Ezekiel 48, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: True Courage

Are you timid?  Cautious?  Could you use some courage?  Scripture says, "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1).  "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3). If you're in Christ, these promises are not only a source of joy, they are the foundations of true courage!
When God looks at you, he doesn't see you; He sees the One who surrounds you. Failure's not a concern for you; your victory is secure. How could you not be courageous?  In Hebrews 10:22, the writer says, "Since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus-let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith."
The point is clear. The Father of Truth will win, and the followers of Truth will be saved. The prize is yours. Applaud the victory!

Ezekiel 48

The Sanctuary of God at the Center

“These are the tribes:

“Dan: one portion, along the northern boundary, following the Hethlon road that turns off to the entrance of Hamath as far as Hazor-enon so that the territory of Damascus lies to the north alongside Hamath, the northern border stretching from east to west.

2 “Asher: one portion, bordering Dan from east to west.

3 “Naphtali: one portion, bordering Asher from east to west.

4 “Manasseh: one portion, bordering Naphtali from east to west.

5 “Ephraim: one portion, bordering Manasseh from east to west.

6 “Reuben: one portion, bordering Ephraim from east to west.

7 “Judah: one portion, bordering Reuben from east to west.

8-9 “Bordering Judah from east to west is the consecrated area that you will set aside as holy: a square approximately seven by seven miles, with the Sanctuary set at the center. The consecrated area reserved for God is to be seven miles long and a little less than three miles wide.

10-12 “This is how it will be parceled out. The priest will get the area measuring seven miles on the north and south boundaries, with a width of a little more than three miles at the east and west boundaries. The Sanctuary of God will be at the center. This is for the consecrated priests, the Zadokites who stayed true in their service to me and didn’t get off track as the Levites did when Israel wandered off the main road. This is their special gift, a gift from the land itself, most holy ground, bordering the section of the Levites.

13-14 “The Levites get a section equal in size to that of the priests, roughly seven by three miles. They are not permitted to sell or trade any of it. It’s the choice part of the land, to say nothing of being holy to God.

15-19 “What’s left of the ‘sacred square’—each side measures out at seven miles by a mile and a half—is for ordinary use: the city and its buildings with open country around it, but the city at the center. The north, south, east, and west sides of the city are each about a mile and a half in length. A strip of pasture, one hundred twenty-five yards wide, will border the city on all sides. The remainder of this portion, three miles of countryside to the east and to the west of the sacred precinct, is for farming. It will supply food for the city. Workers from all the tribes of Israel will serve as field hands to farm the land.

20 “This dedicated area, set apart for holy purposes, will be a square, seven miles by seven miles, a ‘holy square,’ which includes the part set aside for the city.

21-22 “The rest of this land, the country stretching east to the Jordan and west to the Mediterranean from the seven-mile sides of the ‘holy square,’ belongs to the prince. His land is sandwiched between the tribal portions north and south, and goes out both east and west from the ‘sacred square’ with its Temple at the center. The land set aside for the Levites on one side and the city on the other is in the middle of the territory assigned to the prince. The ‘sacred square’ is flanked east and west by the prince’s land and bordered on the north and south by the territories of Judah and Benjamin, respectively.

23 “And then the rest of the tribes:

“Benjamin: one portion, stretching from the eastern to the western boundary.

24 “Simeon: one portion, bordering Benjamin from east to west.

25 “Issachar: one portion, bordering Simeon from east to west.

26 “Zebulun: one portion, bordering Issachar from east to west.

27 “Gad: one portion, bordering Zebulun from east to west.

28 “The southern boundary of Gad will run south from Tamar to the waters of Meribah-kadesh, along the Brook of Egypt and then out to the Great Mediterranean Sea.

29 “This is the land that you are to divide up among the tribes of Israel as their inheritance. These are their portions.” Decree of God, the Master.

* * *

30-31 “These are the gates of the city. On the north side, which is 2,250 yards long (the gates of the city are named after the tribes of Israel), three gates: the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, the gate of Levi.

