BEHOLD

Today’s Reading: Ezekiel 7-9

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

The sun shining next to the Temple of Athena on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. In today’s reading we find the practise of sun worship.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

Key Verse: Ezekiel 8:4

And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the plain.

The word, “BEHOLD,” means to see, to observe, to watch, to gaze upon, to contemplate, to inspect, and to witness an important sight. What could be more important to behold than “the glory of God!!” Ezekiel 8:16 tells us of 25 men who “were worshipping the sun.”  The Apostle John writes in John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we BEHELD His ‘GLORY,’ the ‘GLORY’ as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth!” Paul wrote, “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with ‘GLORY’ and honour, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9). Let’s read of other visions in Isaiah 6:1-5 and Revelation 1:13-18. The Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, pushed Jesus forward in front of the paid lackeys of the High Priest and exclaimed, “Ecce Homo”…”Behold the man.” In so doing, Pilate focused the gaze of billions of people onto that blood-streaked face of Jesus, and onto the crown of thorns that had been crushed on His brow. Paul wrote these words, “Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith” (read Hebrews 12:1-3).

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

O Jesus…I see You with new insight! I perceive in a greater way today than ever before who You are in all Your GLORY! You outshine the sun! I worship You! I give You my life all over again! Thank You for showing me a glimpse of Your GLORY! I pray that I will always keep You before the eyes of my understanding! In Your Name I pray, Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

While my Dad was still a soldier in the Canadian Army in WWI, he made his lifetime commitment to Jesus as his Saviour and Lord. He was 21 years old when he first received Holy Communion. The next day he was helping his father work in the field. During the day, my Grandpa saw my Dad staring off into space, immobilized, having stopped work for a time. My Grandpa said to him, “Roy, what are you gazing at?” My Dad said that at that moment he saw a vision, looking into Heaven, where he was beholding Jesus in all His Glory. I’ve walked that field thinking of Dad’s vision, wondering if God would give me a vision too. It didn’t happen to me, but as I type this, in a very real way, I am beholding His GLORY in my thoughts, and in my innermost being. I’m being changed from “Glory to Glory!” “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the GLORY of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord!” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Yours for that daily transformation that the Spirit of the Lord is producing in our lives,

David

My Father, Roy Lake Mainse, in his WWI Canadian Army uniform.

EZEKIEL BREAD

Today’s Reading: Ezekiel 4-6

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Bread is being cooked over a fire in Nazareth. The only recipe in the Bible is in today’s reading. Ezekiel bread can be purchased at many health food stores across the country such as “Goodness Me” in Ontario, Canada. Of course one can bake their own fresh bread with this recipe.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

Key Verse: Ezekiel 4:9

Also take for yourself wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt; put them into one vessel, and make bread of them for yourself. During the number of days that you lie on your side, three hundred and ninety days, you shall eat it.

Baking bread is the third of four visual object lessons Ezekiel was to preform in order to increase the impact of his message. Getting people to pay attention is more than half the battle in successfully communicating. Ezekiel was making sure that people who would hear him or read his words would know that the coming total destruction of Jerusalem and of the Temple of God did not take God by surprise and that God’s purpose to bring His people to repentance would become a fact in history. Following the Babylonian captivity, the Jewish people would never again fall into such evil practises which they had committed during the times of the Judges and the Kings. They learned very hard lessons! How would it be known that they had repented? Ezekiel 6:9 states that “They shall loath themselves for the evils which they have committed.” True repentance produces a loathing for sin!

Three times Nebuchadnezzar took captives to Babylon from Jerusalem. Daniel came to Babylon in the first wave, Ezekiel came eight years later. Jeremiah was still in Jerusalem during this time, and finally the prophecies of both Jeremiah and Ezekiel were fulfilled 11 years after Ezekiel was taken to Babylon. By the time of Jerusalem’s destruction, Daniel had already been in Babylon for 19 years and was well established as a leader in that empire. Jeremiah was taken by force to Egypt by some of the leaders of Judah who survived the Babylonian siege.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, grant me daily the grace to repent! May I have a constant sense of true repentance, so that I will loath my sin and cry out strongly to You in my repentance and pray for repentance to take place in people’s hearts everywhere. Like Daniel and others in Babylon, I get Ezekiel’s message, and I pray that You will enable me to live a holy life before You and before people. I ask this in the Name of the only One who always lived a holy life, Jesus Christ (Messiah). Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

It was at least 25 years ago that we actually baked Ezekiel bread live on the 100 Huntley Street telecast. Rev. Val Dodd, who had at one time been the executive chef for the Holiday Inns in Toronto, had joined our staff team, and we took a page from Ezekiel’s book. Television is, of course, a visual medium of communications. We’ve never been as radical as Ezekiel in such graphic visuals to support his message (like laying on one side and then the other for many days). I think such a visual would have increased the number of people watching. In fact, the entire country would have been aware of the show. I’m not recommending this to the current leaders in Crossroads Christian Communications Inc., but I do recommend powerful visual aids wherever possible. The more people watching means that the seed of God’s Word will fall into more good soil and will produce good fruit in more precious lives. One rather conservative pastor who pastored a church nearby said in reference to the Crossroads telecast and my somewhat radical approach to communications, “We should not try to be entertaining, we should just preach the Word!” True, but if we don’t get the attention of those who would not otherwise watch, how will they hear the “Word!” I would venture to say that Ezekiel was most entertaining. His ratings were really high, probably 100% of the people along the river Chebar watched him and got the message!

