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Christian Devotional – April 18, 2017
Continuing in Ruth, we read chapter 1 starting in verse 14. Naomi is hopeless, but she has a daughter-in-law Ruth who refuses to be pushed away. Hopeless people tend to push everyone else away. Ruth refused to go. She clung to Naomi, and she explained in very specific terms all the things that she was willing to do to be able to stay with Naomi. When we encounter hopeless people, the thing they need more than anything else is someone to cling to them. They need someone who refuses to be pushed away no matter what. Even after Ruth demonstrates such an amazing loyalty, once they get back to Israel,…
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Christian Devotional – April 17, 2017
Naomi felt hopeless. As we start reading through Ruth, we see an amazing story of hopelessness that is given hope. Ruth 1:1-14, sets the stage and gives the background story. Naomi had everything, Naomi had a husband and she had two sons. This gave her status and it gave her position in this Society she lived in. Unfortunately there was a famine. As a result, her husband made a decision that the family could not sustain themselves there, so they moved. When they moved to the country of Moab, there Naomi’s Hope began to run it out. Her husband died. Her sons took wives that were not Israelites. And then,…
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Christian Devotional – April 16, 2017
Happy Resurrection Sunday!! May you be blessed as you celebrate the risen Savior Jesus Christ! As we finish out the book of Ezekiel, we read in chapter 48 some additional dimensions and numbers. The placement of all the tribes of Israel is mentioned. Then the very last verse. The city shall be 18,000 cubits round about; and the name of the city from that day shall be, ‘The Lord is there.'” Ezekiel 48:35 NASB http://bible.com/100/ezk.48.35.NASB The Lord is there. What an amazing and awesome ending to this book. The Lord is there. God is with them, in their midst. This verse became possible 2000 years ago with the resurrection of…
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Christian Devotional – April 15, 2017
God brings life. Reading through Ezekiel chapter 47, we see a river flowing out from the Temple and off to the east. As the guide tells Ezekiel about it, we find that wherever the river goes, so goes life. Animals thrive and flourish in this river because it flows from God. Are we seeking life and following after the source of living water? Only as we seek God will we find and experience the true life that He brings.
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Christian Devotional – April 14, 2017
As we read through Ezekiel chapter 46, we see the people coming to worship. It states that the people should come in from North and then exit from the south. Or, the people can come in from the south and exit to the north. Either way, they are not to exit in the same way that they entered. My husband and I were talking about this, and he mentioned how it’s the same way with us and worship. When we come before the Lord to worship him, we are not to leave the same. Our worship experience with God should cause us to become like him so that when we…
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Christian Devotional – April 13, 2017
God always provides for his people. In Ezekiel chapter 45, we see God setting aside the land for himself and His Temple. He gives specific instructions about the size and such that should be set aside. But God does not stop there. God takes the time to line out the place where his servants the priests are too be. He gives them a specific portion of land also to provide for their needs. God will never leave those who serve him out in the cold with nothing. He is always going to provide for the needs of those who lift up his name and serve him. If we are spending…
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Christian Devotional – April 12, 2017
God has described his temple in prior chapters. Now, in Ezekiel chapter 44, God describes the people who will serve in his Temple. God lists through a number of people who had been servants in his Temple, but who had turned away from him. As a result, they are no longer suitable to serve him in his holiness. God does find a group of people who have been faithful to him. God then gives some descriptions about what these people who will serve him will do. I find it interesting in verse of 19, that the priests must change their clothes before they can go out among the rest of…
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Christian Devotional – April 11, 2017
Throughout Ezekiel chapter 43, Ezekiel sees a vision of God In His glory coming to inhabit the temple that he has been describing in the previous chapters. God tells Ezekiel to tell the people what he has seen. He tells him to describe the glory of God and to describe the temple and if the people will repent and turn to Him, then He will do exactly as he has described in these visions. God goes on to explain to Ezekiel what the people need to do in order to repent. How they need to respond to the message that Ezekiel has been sharing is very important. Anytime we are…
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Christian Devotional – April 10, 2017
In Ezekiel chapter 42, God begins describing the outer chambers of this Temple. There is a focus on the wall that goes around the outer Chambers and at the very end, the last verse of the chapter, it indicates the importance in separating the holy from the profane. God is holy. God desires that we are Holy like him. Through Jesus Christ, we can be made holy by allowing Jesus to live through us. Otherwise, the things that are profane such as people living their life without Jesus Christ, will find themselves separated from God. Are we living in such a way as to be in the presence of God?…
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Christian Devotional – April 9, 2017
Ezekiel chapter 41 reads a lot like a blueprint. The full scematics for the temple that Ezekiel saw are listed with all the measurements. God’s plans are always precise. God is a God of details. He cares about the small and seemingly insignificant details of all that you do. As you read through this chapter, it can be difficult to see how this applies to our life today. What I saw is that God has not changed and the level of interest in the details of this temple is an accurate reflection of God’s level of interest in all areas of our life. Are we bringing our life, our whole…