32 “On the east side, measuring 2,250 yards, three gates: the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, the gate of Dan.

33 “On the south side, measuring 2,250 yards, three gates: the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, the gate of Zebulun.

34 “On the west side, measuring 2,250 yards, three gates: the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, the gate of Naphtali.

35 “The four sides of the city measure to a total of nearly six miles.

“From now on the name of the city will be Yahweh-Shammah:

        “God-Is-There.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Sunday, January 17, 2021
Today's Scripture & Insight:

Revelation 4:4–11

Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits[a] of God. 6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.

In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:

“‘Holy, holy, holy

is the Lord God Almighty,’[b]

who was, and is, and is to come.”

9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
    to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
    and by your will they were created
    and have their being.”

Insight
In Revelation 4:8–11, the elders, angels, and four living creatures remind us God is worthy of worship. “The Lord God Almighty” (v. 8) is a term that means “powerful and immovable.” Additionally, God’s eternality and authority are reflected in the reference to Him as the one “who was, and is, and is to come” (v. 8). This indicates that He’s sovereign over time—past, present, and future. The elders show their honor of God by laying down their crowns—their symbols of authority—before Him (v. 10). He’s worthy of the praise of His creation (v. 11).

The Wonderful One
There before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. Revelation 4:2

In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion return to Oz with the broomstick that empowered the Wicked Witch of the West. The Wizard had promised, in return for the broomstick, that he would give the four their deepest desires: a ride home for Dorothy, a brain for the Scarecrow, a heart for the Tin Man, and courage for the Cowardly Lion. But the Wizard stalls and tells them to come back the next day.

While they plead with the Wizard, Dorothy’s dog Toto pulls back the curtain, behind which the Wizard spoke, to reveal that the Wizard isn’t a wizard at all, he’s just a fearful, fidgety man from Nebraska.

It’s said that the author, L. Frank Baum, had a serious problem with God, so he wanted to send the message that only we have the power to solve our problems.

In contrast, the apostle John pulls back the veil to reveal the truly Wonderful One behind the “curtain.” Words fail John (note the repeated use of the preposition like in the passage), but the point is well made: God is seated on His throne, surrounded by a sea of glass (Revelation 4:2, 6). Despite the troubles that plague us here on earth (chs. 2–3), God isn’t pacing the floor and biting His nails. He’s actively at work for our good, so we can experience His peace. By:  David H. Roper

Reflect & Pray
What do you fear today? How does it help you to know that God controls the troubles that surround you? How can you better trust and surrender to Him?

I’m grateful, God, that I can count on You to walk with me through everything. Thank You for Your peace.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, January 17, 2021
The Call of the Natural Life

When it pleased God…to reveal His Son in me… —Galatians 1:15-16

The call of God is not a call to serve Him in any particular way. My contact with the nature of God will shape my understanding of His call and will help me realize what I truly desire to do for Him. The call of God is an expression of His nature; the service which results in my life is suited to me and is an expression of my nature. The call of the natural life was stated by the apostle Paul— “When it pleased God…to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him [that is, purely and solemnly express Him] among the Gentiles….”

Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion. But strictly speaking, there is no call to that. Service is what I bring to the relationship and is the reflection of my identification with the nature of God. Service becomes a natural part of my life. God brings me into the proper relationship with Himself so that I can understand His call, and then I serve Him on my own out of a motivation of absolute love. Service to God is the deliberate love-gift of a nature that has heard the call of God. Service is an expression of my nature, and God’s call is an expression of His nature. Therefore, when I receive His nature and hear His call, His divine voice resounds throughout His nature and mine and the two become one in service. The Son of God reveals Himself in me, and out of devotion to Him service becomes my everyday way of life.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

It is perilously possible to make our conceptions of God like molten lead poured into a specially designed mould, and when it is cold and hard we fling it at the heads of the religious people who don’t agree with us.
Disciples Indeed

Bible in a Year: Genesis 41-42; Matthew 12:1-23