by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Daniel 3-4
Our God is able!
If you ever are in a situation where those around you don’t believe in God and you feel your faith waning also, these chapters should help rev you up. Daniel and his buddies, in a foreign land, surrounded by unbelievers, are remarkable in their ability to continue to be faithful.
It would have been so easy for them to cave in to the influence of those around them. After all, they are there because most of their fellow countrymen had long ago stopped believing in their God. But not this crew. Nothing can stop their faith!
The jealousy aimed at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego by the Babylonians is obvious. Annoyed with the newly earned prestige of these foreigners, the locals quickly snap up the opportunity to point out their disobedience to the king. If the king had asked for most things, they would have complied. Yet there is no way these faithful ones are going to bow down to worship anyone but Jehovah God. So they get into trouble, but God turns the tide for them.
As they are obedient to Him, the fire in the furnace can’t even touch the young Jews. Even though the furnace is seven times as hot as usual and the men who throw them into the fire die instantly, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego come out without even the smell of smoke on them. Could it be because of the “fourth man” in the fire with them? I think so.
Hopefully you and I won’t be thrown into a furnace during our lifetimes. But every life has hardships, and every Christian suffers unfair treatment from those who don’t know the Lord. There are times when we feel like we are in a furnace. And it can be tough.
Yet our Father is there for us, just as He was in the early days of captivity. If we will believe in Him and stand tall, we will be amazed at the many ways our God can turn things around for us.
But we have to be faithful, and we have to believe.
If we do, we will see miracles – just like the Jews of old. And God will get the glory for His greatness.
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Ezekiel 33-36
“There will be showers of blessing…” Do you remember that song? The words were taken from Ezekiel 34:26. Ah, restoration, sweet restoration.
We’ve been plowing through some not-so-fun passages concerning the rebellion and evil in Israel and the surrounding nations. Now we are entering some of the good parts of the prophecy.
The day will come when our God will restore Israel. He will bring back the people to their land, and He will shower them with blessings … because the day will come when they will return to Him.
But it gets even better. The day will come when the shepherds will no longer be selfishly lording over their charges. The day will come when the Lord will raise up a Chief Shepherd over the house of Israel. He will sprinkle the people clean, and turn the desolate land into the “Garden of Eden.” (36:35) The “desolate and ruined cities will be inhabited.” And the nations round about will know that the Lord God has done this.
What a promise! Good days are ahead.
And there’s even more! He will give His people “a new heart and a new spirit within them; and He will remove the heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh. And He will put His Spirit within them.” (36:26-27)
So here we have a prophecy concerning the new birth and the Holy Spirit coming to live in the heart of man. At the time this was prophesied, there is no way that the people could understand it, but in retrospect, we can understand exactly what He was saying.
The Chief Shepherd is Jesus: God Himself coming to be our Shepherd. And after He pays the price, God’s people can have his Spirit living within them – guiding, leading, comforting them so that they can live their best life.
Fast forward to today, and we have all of these benefits – indeed, showers of blessing which Ezekiel prophesied.
How do we repay him for all of His benefits toward us? “I will lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord.” (Psalm 116:12-13).
That’s what I am going to do. Our Savior paid a huge price for what He did for us. Now I am going to partake of every bit of it.
What about you?
I Peter 5
How many times do we hear this reiterated? “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (V.5).
There are those who misunderstand this and think that it’s better to be down-trodden, poor, sick, and weak. Yet that is not what Peter is saying.
We can be healthy, rich, and strong – and still be humble. In fact, that is what is God’s plan for us.
So where is the mixup? Humility involves a heart which doesn’t take credit for all of the benefits, but knows that God is the source. When there is true humility, then we don’t see ourselves as higher than others, because we know that God loves them too. Maybe they are not in a position to receive all that He has, but all is available for them, as it is for us.
Now there are those who are suffering persecution because of their faithfulness to God, and Peter is addressing those also. Even those will be perfected, confirmed, strengthened, and established by God Himself. He gives them great honor now and in the life to come.
