Ezekiel 34:25-31

As believers in Jesus Christ we are adopted into the family of God. We become children and heirs to the promises given to Israel. Through the precious blood of the Lamb there is no longer  Jew or gentile, slave or free, we are all one in the Body of Christ. His peace He gives you, not the peace that the world offers, His peace which transcends all human understanding.

In His Father’s house there are many rooms and He went to prepare a place for you and I.

Restoration of Israel’s relationship with Yahweh brings the covenant blessings promised in Leviticus. Ezekiel has skillfully reworked the blessings into a future picture of hope for Israel. Faithlife Bible.

The exiles were encouraged through this promise of a covenant of peace, characterized by these promises: (1) security from foreign aggressor nations, the wild beasts; (2) showers of blessing, meaning productivity and prosperity; and (3) the certainty that the Lord is Israel’s God and desires reunion with His people and a lasting relationship built on a new covenant. NKJ Bible.

Ezekiel 34:25–31 (NKJV)

²⁵ “I will make a covenant of peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. ²⁶ I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing. ²⁷ Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. ²⁸ And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them afraid. ²⁹ I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they shall no longer be consumed with hunger in the land, nor bear the shame of the Gentiles anymore. ³⁰ Thus they shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are My people,” says the Lord God.’ ”

³¹ “You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God,” says the Lord God.

Zechariah 8:13 (NKJV)

¹³ And it shall come to pass

That just as you were a curse among the nations,

O house of Judah and house of Israel,

So I will save you, and you shall be a blessing.

Do not fear,

Let your hands be strong.’

Ezekiel 21:9-11

God created all men, some for honor and some for dishonor. Judgement comes to believers and nonbelievers, but especially those who call on the name of the Lord. In the manner that we judge and treat other people, other nations in his name…we will be judged. 

The word of God is sharper than a double edged sword!

These are evil times.

The sword is made ready for Yahweh’s use in judgment.

The connection between the sword and the flash of lightning may be based on a Babylonian literary motif. The Akkadian sign for “sword” and “lightning” are the same. A Babylonian poem also depicts a divine destroyer identified as both “torch” and “sword”. Faithlife Bible.

In this context, the words, my son, refer to Judah. If the people reacted with mirth, it would show that they mistakenly believed that such judgment would never come on God’s people and must therefore be meant for an enemy nation. NKJ Bible.

Ezekiel 21:9–11 (NKJV)

⁹ “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord!’ Say:

‘A sword, a sword is sharpened

And also polished!

¹⁰ Sharpened to make a dreadful slaughter,

Polished to flash like lightning!

Should we then make mirth?

1 Corinthians

We are the hands and feet of Christ and through His Body, the Church, we carry out His love for His creation. His Church is not bound by walls nor inhibited by the dogma of men. 

His Body includes all denominations, all people who believe in His birth, death and ascension to allow us entrance into his eternal heavenly realm.

God is all powerful, all knowing and in ever facet of life. 

Trust in Him to do what we cannot!

1 Corinthians

The church at Corinth was a seriously troubled church. Infected with sexual immorality, split by factions that dragged each other into court, and crippled by abuse of the spiritual gifts, this church was in need of radical spiritual surgery. Though true believers, the Corinthians had a lot of growing up to do. They had to stop following the immoral, selfish, and contentious ways of their pagan neighbors in Corinth, the notoriously immoral city of that day. One can sense the disappointment of a hurt father in Paul’s stern words for the Corinthians. Yet Paul, like a surgeon, diagnosed the problem and aimed his efforts straight at the source: pride and a lack of true love in the church.

First Corinthians is a reply to two letters. Paul had left the Corinthian church under the leadership of Aquila and Priscilla in the spring of a.d. 53 to continue his second missionary journey. On his third journey, during his stay at Ephesus, he received two letters from the Corinthian believers. One was a disturbing report from the household of Chloe. The report detailed the divisions and immorality in the church. These problems arose because the young Corinthian church had failed to protect itself from the decadent culture of the city. The immaturity of the Corinthians had given way to sectarian divisions. The believers were identifying themselves as followers of specific Christian leaders rather than as followers of Christ.

Though the Corinthians were very gifted, in their immaturity and pride they had abused their gifts. Paul reminded the Corinthians that gifts come from God and are to unify and edify the church. In conclusion, Paul corrected a doctrinal matter by writing the New Testament’s most detailed explanation of the resurrection of Christ and Christians. Even though the church was riddled with problems, Paul ended his confrontational letter with a note of hope. The Corinthians could have victory over sin and death because Jesus in His death and resurrection had already decisively obtained it.

