King
James Bible Daily Devotion – Learning
Scripture One Day At A Time
Date: Friday, August 28, 2015
Chapters: Ezekiel 1-4
Message Title: Conforming To Christ
Hello My Friend,
The Book of Ezekiel is the twenty-sixth book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains forty-eight chapters. The author of the book is Ezekiel and it was written to the people of Judah. The timeline for these events took place approximately between 590BC to 570BC. The purpose of the book was to inform the Jews of the events that would take place during and after their captivity. The Book of Ezekiel is a complete covering of what will happen to the children of God, saved Jews and Gentiles, scattered around the world today. What we are to learn from the book is that God orders historical events so that all nations will know He is God. “Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.” - Ezekiel 38:23.
Ezekiel was one of the Jews held in captivity to Babylon, he was a godly priest, and those were very rare to find in those days. God came to Ezekiel with a very peculiar vision, in this vision he sees a mythical looking creature with four different heads, a face, lion, ox, and eagle, it had wings, hands, and even wheels in the center. Ezekiel comes to only one conclusion as to what it is.
“Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings. And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.” - Ezekiel 1:5,25-28.
The likeness of the glory of the LORD, this is none other than Jesus Christ Himself. The creature represents His likeness in which we are to conform to. The man's face represents man as we are created in the image of God, which means we have the ability to speak His language, to know right from wrong, and to make choices (free will). The lion, being the strongest and king of the beasts represents the strength of Christ, our King. The ox, the biggest and strongest of all cattle, yet very gentle, represents the meekness of Christ. And the eagle, who gets it's strength from it's eyes, can see sharply and clearly, able to look straight into the sun, represents the eyes of Christ that are on His people. Once we receive Christ, we are to conform to Him and not the world. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” - Romans 12:1,2.
We may not have all the answers or understand many of the things that are going on in the world today, but as Christian's we need not fear what is to come because God is in control. God loves His people and yes, with God's love comes trials, tribulations, and even famine. No matter what we are going through, no matter what we have done, no matter what we will do in the future, nothing will separate the believer of Christ from their God. As we conform to Christ there are some things that God will call us to do, but there is one thing that He will call all of us to do. “And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me. And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious. But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.” - Ezekiel 2:1-3,7,8.
Son of man, is none other than Jesus Christ Himself, God sent Jesus to preach the Gospel to Israel first, He knew some would listen, but the majority would not, but He was still called to warn them of the judgment they faced for their sin. Think about this, Ezekiel was among thousands of Jews living pretty comfortable in Babylon, the destruction was coming after their seventy years of captivity would be lifted. God was warning them to get out of there before the destruction would take place. Today, Babylon is a picture of the world, it will be destroyed when Jesus returns, if we do not know Him personally as our Saviour than we will be destroyed along with it. God calls all who are saved to preach the Gospel to the world, yes, most are rebellious, but we are still called to warn them of what is to come. We can do this because God fills every saved soul with His Spirit, He touches us and teaches us how to speak His words, just like Jesus. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” - Matthew 28:19,20.
God is always with us, and believe it or not, He will direct His people to the lost, and it is our duty to tell them of Jesus. God instructs Ezekiel on how to speak to Israel, still speaking to Jesus also, He reveals to him that he will be the watchman who will send the judgment warning message to all mankind.
“And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.” - Ezekiel 3:11,18-21.
It's not our works of righteousness that saves our soul from eternal death, it's believing in the sinless death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that saves us. Even back then, they had to believe that Jesus was coming to save them, they knew Him as the Messiah. We who are saved have the responsibility to tell those God lays upon our hearts about Jesus, and let me tell you, if we do not, their death will haunt us until the day we die. We are not responsible to make all we talk to believe, even God cannot make someone believe in His Son, but we are responsible to tell the lost about Him. “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.” - 1 John 5:10-12,16.
