King James Bible Daily Devotion –
Learning Scripture One
Day At A Time
Date:
Saturday,
September 04, 2015
Chapters:
Ezekiel 26-28
http://imfollowingjesus.com/Bible-Reading-248.html
Message
Title: Attack
On True Christianity
Hello
My Friend,
There is no doubt that there is an attack on
true Christianity, I am talking about those who choose the Word of
God as their authority over any laws and regulations made by man.
Here is a question, if discrimination of any other race, religion, or
lifestyle can get a person fined and even jailed for breaking the
law, why are Christians being persecuted to the fullest extent of the
law? The reason, the living Word, Christ. Of all the things that are
in the world, nothing is more powerful than God's Word, it is life,
it is truth, and it is convicting, it exposes sin at its core, the
pride of the heart. “For the word of God is
quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing
even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints
and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the
heart.” - Hebrews 4:12.
Scattered all over the
world is a nation, a nation of people who love the Lord Jesus Christ
and are not ashamed to say it. This nation is not perfect, in fact,
it is full of people who were murderers, cheats, adulterers, and
liars, but they are now new creatures. Does that mean they never sin?
No. Does that mean they never get in trouble for sin? No. Does that
mean God wants the world to mock, condemn, and disgrace them? No. God
is our judge, not man, and yes He uses the judicial system to convict
and chasten His children when needed, but make fun of them and see
what happens. Through Ezekiel, God points to out all the nations who
were gloating over Israel being judge that their time was coming. The
nation of Tyrus was very powerful and
prosperous, God warns
them of the
judgment they faced for mocking Jerusalem.
“Son
of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is
broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I
shall be replenished, now she is laid waste: For thus saith the Lord
GOD; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are
not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great
waters shall cover thee; When I shall bring thee down with them that
descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee
in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them
that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set
glory in the land of the living; I will make thee a terror, and thou
shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be
found again, saith the Lord GOD.” - Ezekiel 26:2,19-21.
God
loves His people too much not to use just judgment on them, and yes,
if He has to He will expose their sins to the world, but they are
His, He will defend us if the world makes a mockery out of us. No one
is without sin, sooner or later we all pay the price for it, at least
with Christ that price is not being cast into the pit of hell, never
to be found again. “As it is written, There
is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth,
there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the
way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth
good, no, not one. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory
of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation
through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the
remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;”
- Romans 3:10-12,23-25.
Good, complete or sufficiently
perfect in its kind. No one, except the Lord Jesus Christ is perfect,
no matter how much we try, we all fall short of being perfect, and
that is why we need Jesus. God is not just the God of the Jews, He is
the God of all, and if there are any other gods before Him in any
nation, judgment will come one day, including man made gods created
in the image of God through false religion. God continues upbraiding
Tyrus for their gods, wealth and power, they thought they were
invincible, especially since they were still around while Jerusalem
fell. God tells Ezekiel to take up a lamentation for them, not for
any sorrow they felt, but for their pride.
“Now,
thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus; And say unto Tyrus,
O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant
of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou
hast said, I am of perfect beauty. Thy borders are in the midst of
the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty. In the time when
thou shalt be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters thy
merchandise and all thy company in the midst of thee shall fall.”
- Ezekiel 27:2-4,34.
Sometimes it's not
by death that people are destroyed, but by taking their possessions
or wealth away from them. The biggest reason so many people are quick
to persecute Christians is because they do not want to lose their
fame or fortune by supporting them. How many celebrities are mocked
who stand up and say they are a Christian? Oh, but tell the world
that you are gay or transgender and you get praised. God will allow
them their time, but one day they are the ones who will be persecuted
to the fullest extend of His law. “To
execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among
them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed,
and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken
against him. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their
own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having
men's persons in admiration because of advantage.”
- Jude 1:15,16.
This
time, God singles out the prince of Tyrus. Why? Because he thought
himself to be a god. “Son of man, say
unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine
heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat
of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God,
though thou set thine heart as the heart of God: Therefore thus saith
the Lord GOD; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God;
Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of
the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of
thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. They shall bring
thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are
slain in the midst of the seas.” - Ezekiel 28:2,6-8.
Of
all the sins one can commit, the one that gets God's blood boiling is
a person making themselves a god. The devil, Lucifer, himself, once
one of God's archangels, he thought himself to be god, he exalted
himself above God, and because of that he was cast out of heaven.
Just like the prince of Tyrus was killed, so will the devil, he will
be cast into the lake of fire, along with anyone else who was too
proud to admit their sin and receive Christ. “But
these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak
evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish
in their own corruption; And shall receive the reward of
unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day
time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their
own deceivings while they feast with you; Having eyes full of
adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls:
an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed
children:” - 2 Peter 2:12-14.
Today's
Prayer: God, You love us so much, You want to see us
prosper and give us everything we want and need, all You ask in
return is that we worship only You. Lord, with the world constantly
trying to scare us into going against Your Word it can be difficult
to live by faith and walk by sight, but we can do all things by Your
power. Lead us and guide us, give us Your power to stand up to the
world when You tell us it's time to fight, give us the strength to
endure the persecution we face, and put Your hedge of protection
around us to keep us from getting caught up in the middle of this
battle. In Jesus' name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying
for you,
Christina
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Saturday, September 5, 2015
Friday, September 4, 2015
Stop The Needless Suffering
King James Bible Daily Devotion –
Learning Scripture One
Day At A Time
Date: Saturday, September 04, 2015
Chapters: Ezekiel 23-25 http://imfollowingjesus.com/Bible-Reading-247.html
Message Title: Stop The Needless Suffering
Hello My Friend,
Suffer, to feel or bear what is painful, either to the body or mind. Let me tell you, as much as we would like to live the rest of our lives without pain, it's not going to happen. Life happens and as long as it does we are going to face some suffering. Do you know how many people, suffer needlessly? Do you think God wants to see His people suffer? God loves us, He created us in His image, and what thanks does He get for giving His life to give us life? He gets a bunch of self centered, arrogant, lustful people, who disregard life, even their own, just to satisfy their flesh. Yes, we are all sinners saved by the grace of God, and we all have things we need to work on, but the only way we are going to get rid of the needless suffering is to stop walking in our flesh and start walking in His Spirit. “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” - Galatians 5:16,17,25.
Walk in the Spirit, we can live a very happy life, much happier than walking in the flesh. The key to avoiding any kind of temptation of the flesh is to keep ourselves away from those who do nothing, but walk in the flesh. If we are hanging around those who are not saved, sooner or later we are going to become them, and maybe worse. Ezekiel continues God's message about Israel's unfaithfulness, illustrated by a parable of two whorish sisters, Aholah, which means, her tabernacle, representing Samaria (Israel). And Aholibah, which means, my tabernacle, representing Jerusalem (Judah). God himself had chosen Jerusalem to put His name there, and she turned out to be more wicked than her sister. God tells them of the humiliation they face as their lovers turned on them.
“Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother: And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity. The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations; For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled. And the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire. Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness. And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.” - Ezekiel 23:2,3,36,46-49.
Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness. God allows His unfaithful nations to be exposed to the world and judged for their sin so that other nations would repent and turn to Him. God always judges His people first, after all, they are His. Now, this is not just the cause of one person living immorally, this is a nation. Before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham begged Him to save the land if there were ten saved left, and promised He would not have. Of course, none were found, except Lot, and the entire town was destroyed. God does not want to destroy anyone, He wants His people to stop whoring around and be faithful to Him. Oh, the judgments that are coming to our once God nations because we allow sin to remain. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” - James 4:7,8.
