today's meditation (Ez.17) Recognizing and Embracing Truth

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Ezekiel 17:1-24)  Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, ask a riddle and present a parable to the house of Israel, 3 saying, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “A great eagle with great wings, long pinions, and a full plumage of many colors came to Lebanon and took away the top of the cedar. 4 He broke off the topmost of its young twigs and brought it to a land of merchants; he set it in a city of traders. 5 He also took from the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil, a meadow beside abundant waters; he set it like a willow. 6 Then it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine with its branches turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and produced shoots and sent out branches.

7 “But there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage; and behold, this vine turned its roots toward him and sent out its branches toward him from the beds where it was planted, so that he might water it. 8 It was planted in good soil beside abundant waters, so that it would produce branches and bear fruit, and become a splendid vine.”’ 9 Say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers—so that all its sprouting shoots wither? And neither by great strength nor by many people can it be raised from its roots again. 10 Behold, though it is planted, will it thrive? Will it not completely wither as soon as the east wind strikes it—wither on the beds where it grew?”’”

11 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 12 “Say now to the rebellious house, ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Say, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and leaders, and brought them to him in Babylon. 13 Then he took one of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. He also took away the mighty of the land, 14 so that the kingdom would be humbled, not exalting itself, but keeping his covenant so that it might continue. 15 But he revolted against him by sending his messengers to Egypt so that they might give him horses and many troops. Will he succeed? Will he who does these things escape? Can he indeed break the covenant and escape? 16 As I live,’ declares the Lord God, ‘In the country of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke, in Babylon he shall certainly die. 17 Pharaoh with his mighty army and great contingent will not help him in the war, when they pile up assault ramps and build siege walls to eliminate many lives. 18 Now he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and behold, he pledged his allegiance, yet did all these things; he shall not escape.’” 19 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “As I live, My oath which he despised and My covenant which he broke, I will certainly inflict on his head. 20 And I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My net. Then I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there regarding the unfaithful act which he has committed against Me. 21 All the choice men in all his troops will fall by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered to every wind; and you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken.”

22 This is what the Lord God says: “I will also take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and set it out; I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it, so that it may bring forth branches and bear fruit, and become a stately cedar. And birds of every kind will nest under it; they will nest in the shade of its branches. 24 All the trees of the field will know that I am the Lord; I bring down the high tree, exalt the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will perform it.”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

We need to be open to hearing Truth.  And we are to be willing to act on what is Truth by embracing and believing in it - the Truth being the Lord Jesus Christ.  In this passage, the Lord gives His warnings and prophecies using a riddle.  This riddle should have been recognized by the Pharisees and the people when Jesus came in flesh, saying,

(John 15:1-11)   “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself but must remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown away like a branch and dries up; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. 9 Just as the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; remain in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. 11 These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

today's meditation (Ez.16) Striving to be Obedient

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Ezekiel 16:1-63)  Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations, 3 and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says to Jerusalem: “Your origin and your birth are from the land of the Canaanite; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing; you were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths. 5 No eye looked with pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you. Rather you were thrown out into the open field, for you were abhorred on the day you were born.

6 “When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ 7 I made you very numerous, like plants of the field. Then you grew up, became tall and reached the age for fine jewelry; your breasts were formed and your hair had grown. Yet you were naked and bare.

8 “Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, you were at the time for love; so I spread My garment over you and covered your nakedness. I also swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became Mine,” declares the Lord God. 9 “Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you, and anointed you with oil. 10 I also clothed you with colorfully woven cloth and put sandals of fine leather on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 11 I adorned you with jewelry, put bracelets on your wrists, and a necklace around your neck. 12 I also put a ring in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 So you were adorned with gold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk, and colorfully woven cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty.  14 Then your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you,” declares the Lord God.