For all of us, the cares which come our way are to be “cast upon the Lord, knowing that He cares for us.” (V.7)
When we do things our Father’s way, He will lift us up at the proper time.
Such peace ensues when we are in this mode of thinking. His love is always with us.
Amazing, isn’t it?
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Ezekiel 1-3
You have to get your head in gear for Ezekiel. Some of the richest messages in the Bible – messages which are true for us today, just as they were when they were written – are found in this book. Ezekiel is a true prophet, and true prophets often “see” rather than “hear” things from God.
What do I mean? Well, Ezekiel sees visions which represent what the Lord is saying. You know the old Chinese proverb, “A picture is worth a thousand words?” Well, there is never a time when that can be demonstrated better than in the messages from Ezekiel.
So let’s go. To establish the background, Ezekiel is an exile prophet, meaning that he is writing from captivity in Babylon. The once mighty nation of Israel has been carried off to Babylon, but their God is still with them. He encourages the people with promises of an eventual return and rebuilding of Jerusalem. God is indeed faithful to His people.
Now for the visions. What do you see when you see the creatures with four faces which Ezekiel describes? I see the completeness of man, as God has designed him. The four faces represent differing aspects of God’s design. He is a man first and foremost, God’s man. When he walks in the fulness of God’s plan, this man will be as bold and full of authority as a lion, he will be willing to serve as the ox, and he will soar as an eagle above the rudimentary elements of the world. God’s man is a many-faceted man.
Then, as God’s man prophesying to God’s people, Ezekiel is required to eat the scroll first. This, too, is a principle which applies today. In today’s jargon, we would say, “Practice what you preach.”
If we are our Father’s representatives, we must do what we say, and we must do what we expect others to do. That’s integrity, and it’s what God requires.
Now Ezekiel is called to speak to the nation of Israel while they are in exile, so some of the messages will just seem for the moment. Yet if we look closely, we will have the opportunity to receive messages for us also.
Ezekiel can teach us a lot, if we will just listen
Hebrews 10
There is such a contrast between those who honor the Spirit of Grace and those who insult Him. Those who honor God’s precious Spirit have the privilege of entering boldly into the throne of grace to find help in time of need. That time of need could be a time when we have sinned, or it could be when we are in need of strength, wisdom, or provision.
The main thing here is that our Father is ever ready to help us, when our hearts are toward Him.
Yet there is another side of the coin; a side which isn’t as pretty.
Paul speaks of insulting the Spirit of Grace. That’s when we take Him lightly, and continue in a life of sin or apathy towards our God.
We all know people who have had God move mightily on their behalf, and who for a season have seemed to have changed lives, living for Him. Then when the shiny objects of the world have entered the picture, they have no time for their Savior. And some times, they have turned their backs on God completely.
Dangerous territory. I’m not saying that they have committed the unforgivable sin, but I am saying that they have insulted God. Repentance is there for them. But they do need to repent.
I am not talking about just making a mistake. i am talking about after knowing Him to choose a lifestyle which honors the devil rather than God. That’s the dangerous territory, and we want to avoid it at all costs.
Grace is such a terrific gift from our Father, and not one to be taken lightly. Our Father loves us, and wants us to live closely with Him. There is nothing that He won’t do for us when we walk closely with Him.
I pray that you and I will continue to walk with Him – closer and closer every day.
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Lamentations 1-2
Now if somewhere along the line you began to think of Jeremiah as hard and cruel, you will change your mind now. He is broken-hearted over his nation, Israel.
The city of Jerusalem had once been called the “perfection of beauty; the joy of the whole earth.” Now it is totally destroyed. The nations around about who have envied Israel’s splendor, now are rejoicing over her destruction. They are “hissing” at her as they go by.
Everyone is in shock. These people have been raised to know that they were God’s special people – called to bring the Messiah to the earth. Even when they were disobedient, they would get warnings but they were still protected.