Purify your hearts. While God can and really does intervene in our lives, even if we were living in sin, He allows the suffering in order to purify our heart, to remove that desire to walk in the flesh. Did you ever boil a pot of chicken on the stove? If you have than you have seen the nasty scum of blood rising to the top of the pot as it cooks. In this rather odd illustration, God uses this to explain that He was purging them from the filthiness that defiled them. Once the scum is removed from the top it becomes a clear broth, and it's useful for many things.
“And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it: Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones. Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe the bones of it therein. Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it. Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed.” - Ezekiel 24:3-6,11.
The second we accept the Lord, Jesus Christ as our Saviour, He skims that scum off of us, but in order for us to be useful He must purge the filth, He must put us on the fire and burn us a bit, sometimes a lot. You know, gold is very valuable, but when it is found is dirty, and in order to get that shine we know so well, it must be burned. God does the same thing with us to remove the dirt from our lives, He loves us too much to let us remain filthy. Yes, we are saved from the fire of hell, but we must suffer in the fire of life for God to purge us and make us useful for Him. Walking in the Spirit may cause some suffering also, but nothing like what we deal with by walking in the flesh. “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” - 1 Peter 4:12,13.
When Judah was taken captive by Babylon it must have seemed like God was done with them, but He really wasn't, He was saving them from the destruction and preparing them for their return. Now, with all this being exposed to other nations you can imagine what they were doing when seeing this nation that knew the living God falling apart. The world loves to see a God nation fall, and they were having the time of their lives seeing this happen, in fact, they gloating and mocking them because of their fall. God will not be mocked, He had Ezekiel go to these nations to warn them of the coming judgment placed upon them.
“For thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel; Behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.” - Ezekiel 25:6,7,17.
It is evil to make fun of and rejoice over others who are suffering for their fall, especially when mocking is involved. There is a difference between using good judgment to correct a person and using harsh judgment to mock them. We are all sinners, if we mock others for the chastening they get, we can be sure that God will chasten us for mocking them. Walking in the Spirit may not give you the biggest and best things here on earth, but it will give you the things you need, especially the respect of God. God knows what we need, and He will never stop giving them to us, we just need to stop living in our flesh and start living for God.
“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” - Matthew 6:14,15,25,26.
Today's Prayer: God, We love You because You first loved us. You gave Your one and only Son to die for our sins so that we would not spend eternity in hell, but with You in Your Kingdom. As our relationship with You grows, give us Your love, mercy, grace, and strength to remain faithful to you no matter who or what tries to get in between us. Lord, give us Your power, wisdom, and guidance, help us to fear You and never let us forget just how much You love us and that fearing You will show You how much we love You. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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Date: Saturday, September 04, 2015
Chapters: Ezekiel 23-25 http://imfollowingjesus.com/Bible-Reading-247.html
Message Title: Stop The Needless Suffering
Hello My Friend,
Suffer, to feel or bear what is painful, either to the body or mind. Let me tell you, as much as we would like to live the rest of our lives without pain, it's not going to happen. Life happens and as long as it does we are going to face some suffering. Do you know how many people, suffer needlessly? Do you think God wants to see His people suffer? God loves us, He created us in His image, and what thanks does He get for giving His life to give us life? He gets a bunch of self centered, arrogant, lustful people, who disregard life, even their own, just to satisfy their flesh. Yes, we are all sinners saved by the grace of God, and we all have things we need to work on, but the only way we are going to get rid of the needless suffering is to stop walking in our flesh and start walking in His Spirit. “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” - Galatians 5:16,17,25.
Walk in the Spirit, we can live a very happy life, much happier than walking in the flesh. The key to avoiding any kind of temptation of the flesh is to keep ourselves away from those who do nothing, but walk in the flesh. If we are hanging around those who are not saved, sooner or later we are going to become them, and maybe worse. Ezekiel continues God's message about Israel's unfaithfulness, illustrated by a parable of two whorish sisters, Aholah, which means, her tabernacle, representing Samaria (Israel). And Aholibah, which means, my tabernacle, representing Jerusalem (Judah). God himself had chosen Jerusalem to put His name there, and she turned out to be more wicked than her sister. God tells them of the humiliation they face as their lovers turned on them.
“Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother: And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity. The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations; For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled. And the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire. Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness. And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.” - Ezekiel 23:2,3,36,46-49.
Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness. God allows His unfaithful nations to be exposed to the world and judged for their sin so that other nations would repent and turn to Him. God always judges His people first, after all, they are His. Now, this is not just the cause of one person living immorally, this is a nation. Before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham begged Him to save the land if there were ten saved left, and promised He would not have. Of course, none were found, except Lot, and the entire town was destroyed. God does not want to destroy anyone, He wants His people to stop whoring around and be faithful to Him. Oh, the judgments that are coming to our once God nations because we allow sin to remain. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” - James 4:7,8.
Purify your hearts. While God can and really does intervene in our lives, even if we were living in sin, He allows the suffering in order to purify our heart, to remove that desire to walk in the flesh. Did you ever boil a pot of chicken on the stove? If you have than you have seen the nasty scum of blood rising to the top of the pot as it cooks. In this rather odd illustration, God uses this to explain that He was purging them from the filthiness that defiled them. Once the scum is removed from the top it becomes a clear broth, and it's useful for many things.
“And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it: Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones. Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe the bones of it therein. Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it. Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed.” - Ezekiel 24:3-6,11.
The second we accept the Lord, Jesus Christ as our Saviour, He skims that scum off of us, but in order for us to be useful He must purge the filth, He must put us on the fire and burn us a bit, sometimes a lot. You know, gold is very valuable, but when it is found is dirty, and in order to get that shine we know so well, it must be burned. God does the same thing with us to remove the dirt from our lives, He loves us too much to let us remain filthy. Yes, we are saved from the fire of hell, but we must suffer in the fire of life for God to purge us and make us useful for Him. Walking in the Spirit may cause some suffering also, but nothing like what we deal with by walking in the flesh. “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” - 1 Peter 4:12,13.
When Judah was taken captive by Babylon it must have seemed like God was done with them, but He really wasn't, He was saving them from the destruction and preparing them for their return. Now, with all this being exposed to other nations you can imagine what they were doing when seeing this nation that knew the living God falling apart. The world loves to see a God nation fall, and they were having the time of their lives seeing this happen, in fact, they gloating and mocking them because of their fall. God will not be mocked, He had Ezekiel go to these nations to warn them of the coming judgment placed upon them.
“For thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel; Behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.” - Ezekiel 25:6,7,17.
It is evil to make fun of and rejoice over others who are suffering for their fall, especially when mocking is involved. There is a difference between using good judgment to correct a person and using harsh judgment to mock them. We are all sinners, if we mock others for the chastening they get, we can be sure that God will chasten us for mocking them. Walking in the Spirit may not give you the biggest and best things here on earth, but it will give you the things you need, especially the respect of God. God knows what we need, and He will never stop giving them to us, we just need to stop living in our flesh and start living for God.
“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” - Matthew 6:14,15,25,26.