In this letter Paul proclaims the relevance of Christ Jesus to every area of the believer’s life. In the writer’s words, Jesus “became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption”. Paul goes on to assert (much as Luke did in the Book of Acts) that Jesus is living out His life in the world through the church. According to Paul, we are the body of Christ with individual gifts. As we discover our gifts and invest them in mutual ministry, Jesus continues to touch the world for which He died. NKJ Bible.

Luke 11:37-44

Making the teachings of Christ hard for all to understand defeats the intentions of God. He wants all of His creation to be able to grasp and then to accept or reject Him. Every teaching points to Gods’ great love for mankind. In giving us Jesus to die for our sins He gave us the most precious gift of all.  

The simplicity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ saves lives!

Justice and love for God echoes the two greatest commandments (Luke 10:27–28), as well as the teaching of the prophets. Faithlife Bible.

Luke 10:27–28 (NKJV)

²⁷ So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

²⁸ And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”

Jesus pointed out that the Pharisees concerned themselves with outward appearances and ritual cleanness, while what was inside, what really counts, was full of selfishness and evil. The Pharisees worried about tithing ten percent, even down to the smallest herbs, which were tithed according to the dictates of tradition, not the Law of Moses. Some Pharisees took the strictest interpretation and counted almost anything, including spices. However, they neglected two basic things that the prophets also had warned about: love and justice. 

The Pharisees, the paragons of purity, were in fact the height of uncleanness.

Luke 11:37–44 (NKJV)

³⁷ And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and sat down to eat. ³⁸ When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.

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. ⁴⁰ Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.

⁴² “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. ⁴³ Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them.”

Matthew 23:23 (NKJV)

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

Luke 11:33-36

Ever since Jamey passed 15 years ago I have shied away from becoming close to people. I have few close personal friends…most of those from childhood or high school years. I prefer the solitude of my studio to a room full of people. Since the election of Trump it has deepened my reserve of those who are Christian and support him. 

Life is all about Jesus and the ways of the Father.

The Holy Spirit has shown me so many wonderful spiritual truths over the years it is a shame to not use them to support others going through the good, bad and downright ugly things of life! Fellowship with imperfect humans, of which I am one, is an area I need to work on.

A person who concentrates on what is good (God’s teaching) is healthy. But a person who focuses on what is bad (the false teaching of the world) is full of darkness.

A person can become like light, a living picture of what God’s Word teaches, by concentrating on the light of the truth. NKJ Bible.

Luke 11:33–36 (NKJV)

³³ “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. ³⁴ The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. ³⁵ Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. ³⁶ If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”

Matthew 5:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵ Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

Luke 6:20-26

Do you desire to know the mind of Christ? 

Absorb the Beatitudes!

In Luke, these beatitudes focus on the socioeconomic conditions of first-century Palestine. Luke includes woes to accompany the beatitudes—these are commonly called antitheses to the beatitudes. Using a common apocalyptic motif, Jesus declares that the present circumstances of the rich and poor will be reversed in the future. Faithlife Bible.

Identification with Jesus usually leads to rejection and hardship, but the disciple who has left all to follow Jesus understands what placing Jesus first means. He or she also recognizes that God is aware of all suffering.

Jesus began His sermon with an attention-grabbing, irony-filled series of blessings that have intrigued and puzzled Bible scholars and laymen for centuries. Often referred to as the Beatitudes, these statements contrast worldly goods and values with a heavenly estimation of people’s affairs. The Beatitudes provide us with a heavenly perspective, evaluating the present in the light of eternity. They remind us that things are not always what they seem, and certainly not what they will one day be. NKJ Bible.

Luke 6:20–26 (NKJV)

²⁰ Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:

“Blessed are you poor,

For yours is the kingdom of God.

²¹ Blessed are you who hunger now,

For you shall be filled. 

Blessed are you who weep now,

For you shall laugh.

²² Blessed are you when men hate you,

And when they exclude you,

And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,

For the Son of Man’s sake.

²³ Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!

For indeed your reward is great in heaven,

For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

²⁴ But woe to you who are rich,

For you have received your consolation.

²⁵ Woe to you who are full,

For you shall hunger.

Woe to you who laugh now,

For you shall mourn and weep.

²⁶ Woe to you when all men speak well of you,

For so did their fathers to the false prophets.

Matthew 5:6 (NKJV)

⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

For they shall be filled.

Luke 12:1

When Jesus says “Beware” take it as a direct warning. Saying one thing and doing the opposite…spiritual death! The truth will always be exposed in the light of God’s Word. 

Whatever is hidden will be revealed.

The Greek word used here refers to fermented dough that was mixed in with new dough and used as a rising agent. The small amount used in baking would permeate the entire batch of new dough. Leaven serves as an apt metaphor to describe the widespread effects of the Pharisees’ hypocritical teachings and actions. Faithlife Bible.

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. NKJ Bible.

Luke 12:1 (NKJ

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.

Luke 11:39 (NKJV)

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.

