Ezekiel 18:30-32

God is faithful when we are not. God is merciful when we are not.  Restoration requires action on our part. When we humble ourselves before Him and repent of our sins against Him He is gracious to forgive and to restore us to Himself. He wants no man to perish but all to have eternal life with Him in Jesus Christ…His salvation that He provided for man’s redemption. Praise Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

repent |rəˈpent|

verb [ no obj. ]

feel or express sincere regret or remorse about one's wrongdoing or sin

• [ with obj. ] view or think of (an action or omission) with deep regret or remorse:

Everyone is judged equitably and individually. God never enjoys condemning a person, but is just and righteous in dispensing His judgments.

Ezekiel 18:30-32

³⁰ “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,” says the Lord God. “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. ³¹ Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? ³² For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God. “Therefore turn and live!”

⁶ “And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ 

Ezekiel 16:6

⁷ Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. 

Isaiah 55:7

¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 

Psalm 51:10

³³ For He does not afflict willingly, Nor grieve the children of men. 

Lamentations 3:33

⁹ The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 

2 Peter 3:9

⁵ Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. 

Revelation 2:5

Mark 6:5-6

Just believe… in the power of the Holy Spirit in us to enable us to do what we cannot do on our own.

Mark’s Gospel is unique. It is not a biography of Jesus, like Matthew or Luke, for it does not dwell on Jesus’ family history or career. Instead, this Gospel is a record of Jesus’ actions and achievements. It presents Jesus as a Savior-King, who conquers demons, disease, and death.

God is able!

Mark 6:5-6

⁵ Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.

⁵⁸ Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. 

Matthew 13:58

²³ Jesus said to him, “If You can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” 

Mark 9:23

²⁰ So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 

Matthew 17:20

¹⁹ So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. 

Hebrews 3:19

³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. 

Acts 10:38

¹⁷ And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 

Ephesians 2:17

Luke 12:1-3

We cannot proclaim Christ in the Church and act like heathens outside of her doors. Although no one can attain fully to the righteousness of Christ, at the very least, we should think before we act and question if we are showing His love and caring for ALL creation.

Our actions should reflect the example He gives us in His Word not necessarily views of the religious right.

hypocrisy |həˈpäkrəsē|

noun (pl. hypocrisies)

the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense.

Leaven here represents the presence of corruption. Unleavened bread is what the Jews ate at Passover. The corruption in view here is hypocrisy. Practicing hypocrisy is senseless because eventually all deeds—both good and evil—will be exposed.

Luke 12:1-3

12 In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ² For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. ³ Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

⁶ Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” 

Matthew 16:6

¹⁵ Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” 

Mark 8:15

¹² Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. 

Matthew 16:12

³⁹ Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness. 

Luke 11:39

⁵ Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God. 

1 Corinthians 4:5

Joel 1:1-5

God uses natural disasters, even those caused by human negligence, to remind us of His power. To remind us that the world is under His control not mans’. Only in the newness of the Holy Spirit given in the salvation the Father provided in Jesus can we be guided. When you hear of war and rumors of wars, earthquakes and an increase in natural phenomena’s…Look up His return nears.

Natural disasters—from rising flood waters to violent earthquakes—provoke fear and dread. With all their ingenuity, people still cannot control these powerful and destructive forces. They can only watch in awe. Joel begins his book with a description of such a natural disaster—a plague of ravenous locusts. In the prophet’s hands, the destructiveness of this plague becomes a vivid warning of the power of God’s coming judgment and a clear appeal to run to the Lord for mercy.

The calamity of recent days was unprecedented in the memory of the people. Joel’s description of the damage done by the locusts compares with eyewitness reports. The impression given is one of overwhelming devastation.

Joel 1:1-5

1 The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.

The Land Laid Waste

² Hear this, you elders,

And give ear, all you inhabitants of the land!

Has anything like this happened in your days,

Or even in the days of your fathers?

³ Tell your children about it,

Let your children tell their children,

And their children another generation.

⁴ What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten;

What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten;

And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten.

⁵ Awake, you drunkards, and weep;

And wail, all you drinkers of wine,

Because of the new wine,

For it has been cut off from your mouth.

¹⁶ But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 

Acts 2:16

⁷ Alas! For that day is great, So that none is like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, But he shall be saved out of it. 

Jeremiah 30:7

² and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son’s son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.” 

Exodus 10:2

⁹ “I blasted you with blight and mildew. When your gardens increased, Your vineyards, Your fig trees, And your olive trees, The locust devoured them; Yet you have not returned to Me,” Says the Lord. 

Amos 4:9

Obadiah 21

There is deliverance and salvation in the Body of Christ. There will be holiness in His house.

These were Obadiah’s last words against all human arrogance, pride, and rebellion. Edom had thought itself indestructible; but the Lord humbled that nation and restored the fallen Judah. Many people are tempted to consider themselves beyond the reach of God. But God will bring them low, just as He will lift those who humble themselves before Him. 

And one great day, He will establish His just rule over all.

holiness |ˈhōlēnəs|

noun

the state of being holy: a life of holiness and total devotion to God.

The Book of Obadiah is one of only two minor prophets that is addressed entirely to a nation other than Israel or Judah. It deals with the ancient feud between Israel and the nation of Edom, between the descendants of Jacob and those of his brother Esau. Through the prophet Obadiah, the Lord expressed His indignation at the nation of Edom. When they should have been helping their relatives, they were gloating over the Israelites’ problems and raiding their homes. A day was coming—the day of the Lord—when all these wrongs would be righted. 

The Lord would bring justice to the world.

Obadiah 21

²¹ Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion

To judge the mountains of Esau,

And the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.

²⁰ let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. 

James 5:20

²⁸ For the kingdom is the Lord’s, And He rules over the nations. 