Today's Prayer: God, We love You because You first loved us. You gave Your one and only Son to die for our sins so that we would not spend eternity in hell, but with You in Your Kingdom. As our relationship with You grows, give us Your love, mercy, grace, and strength to remain faithful to you no matter who or what tries to get in between us. Lord, give us Your power, wisdom, and guidance, help us to fear You and never let us forget just how much You love us and that fearing You will show You how much we love You. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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Thursday, September 3, 2015
Warnings And God's Mercy
King
James Bible Daily Devotion – Learning
Scripture One Day At A Time
Date: Thursday, September 03, 2015
Chapters: Ezekiel 21-22 http://imfollowingjesus.com/Bible-Reading-246.html
Message Title: Warnings And God's Mercy
Hello My Friend,
Mercy, to pardon or release a guilty person from severe punishment. We've all seen mercy before, I can recall a time when I was caught speeding on the highway and escaped a huge ticket, it was by the mercy of that police officer that he let me go with a warning. It is by the mercy of God that this world is still here, think about it, with all the wickedness and corruption going on in every nation, it truly is by the mercy of God that it is not consumed already. God's mercy endures, but there does come a time when the warnings are over and judgment comes. “For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.” - Romans 11:21,22.
The natural branches, these are the Jews who reject Christ. Many Jews believe that because they are Jewish and God calls them His people that they are exempt from judgment of their sins. This is false, Jew or Gentile, we must all face the severe punishment of death and hell for our sins. God's mercy releases us from the punishment when we believe in and receive Christ as our Savior. His mercy does not mean that we will not have to endure some suffering for continually living in sin. As the captives in Babylon still question God about His judgment upon them, God continues to address this, reminding them that it was their own sin that brought on the judgment. He also warns them of more judgment to come, and He wants all to know it was his decree against a wicked and rebellious nation.
“Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished: It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree. And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer. Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon thy thigh. Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD.” - Ezekiel 21:9-13.
God does not want to place harsh judgments upon anyone, yes, He is merciful, very merciful, and gives many warnings of judgment before it comes. Make mirth, to make merry. God does not nor wants anyone to be joyful about this, people are dying and going to hell, this is not something to rejoice over. Yes, we all know someone that quite frankly is so wicked that we can't imagine them being anywhere, but hell, but we are not the judge, God is. To contemn, to despise the rod or judgments of God. We can disagree with God all we want, but His judgments stand. He is a just and merciful God, we have all done things, even if we have gotten away with them, that we should have been punished for, but thanks to His mercy we are not. “For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.” - James 2:11-13.
Mercy rejoiceth against judgment, we need to rejoice over the mercy of God for the judgments we have escaped because we heeded the warnings before it was too late. Not a day goes by that I do not remember where I was before I lived my life with Christ in it and the well deserved punishment that I escaped by doing so. Through Ezekiel, God tells Israel and all flesh that the time will come when the wicked price will be destroyed making way for a the King. “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand. And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.” - Ezekiel 21:24-27.
Overturn, to ruin, to destroy. Right now, God allows the wicked prince Satan to rule the world, one day, when Jesus returns his time will come to an end, and Jesus will take His rightful place on the throne. God will destroy Satan and all that is evil, taking all evil into the lake of fire with him, and sadly, including those who are not saved. There will be many, many souls including unbelievers and those who did not heed the warning to receive Christ before they died among them. It is truly heartbreaking to think of the loved ones who do not know Christ that are burning in hell right now. That's why it is important that we tell everyone we know, and even strangers of the judgment that they face. God is merciful to give the warnings, but once die it's over, He can't save a soul that didn't receive His Son.
“For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:” - 2 Peter 2:4,5,9.
Reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punishment, the unjust are those who never heed the warning of the judgment coming and continue living a wicked lifestyle. The “City of bloods”, was the name given to Jerusalem for her sin, the crimes she committed were charged, and included murder, idolatry, dishonoring parents, oppression, extortion, profaning the sabbath and everything holy, covetousness, lewdness, and adultery. Through Ezekiel, God gives the sentence for their crimes.
“Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD, The city sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols against herself to defile herself. Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed; and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the heathen, and a mocking to all countries. In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD. Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee. Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the LORD have spoken it, and will do it.” - Ezekiel 22:3,4,12-14.
Reproach, to be charged with contempt. God has charged them with contempt and exposes them to the wicked. Sin in secret, no matter how much we think we can hide it, comes out, and everyone will know about it. Why do you think so many church leaders are exposed in the news of their sins? God is not doing it to shame Himself, He's exposing these hypocrites for who they really are. Reckless living in secret apart from God, while knowing God is the reason things get so far out of hand with God's people. Let me tell you, if you did not know by now, the flesh stinks, it always craves things that are sinful, and if we take our eyes off God even for a second, we will give in to our temptations. This is why God went to such great lengths to save our souls, He knows it's our only hope for salvation. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” - Romans 5:8-10.
Today's Prayer: God, Thank You for the great sacrifice that You made in sending Your Son to be the payment for us to be saved from judgment. You gave Your one and only begotten Son to die for our sins so that we would not spend eternity in hell. It is only by Your mercy that we are not consumed for our sins on the spot, it is only by Your grace that we are not given the punishment we deserve when we believe in and receive Your Son as our Savior. Lord, As our relationship with You grows, give us Your love, mercy, grace, and strength to remain faithful to You, no matter who or what tries to get between us. Help us to keep our eyes on You and Your Word so we walk in Your Spirit and not our flesh. Give us Your power, wisdom, and guidance, to fear You, and never let us forget just how much You love us and want only the best for us. In Jesus' name, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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Date: Thursday, September 03, 2015
Chapters: Ezekiel 21-22 http://imfollowingjesus.com/Bible-Reading-246.html
Message Title: Warnings And God's Mercy
Hello My Friend,
Mercy, to pardon or release a guilty person from severe punishment. We've all seen mercy before, I can recall a time when I was caught speeding on the highway and escaped a huge ticket, it was by the mercy of that police officer that he let me go with a warning. It is by the mercy of God that this world is still here, think about it, with all the wickedness and corruption going on in every nation, it truly is by the mercy of God that it is not consumed already. God's mercy endures, but there does come a time when the warnings are over and judgment comes. “For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.” - Romans 11:21,22.
The natural branches, these are the Jews who reject Christ. Many Jews believe that because they are Jewish and God calls them His people that they are exempt from judgment of their sins. This is false, Jew or Gentile, we must all face the severe punishment of death and hell for our sins. God's mercy releases us from the punishment when we believe in and receive Christ as our Savior. His mercy does not mean that we will not have to endure some suffering for continually living in sin. As the captives in Babylon still question God about His judgment upon them, God continues to address this, reminding them that it was their own sin that brought on the judgment. He also warns them of more judgment to come, and He wants all to know it was his decree against a wicked and rebellious nation.
“Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished: It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree. And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer. Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon thy thigh. Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD.” - Ezekiel 21:9-13.
God does not want to place harsh judgments upon anyone, yes, He is merciful, very merciful, and gives many warnings of judgment before it comes. Make mirth, to make merry. God does not nor wants anyone to be joyful about this, people are dying and going to hell, this is not something to rejoice over. Yes, we all know someone that quite frankly is so wicked that we can't imagine them being anywhere, but hell, but we are not the judge, God is. To contemn, to despise the rod or judgments of God. We can disagree with God all we want, but His judgments stand. He is a just and merciful God, we have all done things, even if we have gotten away with them, that we should have been punished for, but thanks to His mercy we are not. “For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.” - James 2:11-13.
