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Christian Devotional – May 16, 2013
VERSE: Ezekiel 32:9–I will trouble the hearts of many peoples when I bring about your destruction among the nations, among the lands you have known. TRUTH: We are always an example to others. Sometimes we can be an example of what to do. Other times we are an example of what not to do. Either way, we are seen and known by others. The people of Egypt were an example of what not to do and God was going to make sure the whole would saw that. Are we an example of obedience to God or disobedience? RESPONSE: Father, I desire to be an example to others of what it…
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Christian Devotional – May 15, 2013
VERSE: Ezekiel 31:11–I gave it into the hands of the rulers of the nations, for him to deal with according to its wickedness. I cast it aside. TRUTH: The Pharaoh of Egypt had become proud and Ezekiel tells how God is going to allow him to fall. It can be easy to forget we are being protected and guarded by God until He removes His hand from us and we start to experience the consequences of our actions. God gave Pharaoh into the hands of his enemy. If God was to remove His hand from our life, what would be the result? Do we acknowledge God in our life daily…
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Christian Devotional – May 14, 2013
VERSE: Ezekiel 30:9a–On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten Cush out of her complacency. TRUTH: Complacency is a dangerous attitude to have. This sense that people can just float through life and not take a stand for the things of God often leads God to take action against that person or nation in order to shake them up. God says here that He will frighten the people of Cush so that they will move out of complacency and into action. Are we complacent? What will God have to do to get our attention and move us to action? RESPONSE: Father, help me to not…
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Book Review – Hide in Plain Sight by Marta Perry
Andrea Hampton was all set for life in the fast lane. She was moving up the corporate ladder when her sister has an accident that could end up jeopardizing her Grandmother’s financial future, Andrea moves back in with them to Amish country to help turn her Grandmother’s house into an Inn. While there she meets the mysterious carpenter Cal who seems to have more of a story than he lets on and strange pranks begin to happen that threaten to keep the Inn from opening on schedule. Cal and Andrea are forced to search for answers before someone, possibly one of them, ends up dead. I enjoyed this suspense book…
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Christian Devotional – May 13, 2013
VERSE: Ezekiel 29:9–Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the Lord, “Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it.'” TRUTH: The people of Egypt had a lot of pride, but they took their pride one step further than the people of Tyre that Ezekiel spoke to in the previous chapter. The people of Egypt were taking credit for God’s handiwork. They were praising themselves instead of praising God. They were telling others that they were responsible for something that God had done. Do we take credit for God’s work in our lives? God will not share credit for what He alone has…
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Christian Devotional – May 12, 2013
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! VERSE: Ezekiel 28:9–Will you then say, “I am a god,” in the presence of those who will kill you? You will be but a mortal, not a god, in the hands of those who slay you. TRUTH: Pride is such a dangerous and deceptive thing! Ezekiel shows that the king of Tyre was so prideful that he believed he was like a god and was untouchable. Even when confronted with certain destruction, he was still indicating that he was above their plans to kill him. God reminds us that we are just people and that if we begin to deceive ourselves that we something more than that,…
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Christian Devotional – May 11, 2013
VERSE: Ezekiel 27:34–Now you are shattered by the sea in the depths of the waters; your wares and all your company have gone down with you. TRUTH: The city of Tyre made its living from the sea. They traded and transacted business on the sea, yet now in response to their sins, the very thing they trusted to provide their livelihood was going to be their undoing. When we look to and trust in something besides God, often God will use that to get our attention and show us how untrustworthy it is compared with God Himself. What are we trusting in? Is it God or something else? RESPONSE: Father,…
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Christian Devotional – May 10, 2013
VERSE: Ezekiel 26:1–In the eleventh month of the twelfth year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me. TRUTH: Ezekiel was always listening and ready for a new word from the Lord. He did not just sit and rest on the previous messages that he had received, but was always listening and waiting to hear more. Are we constantly waiting and listening to hear a new and fresh message from God each day? Do we seek His Word for our lives anew or just rely on what we’ve heard and learned before? RESPONSE: Father, I pray You will continue to work and move…
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Christian Devotional – May 9, 2013
VERSE: Ezekiel 25:6-7a–For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet rejoicing with all the malice of your heart against the land of Israel, therefore I will stretch out my hand against you and give you as plunder to the nations. TRUTH: Two ideas can be seen in these verses. First, we are not to rejoice when others go through the judgment of God. The Ammonites were excited to see that Israel was being judged by God. God does not want us to be happy and rejoice in the downfall and destruction of others, no matter how evil their actions have…
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Christian Devotional – May 8, 2013
VERSE: Ezekiel 24:11–Then tset the empty pot on the coals til it becomes hot and its copper glows, so that its impurities may be melted and its deposit burned away. TRUTH: God reminds the people through Ezekiel that they only way to clean off a pot is to heat it up super hot so that the impurities melt off. God is planning to put Israel through a fire and to cleanse them of all the impurities they have. When we go through difficulties do we turn to God and seek Him as He may have something for us to learn to further refine us and burn away anything that does…