Ezekiel_25

Scripture

Ezekiel 25:3-4

3 Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you said “Aha!” over my sanctuary when it was desecrated and over the land of Israel when it was laid waste and over the people of Judah when they went into exile, 4 therefore I am going to give you to the people of the East as a possession. 

Observation - What does it say?

God executed his judgment on his people for their sin and idolatry. Their Ammonite neighbors watched down their noses as the people of Judah were carried off into exile. And, rather than feeling any sense of compassion, they laughed and mocked at Judah’s misfortune. As a result, God was now bringing judgement against Ammon.

Understanding - What does it mean?

Do you ever find yourself lacking compassion?

This convicted me this morning particularly in regards to my kids. I’ll often lack compassion. For example, I'll ask my son not to jump on the couch and he jumps anyway and hits his head. He doesn’t usually get from me a, “Oh bud, I’m so sorry. Are you ok?” More like a, “I told you not to! That’s what you get.” And after a few seconds, “You alright?” I could definitely use a shift from being a bit less like Ammon and a bit more like Jesus.

Don't make fun of people's misfortune, even if they deserve it.

Even though Judah deserved it, from God’s perspective it didn't give the Ammonites the right to mock and rub it in.

In Psalm 1, the godly, successful man is contrasted against the man who "sits in the seat of mockers."

James 3:9-10 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.

Jesus spoke of those who will be rewarded and said, “I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' (Matthew 26:36) Then he clarified, “…whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

In other words, following Jesus is about bringing your sick co-worker a meal rather than saying, “I’ve been telling them to take better care of themselves.” It’s about visiting those in prison rather than saying, “They committed the crime and deserve to be in there.”  And it’s about offering something to the cardboard sign holder on the corner rather than rolling up the window and making a judgmental comment. 

Life Application

God, forgive my lack of compassion! May we be people who are quicker to love than to judge, quicker to help than to laugh! Make us more like you. Amen.

- Levi Thompson

Psalm 104

Scripture  Psalm 104:31-33 

 Let the glory of the Lord endure forever; Let the Lord be glad in His works; He looks at the earth, and it trembles; He touches the mountains, and they smoke.  I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. Observation-What does it say?  This psalm is a hymn to the creator.  The author uses the story of creation to demonstrate the glory of God, using the earth as a vision of God’s glory.  “The poem contains a complete cosmos sea and land, cloud and sunlight, plant and animal, light and darkness, life and death, are all proved to be expressive of the presence of the Lord”(Spurgeon).  Using the imagery of earth, we get an understanding of God as the sustainer of life.  All of His creation depend on His unfailing goodness and provision for life itself.  Contemplating on His creation helps us to gain perspective on His glory, so we can praise him properly.   Understanding-What does it mean?  As a kid, my favorite part of the year was summer.  Though it had little to do with being out of school.  Well, maybe that was some of it.  But, my love of summer really revolved around summer camp.  I started going to our church’s summer camp pretty young, I think my first time to summer camp was when I was seven, just after finishing the first grade.  It was the first time I can remember seeing the forest, or having a bonfire.  But what was most important and impactful on my life was the ability to connect with God, which is what drew me back every year.  And that was the whole idea of summer camp, getting out of our normal routine, into a beautiful setting, with the intention of worshiping Jesus.  As I got into high school, winter camp became an option as well.  MIND BLOWN!!!  I was like, “You mean I get to go to the mountains, in the snow, and worship God  in the winter?”  I didn’t know what part of the year was my favorite anymore.  While times have changed, and camps are a fading trend, I still find I have a need to get out into the wilderness to reorient my perspective.  I love to hike and mountain bike.  These moments in the woods and desert, having the time to look at God’s creation, helps me to remember how powerful He is and of the beauty of his wisdom.  We live in a culture that doesn’t encourage rest.  Phrases like “time is money” and “you can sleep when you’re dead” encourage us to be working continually.  Which draws us to focus on problems.  When we take time away to gain perspective, we can focus on the bigger picture and the solution.  Jesus being the ultimate solution to life.  Jesus himself retreated for times of prayer.  In Matthew 14, Mark 6 and Luke 6, we see an example of Jesus drawing away to gain perspective and, most importantly, meet with the Father.  

 

Life Application 

 

Holy Spirit, help me to have an attitude like Jesus (Philippians 2:5-11).  Help me to gain perspective when I can.  Most of all, help me to worship God because he is the creator and sustainer of my life.  It is only from this perspective that all the hard things in life can have meaning.     

 

-Tyler Galloway

Psalm__103

Scripture - What stood out?Psalm 1038 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,    slow to anger, abounding in love.9 He will not always accuse,    nor will he harbor his anger forever;10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve    or repay us according to our iniquities.11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,    so great is his love for those who fear him;12 as far as the east is from the west,

    so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Observation - What does it say?Another beautiful psalm of David. This psalm reveals the counterpart to God’s Wrath - His Compassion. I have read the old testament many times now and here is a verse that has always stuck to me, Deuteronomy 5:9 “You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,”But in psalm 103 we find the counter measure to that in verse 17 “But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children-” Understanding - What does it mean?Author Lois Tverberg, in her book Reading The Bible With Rabbi Jesus writes: Our English word fear narrowly focuses on being afraid. To us, fear is the opposite of trust and is synonymous with worry, dread, or fright. But yirah encompasses a much wider range of meanings from negative (dread, terror) to positive (worship, reverence) and from mild (respect) to strong (awe). Whenever you read “revere” or “reverence” in your bible, the word yirah is most likely behind it. What a wonderful explanation for the word fear in psalm 103:11, and 17. My whole life I have interpreted the english bible’s interpretation of the fear of the Lord one and only one way, and that was the “tremble in dread and terror” definition. But here we read that the same root word for fear in hebrew was also used to mean reverence and awe. Doesn’t that open up a totally different perspective? The picture of God I have in these verses is no longer the angry, terrifying destroyer of men, who instills fear but instead it is that of a Holy and Just God who is capable of applying both justice and mercy who instills reverence and awe. And what does God do to those who revere him with awe - he loves them...with a love so great says David. He does not treat us as our sins, as our bad decisions, as our bad desires deserve. Instead he removes our transgressions. He removes our trespasses from His ledgers, from the column that reads “must pay in full for the wrongs you committed this time and that time and that time”. Life Application - How can I apply this to my life today?I would like to be somebody who reveres you with awe Father God. Teach me how to do that appropriately given my own limitations Father God. Show me what it is to have a healthy fear of You. Perhaps it is similar to the fear a man has of his 64 year old, 115 lb, immigrant mother that he outweighs by over 150 lbs. Perhaps not. Show me how to properly revere You, Lord, so that my children’s children would be faithful recipients of Your Love and Your Righteousness.What can I do to increase or to work on my healthy fear of the Lord today? Father I will try my best not to use Your name in vain today. That is one small way I can begin to improve on developing a reverence for You! Love You Lord. -kenneth lee