~ Click on this link for today's readings ~
Ezekiel 42:1-43:27 ~ James 5:1-20
Psalm 119:1-16 ~ Proverbs 28:6-7
Old Testament - Ezekiel chapter 42 continues the description of the temple in Ezekiel's vision, and the dimensions. In this chapter we learn about the rooms for the priests of the temple. The interesting thing for me, as I was reading this chapter today, is that my mind wandered a bit and wondered if maybe somehow this was / is a heavenly temple that Ezekiel was describing? I'm not sure. I have so much more to learn about the temples. But, it's interesting to think if maybe somehow we might see something like this temple in heaven? An interesting thought at least for me to ponder. However - the tricky thing is that in chapter 43 there are descriptions of sacrifices for the altar in this temple. And of course Christ was the final sacrifice for our sins - so there is no need for the old covenant sacrifices. So, this could certainly dash my imagination of this being a heavenly temple we'll see some day. Though - I did read somewhere that if this is a heavenly temple, the sacrifices described in chapter 43 may be "memorials" or ceremonial - but not required, as they were in the old covenant. I don't know... fascinating stuff to ponder however!
Back to how all this might apply to our lives today... Verse 20 in chapter 42 stood out to me- "So the area was 875 feet on each side with a wall all around it to separate the holy places from the common." The last part of that verse - to separate the holy places from the common. I wonder about that in our lives - do we do anything that separates the holy from the common in our own lives? Do we need to? My thought here is that if we don't allow for some "holy places" to appear in our lives, might we just settle for common places throughout our lives? A Holy Place for us might be 5 minutes of prayer. Or 15 minutes of reading the Bible. Or going to a church service. Or listening to worship music. Or not scheduling anything on our Sundays, so we can take a Sabbath day of rest. What are you doing to create some Holy Places in your life?
Chapter 43 is incredible with God's return to the temple. I like this verse - "And this is the basic law of the Temple: absolute holiness!" Absolute holiness. Okay - so this is not something we are going to see or "achieve" this side of heaven. It's impossible for us to be absolutely holy on this earth. Only Jesus was absolutely holy & sinless. However, I think the call for our eternal lives is absolute holiness. So, know that faith in Jesus will ultimately lead you in this direction - and I do believe we can grow in holiness in this life. God's grace gives ultimate absolute holiness in heaven. Do you want absolute holiness?
Verse 21 in this chapter is a foreshadowing of Jesus' death on the Cross at Mt. Calvary - "Then take the young bull for the sin offering and burn it at the appointed place outside the Temple area." How does this apply to Jesus' death on a hill outside of Jerusalem's city gates? This is best explained in Hebrews chapter 13 verses 11-13 as follows - "The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore." Powerful... Will we walk with Jesus outside the city gates of Jerusalem? Up to Mt. Calvary? Will we follow Jesus all the way up that hill?
New Testament - Today we wrap up the book of James. This has been such a powerful book for me to read these past few days... I am convicted and challenged by this book, which is wonderful. Today in chapter 5, verse 5 stands out - "This treasure you have accumulated will stand as evidence against you on the day of judgment." This reminds me of the scene at the end of the movie "Schindler's List" where Oscar Schindler breaks down crying when the war is over - and after he has saved so many lives - and yet he cries out - "This watch - this watch could have saved a life! This car.... could have saved 10 lives!" This scene - and this verse - makes me ask myself if I am using my finances wisely? Am I investing in others? Are my luxuries taking away from other's very lives? Am I accumulating treasure when I could have been serving others? I cannot encourage you enough to watch this scene in Schindler's List again if you haven't seen it in a while. Every time I watch this scene something happens to my heart that only God can explain... it changes me.
