Life Journal 09-14-2011

New Life in the Old Testament

(S) Scripture
Ezekiel 36:25-28 (NASB77)
²⁵ "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.
²⁶ "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
²⁷ "And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.
²⁸ "And you will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.

(O) Observation
A right relationship with God has always been a result of His work and not ours. Here God, through Ezekiel, says that He will cleanse and give us a new heart and put His Spirit in us. Again it is His work of grace that allows us to walk with Him.

(A) Application
I am again reminded that my best efforts cannot merit or gain God's favor. At my best I do not deserve cleansing or the forgiveness of sins. At my best I am still a dirty sinner in need of the work of God in my life. On this side of the life and death of His Son, Jesus, that work comes by faith in Jesus. I am so thankful that my relationship with God is not dependent on my ability to please God or earn His favor. I am saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. Praise God. It is God that redeemed me. I walk clean because of His work in me. I am forgiven because of His work in Christ. I thank God for this reminder today.

(P) Prayer
Father, I thank you for sending your Son to do for me what I could not do for myself. I thank you for His sacrifice for my sins. I thank you for saving me and allowing me to now live for you. Use me today to make a difference in someone's life for the sake of your kingdom. Amen

Life Journal 09-07-11

Being a Faithful Voice

(S) Scripture
2 Chronicles 36:15-17 (NIV)
¹⁵ The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place.
¹⁶ But they mocked God's messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.
¹⁷ He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and spared neither young man nor young woman, old man or aged. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar.

(O) Observation
Over and over God sent the prophets with a message for the people. Again and again he pleaded with them to be faithful to Him and warned them of the consequences. Regardless of the message the people and their kings did what was evil in the sight of God and judgment was coming. It is interesting that God worked and moved through an unrighteous king to accomplish his judgment. Sometimes God uses the ungodly to bring about his purposes.

(A) Application
I am struck by two things in this passage:
    1. That God would use the unrighteous to accomplish his purpose. So often I simply write off the actions of the unrighteous to evil and yet here God used these kinds of actions to bring about His purpose. I need to be more discerning in my judgments in the future to see if God is at work even if it is in bringing judgment to his people.
    2. That God continued to send messenger after messenger to the people even though they did not listen. The messengers continued as the faithful voice of God even when they were not listening.
As we are coming up on the 10^th anniversary of 9/11 I recall how millions of people flocked to churches in the aftermath of the attacks. Now it seems that we again moved away from that. As a pastor I am called to be that faithful voice regardless of the response of the people.

(P) Prayer
Lord, grant me the courage, strength, and resolve to faithfully declare your word. Help me to make my words reflect your words and my ways to reflect your ways. Help me to make a difference in the lives of those around me for you, Amen

Life Journal 09-06-2011

When God Speaks

(S) Scripture
Ezekiel 30:20 (NASB77)
And it came about in the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me saying,

(O) Observation
Over and over in the reading for today we find statements like the one I chose. Ezekiel marked the day and year when God spoke and gave him a message to deliver to the people. Sometimes Ezekiel just declares that "The word of the Lord came to me…" but here the prophet gives the year, month and day.

(A) Application
As I read the passage today I was struck with how many times Ezekiel marked the year, month, and day that God had spoken to him. Was it for Ezekiel or the people that the event was marked that way? I am always suspicious when people say, "God told me to…" I am even more suspicious when people say, "God told me to tell you to…" There have been times in my life though when it seemed that God had spoken out loud. Now I didn't hear any audible voices but God was clear in His message to me. It might be helpful in the future to mark those days. There is power that comes from looking back and with confidence knowing that God has worked in your life. When it is marked it simply makes it easier to reference. I want to mark those times in my life so that as I speak of God's work in our lives I can do so with confidence and power.

(P) Prayer
Father, I thank you for working in my life. I thank you for directing my life and allowing me to be called your child. Help me to mark with certainty your works in my life so that I might declare your word with confidence and power. Amen