Today's Prayer: God, All the signs in the world today indicate that Jesus can come at any moment, and You have given us the knowledge to know the Gospel and be saved from judgment. Thank You for sending Jesus to save us. Lord, give us Your power, make us more like Christ, help us to be bold, yet gentle in reaching the lost, give us a passion to preach the Gospel to every person You lay on our heart, keep us safe and protected as we follow Your command to tell all the Good News. In Jesus' name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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Date: Friday, August 28, 2015
Chapters: Ezekiel 1-4
Message Title: Conforming To Christ
Hello My Friend,
The Book of Ezekiel is the twenty-sixth book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains forty-eight chapters. The author of the book is Ezekiel and it was written to the people of Judah. The timeline for these events took place approximately between 590BC to 570BC. The purpose of the book was to inform the Jews of the events that would take place during and after their captivity. The Book of Ezekiel is a complete covering of what will happen to the children of God, saved Jews and Gentiles, scattered around the world today. What we are to learn from the book is that God orders historical events so that all nations will know He is God. “Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.” - Ezekiel 38:23.
Ezekiel was one of the Jews held in captivity to Babylon, he was a godly priest, and those were very rare to find in those days. God came to Ezekiel with a very peculiar vision, in this vision he sees a mythical looking creature with four different heads, a face, lion, ox, and eagle, it had wings, hands, and even wheels in the center. Ezekiel comes to only one conclusion as to what it is.
“Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings. And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.” - Ezekiel 1:5,25-28.
The likeness of the glory of the LORD, this is none other than Jesus Christ Himself. The creature represents His likeness in which we are to conform to. The man's face represents man as we are created in the image of God, which means we have the ability to speak His language, to know right from wrong, and to make choices (free will). The lion, being the strongest and king of the beasts represents the strength of Christ, our King. The ox, the biggest and strongest of all cattle, yet very gentle, represents the meekness of Christ. And the eagle, who gets it's strength from it's eyes, can see sharply and clearly, able to look straight into the sun, represents the eyes of Christ that are on His people. Once we receive Christ, we are to conform to Him and not the world. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” - Romans 12:1,2.
We may not have all the answers or understand many of the things that are going on in the world today, but as Christian's we need not fear what is to come because God is in control. God loves His people and yes, with God's love comes trials, tribulations, and even famine. No matter what we are going through, no matter what we have done, no matter what we will do in the future, nothing will separate the believer of Christ from their God. As we conform to Christ there are some things that God will call us to do, but there is one thing that He will call all of us to do. “And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me. And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious. But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.” - Ezekiel 2:1-3,7,8.
Son of man, is none other than Jesus Christ Himself, God sent Jesus to preach the Gospel to Israel first, He knew some would listen, but the majority would not, but He was still called to warn them of the judgment they faced for their sin. Think about this, Ezekiel was among thousands of Jews living pretty comfortable in Babylon, the destruction was coming after their seventy years of captivity would be lifted. God was warning them to get out of there before the destruction would take place. Today, Babylon is a picture of the world, it will be destroyed when Jesus returns, if we do not know Him personally as our Saviour than we will be destroyed along with it. God calls all who are saved to preach the Gospel to the world, yes, most are rebellious, but we are still called to warn them of what is to come. We can do this because God fills every saved soul with His Spirit, He touches us and teaches us how to speak His words, just like Jesus. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” - Matthew 28:19,20.
God is always with us, and believe it or not, He will direct His people to the lost, and it is our duty to tell them of Jesus. God instructs Ezekiel on how to speak to Israel, still speaking to Jesus also, He reveals to him that he will be the watchman who will send the judgment warning message to all mankind.
“And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.” - Ezekiel 3:11,18-21.
It's not our works of righteousness that saves our soul from eternal death, it's believing in the sinless death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that saves us. Even back then, they had to believe that Jesus was coming to save them, they knew Him as the Messiah. We who are saved have the responsibility to tell those God lays upon our hearts about Jesus, and let me tell you, if we do not, their death will haunt us until the day we die. We are not responsible to make all we talk to believe, even God cannot make someone believe in His Son, but we are responsible to tell the lost about Him. “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.” - 1 John 5:10-12,16.
Today's Prayer: God, All the signs in the world today indicate that Jesus can come at any moment, and You have given us the knowledge to know the Gospel and be saved from judgment. Thank You for sending Jesus to save us. Lord, give us Your power, make us more like Christ, help us to be bold, yet gentle in reaching the lost, give us a passion to preach the Gospel to every person You lay on our heart, keep us safe and protected as we follow Your command to tell all the Good News. In Jesus' name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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