To stir up wrath and take revenge I put her blood on the bare rock, so that it would not be covered....Now your impurity is lewdness. Because I tried to cleanse you but you would not be cleansed from your impurity, you will not be clean again until my wrath against you has subsided.

Ezekiel 24

To stir up wrath and take revenge I put her blood on the bare rock, so that it would not be covered....Now your impurity is lewdness. Because I tried to cleanse you but you would not be cleansed from your impurity, you will not be clean again until my wrath against you has subsided. v8,13

God uses Ezekiel to give us another parable about sin...about the sin of Israel and our own sin.  We all sin and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:8).  In the Old Testament covenant, spilling of blood was required for atonement, and as such animal sacrifice was used.  In the New Testament, Jesus is the ultimate and final sacrifice through the shedding of His blood on the cross...no further sacrifice is required.  Unlike the Old Covenant where Israel's blood is not covered, Jesus covers and washes our sin away (Romans 4:7).  

Additionally, today God reinforces how we all need to be more like Him, and this requires sanctification - an often very difficult process where God sometimes uses harsh punishment and difficult circumstances to mold us into who He wants us to be - the refiner's fire.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who died on the cross for me - thank You Jesus.  You paid the ultimate price so that I would have life.  Thank You Jesus.  I am not worth such love.  I worry...far too much.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return; renew our days as of old unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure.

Lamentations 5

Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return; renew our days as of old unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure. v21-22

Sin separates us from God.  In the Old Testament, animal sacrifices and the spilling of animal blood was used as part of ceremonial law to atone for sins and to help restore and reconcile individuals back to God.  Jeremiah is correct that he and the exiled Jews needed to be restored, and Jeremiah also delivered prophecies pointing to Jesus, whose death on the cross permanently eliminated the need for animal sacrifice.  While Jesus does want us to repent and confess our sins, He does not want animal sacrifice.  Instead, He wants our lives to be about Him and for Him - we are to sacrifice FOR Him:


Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who laid down His life for me...for me...amazing!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not worth such an act.  I miss the mark. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.

Jeremiah 25

Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you. v5-6

The Lord sent many of his servants (v4) to deliver this message to the Israelites who had turned away from God.  Yet they did not listen (v7). God is extremely patient with us, full of grace and mercy, slow to anger and abounding in love, yet He does NOT have unlimited patience.

What is great is that we DO have a God who sent His Son to drink from the same cup of wrath taken by others before Him such as those who did so as described here in Jeremiah 25 and elsewhere in the Bible.

We all have earthly fathers we love but we none of us have an earthly father who can do what Jesus did for us at the cross.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God - You have done for me what no earthly father can or could ever do.  Thank You Jesus. Thank You for my earthly father and thank You for being so full of grace, mercy, and love for me.  I am not worthy of such love.  I miss the mark daily.  Please forgive me and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Please help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy.

Zephaniah 3

The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. v15

Zephaniah reminds us that we have a God who is full of mercy, as we get what we don't deserve and we don't get what we deserve.

The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you;
    never again will you fear any harm.

On that day
    they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
    do not let your hands hang limp.
The Lord your God is with you,
    the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
    but will rejoice over you with singing.” v15-17

Yes, both Judah and its surrounding nations faced harsh punishment for its turning away from and denying the Lord, but God provided a remnant that will once again trust in the name of the Lord (v12) and live in harmony again with Him.

In the same way, we have a God in Christ Jesus that spares us from the punishment we all deserve (Romans 3:23, 6:23) by taking our place on the cross.  In doing so, we are able to defeat sin and death - oh what a gift!  

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God who is SO full of mercy, grace, and compassion.  Thank You for such love but I am not worth such love as my anger, grumbling, worries, etc. continue!  Please forgive me and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.