Yesterday we read where Ezekiel had been taken by the spirit to the exiles in Tel-abib, beside the Kebar River. He sat for seven days until the Lord gave him a message to speak. God told him that when he received a message from him, he was to give it immediately. If he didn’t give the warning, then he would be held responsible for their deaths. But, if he warned them of what was coming, he would be saved and their fate would be their own fault. *** Ezekiel was taken to a valley where God visited him. He told him to go home and shut himself up. He would be tied with ropes and not able to speak until God have him a message. *** Then Ezekiel was given scenes to act out to show the people that they were going to go under a siege that would be very harsh. He was to bear Israel’s sins for 390 days and Judah’s for 40 in proportion to their evil. When you add the numbers, it comes to 430, which is a number well known to the Israelites because they were in the wilderness for exactly 430 years, to the day. It is a number associated with punishment because of rebellion. *** Ezekiel was given another scene of rationing food to show them the famine that was coming. He was suppose to make it over human dung to show that they would eat defiled bread in the land of the Gentiles where God would banish them. *** Next, Ezekiel was to do a scene representing what would happen to Jerusalem because of her rebellion. A third of them will die in the fire, a third of them will be scattered to other nations and a third of them will die by the war. The fire will spread to destroy all of Israel. *** The people will resort to cannibalism to stay alive, even eating those of their own household. Along with the famine, wild animals will attack them and take their children. *** Ezekiel was told to face the mountains of Israel and pronounce the end of their pagan shrines and altars of incense. They would all be smashed and destroyed. Only a few people would escape the war that was coming. Then, they will know that God is Lord of all. *** In Hebrews, God’s promise of entering into his rest is still offered to us. We enter into this rest by having faith in the Lord. Disobedience will keep us from entering. God rested on the seventh day from his work of creating the world and man. We, too can enter into God’s rest if we obey God. The Word of God is like a sword that cuts and divides our soul from our spirit, our joints from the marrow and cuts between our thoughts and our intentions. We cannot hide anything from the Lord. *** Jesus is our great High Priest who understands our weaknesses because he was a man with the same weaknesses we have, yet he did not sin. We can boldly come to the throne of God and receive mercy and grace in our time of need also. *** Lord, thank you for your prophets who gave their lives to give your word. May we be as devoted to obey you no matter the consequences. Thank you, Jesus, for being our High Priest who is our way to rest. May we enter into your rest.

Fri.’s Devo - Ezekiel’s Calling

Read: Ezekiel 1:1-3:15; Hebrews 3:1-19: Psalm 104:1-23; Proverbs 26:24-26 When he turned 30, the priest, Ezekiel was taken hold of by God to be a prophet to God’s people in exile. He was with the exiles beside the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians when he had his first vision. He saw a great storm coming from the north that flashed with lightning and shone like a brilliant light. He saw fire in the cloud and in the middle of the fire came four living beings that looked human except they each had four faces and four wings. Their feet were hooves like a calf and they had human hands under their wings. *** The face in the front was a face of a man; the face on the right was a lion; on the left was an ox head and the one behind had the face of an eagle. They had two pairs of wings and their wings touched each others. They moved in all directions according to the spirit leading them, never having to turn. They were made of light and darted like lightning. *** When they touched the ground they had wheels with another wheel crossed within that wheel. The wheels were covered with eyes. There was a crystal cloud above them and their wings sounded like waves, or God’s voice, or the shouting of an army. *** When they stopped, they lowered their wings and a voice came from the cloud above them. Ezekiel saw the Lord in the cloud above them. He glowed brightly with a rainbow around him. Ezekiel feel face down on the ground. *** The voice spoke and told him to stand. God told him he was sending him to the nation of rebellious Israel. He was not to be afraid of the people though they will not listen to him because they were so rebellious. He gave him scroll with funeral sons and pronouncements of doom and told him to eat it. When Ezekiel ate it it tasted sweet like honey. God would make him as determined as Israel was rebellious. He was to give them God’s word whether they wanted to hear it or not. *** The Lord lifted Ezekiel and took him to a colony of the Judean exiles by the Kebar River. For seven days, Ezekiel sat overwhelmed. *** In Hebrews, Jesus is compared to Moses, but he was much greater. Both were faithful to do what God had called them to do. Moses was faithful as a servant, but Jesus was faithful as a son. Moses set the stage of what Jesus would come and fulfill. Moses endured the rebellion of God’s children in the wilderness. The writer of Hebrews warns us not to be rebellious like they were. They refused to enter into God’s rest, but we don’t need to let that happen to us. *** The children of Israel heard God’s voice and rebelled anyway. God had led them out of slavery with signs and wonders and God was so angry with them he let them die in the wilderness. They never got to see his promises for them. They were filled with unbelief which led to their death physically and spiritually. *** Lord, may we keep our hearts soft and tender towards you. May we walk in what you have called us to do and finish the assignment. May we eat your words and may they be the fuel with which we live, move and have our being.