Mercy rejoiceth against judgment, we need to rejoice over the mercy of God for the judgments we have escaped because we heeded the warnings before it was too late. Not a day goes by that I do not remember where I was before I lived my life with Christ in it and the well deserved punishment that I escaped by doing so. Through Ezekiel, God tells Israel and all flesh that the time will come when the wicked price will be destroyed making way for a the King. “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand. And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.” - Ezekiel 21:24-27.
Overturn, to ruin, to destroy. Right now, God allows the wicked prince Satan to rule the world, one day, when Jesus returns his time will come to an end, and Jesus will take His rightful place on the throne. God will destroy Satan and all that is evil, taking all evil into the lake of fire with him, and sadly, including those who are not saved. There will be many, many souls including unbelievers and those who did not heed the warning to receive Christ before they died among them. It is truly heartbreaking to think of the loved ones who do not know Christ that are burning in hell right now. That's why it is important that we tell everyone we know, and even strangers of the judgment that they face. God is merciful to give the warnings, but once die it's over, He can't save a soul that didn't receive His Son.
“For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:” - 2 Peter 2:4,5,9.
Reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punishment, the unjust are those who never heed the warning of the judgment coming and continue living a wicked lifestyle. The “City of bloods”, was the name given to Jerusalem for her sin, the crimes she committed were charged, and included murder, idolatry, dishonoring parents, oppression, extortion, profaning the sabbath and everything holy, covetousness, lewdness, and adultery. Through Ezekiel, God gives the sentence for their crimes.
“Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD, The city sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols against herself to defile herself. Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed; and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the heathen, and a mocking to all countries. In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD. Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee. Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the LORD have spoken it, and will do it.” - Ezekiel 22:3,4,12-14.
Reproach, to be charged with contempt. God has charged them with contempt and exposes them to the wicked. Sin in secret, no matter how much we think we can hide it, comes out, and everyone will know about it. Why do you think so many church leaders are exposed in the news of their sins? God is not doing it to shame Himself, He's exposing these hypocrites for who they really are. Reckless living in secret apart from God, while knowing God is the reason things get so far out of hand with God's people. Let me tell you, if you did not know by now, the flesh stinks, it always craves things that are sinful, and if we take our eyes off God even for a second, we will give in to our temptations. This is why God went to such great lengths to save our souls, He knows it's our only hope for salvation. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” - Romans 5:8-10.
Today's Prayer: God, Thank You for the great sacrifice that You made in sending Your Son to be the payment for us to be saved from judgment. You gave Your one and only begotten Son to die for our sins so that we would not spend eternity in hell. It is only by Your mercy that we are not consumed for our sins on the spot, it is only by Your grace that we are not given the punishment we deserve when we believe in and receive Your Son as our Savior. Lord, As our relationship with You grows, give us Your love, mercy, grace, and strength to remain faithful to You, no matter who or what tries to get between us. Help us to keep our eyes on You and Your Word so we walk in Your Spirit and not our flesh. Give us Your power, wisdom, and guidance, to fear You, and never let us forget just how much You love us and want only the best for us. In Jesus' name, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Lukewarm Christians
King James Bible Daily Devotion –
Learning Scripture One
Day At A Time
Date: Tuesday, September 02, 2015
Chapters: Ezekiel 19-20 http://imfollowingjesus.com/Bible-Reading-245.html
Message Title: Lukewarm Christians
Hello My Friend,
Lukewarm, moderately warm, as lukewarm water, lukewarm heat. Did you ever turn on the ac in your car and the temp is right in the middle? Hot and cold air at the same time, it feels awful. How about lukewarm water? A little chill to it, a little heat, it's awful, you can't drink it, and it's not hot enough to clean anything real good. Well, there is another kind of lukewarm, and this is type that God gets angry with, it's a lukewarm Christian. Those who are saved and hot for God when something goes wrong, but cold for Him once everything gets straightened out. “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” - Revelation 3:15,16.
Let me tell you, our faith in God goes up and down like a roller coaster, we can be strong and zealous for Him one second and weak the next, but as long as we have some faith God can keep working on us. There are many Christians living some pretty wicked lifestyles, they may even go to church every Sunday to say they need God, but out of church it's a different story. While we are certainly saved by grace and nothing we do can take away our salvation that does not mean that we are not going to be put in the fire for living a sinful life. God often refers to His people as grape vines, He uses a parable to explain how fruitful Jerusalem was when they abode in His vine. This vine is now destroyed although it is not plucked up by the roots. She has by wickedness made herself like kindle to the sparks of God's wrath, so that her own branches serve as fuel to burn her.
“Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters. And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches. But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them. And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground. And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.” - Ezekiel 19:10-14.
God encourages Ezekiel to feel deep sorrow for the state of His people. We as Christians should never gloat or make fun of the misfortunes that others receive by living in sin. We are all sinners saved by only by the grace of God, any of us can fall given the right circumstances and how strong our faith in God is. Praise God for the one and only Branch of the vine, Jesus Christ, who is not only a strong rod for the scepter of those who allow Him to rule, but is Himself the true Vine. All who come to the Vine, although through sin they can still be burned, will not be plucked up from the root. “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” - John 15:5-7.
Ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you, what an amazing concept, and truth. You know, we forfeit so many things from God because we can have lukewarm faithfulness. Think about this, how many times do we do something irrational because we what something done right now? It can be quite often if we truly think on this. We are a great work in progress, we're not always going to look to God for all the answers we need, and if we are not careful, we can stop depending on Him all together, and only come to Him when we get into some kind of trouble. Ezekiel gets a visit from some elders with questions for God, it was then that God refused to answer them, reminding them of how they have been lukewarm toward Him since He freed them out of Egypt.
“Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you. Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers: And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the LORD your God; In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands: But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.” - Ezekiel 20:3-6,13.
We can't live a sinful life and put God in the middle of it, we are going to get burned. Yes, we are free to live the way we want, but if we are going to choose God we need to do it His way. God gives us rules not to keep us from living a good life, but so we can live a great life without all the corruption of the world. Okay, we are going to face difficulties in life with or without God, at least with God we will not suffer more for any sin we get caught up in. “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.” - 1 Peter 4:15,16.
Glorify God on this behalf, you know, while God can intervene at any time, He often allows us to walk right into the sin we are tempted by for the sake of showing us our sin and that we need Him at all times. While not the idea way in which God wants to show Himself, if He has to let us dangle off the edge of sin He will, but it's up to us to come to Him wholeheartedly for help. God continues telling the elders why He is so angry, He also gives them some hope, only to give a response that made Ezekiel angry.
“As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you: And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face. Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD. And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?” - Ezekiel 20:33-38,49.
The elders didn't listen to a word God said to them directly, they wanted stories. Lukewarm Christians want the best of both worlds, they want to live in the world and want God too, they suffer greatly for this and yet wonder why God is causing the suffering. God is not causing the suffering, they are, yet one day, all the suffering will be over, Jesus will call His people and they will join Him in His Kingdom, even if we did live a rebellious life. Jesus often spoke in parables to show some form of truth through a story, this was to distinguish the faithful from the unfaithful. We all get discouraged sometimes and even ask questions to God about the circumstances we are facing, but if we are faithful to Him, He will be faithful to us,, and He will answer us. “For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.” - Matthew 13:12,13.
