Ezekiel 21. 01.08.26
SCRIPTURE
“The word of the Lord came to me: “Therefore groan, son of man!
Groan before them with broken heart and bitter grief. And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand go limp; every spirit will become faint and every leg will be wet with urine.’
It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord.””
Ezekiel 21:1, 6-7 NIV
OBSERVATION
Next to Job, Ezekiel is one of the most challenging books of the Bible, with Chapter 21 being particularly difficult. Here, the people stand at the brink of God’s impending Judgment, having received SO many warnings that have fallen on deaf ears, and still they are impervious to the Judgment that is Coming. They are choosing to Listen to what they “want” to hear rather than the “Truth”.
God’s severe judgment against Judah and Jerusalem—symbolized by a “drawn sword,” representing the Babylonian army—would bring complete destruction in the form of a national catastrophe. This judgment underscores the absolute certainty of God’s wrath in response to turning away from Him and continuing in persistent sin. The sheer magnitude and severity of what was coming would serve as a powerful revelation to the watching world, making it clear that only God Himself could be behind such a great reckoning.
Yet, God did not want Ezekiel to be an unemotional messenger of judgment.
God wanted the heart of the prophet to display the same breaking heart that God Himself had.
God told Ezekiel to “groan with a broken heart and bitter grief.”
Our sin and His punishment, though righteous—-breaks God’s heart.
APPLICATION
Lord Jesus—Break My Heart for what Breaks Your Heart
Why did Jesus weep when He saw Jerusalem?
His ministry was almost over. Time was short. He had healed their sick. He had raised their dead. He had cleansed their lepers. He had fed their hungry. He had forgiven their sins. Yet for the most part, He had been rejected. The same people who were shouting “Hosanna” soon would be shouting “Crucify him”.
“He came to—His own, and His own—did Not receive Him.” (John 1:11)
Unbelief and rejection breaks God’s heart, because He knows the consequences.
But when the door of the human heart is shut, He will Not enter by Force.
He will only knock—wanting to gain admittance.
He has given us the ability to choose.
But when we choose the wrong thing,
He knows the repercussions that will follow—in this life—and the one to come.
And His heart is broken.
As Followers of Christ Jesus we can also break His Heart by not caring deeply about what Breaks God’s Heart. The very Thing He Came to this earth for as He Lived, Ministered, and sacrificed His Life. The Good News.
““For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NLT)
The Good News is SO much MORE than gaining a place in Heaven for the Future. Salvation is not the end, it’s the Glorious Beginning of what it means to walk this discipleship journey FOLLOWING Jesus.
“Now this IS eternal life: that they may KNOW You,
the ONLY true supreme and sovereign God, and in the same manner KNOW Jesus as the Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3 AMP)
“And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me as My disciples, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk, and I will make you fishers of men.”” (Matthew 4:19)
“Then Jesus said to His disciples,
“If ANYONE wishes to follow Me as My disciple, he must deny himself—set aside selfish interests—and take up his cross—expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come—and follow Me—believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me.” (Matthew 16:24)
“The sheep that are MY own—HEAR My voice—and LISTEN to Me;
I know them—and they FOLLOW Me.
And I give them eternal life, and they will never, ever by any means perish;
and no one will ever snatch them out of My hand.”
(John 10:27-28)
PRAYER
Lord Jesus,
Forgive me for so many wasted years. Thank You for Your mercy and grace and Love that is beyond Compare. Break my heart so deeply and fully for the people who are in such desperate need of knowing You. Only if You do this will it happen. We can do nothing apart from You. I am dust. Only by Your power and will am I living and breathing. Melt me Mold me FILL me and use me as You Will. Open my heart to Hear Your voice leading me each day. Teach me to Follow You as Your disciple. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Tina L Kudelka
Romans 6 - 1.7.26
Scripture
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. (Romans 6:11-13)
Observation
In this chapter, Paul compares baptism to being dead and buried with Christ and being risen with him. When we got baptized, our sinful selves were crucified along with Jesus, so that we will no longer be under the power of sin (Rom 6:6). Therefore we need to consider ourselves dead to sin, but alive to God. So we should not let sin rule in our body. We belong to Jesus 100%, and we cannot give any part of ourselves to sin. We need to offer all of ourselves to God as people who have been raised from death to life (Rom 6:13).
Application
God has commanded us to live a holy life, with no compromise with sin of any shape or form. For it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16). We have been crucified with Christ and we no longer live, but Christ lives in us. The life we now live in the body, we live by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave himself for us. (Gal 2:20).
Jesus himself said that, Not everyone who says to him, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of the Father who is in heaven (Matt 7:21). Jesus said that whoever wants to be his disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow him (Luke 9:23). It is a daily choice that we need to make everyday - giving up doing what we want, and instead doing what God wants us to do.
Prayer
Dear Father, I thank you for loving me, and making me your own. You washed me with the blood of Jesus and made me clean and gave me a new life. Help me to live a holy life according to your commandment. I cannot do this by my own strength, but I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13). Help me to abide in you (John 15:4). Help me to store your word in my heart, so that I will not sin against you (Ps 119:11). See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Ps 139:24). Help me to offer my life a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to you (Rom 12:1). In Jesus’s name I pray. Amen.
- Asha Chacko George
Romans 5 - 1.6.26
SCRIPTURE: Romans 5:1-5 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that sufferings produce perseverance, perseverance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, Who has been given to us.”
OBSERVATION: Paul wrote this message to the church in Rome, explaining that all believers have been justified through faith, which means ‘JUST IF I’D’ never sinned! When Jesus hung on the cross and died, it was to pay the price for OUR past, present and future sins! (Not His because He had no sin). The punishment we deserved, (death), was paid in full by Jesus Himself! Paul went on to say that we not only boast in the hope of the glory of God, but we also glory in our sufferings.
APPLICATION: So…What exactly does it mean to glory in our sufferings? It’s the end result that causes us to glory in our sufferings. Suffering produces perseverance, character and hope, and those are all character traits that point to the attributes of Jesus. If we TRULY want to become more like Jesus, then EVERY time we suffer, and remember that God is with us, and will be faithful to bring us all the way through, then we will glory in our sufferings.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
In the book of James, he doesn’t say IF you face trials, he says WHEN you face trials of many kinds, consider it pure joy because the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
“Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” There’s another great reminder of the end result that God brings AS WE GO THROUGH our trials.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come SO THAT the proven genuineness of your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though it is refined by fire - may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your great mercy and love that was demonstrated when You sent Your only Son Jesus to reconcile us to You. Please help me not to be a grumbler or a complainer when my faith is tested, but help me to remember all the good that You bring when I glory in my suffering. And thank You that I never have to suffer alone because You are always with me, AND because Your mercies are new EVERY morning! Thank You for Your faithfulness, and for promising to bring me through every trial that I will ever face as I keep my eyes on You.
- Robin Orefice