15 “But you trusted in your beauty and became unfaithful because of your fame, and you poured out your obscene practices on every passer-by to whom it might be tempting. 16 You took some of your clothes, made for yourself high places of various colors, and committed prostitution on them, which should not come about nor happen. 17 You also took your beautiful jewels made of My gold and of My silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images so that you might commit prostitution with them. 18 Then you took your colorfully woven cloth and covered them, and offered My oil and My incense before them. 19 Also My bread which I gave you, fine flour, oil, and honey with which I fed you, you would offer before them for a soothing aroma; so it happened,” declares the Lord God. 20 “Furthermore, you took your sons and daughters whom you had borne to Me and sacrificed them to idols to be devoured. Were your obscene practices a trivial matter? 21 You slaughtered My children and offered them to idols by making them pass through the fire. 22 And besides all your abominations and obscene practices, you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare and squirming in your blood.

23 “Then it came about after all your wickedness (‘Woe, woe to you!’ declares the Lord God), 24 that you built yourself a shrine and made yourself a high place in every public square. 25 You built yourself a high place at the beginning of every street and made your beauty abominable, and you spread your legs to every passer-by and multiplied your obscene practice. 26 You also committed prostitution with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, and multiplied your obscene practice to provoke Me to anger. 27 So behold, I have stretched out My hand against you and cut back your rations. And I turned you over to the desire of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of your outrageous conduct. 28 Moreover, you committed prostitution with the Assyrians because you were not satisfied; you committed prostitution with them and still were not satisfied. 29 You also multiplied your obscene practice with the land of merchants, Chaldea; yet even with this you were not satisfied.”’”

30 “How feverish is your heart,” declares the Lord God, “while you do all these things, the action of a bold prostitute! 31 When you built your shrine at the beginning of every street and made your high place in every public square, in spurning a prostitute’s fee, you were not like a prostitute. 32 You adulteress wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband! 33 Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you give your gifts to all your lovers and lavish favors on them so that they will come to you from every direction for your obscene practices. 34 So it is the opposite for you from those women in your obscene practices, in that you are not approached for prostitution, and in the fact that you pay a prostitute’s fee, and no fee is paid to you; so you are the opposite.”

35 Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the Lord. 36 This is what the Lord God says: “Because your lewdness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered through your obscene practices with your lovers and with all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your sons that you gave to idols, 37 therefore, behold, I am going to gather all your lovers whom you pleased, all those whom you loved as well as all those whom you hated. So I will gather them against you from every direction and expose your nakedness to them so that they may see all your nakedness. 38 So I will judge you as women who commit adultery or shed blood are judged; and I will bring on you the blood of wrath and jealousy. 39 I will also hand you over to your lovers, and they will tear down your shrines, demolish your high places, strip you of your clothing, take away your jewels, and will leave you naked and bare. 40 They will incite a crowd against you, and they will stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords. 41 And they will burn your houses with fire and execute judgments against you in the sight of many women. Then I will put an end to your prostitution, and you will also no longer pay your lovers. 42 So I will satisfy My fury against you and My jealousy will leave you, and I will be pacified and no longer be angry. 43 Since you have not remembered the days of your youth but have caused Me unrest by all these things, behold, I in turn will bring your conduct down on your own head,” declares the Lord God, “so that you will not commit this outrageous sin in addition to all your other abominations.

44 “Behold, everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you, saying, ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ 45 You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and children. You are also the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. 46 Now your older sister is Samaria, who lives north of you with her daughters; and your younger sister, who lives south of you, is Sodom with her daughters. 47 Yet you have not merely walked in their ways and committed their abominations; but, as if that were too little, you also acted more corruptly in all your conduct than they. 48 As I live,” declares the Lord God, “Sodom, your sister and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done! 49 Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, plenty of food, and carefree ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. 50 So they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it. 51 Furthermore, Samaria did not commit half of your sins, for you have multiplied your abominations more than they. So you have made your sisters appear innocent by all your abominations which you have committed. 52 Also, bear your disgrace in that you have made judgment favorable for your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. Yes, be also ashamed and bear your disgrace, in that you made your sisters appear innocent.