Verse 9 stands out - "Don't grumble about each other, my brothers and sisters, or God will judge you." This is such a great reminder of Jesus' call to not judge others. Don't grumble about others. How often do we grumble about others? Are we grumbling about someone currently? Is this a healthy practice? By the way, I have been bad about grumbling about others recently - in fact, I almost got sideswiped on a freeway just yesterday by a guy who was not paying attention to where he was going. In all honestly, I have no idea how we avoided not hitting each other, but for the grace of God. I was so shook up by the near miss I was "grumbling" big time about this guy's carelessness. Interestingly and thankfully I was not cussing at him nor giving him bad gestures, but I was grumbling in my heart about how dumb he was - and I immediately caught myself and asked God to forgive me for this sin. And I believe He did. Let us not grumble in our hearts about others. It's a sin. Let us stay away from grumble corner in our lives!
The first half of verse 16 is so true - "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed." Is there someone in your life you can confess your sins to? Someone you can ask to pray for you? Do you believe this practice will heal you of that sin?
And the last half of verse 16 also is amazing to remember - "The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results." Are you praying for others? Earnestly? Do you believe prayer has great power and that God listens and can bring about wonderful results?
Psalms - Whoo-hoo! Today we begin Psalm 119, the longest Psalm and chapter in the Bible! This Psalm is a beautiful meditation on God’s Word and how it helps us stay pure and grow in faith. Almost every verse in this Psalm mentions God’s Word. I pray that this Psalm is encouraging to you as you read through the One Year Bible!
Today in Psalm 119 verse 11 we read: “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Have you hidden God’s word in your heart? So that you might not sin against God? Do you realize that all sin is indeed a sin against God? Are you memorizing Scripture on a regular basis? And, more importantly, reflecting on Scripture? Check out this link for some great free online resources to help you memorize Scripture - http://www.memoryverses.org/
Proverbs - Proverbs 28 verse 6 today - "It is better to be poor and honest than rich and crooked." I have often paraphrased this proverb in this way - "It is better to be poor and happy than to be rich and miserable." Though, I think the Proverb reads better and has more truth in the way it is actually written in the Bible. "Honest" is better than "Happy"... Those of you that might be Switchfoot fans out there will know that "Happy is a Yuppie Word" :) But, then again, those of you out there who are Dennis Prager fans will know that "Happiness is a Serious Problem." :) Tangent alert - Actually, are there any Dennis Prager fans out there? I am a HUGE fan of this guy's work. His radio show is one of the most intelligent shows out there. He's Jewish - conservative Jewish I believe - and very supportive of Christianity as well. He often talks of Judeo-Christian values on the show, which he does very well. I recently picked up his book "Happiness is a Serious Problem", which I have heard is very good. Actually, Dennis does a "happiness hour" on his radio show each Friday in the 2nd hour of his 3 hour show. It's great stuff. Basically he says each of us have a moral obligation to be happy. I am someone who is generally happy - but Switchfoot's song "Happy is a Yuppie Word" seemed to resonate with me for a while - but now... Dennis Prager seems to be bringing me back to thinking happiness is a good thing! I'm so confused. :) I better read Prager's book soon! (Actually, I don't need to read Prager's book to get the answer - I just need to read the Bible. Take a look at verses 1 & 2 of our Psalm 119 readings today - happy is a godly word!) So, are you happy? Should you be happy?
What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up in the Comments section below!
Grace,
Mike
Mike,
I agree with you that the measurements God showed Ezekiel are very important and I’m not saying this to help form a chorus of mental assenting but because the Word says they are.
"Son of man, show the temple by your description of it to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure accurately its appearance and plan. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the form of the temple and the arrangement of it--its exits and its entrances and the whole form of it--all its ordinances and all its forms and all its laws. And write it down in their sight so that they may keep the whole form of it and all the ordinances of it and do them. This is the law of the house [of the Lord]: The whole area round about on the top of the mountain [Mount Moriah] shall be most holy, separated, and set apart. Behold, this is the law of the house [of the Lord]. (Ezekiel 43:10-12 AMP)
There must be something in the numbers and the details that would, or should convict Israel of her sin. Maybe the reason we don’t get it is because we are outside of that culture today and we are missing a “key” understanding to put this together. If the description of the Temple is, “the law of the house of the Lord,” then there is a form, a pattern to it that speaks out to us. We may not understand the description this side of heaven but I believe it is important for us to understand that the description is important even if we don’t get it yet.
