Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Ezekiel 11-13; John 10:24-42
Ezekiel again prophesied about the judgement coming to the Israelites. This also again reminds me of the judgement we will all face. I think of people around me who have backslidden and also of those who to me show a good example of how God wants us to live. It will one day be too late for us to change.
One verse that stood out to me was in chapter 12:16,
"But I will spare a few of them from the sword, famine and plague, so that in the nations where they go they may acknowledge all their detestable practices. Then they will know that I am the Lord .”
Were these few Jews convicted of their sin and therefore wanting to be forgiven and changed? It wasn't too late for them, they could still do what God wanted. Just like it's not too late for anyone alive today.
In our New Testament reading we read again how the Jews didn't believe that Jesus was God's son. We see this over and over again, and Jesus uses many ways to show them who He really is. These Jews weren't stupid people, and yet they can't grasp something that to us is obvious.
We believe largely because we've read the Bible, believe it, and have experienced the Holy Spirit in our lives. We also see God at work in both creation around us, and in how he works in our lives. These Jews were smart people, but wouldn't allow themselves to fully embrace and accept what God was doing, even though they were well taught in Old Testament law. Am I allowing God to work in me? Or am I not being open to what He wants?
Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Ezekiel 14-15; John 11:1-29
3 comments:
Seeing the subtitle "Judgement on Wicked Counselors" and it immediately made me think of medical staff that participate in the execution of abortions. There will be judgement on the murder of so many children and not only the people getting the abortions but the perpetrators of it. The false prophets of society chanting #shoutyourabortion does not make it right and judgement awaits.
This stood out to me...
19 And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, 20 that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
Our hearts are as hard as stone. We don't just need a changed heart, we need a new heart. And that can only come through Jesus Christ. When we receive that new heart, we are truly changed and it is evidenced by our obedience to God.
Our OT passage also deals with false teachers. There are many false teachers around today. The only way not to be susceptible to false teaching is to know the truth, to know the Bible. You recognize a counterfeit, not by studying the counterfeit, but by studying the real thing, so that when you see a counterfeit, it is so obviously different from the real thing you know so well that there is no way it can fool you. Lack of Bible knowledge is the problem, and that is precisely why we're doing this blog!
This verse stood out to me:
"but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father." John 10:38
Jesus performed miracles to show compassion and to prove that He was the Messiah. They were not done to impress people, but to reveal the power of God.
As much as the Jews witnessed, they still could not believe. For them, it was as if it were "too good to be true" as we say to some advertising today. Well, God is the one thing that busts this too good to be true statement.
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