Matthew 16:6 (NKJV)

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

Matthew 23:28 (NKJV)

²⁸ Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Amos 7:7-9

Jesus is the plumb line where God met mankind. 

There is no other way that man could be saved except at the foot of the cross and the salvation provided in Christ Jesus.. A priceless gift to us from the Father…that cost us nothing except repentance and acceptance but cost Him everything!  

He willingly gave up His life because there was no other way that man could be saved.

A plumb line is a string with a weight tied to one end, used to establish a vertical line so that a wall can be built straight.

God asked Amos what he saw, then explained the vision’s meaning. Unlike the first two visions, God did not give Amos opportunity to intercede, nor did He relent. These judgments would be executed. The plumb line of God’s revelation in the law had been set in the midst of Israel for many generations. Now God would stretch a plumb line to demonstrate how “crooked” the people’s observance of His commands had been. The high places refer to temples, groves, and other shrines dedicated mostly to pagan deities. NKJ Bible.

Amos 7:7–9 (NKJV) 

⁷ Thus He showed me: Behold, the Lord stood on a wall made with a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand. ⁸ And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”

And I said, “A plumb line.”

Then the Lord said:

“Behold, I am setting a plumb line

In the midst of My people Israel;

I will not pass by them anymore.

⁹ The high places of Isaac shall be desolate,

And the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste.

I will rise with the sword against the house of Jeroboam.”

John 3:13-16

Faith alone pleases the Father and in the measure that you believe, you can receive, all that He wants for you in this life and in the life to come. If Jesus and the salvation that only He can give is held up in love…others will be drawn to Him and live! 

Have faith in Him to do what you cannot!

This verse presents a concise summary of the gospel message, tying the events of Jesus’ death to God’s love for the world He created. The statement is remarkable in its depiction of divine care for the entire world—not just His chosen people, Israel. Faithlife Bible.

When Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, those who looked at it lived. So it is with the Son of Man. When a person trusts Christ, he or she is born again and receives eternal and spiritual life, God’s kind of life. God’s love is not restricted to any one nation or to any spiritual elite. NKJ Bible.

John 3:13–16 (NKJV)

¹³ No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. ¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Numbers 21:9 (NKJV)

⁹ So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

Proverbs 30:4 (NKJV)

⁴ Who has ascended into heaven, or descended?

Who has gathered the wind in His fists?

Who has bound the waters in a garment?

Who has established all the ends of the earth?

What is His name, and what is His Son’s name,

If you know?

Isaiah 9:6 (NKJV)

⁶ For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Deuteronomy 16:18-20

Judge with truth and justice without partiality. 

In the manner that you judge you will be judged.

The people must choose their own magistrates to serve their respective communities. No clear distinction is made between the judges and the officials (or officers) mentioned here. Faithlife Bible.

The Lord loves justice and hates discrimination.

Justice is the quality of dealing with people fairly. Judges particularly were expected to reflect God’s just nature by not dealing with the accused on the basis of discrimination, false witness, or hearsay. A bribe is any gift that might change the balance in favor of the giver, thus tipping the scales of justice.

Godliness is to imitate God in a love for what is just and true. 

God’s intention in all His instructions was for the good of His people. NKJ Bible.

Deuteronomy 16:18–20 (NKJV)

¹⁸ “You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the Lord your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment. ¹⁹ You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. ²⁰ You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

Exodus 23:6 (NKJV)

⁶ “You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute.

Exodus 23:1 (NKJV)

23 “You shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

Deuteronomy 1:17 (NKJV)

¹⁷ You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small as well as the great; you shall not be afraid in any man’s presence, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear it.’

Acts 26:19-23

As Christians we need to repent of our sins, seek the wisdom of the Holy Spirit and do works that show the mercy and love of God to the world.

We are commanded to love  God above all, cherishing the salvation He provided in Christ Jesus, and love and care for others in the same way we love ourselves and our families.

In doing this we fulfill everything written in the Old and New Testament!

Paul is being persecuted for following Jesus’ command to spread the gospel. Throughout Acts, the good news about Jesus is presented as the fulfillment of promises made by God in the old testament Scriptures. Jesus was the first who absolutely conquered death and was the guarantee that others would as well. Faithlife Bible.

Repentance indicates a complete change in thinking. We do what we think is best, what makes sense to us. Paul was killing Christians because he thought it was the correct course of action. Christ’s revelation changed his thoughts, but his preaching of the Good News was visible proof that he had repented of his former ways. Genuine repentance is evidenced by changed behavior.

Acts 26:19–23 (NKJV)

¹⁹ “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, ²⁰ but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance. ²¹ For these reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. ²² Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come—²³ that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”

Acts 1:8 (NKJV)

⁸ But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Colossians 1:18 (NKJV)

¹⁸ And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

Revelation 1:5 (NKJV)

⁵ and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.

To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,