Ezekiel 19, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Good-Bye

Good-bye. No one wants to say it. And death is the most difficult good-bye of all.

After our church had five funerals in seven days, the sorrow took its toll on me.  I chided myself, “Come on, Max, get over it.  Death is a natural part of living.” Then I self-corrected.  No it isn’t. Birth is. Breathing is. Belly laughs, big hugs and bedtime kisses are.  But death? We weren’t made to say good-bye. God’s original plan had no farewell, no final breath, day, or heartbeat. No matter how you frame it, good-bye doesn’t feel right.

God has served notice.  All farewells are on the clock. He has decreed a family reunion. What a reunion it will be. Revelation 21:4 says, on that day, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

This long journey will come to an end. You’ll see Him. And you’ll see them. Isn’t this our hope?

From You’ll Get Through This

Ezekiel 19

A Lament Over Israel’s Princes

“Take up a lament concerning the princes of Israel 2 and say:

“‘What a lioness was your mother
    among the lions!
She lay down among them
    and reared her cubs.
3 She brought up one of her cubs,
    and he became a strong lion.
He learned to tear the prey
    and he became a man-eater.
4 The nations heard about him,
    and he was trapped in their pit.
They led him with hooks
    to the land of Egypt.
5 “‘When she saw her hope unfulfilled,
    her expectation gone,
she took another of her cubs
    and made him a strong lion.
6 He prowled among the lions,
    for he was now a strong lion.
He learned to tear the prey
    and he became a man-eater.
7 He broke down[b] their strongholds
    and devastated their towns.
The land and all who were in it
    were terrified by his roaring.
8 Then the nations came against him,
    those from regions round about.
They spread their net for him,
    and he was trapped in their pit.
9 With hooks they pulled him into a cage
    and brought him to the king of Babylon.
They put him in prison,
    so his roar was heard no longer
    on the mountains of Israel.
10 “‘Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard[c]
    planted by the water;
it was fruitful and full of branches
    because of abundant water.
11 Its branches were strong,
    fit for a ruler’s scepter.
It towered high
    above the thick foliage,
conspicuous for its height
    and for its many branches.
12 But it was uprooted in fury
    and thrown to the ground.
The east wind made it shrivel,
    it was stripped of its fruit;
its strong branches withered
    and fire consumed them.
13 Now it is planted in the desert,
    in a dry and thirsty land.
14 Fire spread from one of its main[d] branches
    and consumed its fruit.
No strong branch is left on it
    fit for a ruler’s scepter.’
“This is a lament and is to be used as a lament.”

Footnotes:

Ezekiel 18:10 Or things to a brother
Ezekiel 19:7 Targum (see Septuagint); Hebrew He knew
Ezekiel 19:10 Two Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts your blood
Ezekiel 19:14 Or from under its


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Luke 9:18-27

New International Version (NIV)
Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah

18 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

19 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”

20 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”

Jesus Predicts His Death

21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. 22 And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? 26 Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

27 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

Losing And Finding Our Lives In Him

October 23, 2013 — by David C. McCasland

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. —Luke 9:24

When Mother Teresa died in 1997, people marveled again at her example of humble service to Christ and to people in great need. She had spent 50 years ministering to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying through the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India.

After extensive interviews with her, British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge wrote: “There is much talk today about discovering an identity, as though it were something to be looked for, like a winning number in a lottery; then, once found, to be hoarded and treasured. Actually, . . . the more it is spent the richer it becomes. So, with Mother Teresa, in effacing herself, she becomes herself. I never met anyone more memorable.”

I suspect that many of us may be afraid of what will happen if we obey Jesus’ words: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it” (Luke 9:23-24).

Our Savior reminded His followers that He came to give us life abundantly (John 10:10). We are called to lose our lives for Christ, and in so doing discover the fullness of life in Him.

“Take up thy cross and follow Me,”
I hear the blessed Savior call;
How can I make a lesser sacrifice
When Jesus gave His all? —Ackley
As we lose our lives for Christ, we find fullness of life in Him.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
October 23, 2013

Nothing of the Old Life!