53 “Nevertheless, I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and along with them your own fortunes, 54 so that you will bear your disgrace and feel ashamed for all that you have done when you become a consolation to them. 55 Your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to their former state, and you with your daughters will also return to your former state. 56 As the name of your sister Sodom was not heard from your lips in your day of pride, 57 before your wickedness was uncovered, so now you have become the disgrace of the daughters of Edom and of all who are around her, of the daughters of the Philistines—those surrounding you who despise you. 58 You have suffered the penalty of your outrageous sin and abominations,” the Lord declares. 59 For this is what the Lord God says: “I will also do with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath by breaking the covenant.

60 “Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. 61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both your older and your younger; and I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant. 62 So I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, 63 so that you may remember and be ashamed, and not open your mouth again because of your disgrace, when I have forgiven you for all that you have done,” the Lord God declares.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Our promises to God mean nothing, because even when we want to be obedient, we will sin.  All we can promise is that we will strive to live in God's will - while relying on His help, strength and guidance.  Only when we become believers, God sees us clothed in the righteousness of Jesus.  And only because of God's faithfulness and grace do we have eternal security.  

today's meditation (Ez..15) Being Built Up

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Ezekiel 15:1-8) Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any wood of a branch which is among the trees of the forest? 3 Can wood be taken from it to make anything, or can even a peg be taken from it on which to hang any utensil? 4 If it has been put into the fire for fuel, and the fire has consumed both of its ends and its middle part has been charred, is it then good for anything? 5 Behold, while it is intact, it is not made into anything. How much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred, can it still be made into anything! 6 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘As the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 7 and I set My face against them. Though they have come out of the fire, yet the fire will consume them. Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I set My face against them. 8 So I will make the land desolate, because they have acted unfaithfully,’” declares the Lord God.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

If a person remains without God in their lives, whether they behave wickedly or try to be as good as possible all on their own, their end is the same.  Salvation and eternal life is only found in the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is the vine, and only in Him we are able to grow and be built up.

today's meditation (Ez.14) Facing Temptations

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Ezekiel 14:1-23)  Then some elders of Israel came to me and sat down before me. 2 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 3 “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and have put in front of their faces the stumbling block of their wrongdoing. Should I let Myself be consulted by them at all? 4 Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Anyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, puts in front of his face the stumbling block of his wrongdoing, and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will let Myself answer him in the matter in view of the multitude of his idols, 5 in order to take hold of the hearts of the house of Israel who have turned away from Me due to all their idols.”’

6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations. 7 For anyone of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who reside in Israel, who deserts Me, sets up his idols in his heart, puts in front of his face the stumbling block of his wrongdoing, and then comes to the prophet to request something of Me for himself, I the Lord will let Myself answer him Myself. 8 I will set My face against that person and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will eliminate him from among My people. So you will know that I am the Lord.

9 “But if the prophet is persuaded so that he speaks a word, it is I, the Lord, who have persuaded that prophet; and I will stretch out My hand against him and eliminate him from among My people Israel. 10 And they will bear the punishment for their wrongdoing; as the wrongdoing of the inquirer is, so the wrongdoing of the prophet will be, 11 in order that the house of Israel may no longer stray from Me and no longer defile themselves with all their offenses. So they will be My people, and I shall be their God,”’ declares the Lord God.”

12 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 13 “Son of man, if a country sins against Me by being unfaithful, and I stretch out My hand against it, destroy its supply of bread, send famine against it, and eliminate from it both human and animal life, 14 even though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only save themselves,” declares the Lord God. 15 “If I were to cause vicious animals to pass through the land and they depopulated it, and it became desolate so that no one would pass through it because of the animals, 16 though these three men were in its midst, as I live,” declares the Lord God, “they could not save either their sons or their daughters. They alone would be saved, but the country would be desolate. 17 Or if I were to bring a sword on that country and say, ‘A sword is to pass through the country,’ and I eliminated human and animal life from it, 18 even though these three men were in its midst, as I live,” declares the Lord God, “they could not save either their sons or their daughters, but they alone would be saved. 19 Or if I were to send a plague against that country and pour out My wrath on it in blood to eliminate man and animal from it, 20 even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in its midst, as I live,” declares the Lord God, “they could not save either their son or their daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness.”

