I have been thinking of the nature of devotion recently, thanks to a good friend who has challenged a group of Christians to write an individual devotional for a project. We have been given no instructions beyond that, so I am free to make this devotion as long or short as I like. While that does give me free reign to do with this project whatever I see fit, it also forces me to… gasp… make decisions on just how to go about this!

I immediately began looking into some devotions to get some ideas. I looked into Our Daily Bread and other resources for devotions and found that they usually have a short passage to read, one or two verses really. They then go on and on about how this verse can impact the reader’s life. That’s all well and good, but does a five-minute reflection each day match the definition of devotion? Let’s look at the words of David, as he gave Solomon instructions of how to serve the Lord.

1 Chronicles 28:9-10 (NIV) “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.”

We need to challenge ourselves and each other within the body of Christ to continue our growth in the Lord. We need to devote ourselves to this end. We need to meditate on the revealed will of God day and night. We do this for our own growth, yes, but the most important reason we do this is to the glory of the Lord.

Now, what kind of devotion shall I write?

Yours in Christ,

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Today's reading is found in Ezekiel 17-19.

They say a man is as good as his word. Does that mean that the leaders of Israel were worthless? Actually, it does! They gave their word to the Lord that they would be faithful and they broke their vow. They made a vow to Babylon and broke that vow as quickly as they could! Babylon was the world power of the day while Egypt was waning. Israel's power was all but nonexistent, or rather their power was punishing them and had determined that they were to be destroyed. From what I've read, I doubt Egypt would be able to succeed in a battle against Babylon even if Israel were teaming up with them, but that's where Israel turned for their help. I shake my head in amazement at their guile!

There's another change in this passage. In times past, the son would carry on the sins of a father and it was acceptable to repent for the sins of others. Job did this for his for his sons (until they were all killed in Job's test of faith). Now, the righteousness of the individual was the barometer of their rewards. That's big because now we are not crippled by the doings of our parents. Sure, their parenting skills do play an important role in childrens' lives, but we have the choice of just how much this will affect us. That choice is made every day in who you decide to follow.

Today's reading is found in Ezekiel 20:1-22:16.

So this prostitute of a nation now wants to inquire of God for their deliverance, huh? God repeated their nationwide sins in this reading and remarked that even as they were on the edge of the abyss, they still defiled themselves with idolatry. For generations, God had been patient with them for His own sake, but enough was enough. God's plan was to devastate them and then rebuild them into a nation that would listen to him after learning from their mistakes. They were beyond correction. The potter had to push the clay back to a shapeless lump so it could be recast into the useful vessel it was meant to be.

As an object lesson, let's take a quick look at Jerusalem's sins here and compare them with our own. The leaders misused their power over the powerless. Parents were treated with contempt and their healthy lessons were ignored in favor of sinful pleasures. Holy days and items were desecrated. Their "sexual renaissance" was in full swing. Unjust money was everywhere to be stolen from those who trusted the good will of others. The fear of God was nonexistent. Does any of this sound like a society you have heard of?

Today's reading is found in Ezekiel 22:17-23:49, 2 Kings 24:20-25:2, Jeremiah 52:3-5, Jeremiah 39:1 and Ezekiel 24:1-14.

You know you're in trouble when your clergy can't distinguish between right and wrong. I'm not trying to pick on any particular religion here, but there has been a recent rash of certain religious leaders committing the most horrific sins. Openly homosexual priests and ministers are fighting to retain their duties and their congregations are helping them. Israel was in bad shape at the time of this story, but our era has absolutely no room to judge them. How much better are we really than them? Zilch. Zero. Nada. And the sad thing is, all God would have to do to punish us is lift His protection and let us do it on our own. The enemies of Israel judged her against their standards that Israel rushed to adopt, so there is precedence for this.

Some people think that being judged by their actions would be a fine thing, but this story is a perfect illustration to show that we really don't want that. That's all the more reason to turn to Him. You don't have to be perfect; you just need to accept His blessing. It's not even a matter of how you want to be redeemed. It's a matter of utmost necessity and I'd be very cautious of anyone who tries to tell you otherwise.