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new —2 Corinthians 5:17

Our Lord never tolerates our prejudices— He is directly opposed to them and puts them to death. We tend to think that God has some special interest in our particular prejudices, and are very sure that He will never deal with us as He has to deal with others. We even say to ourselves, “God has to deal with other people in a very strict way, but of course He knows that my prejudices are all right.” But we must learn that God accepts nothing of the old life! Instead of being on the side of our prejudices, He is deliberately removing them from us. It is part of our moral education to see our prejudices put to death by His providence, and to watch how He does it. God pays no respect to anything we bring to Him. There is only one thing God wants of us, and that is our unconditional surrender.

When we are born again, the Holy Spirit begins to work His new creation in us, and there will come a time when there is nothing remaining of the old life. Our old gloomy outlook disappears, as does our old attitude toward things, and “all things are of God” (2 Corinthians 5:18). How are we going to get a life that has no lust, no self-interest, and is not sensitive to the ridicule of others? How will we have the type of love that “is kind . . . is not provoked, [and] thinks no evil”? (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). The only way is by allowing nothing of the old life to remain, and by having only simple, perfect trust in God— such a trust that we no longer want God’s blessings, but only want God Himself. Have we come to the point where God can withdraw His blessings from us without our trust in Him being affected? Once we truly see God at work, we will never be concerned again about the things that happen, because we are actually trusting in our Father in heaven, whom the world cannot see.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Writer's Cramp - #6988

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

It used to drive me crazy in a staff meeting. I'd be going over a dozen details, and deadlines, and assignments. Invariably, the world became divided into two distinct groups of people; those who write it down and those who don't. Now, if I'm giving you instructions I don't want to see your eyes. I want to see your head down, writing something. I mean, I have to write things down. I ask our team to keep phone logs so I can know what was discussed in important conversations. Someone told me one time, "The weakest ink is stronger than the strongest memory." Well, that's true. In those staff meetings I began to notice a very distinct trend. Those who wrote it down got things done. Those who didn't write it down didn't get it all done by any means. For me, for most people, if you don't write it - you lose it.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Writer's Cramp."

Our word for today from the Word of God is in James chapter 1 beginning at verse 22. God says, "Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, and after looking at himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom (that's the Bible) and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard but doing it, he will be blessed in what he does."

Now this book - this Bible - is not just stories and doctrines. It's living, it's powerful, and it's a life-changing tool in the hands of God. There are a lot of people who hear it, a lot of people read it, a lot of people who agree with it, and they think they're okay with God. But the Bible says if that's all you do you're deceiving yourself unless you're doing what you just read. And James identifies a major reason we miss what God wants to do in our lives through His Word. We forget what He said; we forget what we read.

This talks about not forgetting. How can you read God's Word, have it affect your life, and not forget? Listen to these three words: write it down. How often do you commit to writing something your Lord has said to you? If you don't write it, you lose it.

My life with Jesus took a quantum leap the day I bought a notebook to go with my Bible. Probably one of the most important decisions I have ever made. I have filled a lot of notebooks since then, but I cannot encourage you enough to keep a spiritual diary; a written record of God's working in your life. Let me describe the beginning of a God day for you. Two tools: the Bible and your Jesus Journal. On the front of it why don't you put these words: something like My Times With Jesus. You say, "What would I do with it?" Well, here: one, ask the Lord to guide you to some book of the Bible He wants you to be studying for the next few days or weeks, knowing what's going to be going on those next few days or weeks.

Secondly, ask the Author - God - to show you something that you can immediately put to work in your life that day. Then thirdly, read a few verses. Read them two or three times, then start writing. Start writing what God is saying in these verses, but in your own words; in fresh non-religious language. Restate it; write it to the Lord.

Then write to the Lord what you're going to do differently today because of what you read. Make sure that you've written the verses and the date down, and then pray through what you've just said and what He said to you. Then tomorrow repeat the process and the next day.

See, now you've looked into God's mirror and you've taken a strong step not to forget what you saw. Isn't it time you begin to keep a written record of God at work in your life? It's exciting! Especially when you're in a down time or a major decision time, you open your Jesus Journal and you see on those pages how God has been speaking to you over these months or even the years.

Don't let your life with Jesus shrivel because you had spiritual writer's cramp. Even if you hate to write, write what He says, because it's too important to forget. And those who don't write it lose it. God's words to you; you don't want to lose them.