21 For this is what the Lord God says: “How much more when I send My four severe judgments against Jerusalem: sword, famine, vicious animals, and plague to eliminate human and animal life from it! 22 Yet, behold, survivors will be left in it who will be brought out, both sons and daughters. Behold, they are going to come out to you, and you will see their conduct and actions; then you will be comforted for the disaster which I have brought against Jerusalem for everything which I have brought upon it. 23 Then they will comfort you when you see their conduct and actions, for you will know that I have not done without reason whatever I did to it,” declares the Lord God.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

No one can be saved by their own actions, and no one can be saved by being near someone who is a Christian.  Because God looks at our hearts, the only ones who are saved are those who repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.  What we place first in our hearts will be evident in our actions.  

Although we will face temptation, this in itself is not a sin.  The sin is acting on the temptation;  so the best way to avoid falling into temptation, is to look to the Lord for our help, strength and guidance, as well as finding encouragement from other believers.  This is one of the reasons why God tells us to go to church!  There we can remind each other to keep placing the Lord first in our lives.

today's meditation (Ez.13) Exposing Sins

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Ezekiel 13:1-23)  Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own inspiration, ‘Listen to the word of the Lord! 3 This is what the Lord God says: “Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing! 4 Israel, your prophets have been like jackals among ruins. 5 You have not gone up into the breaches, nor did you build up a stone wall around the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the day of the Lord. 6 They see deceit and lying divination, those who are saying, ‘The Lord declares,’ when the Lord has not sent them; yet they wait for the fulfillment of their word! 7 Did you not see a false vision and tell a lying divination when you said, ‘The Lord declares,’ but it is not I who have spoken?”’”

8 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “Because you have spoken deceit and have seen a lie, therefore behold, I am against you,” declares the Lord God. 9 “So My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will have no place in the council of My people, nor will they be written down in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel, so that you may know that I am the Lord God. 10 It is definitely because they have misled My people by saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace. And when anyone builds a wall, behold, they plaster it over with whitewash; 11 so tell those who plaster it over with whitewash, that it will fall. A flooding rain will come, and you, hailstones, will fall, and a violent wind will break out. 12 Behold, when the wall has fallen, will you not be asked, ‘Where is the plaster with which you plastered it?’” 13 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “I will make a violent wind break out in My wrath. There will also be in My anger a flooding rain and hailstones to consume it in wrath. 14 So I will tear down the wall which you plastered over with whitewash and hurl it down to the ground, so that its foundation is exposed; and when it falls, you will perish in its midst. And you will know that I am the Lord. 15 So I will expend My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it over with whitewash; and I will say to you, ‘The wall is gone and those who plastered it are gone, 16 along with the prophets of Israel who prophesy to Jerusalem, and who see a vision of peace for her when there is no peace,’ declares the Lord God.

17 “Now you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who are talking like prophets from their own imagination. Prophesy against them  18 and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Woe to the women who sew magic bands on all wrists and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature to capture souls! Will you capture the souls of My people, but keep the souls of others alive for yourselves? 19 For handfuls of barley and pieces of bread, you have profaned Me to My people, to put to death some who should not die, and to keep others alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies.”’”

20 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am against your magic bands by which you capture souls there as birds, and I will tear them from your arms; and I will let them go, those souls whom you capture as birds. 21 I will also tear off your veils and save My people from your hands, and they will no longer be in your hands as prey; and you will know that I am the Lord. 22 Because you disheartened the righteous with falsehood when I did not cause him pain, but you have encouraged the wicked not to turn from his wicked way to keep him alive, 23 therefore you women will no longer see deceitful visions or practice divination, and I will save My people from your hands. So you will know that I am the Lord.”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

As it says in verse 14, God was going to tear down the wall so that the foundation of sin would be exposed.  And in verse 21, God was going to tear off the veils to expose the sins of others which tempted the people and took them further away from God.  Our own sins and being part of other people's sins is only destructive and dividing.  Having our sins forgiven by the Lord Jesus Christ reconciles us with Him, allowing Him to build us up on a firm foundation.  So it is to our benefit to search our hearts and confess our sins, as we strive to mature in the Lord.