Day 4

Today's reading is found in Ezekiel 24:15-25:17, Jeremiah 34:1-22, Jeremiah 21:1-14, Ezekiel 29:1-16 and Ezekiel 30:20-31:18.

Sometimes the lessons we have to learn are tough. Sometimes the teaching methodology is harsh. Sometimes we just don't think it's fair. All of these thoughts went through my mind when I read about the death of Ezekiel's wife. And then to top it off, he was told not to mourn his loss. This all had a point, though. The Lord was to take a husband's role, providing for His wife, the Israelites. When their temple was destroyed, they were not to mourn it, using Ezekiel as a role model. I won't lie and tell you that I understand why the man's wife had to be destroyed, but I won't argue with the lessons of God, either.

Here's another interesting story. Originally, any Jews who sold themselves into slavery were to be freed after a seven-year time of servitude. King Zedekiah had all of the slaves freed, but they were just as quickly enslaved again. This was enough to enrage God even further. It's not said why the sudden changes occurred. Perhaps they were being released to fight, but their services were wanted after they were released. Indecisive leaders are the worst of the worst. They tend to go with the safe course of following their people, rather than God, who demands righteous decisions from a strong leader.

Day 5

Today's reading found in Jeremiah 32:1-33:26 and Ezekiel 26:1-14.

Talk about a showing of faith here! The city was under siege and it wasn't looking good. To top it off, Ezekiel had some "inside information" that the city would be burned to the ground. God told him to purchase land for hard currency. That silver would have come in handy to an exiled Jew, but what did he do? He purchased land that was slated for devastation. And why would he do such a thing so soon before the land would lose his value? For one, God told him to. For another reason, this land was not permanently destroyed, for God had already planned to return it to Israel. This land purchase was a sign that the fortunes of the Jews would be restored, as would their land. A simple description of faith is "Believing is Seeing" but Ezekiel was told to put his money where God's mouth is, and that is always a wise investment.

Today's reading is found in Ezekiel 26:15-28:26, 2 Kings 25:3-7, Jeremiah 52:6-11 and Jeremiah 39:2-10.

Tyre was a beautiful city with riches to rival any nation at that time. Looking at the rundown of their trading partners, they had influence over the world due to their economic strength. The problem God had with them was their pride. God had a big problem with their godlike self-image and when God sees fit to expel you, your days are numbered by His timeline. Let this be a lesson in humility to us all!

Today's reading is found in Jeremiah 39:11-18, Jeremiah 40:1-6, 2 Kings 25:8-21, Jeremiah 52:12-27 and 2 Chronicles 36:15-21, Lamentations 1:1-22.

I almost feel bad for talking like this, but finally we see some fruition to what God had been warning the Israelites about for... oh... since before the exodus from Egypt. They had turned from God unless they were in the worst peril for so long, generations! Now after Ezekiel and Jeremiah had given the bluntest warnings the time was truly come and Jerusalem was destroyed, with everything happening exactly as God told them it would.

One mention here, and this is something that may seem trivial, but I don't think it is. The land enjoyed 70 years of Sabbath. In the original covenant, the Jews were to work their fields and vineyards for six years and let the ground replenish itself on every seventh year. In that year, the fruits that would grow anyway would be more than enough to feed the people. If this land enjoyed 70 years of Sabbath, how long had it gone without one? I don't think the Bible really says, but I imagine it was like this for all of the years that Israel had turned from God.

Weekly Link Bible Researcher This site is for Bible students who are looking for detailed information on the history of the canon, texts, and versions of Scripture. A close internet friend shared it with me when I discussed a conversation with another person regarding the acceptance of "The Message" as a valid interpretation of the Bible. I won't go into the details of that... um... discussion, but I have been looking through this site and believe it to be one of the greatest little-known treasures to be uncovered on the internet. This is one site that you will want to spend some serious time in. I highly recommend setting aside a healthy amount of time to go through the overview of information here, make a list of things you wish to learn about, and then take them one by one. I know that paper is considered taboo in the business world, but the articles in here are so good, that I must recommend printing off articles to read them carefully and to allow them to digest. http://www.bible-researcher.com/

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Thanks for sharing my goal of reading the Bible in its entirety this year!