The Vision, Day 46 Move forward. Read Ezekiel chapter 46. As the information about the temple is shared with Ezekiel, it’s interesting the see this specific idea. People are able to come into the temple but then they must continue moving forward until they ultimately leave. They can go forward, but they cannot go backwards. They could spend as much time in the temple as they wanted, but they cannot leave the same way they came in. That is a good reminder for all of us. When we come into the temple of God, we are there to be changed. We are there to be made different. In light of…

The Vision, Day 45 An offering. Read Ezekiel chapter 45. As the temple has been completed and Ezekiel is seeing the vision of the glory of God resting on the temple, we see the importance of praise and offering. We will all be required to bring an offering as a way to praise God and his glory. Do we understand that giving to God is a way of praise? Do we recognize that he is worthy of every gift we give him because he truly owns everything anyway. We can become confused and think that we actually own things and have possessions, but everything we have is simply a result…

The Vision, Day 44 Inheritance. Read Ezekiel chapter 44. So many people think about leaving an inheritance to their children or ensuring that they have an inheritance from their parents. God gives an interesting statement to the priests and tells them that he is their inheritance. They should not be looking for riches or for possessions, but that God himself is offering to be the inheritance for each of them. Do we understand the value and importance of having Christ? Jesus Christ is worth more than anything else we could possibly inherit on earth. Video devotional here: https://youtu.be/FKCAR1tL51M

The Vision, Day 43 Perfection. Read Ezekiel chapter 43. As God is showing Ezekiel this vision, he wants the people to understand the difference between perfection and imperfection. We can see that God himself is perfect. Because of that, we can very clearly see our sins. We should never spend our time comparing ourselves to other people. The only comparison that needs to be made is us compared to God. When we do that, we recognize how short we truly do fall and how sinful we are. Are we recognizing and worshiping the perfection of God? Video devotional here: https://youtu.be/BFC7EKtZIP0

The Vision, Day 42 Holy v. Unholy. Read Ezekiel chapter 42. As God is continuing to describe the new temple to Ezekiel, we see the extremely marked distinction between what is to be considered holy and what is not to be considered holy. Things that are going to come and serve and minister directly to God had to be kept holy. Everything else was considered unholy. When we look at our lives, do we draw such a marked line between what we know and understand as holy and what is not? Do we seek repentance to cleanse ourselves when we come to approach a holy God in prayer? Do we…

The Vision, Day 41 The details. Read Ezekiel chapter 41. God is a God of details. As we read this chapter, we see Ezekiel continue to measure what he is seeing and report on it. Even the smallest detail about the measurement matters. You see, God is a God that knows, understands, and values the details in our lives. He created them. We can come to him for even the smallest little thing, knowing that he finds that important. We also often misunderstand that we need to be mindful of the details in our lives, and not just glossover those. We must recognize that God sees them and knows about…

The Vision, Day 40 Witness. Read Ezekiel chapter 40. As we move into more of the vision of Ezekiel, we see the whole reason behind why he is having these visions in the first place. God tells him that he is here to be a witness to the people of Israel and to tell them everything he has seen. When we think about our lives and our relationship with God, we have to acknowledge that we are here to be a witness to others of what God has done in our lives. God works and moves in incredible ways and we are to share that message and story with everyone.…

The Vision, Day 39 God’s presence. Read Ezekiel chapter 39. As God is sharing about the ultimate restoration of Israel, he ends the chapter here with a reminder that the ultimate restoration is his presence. The people will be able to be in the presence of God. He will pour out his spirit on them. When we are thinking about our ability to be restored, it is about our ability to be in the presence of God. When we ask Jesus for forgiveness and make him Lord of our lives, he restores our relationship with God so that we can be in his presence and enjoy that presence. That is…

The Vision, Day 38 Upcoming prophesies. Read Ezekiel chapter 38. Many of the prophecies that remain throughout the rest of the book of Ezekiel have yet to be fulfilled. We often study them alongside the prophecies from Revelation and some from Daniel. We also can understand that the reason for the judgment in these prophecies is the same as the judgment that had occurred prior. God deserves glory. God is worthy of worship. When God brings about the judgment of these nations for how they are responding to Israel, we will know it was because of their lack of worship of the one true God. He deserves his glory. We…

The Vision, Day 37 Questions. Read Ezekiel chapter 37. This is such an interesting vision that God gives Ezekiel. He sees a valley full of dry bones and then God asks if they can live again. I know for me, if God had asked me that question, I would have said no. I would be looking at it with my understanding of the world and science, knowing that what has been dead can’t be raised to life again. Yet Ezekiel doesn’t answer that way. Ezekiel trusted God to know that if God is asking the question, God may understand a different answer than what would be the obvious. When we…