And about what it means to be “worldly.” I think our worldliness depends on where our thoughts and ideas come from as well as our motivation. Remember Jesus said he only did what he saw His Father do, He operated from the point of obedience to the Father’s Will not His own will. (John 5:19,20). I believe God ask of us to do the same thing. If we our operating from the “Will of God,” then we are acting completely in Holiness. Most of us reserve some side of ourselves, either a little or a lot, that adheres to God’s Laws and Will, and so we divide ourselves into holy and non-holy.
It is good to do a check on our motivations. Why are we doing what we are doing? Is it something that Jesus would do? Are we doing things to get the glory and to be patted on the back by humans, or are we doing because God has directed us? In truth we don’t like to do, or don’t want to do what God is telling us to do because that will make us unpopular real quick by those in the “world” and those in the church. Our example for that outcome is what happened to Jeremiah when he spoke the Truth in love and to what happened to Jesus. O, we say we admire someone who does things for the right reasons but we really don’t like them because we feel convicted, and we don’t like to feel that way do we? So, we would rather work on changing them then changing us.
And about Happiness:
I just heard someone preach this, well not just, about two months ago. “Stop trying to be happy by doing and getting things. God never promised us happy but He did tell us to be Holy. I have never met an unhappy holy person. Become holy and you will find happiness in your holiness.” In truth, he was talking about people who look toward marriage as a future source of happiness and who think God designed marriage to make us happy. His take was that God designed marriage to make us holy not happy which is a byproduct or fruit of holiness.
And that’s all for now.
Grace and peace,
Ramona
Posted by: Ramona | November 21, 2005 at 04:07 AM
CHARLES FINNEY – REPENTANCE
“We cannot say: ‘Now I will feel so-and-so towards such an object.’ But we
can command our attention to it, and look at it intently, till the proper
feeling arises.”
“So if a man thinks of God, and fastens his mind on any parts of God’s
character, he will feel—emotions will come up by the very laws of the mind.”
“If he is a friend of God, let him contemplate God as a gracious and holy
Being, and he will have emotions of friendship kindled in his mind.”
“If he is an enemy of God, only let him get the true character of God before
his mind, and then his bitter enmity will rise against God, or he will break down and give his heart to God.”
“You must take them [sins] up one by one. It will be a good thing to take a
pen and paper, and as you go over them, and write them down as they occur to
you.”
“General confessions of sin will never do. Your sins were committed one by
one; and as far as you can come at them, they ought to be reviewed and repented
one by one.”
~~~
HEART
Mark 7:6, 7; 20 – 23; 25, 29, 30; 32 – 35; 37 (NASB)
And He [Jesus] said to them, ‘Rightly did Isaiah prophecy of you hypocrites,
as it is written,
“THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’ ” (Isaiah 29:13)…
And He [Jesus] was saying, ‘That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts…”
~~~
a.
EVIL
Greek: KAKOS – evil in character which can include PONEROS...
Greek: PONEROS –evil in influence and effect, MALIGNANT
b.
THOUGHTS
Greek: Dialogismos – Inner Dialogue
INNER:
disputation,
disputing
doubting
imagination
reasoning
thought
PRAYER:
LORD, I give up and ask You to exchange:
my mind for Your mind
my thoughts for Your thoughts
my way for Your way
my will for Your will
Vance
Posted by: Vance Brown | November 21, 2005 at 07:58 AM
Mike, that is one of my favorite scenes in "Schindler's List," & it also pricks my heart heavily. But, the thing is...I don't seem to keep that "prick" for very long & I wish that I could. How do we keep that prick/passion that affects our hearts so for perhaps a week. I know (have actually heard) about many people going on mission trips & coming back changed. Some of them stay changed & them some of them don't stay changed after they get back to the comforts of the US. SO...how do we keep that passion, that prick in our hearts alive???
jano
Posted by: Jan | November 21, 2005 at 05:41 PM