Ezekiel_48

Scripture - What stood out?Ezekiel 48: 35…“And the name of the city from that time on will be:the Lord is there.”Observation - What does it say?

A new temple and a new city to close out the book of Ezekiel in chapters 47 and 48. A new temple with a river flowing out of it that would bring a dead sea to life. And a new city that would reunite the fractured people/tribal groups of Israel. Understanding - What does it mean?While biblical scholars debate the literal and figurative meanings of the final two chapters of Ezekiel, my mind can’t help but imagine what the figurative interpretation of this new city would be like. That last line of Ezekiel is just so...inspiring. What if that was the name of the city that we lived in today?! “Hi my name is ken, i live in the city of “the Lord is There”. Where are you from?”And the other person responds, “Oh, I have lived in California my whole life and I have never heard of that city before!” No but seriously, I daydream about what heaven is like, what is eden is like, but I have never dreamed of what it would be like to live in a city where God was there. That just sounds so intense and amazing to think about God living and ruling within the framework of...Santa Clarita! We could all drive by His home during his 5am walks...and pester Him with life’s hardest questions! What would our city look like, feel like, be like, if we were the city of “the Lord is there.” Life Application - How can I apply this to my life today?Lord whether we resembled eden, or heaven, or none of the above, I would love for our city...really all of our cities to be named “the Lord is there”. Help your servants here on earth to make that statement a reality. I pray for the city that I live in today. I pray for the city of Santa Clarita, that we would all desire that precious mantle and reality- to live in a place where You are There. In the name of Jesus do I pray. Amen-kenneth lee 

Matthew__1

Scripture

Matthew 1:1 and 5

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham… Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth...

 

Observation

In this chapter we are introduced to Jesus’ lineage which not only seems pretty self-explanatory but also very daunting. The first few many remember, but as the family tree extends all the connections get even more messy, but they all are key to Jesus’ arrival.

 

Understanding

Alright… I have to be honest… I don’t think I have ever read the full genealogy of Jesus before. It just seemed like too much, and those names… geez I’d hate to be a teacher doing that roll call. However, this time I decided I would read through it and I am so glad that I did! Jesus came from a line of some pretty unperfect people. All of them seem to have flaws, but I had to stop on Rahab. For those who do not know her, here is some quick background on Rahab:

• This woman was a prostitute
• She lived in this place called Jericho (during the time of its invasion)
• She houses two Israelite spies, and lies to the Jericho authorities when questioned about them
• Frequently they come to her house where she gives them protection
• Because of this, her home is not destroyed

Here’s what I am getting at: God doesn’t care about your past that may not have been aligned with His. Not only was Rahab’s house not destroyed when all the rest of Jericho was, but she was added to the lineage of arguably the most awaited person in human history. The same applies to us! God doesn’t care what you may have done in the past, He’s concerned with whether or not you wish to be added to His story. Jesus comes from a long line of prostitutes, liars, murderers, and some extremely flawed people… but that’s why He came.

 

Life Application

Here’s a reminder that I think is very important here:

The enemy will tell you that sinning is not that big of a deal… until you do it… then he’ll tell you that you don’t deserve to be forgiven… but again, THAT’S WHY JESUS CAME!

I’m sure Rehab struggled some days with this fact, but she still was a part of ushering in the King of Kings. God not only forgave Rahab by protecting her home, but He rewarded her ten-fold by adding her to His family tree. God is asking us to be obedient! Not only are the rewards far greater than we can imagine, but others take notice and wish to be added to the “family tree” too. Let’s be purposeful in how we live, and let’s grow our big happy family even further.

-Allison Khan

Psalm_127

Scripture

Psalm 127:1-2

 

1  Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. 2  In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves. Observation-What does it say?

The writer of this Psalm, King Solomon describes what meaningful labor looks like, not meaningless labor. It brings me back to the book of Ecclesiastes, where he describes throughout the book that all the toiling under the sun is meaningless. (See Ecclesiastes 1:3, Eccl. 2:11, Eccl. 2:17-26, etc.)

 

Understanding-What does it mean?King Solomon was a man with TRUE wisdom.I love King Solomon’s story. (By the way, he is King David and Bathsheba’s 2nd child, after the 1st one was taken away as a consequence of their sin.) In a dream, the Lord told King Solomon to ask him for anything he wanted. Instead of asking God for wealth, possessions, honor, to defeat all his enemies, etc., he asked God for wisdom. Because God saw that his heart wasn’t for those things, He blessed King Solomon with the knowledge and wisdom he asked for PLUS all of those other things anyway. (See 1 Kings 3:1-15 and 2 Chronicles 1: 7-13)King Solomon knew that true success wasn’t a byproduct of what he could do in his own strength. As the Psalm says, unless the Lord is behind it, it is all in vain. All the toiling and labor is in vain. It’s all meaningless. However, if we give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord in His strength and wisdom, none of it is in vain.

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58

 

Life Application

Are we spending our time and energy in vain, toiling and fighting for things that don’t last in light of eternity?

 

On Sunday, Pastor preached about using our words to build up, not destroy. He also spoke about what true wisdom looks like, as opposed to false. Here’s a reminder of the verse Pastor had in his sermon, regarding exalting ourselves. James 3:13-14 NLT- If you are wise and understand God’s ways, live a life of steady goodness so that only good deeds will pour forth.  And if you don’t brag about the good you do, then you will be truly wise! But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your hearts, don’t brag about being wise.  That is the worst kind of lie.The only reason why there is good in any of us is because of Jesus Christ. Apart from Him, we are nothing. Let’s toil and labor to build His Kingdom and not our own. If God is in it, it will not be destroyed.-Michelle Gaddi