260th Week, Ezekiel Chapters 10-14

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Monday, Ezekiel Chapter 10

Ezekiel 10 

Verse 14

Delores Little

Verse 14:  Each of the cherubim had four faces:  One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.  

THOUGHT

In this chapter the glory departs from the temple of God.  We read of the cherubim that had four faces.  One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. 

These heavenly beings typified Jesus Christ as seen in the four gospels.

   

1. The cherub (was the ox in Ez.1:10). This one represents the most valuable domesticated animal and represents strength and patient service as the servant of God, symbolic of Jesus Christ, as presented in Mark.

2. The face of the man represents the humanity of Christ as prefect, fully human, fully divine, as presented in Luke.

3. The lion represents the ruler of the animal kingdom and symbolizes the royalty and supreme majesty of Jesus Christ the King, as presented in Matthew.

4. The eagle is admired for its superior ability to swiftly rise into the heavens above all enemies on earth and represents the Deity of Jesus, as revealed in John. The swiftness of the eagle also represents Christ, who is quick to bring protection, provision, or judgment. 

Since the cherubim faced all directions, they were prepared to instantly obey the will of God in any direction of flight.

See how God brings in our Savior in the Old Testament.  We truly serve a mighty and loving God.

PRAYER

Father, thank You for each day You give us.  Bless all the Salt Shakers  with Your love, peace, and joy. Be with all the people in all the world that suffer for You and open doors as never before. We realize that You have touched us in this lifetime with all Your love and goodness.   In His Name We Pray.  AMEN

Tuesday, Ezekiel Chapter 11

Ezekiel 11

Verse 19

Jeanie Boldt

Verse 19:  I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.

THOUGHT

“Undivided heart” indicates a unanimous singleness of purpose. No longer will God’s people seek many gods; they will be content with God. The hard, deaf, immovable heart of stone will be radically transplanted with a tender, receptive, and responsive heart of flesh. This new life can only be the work of the Holy Spirit. It is God’s work, but we must recognize and turn from our sin. When we do, God will give us new motives, new guidelines, and a new purpose. 

How is your heart?  Have you ever thought about your heart being divided? It does have 4 chambers. However, do you give all of your heart to the Lord. I so think about this when I go about my day.  I feel rested asking for the armor of the Lord first. Then as I walk, I praise God with praise music.  Rory and I may pray before I go and then later am filled with prayer with MOM and my Christian Sister Jane. My heart is all filled with the Lord. As the day progresses, I so think about how my heart empties.  There may be unrest at work. There may be a sick call that cannot be filled. I might fight 5 o’clock traffic and get in the stall of an accident. After a 12 hour day, late at home, supper to fix, and chores to do, my heart’s chambers are not so full.  Have I gotten impatient?   Does pride work itself in or does my selfishness start to unfold?  

The earthly ways can rob our heart so fast. We need to work at keeping our chambers full. God has given us the Holy Spirit.  Let’s use it to keep our heart as healthy as possible.

PRAYER

Father God, thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit and a heart that is undivided. Please help us keep it strong and full of Your promises and love. Help us to renounce the evil one and ask the Holy Spirit to fill us each and every day.   Thank You for being our King and Savior. In the Name of Jesus.  AMEN

Wednesday, Ezekiel Chapter 12

Ezekie1 12

Verse 2

Tanya Ruden

Verse 2:  Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.

THOUGHT

I am going to be 100% honest.  This chapter was terribly hard for me to find something to write about.  I have read it 5 times, read the commentary in my Bible and have still come up dry.  I began praying Friday that the Holy Spirit would move me to speak something, but I am still slightly failing for a loss of words.

When I first read this chapter, it made me think of Moses and how he wandered and then never entered the Promised Land. This chapter implies something like that throughout. I began to think the Bible at times seems like a broken record.  I felt like that in Chronicles as well when we read about Kings and their bad decisions. How many times do we need to be told something or have it happen before we listen? The Bible has evidence of it several times. Just think, if God didn’t need to teach us the same lesson over and over, the Bible would only be a couple hundred pages.  We just think we are smarter than God, and we don’t listen.  Just like the above verse implies, eyes to see and ears to hear.