Today's Prayer: God, You have called all Your people to come out of the world and live apart from it. While we are here on earth we are a work in progress, and thanks to Your great mercy and unending grace, we always have those second chances when we come to You wholeheartedly. Lord, lead us and guide us, give us Your power to resist temptation, keep us looking to You so we do not fall, and give us the humbleness to come to You even it we mess up to make things right. Let Your Word be continual on our hearts that we might not sin against You, and let us not be lukewarm toward You. In Jesus' name, amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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Date: Tuesday, September 02, 2015
Chapters: Ezekiel 19-20 http://imfollowingjesus.com/Bible-Reading-245.html
Message Title: Lukewarm Christians
Hello My Friend,
Lukewarm, moderately warm, as lukewarm water, lukewarm heat. Did you ever turn on the ac in your car and the temp is right in the middle? Hot and cold air at the same time, it feels awful. How about lukewarm water? A little chill to it, a little heat, it's awful, you can't drink it, and it's not hot enough to clean anything real good. Well, there is another kind of lukewarm, and this is type that God gets angry with, it's a lukewarm Christian. Those who are saved and hot for God when something goes wrong, but cold for Him once everything gets straightened out. “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” - Revelation 3:15,16.
Let me tell you, our faith in God goes up and down like a roller coaster, we can be strong and zealous for Him one second and weak the next, but as long as we have some faith God can keep working on us. There are many Christians living some pretty wicked lifestyles, they may even go to church every Sunday to say they need God, but out of church it's a different story. While we are certainly saved by grace and nothing we do can take away our salvation that does not mean that we are not going to be put in the fire for living a sinful life. God often refers to His people as grape vines, He uses a parable to explain how fruitful Jerusalem was when they abode in His vine. This vine is now destroyed although it is not plucked up by the roots. She has by wickedness made herself like kindle to the sparks of God's wrath, so that her own branches serve as fuel to burn her.
“Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters. And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches. But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them. And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground. And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.” - Ezekiel 19:10-14.
God encourages Ezekiel to feel deep sorrow for the state of His people. We as Christians should never gloat or make fun of the misfortunes that others receive by living in sin. We are all sinners saved by only by the grace of God, any of us can fall given the right circumstances and how strong our faith in God is. Praise God for the one and only Branch of the vine, Jesus Christ, who is not only a strong rod for the scepter of those who allow Him to rule, but is Himself the true Vine. All who come to the Vine, although through sin they can still be burned, will not be plucked up from the root. “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” - John 15:5-7.
Ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you, what an amazing concept, and truth. You know, we forfeit so many things from God because we can have lukewarm faithfulness. Think about this, how many times do we do something irrational because we what something done right now? It can be quite often if we truly think on this. We are a great work in progress, we're not always going to look to God for all the answers we need, and if we are not careful, we can stop depending on Him all together, and only come to Him when we get into some kind of trouble. Ezekiel gets a visit from some elders with questions for God, it was then that God refused to answer them, reminding them of how they have been lukewarm toward Him since He freed them out of Egypt.
“Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you. Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers: And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the LORD your God; In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands: But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.” - Ezekiel 20:3-6,13.
We can't live a sinful life and put God in the middle of it, we are going to get burned. Yes, we are free to live the way we want, but if we are going to choose God we need to do it His way. God gives us rules not to keep us from living a good life, but so we can live a great life without all the corruption of the world. Okay, we are going to face difficulties in life with or without God, at least with God we will not suffer more for any sin we get caught up in. “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.” - 1 Peter 4:15,16.
Glorify God on this behalf, you know, while God can intervene at any time, He often allows us to walk right into the sin we are tempted by for the sake of showing us our sin and that we need Him at all times. While not the idea way in which God wants to show Himself, if He has to let us dangle off the edge of sin He will, but it's up to us to come to Him wholeheartedly for help. God continues telling the elders why He is so angry, He also gives them some hope, only to give a response that made Ezekiel angry.
“As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you: And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face. Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD. And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?” - Ezekiel 20:33-38,49.
The elders didn't listen to a word God said to them directly, they wanted stories. Lukewarm Christians want the best of both worlds, they want to live in the world and want God too, they suffer greatly for this and yet wonder why God is causing the suffering. God is not causing the suffering, they are, yet one day, all the suffering will be over, Jesus will call His people and they will join Him in His Kingdom, even if we did live a rebellious life. Jesus often spoke in parables to show some form of truth through a story, this was to distinguish the faithful from the unfaithful. We all get discouraged sometimes and even ask questions to God about the circumstances we are facing, but if we are faithful to Him, He will be faithful to us,, and He will answer us. “For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.” - Matthew 13:12,13.
Today's Prayer: God, You have called all Your people to come out of the world and live apart from it. While we are here on earth we are a work in progress, and thanks to Your great mercy and unending grace, we always have those second chances when we come to You wholeheartedly. Lord, lead us and guide us, give us Your power to resist temptation, keep us looking to You so we do not fall, and give us the humbleness to come to You even it we mess up to make things right. Let Your Word be continual on our hearts that we might not sin against You, and let us not be lukewarm toward You. In Jesus' name, amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Honoring God's Covenant
King James Bible Daily Devotion –
Learning Scripture One
Day At A Time
Date: Tuesday, September 01, 2015
Chapters: Ezekiel 16-18 http://imfollowingjesus.com/Bible-Reading-244.html
Message Title: Honoring God's Covenant
Hello My Friend,
Covenant, a mutual consent or agreement of two or more persons bound by a contract either written or verbal. God takes covenants very seriously, the second a person believes in and receives His Son as their Savior He makes a covenant with that persons soul, a covenant that saves that soul from the punishment of death and hell due to sin. Our salvation is not a free pass to do as we please and not suffer for living in a way that is displeasing to God. We should all be living in a way that honors God and shows Him through our actions. “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” - Hebrews 13:20,21.
Again, God takes covenants very seriously, if we make an agreement with God of any kind we are bound by the contract to fulfill it, should we break it, just like any other contract that is broken a penalty is enforced. When God chose Jerusalem to be the godly example that would bring others to Him, He didn't do it because they were the most righteous group of people, He did it because He made a covenant with David. Now, they are in captivity in Babylon and complaining about the punishment they got. Through Ezekiel, God reminds Jerusalem of how He cleaned them up and blessed them, but they cheated on Him and He had not choice, but to judge them for it. He compares them to an adulteress woman, who was more corrupt than their heathen sisters, but He also reminds them that He did not forget the covenant He made.
“Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine. How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord GOD, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman; Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the LORD. For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant. Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.” - Ezekiel 16:8,30,58-60.
The everlasting covenant, eternal life through Jesus Christ. God's promise to all who believe in and accept Christ means that no matter what we do we are still saved. Those of us who know Jesus Christ personally as their Savior ought to be living their lives in a way that the world can see Him through them. Sadly, that is a rarity these days as some are living more wickedly than those in the world. God is unchanging in His character and He will not bless those who assume He will overlook their sinful lives because they are saved. Only when we turn to Him and repent of our sins can we see truly honor Him as we should be and see His blessings. “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” - James 1:25.
When God sent Babylon to Jerusalem to capture the Jews and bring them to Babylon He did so in order to get the Jews out of the corruption and wickedness invading His city. Some people escaped the capture and were intent on doing what they wanted. God on the other hand was not please and used Ezekiel to tell the people what was about to happen as the result of their breaking their covenant with God.
“But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons: Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head.” - Ezekiel 17:15-19.
There are people who live in the world who are honestly good people, they are quick to help those in need, try to do the right things, and even believe in God. The truth is, we have all done something wrong at one point in our lives, it is pride that keeps us from admitting that. Whether we feel we deserve it or not, God says the punishment for sin is hell. Through Ezekiel, God explains why the wicked can be saved, the good can end up in hell, and why none of our own righteousness can save us. “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.” - Ezekiel 18:4,20-22.