Psalm 22:28

¹⁴ Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed. 

Daniel 7:14

⁹ And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be “The Lord is one,” And His name one. 

Zechariah 14:9

¹⁵ Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” 

Revelation 11:15

Ezekiel 34:20-24

We anxiously await until He comes whose right it is to judge…Jesus the Anointed Son of God.

The prophet Ezekiel had the thankless job of proclaiming God’s message on the crowded and hostile streets of Babylon. At the same time that Jeremiah was warning the citizens of Jerusalem of the coming destruction of that holy city, Ezekiel was preaching the same message to the exiles in Babylon. Even though these exiles were hundreds of miles away from the Promised Land and the temple, God would not leave them in the dark. Instead He sent Ezekiel to warn, exhort, and comfort the weary exiles.

The Book of Ezekiel reveals that the prophet was married and had a house. Overall, he enjoyed a large measure of freedom in captivity. The Babylonians had not captured the Jews in order to make them slaves in Babylon; instead they wanted to displace the population of Israel, especially its leadership and nobility, and settle their own citizens and other foreigners in the land. As for his personality and abilities, Ezekiel appears to have been articulate, intelligent, and dramatic. He was a person that could withstand great opposition in order to obey the demands God placed on His life.

God would continue operating as the Chief Shepherd through this chosen future ruler from the Davidic line. He is the Messiah—God’s only Son and His servant.

Ezekiel 34:20-24

²⁰ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God to them: “Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep. ²¹ Because you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad, ²² therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. ²³ I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.

¹¹ He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young. 

Isaiah 40:11

⁵ “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, ^fAnd execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. 

Jeremiah 23:5

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. 

John 10:11

²⁰ Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 

Hebrews 13:20

²⁵ For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. 

1 Peter 2:25

³ Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you— The sure mercies of David. 

Isaiah 55:3

Luke 12:32-34

Give to all who ask without expecting anything in return. Feed the poor. Care for the forgotten. Comfort the broken. Our life and speech should reflect what we value….God and His Kingdom.

Early Christian writings, from the works of Justin Martyr to Tertullian, identify the author as Luke, an identification that was firmly in place by the third century a.d. Luke was an educated man by ancient standards. He was capable of writing in high Greek style, and Colossians 4:10–14 seems to indicate that Luke was not “of the circumcision,” that is, not Jewish. If so, Luke would be the only Gentile author of a New Testament book. Tradition says that after accompanying Paul on some of his missionary journeys, Luke settled in Philippi, investing his life in the ministry of the Philippian church.

What people consider valuable is where their energy will be spent. Knowing God and investing in His purposes should be the treasure we seek.

Luke 12:32-34

³² “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ³³ Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²⁷ Then the kingdom and dominion, And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.’ 

Daniel 7:27

²⁵ At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. 

Matthew 11:25

¹⁹ storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. 

1 Timothy 6:19

Nahum 1:15

Behold He is coming whose right it is to rule so that God’s will is accomplished in both heaven and earth. Jesus set us free. He has conquered the world and He lives in His people!

His Body…His Church protected…in the unity of the Holy Spirit so that the glory is God’s.

With the promise of future deliverance from oppression, the prophet called for the people to live in righteousness and expectation. There is nothing better for the people of God in any age than to live in obedience to Him and in anticipation of His coming deliverance.

Nahum 1:15

¹⁵ Behold, on the mountains

The feet of him who brings good tidings,

Who proclaims peace!

O Judah, keep your appointed feasts,

Perform your vows.

For the wicked one shall no more pass through you;

He is utterly cut off.

⁹ O Zion, You who bring good tidings, Get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” 

Isaiah 40:9

¹⁵ And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who ²preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” 

Romans 10:15

⁸ It shall even be as when a hungry man dreams, And look—he eats; But he awakes, and his soul is still empty; Or as when a thirsty man dreams, And look—he drinks; But he awakes, and indeed he is faint, And his soul still craves: So the multitude of all the nations shall be, Who fight against Mount Zion.” 

Isaiah 29:8

Mark 11:20-24

NOTHING is impossible for those who believe in His power to move mountains in our lives and the lives of those we pray for. In the measure that we believe we can receive!

The illustration of casting an enormous mountain into the sea is an extreme example of the absolutely impossible. That is the point. Having faith in God can accomplish the impossible. Mark had previously emphasized Jesus’ insistence on simply believing.

Mark 11:20-24

²⁰ Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. ²¹ And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.”

²² So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. ²³ For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. ²⁴ Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

²⁰ So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 

Matthew 17:20

⁶ So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. 

Luke 17:6

⁷ “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 

Matthew 7:7

⁹ “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 

Luke 11:9

¹³And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 

John 14:13

⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 

James 1:5

⁶ But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 

James 1:6

Daniel 5:18-21

God rules in both heaven and earth and appoints whoever He chooses. Man does not have the final say on earth, He does. God hates pride and arrogance. Pray for peace.

Many proverbs contrast the arrogant with the humble. The Hebrew word for pride comes from a root that means “to boil up”; it refers to a raging arrogance or insolence. The image pictures the presumptuous or arrogant behavior of the godless person. Such behavior always leads to shame. 

Daniel 5:18-21

¹⁸ O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. ¹⁹ And because of the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he executed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put down. ²⁰ But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. ²¹ Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.

³⁰ The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?” 

Daniel 4:30

³⁷ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down. 

Daniel 4:37

²⁴ And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the Lord, have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish; I, the Lord, have spoken and have done it.” 

Ezekiel 17:24

⁵ ‘I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and have given it to whom it seemed proper to Me.

Jeremiah 27:5–7

¹⁸ That they may know that You, whose name alone is the Lord, Are the Most High over all the earth. 

Psalm 83:18