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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Saturday, 23 September 2023:
Ezekiel 24:13, 14 – On account of your unclean lewdness, because I would have cleansed you and you were not cleansed from your uncleanness, you shall not be cleansed anymore till I have satisfied my fury upon you. I am the Lord. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; I will not spare; I will not relent; according to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the Lord God.
God gives people the opportunity to be cleansed of their sins, with Him doing for them what they cannot do for themselves, but if they continue to reject His free gift of salvation, He will judge, and when He decides to judge, He will not relent.
Ezekiel 24:16 — Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke.
God may call us to go through terrible pain and suffering for His purposes.
Ezekiel 24:18 – So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did as I was commanded.
The purpose of your life is to glorify God. Eventually, we will be called to glorify God in death, but from this perspective, death is not bad but an opportunity. Of course, Christians understand that death is the beginning of an eternity with God.
Ezekiel 25:3 – Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God, Because you said, “Aha!” over my sanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when they went into exile….
Just because a person does not choose to believe in God doesn’t mean that they aren’t still responsible to God. God will hold unbelievers accountable for their acts against God’s people.
Ezekiel 25:6 – For thus says the Lord God: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced with all the malice within your soul against the land of Israel….
Joy over another’s misfortune is sin.
Ezekiel 25:11 – …and I will execute judgments upon Moab. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
A nation’s military strength makes no difference when God chooses to judge.
Ezekiel 25:14 – And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they shall do in Edom according to my anger and according to my wrath, and they shall know my vengeance, declares the Lord God.
The fall of a nation is a result of God’s anger.
Ezekiel 25:15 — Thus says the Lord God: Because the Philistines acted revengefully and took vengeance with malice of soul to destroy in never-ending enmity….
Harboring hatred is sin.
Ezekiel 25:16 – …therefore thus says the Lord God, Behold, I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the rest of the seacoast.
God intends the defeat of a city to send a message to all the powerful nations of the world.
Psalm 109:4 – In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer.
Don’t focus on your enemies, focus on God. Don’t worry about your enemies – pray.
Psalm 109:4 — In return for my love they accuse me.
When God called you to minister to a sinful world, He knew that sinners would treat you sinfully. When you love imperfect people as God commanded, they will treat you imperfectly. Taking a beating for the sake of that love is how you “take up our cross” and follow Jesus.
Psalm 109:21 – But you, O God my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name’s sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!
The psalmist understood that God would act for Himself, not merely for the psalmist. God’s goal is to reveal Himself and to bring glory to Himself, not to the delivered one. Live a life that will reveal God’s love and faithfulness.
Psalm 109:27, 28 – Let them know that this is your hand; you, O Lord, have done it! Let them curse, but you will bless! They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!
Your faith grows when you see God work in your life. God’s work in your life is your testimony to others. Walk in the faith that you have so that God can strengthen your faith every time you see Him act in your life. If you only trust in your own understanding and walk in your own strength, you will never see God do what only He can do, and your faith will not grow.
Psalm 109:28 — Let them curse, but you will bless!
Our hope, joy, and fate rests with the LORD, not men.
Psalm 109:30 – With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
As our readings have taught several times today, God’s goal is to reveal Himself. When you proclaim God, you become an agent of His purpose. When you walk with Jesus and reveal the blessings of Jesus in your life, you will grow in spiritual strength, and God will use your life more and more in accordance with His purpose. If you are faithful with little, you will be given much.
Psalm 109:30 — With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
Mature faith is able to “give great thanks” to the LORD in the midst of suffering, crisis, and chaos.
Proverbs 23:1-3 – When you sit down to eat with a ruler, observe carefully what is before you…. Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food.
The American Founding Fathers had a healthy distrust of government for good reason. As the saying goes, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. God gives authority to government, and we are to submit to it. Government is necessary as a means to protect life and property. But any government of man will reflect man’s fallenness and shortcomings, and government often empowers sin. There is no such thing as a Christian nation. There are only are Christian people who may influence a nation and its processes. Christians in America are given a unique access to government, which we should use wisely; but it is important that we maintain perspective on the realities of government. When we start to think that our hope is in government, we are in danger. Political leaders promise many delicacies, but it is deceptive food. There are no gifts from the government that don’t have a string attached.
Proverbs 23:4 – Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.
Do not place your hope and trust in wealth and so neglect your relationship with God. If you cannot find time to study the Bible, pray, fellowship with your church, raise your family as disciples, minister to the needs of others, etc, because you are working so hard, you are doing something wrong.
In response to a person’s complaint about not having enough time in the day to do all that needed to be done, the old pastor responded, “You have just enough time in the day to peaceably do exactly what God wants you to do.” We wear ourselves out chasing so many things that God never intended for us, all in pursuit of building our own little kingdoms rather than seeking the Kingdom of God. We make our lives so complicated and stressful. It is so easy to get caught up in the “worries of the world.” Pray for discernment to know what not to do. Pray for the faith to be still and wait on the Lord. Fight the temptation to become harried in pursuit of self-interest.
There is such a thing as too much. Wealth building can be a substitute for faith, not trusting God to provide for your future. Also we have likely all heard the adage, “Possessions possess you.” Jesus walked with virtually nothing and told us to pray “Give us this day our daily bread.” It is not sinful to maintain provisions for the future, in fact, it is Biblical; however, trying to build your own kingdom on earth and your own security can be idolatry and can destroy you. Use your resources for Kingdom work, advancing the Gospel and resourcing acts of love. Acquiring excessive wealth may be evidence that a person has failed to meet God’s commandments of love and has failed to understand their God-given mission in life:
- Luke 12:13:21 — And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Proverbs 23:7 — …he is like one who is inwardly calculating.
There is no merit in good deeds done for self-interest, self-glory, or personal gain, regardless of how we sell it or put a sacrificial cloak on it. Beware of the WIIFM – “What’s in it for me.” The gift that is worth giving is the one that is most valuable to you. Usually it is the credit, the privilege, the security, the comfort, or the pleasure. Give all that away. The unacceptable works of the flesh have both a negative side (overt sin), and a seemingly positive side (good deeds done out of self-righteousness). God is not impressed with our self-righteous, self-edifying good deeds – “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” (Isaiah 64:6) A right thing done in the wrong way or for the wrong reasons is not “right”-eous before the Lord. While our outward acts of charity might gain us favor with humanity, they are wood, hay, and straw in the fire of God’s holiness. (1 Corinthians 3:12-15) Jesus was clear – “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” (Matthew 6:3) Our most basic form of lust is “approbation lust” – the desire to be recognized, to promote oneself. Approbation lust goes down two paths – the path of ascetism (self-denial leading to self-righteousness) and/or lasciviousness (self-gratification leading to licentiousness). Both paths lead to death. The path of life is to die of self, pick up our cross daily, and follow Jesus. Give ALL glory to God and God alone. Might this make you irrelevant? Not in God’s sight — Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? (Matthew 16:24-26)
Proverbs 23:10, 11 — Do not move an ancient landmark or enter the fields of the fatherless, for their Redeemer is strong; he will plead their cause against you.
Jesus protects the weak. When people work against the weak, they are challenging Jesus.
Proverbs 23:13, 14 — Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol.
God disciplines you to keep you from destruction. Be grateful for His discipline.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 23 September 2023: With your mouth, give great thanks to the Lord today and praise Him in the midst of the crowd. (Psalm 109:30) See how this affects you, how the crowd responds, and how God works in the midst of others.
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 