We are children of God, He lives inside of every believer, yet, day after day many chose to defile the very soul that was given eternal life. God does not want to see anyone one of His souls living immoral and corrupt lives, He most certainly does not want to see any soul end up in hell. Through Ezekiel, God explains this further. “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal? Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.” - Ezekiel 18:23,24,29,30.
Since God is our Creator, He has control over our souls, we can do whatever we want with our body but in the end, the soul is God's, and He decides where it will end up when our flesh dies. Sin is any wrongdoing that we have ever done from the time we knew we can get away with something, sin is sin in God's eyes, whether a person has killed someone or lied, it is still sin, and the punishment is hell. That is why righteousness cannot save us, the second we sin again, all of the good gets cast out. It's like when you make one mistake and it's only the mistake people remember for years to come. There is only one way to be redeemed and saved from hell, and that is making Jesus Christ your Saviour. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” - Titus 3:5-7.
Today's Prayer: God, I know that I have done wrong in my life, but thanks to Your mercy, grace, and sending Your Son to die for me all the wrong is now erased, never to be remembered by You. God, forgive me for subjecting my mind, body, and living soul to things that are shameful to You. Lead me and guide me, show me the path to take that leads me to the godly, Christ filled, joyful life that brings life not only to my soul, but mind, spirit, and body too. I love You, Lord and ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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Date: Tuesday, September 01, 2015
Chapters: Ezekiel 16-18 http://imfollowingjesus.com/Bible-Reading-244.html
Message Title: Honoring God's Covenant
Hello My Friend,
Covenant, a mutual consent or agreement of two or more persons bound by a contract either written or verbal. God takes covenants very seriously, the second a person believes in and receives His Son as their Savior He makes a covenant with that persons soul, a covenant that saves that soul from the punishment of death and hell due to sin. Our salvation is not a free pass to do as we please and not suffer for living in a way that is displeasing to God. We should all be living in a way that honors God and shows Him through our actions. “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” - Hebrews 13:20,21.
Again, God takes covenants very seriously, if we make an agreement with God of any kind we are bound by the contract to fulfill it, should we break it, just like any other contract that is broken a penalty is enforced. When God chose Jerusalem to be the godly example that would bring others to Him, He didn't do it because they were the most righteous group of people, He did it because He made a covenant with David. Now, they are in captivity in Babylon and complaining about the punishment they got. Through Ezekiel, God reminds Jerusalem of how He cleaned them up and blessed them, but they cheated on Him and He had not choice, but to judge them for it. He compares them to an adulteress woman, who was more corrupt than their heathen sisters, but He also reminds them that He did not forget the covenant He made.
“Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine. How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord GOD, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman; Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the LORD. For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant. Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.” - Ezekiel 16:8,30,58-60.
The everlasting covenant, eternal life through Jesus Christ. God's promise to all who believe in and accept Christ means that no matter what we do we are still saved. Those of us who know Jesus Christ personally as their Savior ought to be living their lives in a way that the world can see Him through them. Sadly, that is a rarity these days as some are living more wickedly than those in the world. God is unchanging in His character and He will not bless those who assume He will overlook their sinful lives because they are saved. Only when we turn to Him and repent of our sins can we see truly honor Him as we should be and see His blessings. “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” - James 1:25.
When God sent Babylon to Jerusalem to capture the Jews and bring them to Babylon He did so in order to get the Jews out of the corruption and wickedness invading His city. Some people escaped the capture and were intent on doing what they wanted. God on the other hand was not please and used Ezekiel to tell the people what was about to happen as the result of their breaking their covenant with God.
“But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons: Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head.” - Ezekiel 17:15-19.
There are people who live in the world who are honestly good people, they are quick to help those in need, try to do the right things, and even believe in God. The truth is, we have all done something wrong at one point in our lives, it is pride that keeps us from admitting that. Whether we feel we deserve it or not, God says the punishment for sin is hell. Through Ezekiel, God explains why the wicked can be saved, the good can end up in hell, and why none of our own righteousness can save us. “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.” - Ezekiel 18:4,20-22.
We are children of God, He lives inside of every believer, yet, day after day many chose to defile the very soul that was given eternal life. God does not want to see anyone one of His souls living immoral and corrupt lives, He most certainly does not want to see any soul end up in hell. Through Ezekiel, God explains this further. “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal? Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.” - Ezekiel 18:23,24,29,30.
Since God is our Creator, He has control over our souls, we can do whatever we want with our body but in the end, the soul is God's, and He decides where it will end up when our flesh dies. Sin is any wrongdoing that we have ever done from the time we knew we can get away with something, sin is sin in God's eyes, whether a person has killed someone or lied, it is still sin, and the punishment is hell. That is why righteousness cannot save us, the second we sin again, all of the good gets cast out. It's like when you make one mistake and it's only the mistake people remember for years to come. There is only one way to be redeemed and saved from hell, and that is making Jesus Christ your Saviour. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” - Titus 3:5-7.
Today's Prayer: God, I know that I have done wrong in my life, but thanks to Your mercy, grace, and sending Your Son to die for me all the wrong is now erased, never to be remembered by You. God, forgive me for subjecting my mind, body, and living soul to things that are shameful to You. Lead me and guide me, show me the path to take that leads me to the godly, Christ filled, joyful life that brings life not only to my soul, but mind, spirit, and body too. I love You, Lord and ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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Monday, August 31, 2015
Words To No Profit
King James Bible Daily Devotion –
Learning Scripture One
Day At A Time
Date: Monday, August 31, 2015
Chapters: Ezekiel 13-15 http://imfollowingjesus.com/Bible-Reading-243.html
Message Title: Words To No Profit
Hello My Friend,
Prophets, Holy Spirit filled men and women inspired and commanded by God to announce future events. Before Jesus came, God used prophets to speak to His people and the world about His blessings and judgments based on their faithfulness or unfaithfulness to Him. Now that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer and receiver of Jesus Christ, He appoints men and women to teach His Word. He does not appoint them to predict future events as some still believe this. Not every person that teaches His Word is true, in fact, there are thousands of men and women all over the world teaching about God and Jesus yet few are Holy Spirit filled and appointed by God to do so. So, how do we tell the real prophet from the impostor? Vain babbling. “Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.” - 2 Timothy 2:14-16.
Vain babbling, worthless talk, it's speaking idly, irrationally, or senseless. If you ever wondered why Christianity in itself is getting a bad reputation it's because of feel good preachers teaching that it is okay to go against God's Word because He loves you. Of course, God loves us, but He hates sin, and He hates when people use His name to promote and condone sin. Through Ezekiel, God confronts the feel good prophets deceiving people with their false doctrines and claiming they came from Him.
“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken? Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD. Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you? Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:” - Ezekiel 13:2,7,8,17,18,22.
Prophecy out of their own hearts, you ever see those television preachers, the ones who claim to be channeling straight from God? People fall down to the ground as if they the power of God came rushing through them and healed them instantly through the man or woman? Okay, I am not going to make light of those who are in desperate need, and are at their worse are looking for any kind of hope and they will do anything. God is an amazing and mighty God, He can and does perform miracles every day, when you truly feel the hand of God on you you tremble. Shame on those taking advantage of those who are truly looking for God, who by the way are working for the devil and not God. We must make sure that whatever church we belong to or man or woman of God that we listen to are teaching the truth about Jesus, sin, heaven, and hell, the punishment for sin, and only He can save their soul from it. “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:” - 1 John 4:1,2.