There are some days I feel God’s pain.  I want to beat my head into a wall. How many times do I tell my kids to sit on all four legs of the chair, or don’t jump on the bed-you’ll get hurt, or don’t hit your sister? (I could go on and on but I will stop there). They might even fall off the bed or their chair fall backwards and guess what — THEY STILL DO IT!! I am hoping this isn’t due to them not being smart, but because they, like so many in the Bible, have a hard time listening and living the right way. 

I pray that we learn from the Bible and the people in it.  May we learn so that we won’t make the same mistakes or decisions.  May we understand the consequences God reveals in the Bible and attempt to live in a manner to avoid them.

PRAYER

Father God, You have incredible patience to put up with us. You tell us. You show us, and we still don’t listen.  We still don’t see blinded by our own sin and selfish ambition.  Open our eyes and our ears to hear Your Word and see the small miracles in our lives.  May we learn from those people’s experiences in the Bible so that we don’t make the same mistakes.  May we turn to You each and every day and ask Your guidance in our lives.  In the Name of Jesus.  AMEN

Thursday, Ezekiel Chapter 13

Ezekiel 13

Verses 10-11

Tanya Ruden

Verses 10-11:  Because they lead my people astray, saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash, therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth.

THOUGHT

I know most all of us have been through a home improvement project, and we all know how expensive and overwhelming they can be. This verse reminded me of home improvement projects. We just finished building a deck over our back patio. The range of price of building a deck is from a little to a lot. There are inspections (which you could attempt to avoid illegal construction),there are certain boards that must be used and the foundation must be strong and put down first.  We could have cut corners on our deck and just covered the patio with any kind of boards without any foundation. (Our deck is very stable, and you are welcome to eat on it anytime).  I think you get the illustration. We have all been faced with those decisions in our lives.  We could do a job more thoroughly and build a good foundation or we could “cover it with white wash” and make it look good but not be strong enough.

So, what does that have to do with this devotion? How many of you have a good foundation for your faith? Have you built your faith from the cornerstone of Jesus using the Bible as your foundation? Or have you built your faith upon other faiths or experiences or other items not of the Bible? I think there are times in our lives that we cover ourselves with “whitewash”.  We don’t want others to know we are hurting or frustrated.  I know I have been there especially in the last 2 years.  I do think I have the foundation.  I am able to turn to Jesus who gives me HOPE. If you are covered in whitewash, find someone to help wash you and fill you with the building blocks so you won’t fall when the rains come. If your foundation is strong, be the support God calls us to be and fill others with building blocks necessary to withstand the rains. The rains aren’t easy, and God never promised they wouldn’t come.  He did promise he would never send a flood again.  Our good foundation will stand strong!!!

PRAYER

Jesus, flood us with a strong foundation to withstand any wind or rains brought into our lives.  Help us fill others with foundation tools and building blocks and see through the ‘whitewash’ to find their true feelings and work through it together.  You are the God of Hope.  You are the God of fulfilled promises.  With You as our foundation we can do anything and survive any storm in our life.  May we always remember that – EVERYDAY!!!  In the Name of Jesus.  AMEN

Friday, Ezekiel Chapter 14

Ezekiel 14

Verse 14

Tanya Ruden

Verse 14:  even if these three men - Noah, Daniel and Job — were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign LORD.

THOUGHT

The one reccurring theme in this chapter was the passage above.  They can’t save their sons or daughters; they can only save themselves. This is a gentle reminder that we are in charge of our own faith. We can’t get to heaven by relying on anyone else’s faith — only our own. Just because we know so and so or go to such and such a church or pray with so and so, etc. — these activities or connections will not get us to heaven. 

Loving Jesus with our whole heart and having faith in Him — in His death and resurrection for our sins every day — that will get us to Heaven.  We must instill that belief in our children, grandchildren, brother, sister and parents. They must each make their own choice, and we must pray for that choice in their lives.  Our relationship with Christ will not get them to heaven. 

PRAYER

Jesus, I am responsible for my own destiny into Your Heavenly Kingdom. Thank God I have that to look forward to, especially on rough days. Shine Your light in my heart each day so I never forget that simple reality. Help me live a life to share this good news with others, because I can’t take them with me to Heaven.  They must come to their own decision, and You and I want everybody there! AMEN