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Christian Devotional – May 20, 2013
VERSE: Ezekiel 36:26–I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. TRUTH: When we come to the Lord with repentance, He changes us. We are not the same when we leave. God takes us and gives us a new heart. Before we come to Him, we have a heart that is often concerned about only ourselves and our own interests. God changes us so that we are able to feel again and so we are concerned about Him and His interests. God wants us to be touched and moved…
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Christian Devotional – May 19, 2013
VERSE: Ezekiel 35:9–I will make you desolate forever, your towns will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord. TRUTH: What must happen before we recognize and acknowledge God in our lives? For the people of Edom they would have to be utterly destroyed before they were going to acknowledge the Lord as God. Will we respond to God and repent and turn to Him any sooner than they did? RESPONSE: Father, You will do whatever is necessary to bring me back to You when I stray. I will seek You out and look for You in every area of my life. I know that You…
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Christian Devotional – May 18, 2013
VERSE: Ezekiel 34:31–You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord. TRUTH: We are His. He owns us and He claims us as His own. He promises to care for us and lead us and deliver us from not only the evil outsiders, but also the frustrating insiders. He loves us. Do we seek Him as strongly and desperately as He seeks us? RESPONSE: Father, I am Yousr. Lead and direct me wherever You will. I will trust You as You are the good Shepherd. I will hear Your voice and follow where You lead.
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Christian Devotional – May 17, 2013
VERSE: Ezekiel 33:11–Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil way! Why will you die, people of Israel?’ TRUTH: Contrary to some people’s perception of God, He is not sitting up in heaven waiting to zap people for doing wrong. God is just and must punish sin, but He is desperately waiting and hoping that people will turn to Him and repent from their evil ways. Do we need to turn back to Him? He is waiting for us! Or, do…
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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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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,…