By the way, if you think that the ones being deceived by the false prophets are off the hook, think again. Those who believe in and follow them face the same judgment as everyone else. Why? They did exactly what the prophets told them to do. Through Ezekiel, God confronts those who do follow the instructions of these false prophets and made false gods of their own. “Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself. And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.” - Ezekiel 14:6-8.
Okay, in case you wondered, knowing God's Word and living by it does not happen over night, it takes a lifetime to conform to Christ, in fact, we will not conform to Him until we see Him. That does not meant that we do not make an effort until that day comes. We who are saved are God's people, our actions reflect Him, no, He doesn't need us to prove to the world who He is, but He does want us to show them how He takes care of us. People are going to learn one way or another that God is real, that He is serious about getting vengeance on those making a mockery out of Him, and that ignorance does not save anyone from the punishment of sin. “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” - Revelation 21:7,8.
As much as God would love for every soul to be saved, it just does not happen, once we die, there is no turning back. If you need more proof that we are accountable for our own actions, even though we may been deceived by a false prophet, there is plenty in God's Word, including Ezekiel. Through Him, God shows us that no righteousness can save us. “Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD. If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts: Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate.” - Ezekiel 14:13-16.
We are all accountable for ourselves, we must face the judgment for our sins, including ignorance and disbelief, and we must pay that debt ourselves. But wait, there is someone who paid that debt for us and that is Jesus Christ, He gave His life, His sinless, perfect life to save those who believe in Him. There are some religions that teach people that once they die they still have a chance to get to heaven if enough people send in money to pay their debts. Does that sound absurd or what? I know what it feels like to be brought up in false religion, it angers you to no end, and that is why God needs willing vessels to go out there and teach the truth. You don't need to be a preacher or get ordained to tell someone about Jesus, you are the testimony, you can tell them what you know. Things are only going to get worse, many people are going to be deceived, we must not be one of them. Get in God's Word, study it, and be the truth that someone desperately needs. “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.” - James 5:19,20.
Today's Prayer: Jesus, There is no doubt that there are many false prophets out there, and You warned us that even we can be deceived by them. Lord, let us not get caught up with anyone who teaches a doctrine other than Yours. Lead us and guide us, give us the wisdom we need to know Your truths and how to handle those that try to deceive us. Give us Your power to be a witness, give us Your strength to stand up to the truth, and let us be bold and willing vessels to teach it to those who so desperately need it. In Your name, Jesus, amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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Copyright © 2015 I'm Following Jesus, All rights reserved.
Date: Monday, August 31, 2015
Chapters: Ezekiel 13-15 http://imfollowingjesus.com/Bible-Reading-243.html
Message Title: Words To No Profit
Hello My Friend,
Prophets, Holy Spirit filled men and women inspired and commanded by God to announce future events. Before Jesus came, God used prophets to speak to His people and the world about His blessings and judgments based on their faithfulness or unfaithfulness to Him. Now that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer and receiver of Jesus Christ, He appoints men and women to teach His Word. He does not appoint them to predict future events as some still believe this. Not every person that teaches His Word is true, in fact, there are thousands of men and women all over the world teaching about God and Jesus yet few are Holy Spirit filled and appointed by God to do so. So, how do we tell the real prophet from the impostor? Vain babbling. “Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.” - 2 Timothy 2:14-16.
Vain babbling, worthless talk, it's speaking idly, irrationally, or senseless. If you ever wondered why Christianity in itself is getting a bad reputation it's because of feel good preachers teaching that it is okay to go against God's Word because He loves you. Of course, God loves us, but He hates sin, and He hates when people use His name to promote and condone sin. Through Ezekiel, God confronts the feel good prophets deceiving people with their false doctrines and claiming they came from Him.
“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken? Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD. Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you? Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:” - Ezekiel 13:2,7,8,17,18,22.
Prophecy out of their own hearts, you ever see those television preachers, the ones who claim to be channeling straight from God? People fall down to the ground as if they the power of God came rushing through them and healed them instantly through the man or woman? Okay, I am not going to make light of those who are in desperate need, and are at their worse are looking for any kind of hope and they will do anything. God is an amazing and mighty God, He can and does perform miracles every day, when you truly feel the hand of God on you you tremble. Shame on those taking advantage of those who are truly looking for God, who by the way are working for the devil and not God. We must make sure that whatever church we belong to or man or woman of God that we listen to are teaching the truth about Jesus, sin, heaven, and hell, the punishment for sin, and only He can save their soul from it. “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:” - 1 John 4:1,2.
By the way, if you think that the ones being deceived by the false prophets are off the hook, think again. Those who believe in and follow them face the same judgment as everyone else. Why? They did exactly what the prophets told them to do. Through Ezekiel, God confronts those who do follow the instructions of these false prophets and made false gods of their own. “Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself. And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.” - Ezekiel 14:6-8.
Okay, in case you wondered, knowing God's Word and living by it does not happen over night, it takes a lifetime to conform to Christ, in fact, we will not conform to Him until we see Him. That does not meant that we do not make an effort until that day comes. We who are saved are God's people, our actions reflect Him, no, He doesn't need us to prove to the world who He is, but He does want us to show them how He takes care of us. People are going to learn one way or another that God is real, that He is serious about getting vengeance on those making a mockery out of Him, and that ignorance does not save anyone from the punishment of sin. “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” - Revelation 21:7,8.
As much as God would love for every soul to be saved, it just does not happen, once we die, there is no turning back. If you need more proof that we are accountable for our own actions, even though we may been deceived by a false prophet, there is plenty in God's Word, including Ezekiel. Through Him, God shows us that no righteousness can save us. “Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD. If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts: Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate.” - Ezekiel 14:13-16.
We are all accountable for ourselves, we must face the judgment for our sins, including ignorance and disbelief, and we must pay that debt ourselves. But wait, there is someone who paid that debt for us and that is Jesus Christ, He gave His life, His sinless, perfect life to save those who believe in Him. There are some religions that teach people that once they die they still have a chance to get to heaven if enough people send in money to pay their debts. Does that sound absurd or what? I know what it feels like to be brought up in false religion, it angers you to no end, and that is why God needs willing vessels to go out there and teach the truth. You don't need to be a preacher or get ordained to tell someone about Jesus, you are the testimony, you can tell them what you know. Things are only going to get worse, many people are going to be deceived, we must not be one of them. Get in God's Word, study it, and be the truth that someone desperately needs. “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.” - James 5:19,20.
Today's Prayer: Jesus, There is no doubt that there are many false prophets out there, and You warned us that even we can be deceived by them. Lord, let us not get caught up with anyone who teaches a doctrine other than Yours. Lead us and guide us, give us the wisdom we need to know Your truths and how to handle those that try to deceive us. Give us Your power to be a witness, give us Your strength to stand up to the truth, and let us be bold and willing vessels to teach it to those who so desperately need it. In Your name, Jesus, amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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Sunday, August 30, 2015
Be Ready For The Rapture
King James Bible Daily Devotion –
Learning Scripture One
Day At A Time
Date: Sunday, August 30, 2015
Chapters: Ezekiel 10-12 http://imfollowingjesus.com/Bible-Reading-242.html
Message Title: Be Ready For The Rapture
Hello My Friend,
Rapture, a seizing by violence, transported. Most people, including many Christians have no idea what the rapture is, the rapture is the day in which Jesus Christ returns and seizes the earth with great violence while His people are transported to safety. He will return with His angels and the entire earth will be destroyed along with Satan. There will be no escape unless you are one of the blessed ones to be taken out of here. Oh, and if you think death is an escape, think again, even death cannot save you. Only those who know Jesus Christ as their Savior will be saved from all this. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” - John 5:24,28,29.