Yet as the warnings became more persistent, these people refused to listen. When the prophets proclaimed that repentance should come, the majority of Israelites wanted to stone the prophets If they could just shut them up, everything would be ok. They wanted their ears tickled, not wanting to hear the truth.
Well, the prophets were from God, and their word did come to pass. Alas, if only the Jews had listened.
But, as we know, God is not through with His people. As we will see later, He is with them even as they are led off to Babylon.
Hebrews 8
Not only do we have a new High Priest, we have a New Covenant. (In fact the word “testament” is another word for “covenant”).
If the old covenant had been perfect, there would be no reason to replace it, but it wasn’t perfect. In fact, no one ever became righteous by the law. The law pointed out sin, not righteousness.
If only we can get this, our lives will be so different. In this day, “the law is written in our minds and put upon our hearts” (V.10).
Now things are different. Jesus has made us clean by His blood, and His Holy Spirit is living on the inside of us. We are now God’s holy temples, the many mansions of God. (John 14:2).
If we continue by meditating on His Word and spending time with Him, our lives will grow to be more and more pure all the time. His Word feeds our spirits and causes them to grow. As a result, we are not only purer, but also more powerful. We are God’s people.
Spend time with Him, worshipping Him, and there you will see your life changing. You will go from “glory to glory” as you do.
“This is the day which the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24) The dispensation of God’s grace upon His people. The dispensation of His Holy Spirit leading and guiding us into all the truth.
This is our day to rejoice!
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Jeremiah 30-33
Do you need encouragement today? Then these words will speak to you. On one level, the words are God’s words to the nation of Israel, but on another level they are for the church today. In fact, the Lord makes it clear that He is speaking about our dispensation.
We start off these chapters with Jeremiah imprisoned because the king doesn’t like what he is saying. Zedekiah wants to shut him up! The Babylonian army is surrounding Jerusalem, ready to wind up this long-awaited war, and the king and his cohorts are still in denial.
As for Jeremiah, he keeps on prophesying. God tells him to speak and he obeys.
The character of our God is so clear as we see what Jeremiah says. The prophecies concerning their transportation to Babylon are coming into fruition immediately, yet before they even leave, the Lord is bringing words of hope.
The Lord promises that He will eventually bring his people, the Jews, back to their own land and bless them once again. They must stay in Babylon for the seventy appointed years, but after that time, He will cause them to return.
But it’s even better than that, and here’s where we come in. Jeremiah begins to speak of a new day and a new covenant.
No longer will the law be a thing apart from the people, but it will be written on their hearts. “I will put My law within them, and on their hearts I will write it; and I will be their God and they will be My people.” (31:33) Oh boy! He is talking about you and me – those of us who are born again with His Spirit within us. Then He says, “And they shall be My people, and I will be their God. And I will give them one heart and one way that they may fear Me always, for their own good, and the good of their children after them.”(32:38-39)
We are living in that glorious day. Indeed after 70 years the Lord caused a remnant to return and to rebuild Jerusalem. Yet the promise was for more than that. The promise was for the day when Jesus would come and fulfill His mission. The new King would be the King of all the earth – not just Israel.
So these words are being fulfilled. And there is even more to come, so we need to be observant of the times and seasons of God.
Let’s keep our eyes open. We have a terrific future ahead. God’s Word is true and it will come to pass!
Titus 3
We were saved, “not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing by the Holy Spirit.” (V. 5)
We don’t and couldn’t deserve our salvation. It’s totally according to the mercy of our great Father, who poured his love out for us.
So we receive it – that’s all. We allow our precious Holy Spirit to wash over us, and allow His word to refresh and instruct us. That’s what we do.
And just as a healthy plant can’t help but bear fruit, so we can’t help but do His will in our lives. We share about Him, because it bubbles out of us. We give, because it’s our new nature. We love, because He first loved us.
Fruit that remains. That’s what I want!