Many religions encourage Christians not to read the Old Testament as they claim it has nothing to do with us today. What these people fail to understand is that it has everything to do with us today. No, we are not bound by the laws of yesterday for we are saved by grace and not works, but we are bound by the same person, and that is Jesus Christ. Jesus may not have been here in the flesh since God created the world and man, but He has always been, in fact, He is seen throughout the Old Testament, and not just as their Messiah, whom by the way they still claim they are waiting for. God as amazing as He is with all His wonders speaks to Jesus from the House of God in Jerusalem as Ezekiel watches all this take place.
“Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne. And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight. Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court. Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD'S glory.” - Ezekiel 10:1-4.
The man clothed in linen is Jesus, when He returns He's not going to be the meek and mild person He was previously, He's returning with His wrath, and with fire. The earth will be completely destroyed, and the only ones escaping this are those who are raptured. “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” - 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17.
I use to watch two boys who attended a modern day Baptist church with their parents, those boys had no idea what sin was. Churches today are more corrupt than ever, condoning, and in fact, dismissing sin as if there is no such thing. They are not taught that it is the remission of sin of His shed blood that is needed to save them, and they wonder why God is angry. Now, God speaks to Ezekiel, He tells him to speak to the twenty five men who were the leaders of all the corruption in the church including Jaazaniah and Pelatiah, princes of the people about the judgment that was coming to them. As soon Ezekiel finished speaking Jaazaniah and Pelatiah died instantly.
“And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the LORD; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them. Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; but I will judge you in the border of Israel: And ye shall know that I am the LORD: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round about you. And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel? ” - Ezekiel 11:5,10-13.
As Ezekiel sees these men die he fears God and wonders if any of the Jews will be saved. God answers Ezekiel with some encouraging and eye opening news. “Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.” - Ezekiel 11:17-21.
God tells Ezekiel to be ready for the destruction, He sends a message to the people to assure them that all these predictions will be accomplished very shortly, and will not be prolonged, no matter how much they convinced themselves that it would be.“Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with carefulness; Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth? Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision. For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel. For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD.” - Ezekiel 12:18,22-25.
It is scary to see all the things taking place in the world today, people are being killed left and right by everything from storms to crazy people. As Christians all we can do is wonder if Jesus will be coming any day now, but He will not until the very last soul to receive Him is saved. All we can do is be ready ourselves, that includes being the example that Jesus needs us to be to show the world the need for Him, and to warn those being deceived of the coming judgment. We do not know when Jesus will return so it's best that we who are saved eat our bread with quaking and drink our water with trembling and carefulness also. “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.” - Revelation 3:2,3.
Today's Prayer: God, Any day, any hour even, You could decide that You have had enough, You have prolonged things enough, and You are done with the earth. Any second we could hear the trumpets sounding off that Jesus is returning, and all who are His will be raptured out of this place to safety while we await our new dwelling place in His Kingdom. Lord, lead us and guide us, prepare us and make us ready for that day, let us not get deceived by the world or be ashamed to tell the truth to them. Put Your hedge of protection around us as things get worse, and let us be the examples that You need us to be to bring others to Your Son before He returns. In Jesus' name, amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Subscribe To Our Devotions: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
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Copyright © 2015 I'm Following Jesus, All rights reserved.
Date: Sunday, August 30, 2015
Chapters: Ezekiel 10-12 http://imfollowingjesus.com/Bible-Reading-242.html
Message Title: Be Ready For The Rapture
Hello My Friend,
Rapture, a seizing by violence, transported. Most people, including many Christians have no idea what the rapture is, the rapture is the day in which Jesus Christ returns and seizes the earth with great violence while His people are transported to safety. He will return with His angels and the entire earth will be destroyed along with Satan. There will be no escape unless you are one of the blessed ones to be taken out of here. Oh, and if you think death is an escape, think again, even death cannot save you. Only those who know Jesus Christ as their Savior will be saved from all this. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” - John 5:24,28,29.
Many religions encourage Christians not to read the Old Testament as they claim it has nothing to do with us today. What these people fail to understand is that it has everything to do with us today. No, we are not bound by the laws of yesterday for we are saved by grace and not works, but we are bound by the same person, and that is Jesus Christ. Jesus may not have been here in the flesh since God created the world and man, but He has always been, in fact, He is seen throughout the Old Testament, and not just as their Messiah, whom by the way they still claim they are waiting for. God as amazing as He is with all His wonders speaks to Jesus from the House of God in Jerusalem as Ezekiel watches all this take place.
“Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne. And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight. Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court. Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD'S glory.” - Ezekiel 10:1-4.
The man clothed in linen is Jesus, when He returns He's not going to be the meek and mild person He was previously, He's returning with His wrath, and with fire. The earth will be completely destroyed, and the only ones escaping this are those who are raptured. “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” - 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17.
I use to watch two boys who attended a modern day Baptist church with their parents, those boys had no idea what sin was. Churches today are more corrupt than ever, condoning, and in fact, dismissing sin as if there is no such thing. They are not taught that it is the remission of sin of His shed blood that is needed to save them, and they wonder why God is angry. Now, God speaks to Ezekiel, He tells him to speak to the twenty five men who were the leaders of all the corruption in the church including Jaazaniah and Pelatiah, princes of the people about the judgment that was coming to them. As soon Ezekiel finished speaking Jaazaniah and Pelatiah died instantly.
“And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the LORD; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them. Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; but I will judge you in the border of Israel: And ye shall know that I am the LORD: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round about you. And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel? ” - Ezekiel 11:5,10-13.
As Ezekiel sees these men die he fears God and wonders if any of the Jews will be saved. God answers Ezekiel with some encouraging and eye opening news. “Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.” - Ezekiel 11:17-21.
God tells Ezekiel to be ready for the destruction, He sends a message to the people to assure them that all these predictions will be accomplished very shortly, and will not be prolonged, no matter how much they convinced themselves that it would be.“Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with carefulness; Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth? Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision. For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel. For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD.” - Ezekiel 12:18,22-25.
It is scary to see all the things taking place in the world today, people are being killed left and right by everything from storms to crazy people. As Christians all we can do is wonder if Jesus will be coming any day now, but He will not until the very last soul to receive Him is saved. All we can do is be ready ourselves, that includes being the example that Jesus needs us to be to show the world the need for Him, and to warn those being deceived of the coming judgment. We do not know when Jesus will return so it's best that we who are saved eat our bread with quaking and drink our water with trembling and carefulness also. “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.” - Revelation 3:2,3.
Today's Prayer: God, Any day, any hour even, You could decide that You have had enough, You have prolonged things enough, and You are done with the earth. Any second we could hear the trumpets sounding off that Jesus is returning, and all who are His will be raptured out of this place to safety while we await our new dwelling place in His Kingdom. Lord, lead us and guide us, prepare us and make us ready for that day, let us not get deceived by the world or be ashamed to tell the truth to them. Put Your hedge of protection around us as things get worse, and let us be the examples that You need us to be to bring others to Your Son before He returns. In Jesus' name, amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Subscribe To Our Devotions: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
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Visit I'm Following Jesus: http://imfollowingjesus.com/index.html
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