Yours for communicating in such a way that many more people “Get the Message!”,

David

EAT THE SCROLL

Today’s Reading: Ezekiel 1-3

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The colours of a rainbow flooding the sky above Jerusalem. In today’s reading, Ezekiel describes what he saw before him and above him.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

Key Verses: Ezekiel 1:28, 3:2

“Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord…So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll.”

God called His prophets to be “Watchmen.” Jeremiah, Ezekiel and others sounded the warning that if God’s people refused to listen, the responsibility for their downfall was their own; but if the prophet failed to sound the warning, every lost life was on his account. The word “rebellious” is repeated eight times in these chapters, the word “impudent,” which means “not ashamed,” is used twice. The people were not ashamed of their rebellion against the clearly stated Word of God! Other words to describe God’s people are “stubborn” and “hard-hearted.” Nevertheless, we should be encouraged because God is communicating in a variety of ways. Our Father in Heaven has not left us as orphans. His Apostles, Prophets, Pastors/Teachers, and Evangelists have spoken to us God’s message (read Ephesians 4:11-16).

Maybe the “wheel within a wheel” resembles the reports of some people on what they call “flying saucers.” What Ezekiel saw in his vision were probably the great archangels of God. Just remember, Satan is an archangel who can appear as an “angel of light” in order to deceive people. Let’s stick with the message of the Bible prophets, the Apostles, and most of all Jesus, Himself. That way we won’t be deceived. There are major false religions in the world today which were started by the appearance of an “angel” to so-called prophets. I’m thinking of Islam and Mormonism (read 2 Corinthians 11:12-15).

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, I pray that by Your mercy and grace in my life I will be teachable and not rebellious, impudent, stubborn, and hard-hearted! May I “eat” Your Word daily, making it my nourishment, part of my very being. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

True Bible prophets have made predictions, many of which have already come to pass. Some of the best examples of this are Psalm 22, 1,000 years before Christ, and Isaiah 7:14, 9:6, and 53, 600-700 years before Christ.

Global warming is a deep concern for many. I am taking a wait-and-see approach to the predictions of imminent destruction of the world by the melting of the ice-caps. The prophet Moses gave us God’s promise, confirmed by a rainbow, that the earth would never again be destroyed by a flood. I just read a news item from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. A retired officer who served on icebreakers in the 70s and 80s said in 2014, “This year’s ice conditions have not been seen for 40 years. The ice cover in the Arctic is returning and getting thicker.” Recently David Philips, senior climatologist for Environment Canada, is quoted as saying, “In some way, we were suggesting that it would be colder, but not this intensely cold. It is unlike anything we’ve seen for a couple of decades.” Nevertheless, Norma-Jean and I are doing what we can to reduce our “carbon footprints.”

I’m extremely thankful for what the Apostle Peter calls “The more sure Word of Prophecy.” Those predictions are totally reliable (2 Peter 1:18-20).

Yours for holding onto the One who holds the future,

David

P.S. One Saturday evening I went over to the Hamilton Harbour and took this picture of the ice melting along the shore. When I came back to our apartment, I found online a 2014 satellite picture of the ice on the Great Lakes, which reached 88% coverage…a level not reached since 1994. Some predict a catastrophic flood for costal cities. As I said, I’m an agnostic on this. However, I do believe that there are constant small changes in the Climate. Temperatures have been up and down for a very long time. For all you northerners, KEEP WARM!

NEW EVERY MORNING

Today’s Reading: Lamentations 3-5

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

This winding road is in Meteroa Greece. Perhaps the road of life resembles this. Most of the time life is up hill like the top left of Reynold’s photograph.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

Key Verses: Lamentations 3:22-23

Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,

Because His compassions fail not.

They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness.

It is surprising to find this gem of positive affirmation in the middle of such a sad book as Lamentations. God’s “mercies,” His “lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail.” That’s worth reading at least twice! On top of that, “They are new every morning!” Could this be a reason for this blog? Then here’s the clincher to understanding the heart of God! “GREAT IS YOUR FAITHFULNESS!”

An example of this is the picture on our Canadian $20 bill. Of course, it’s our Queen! For all who read this who are not familiar with the Canadian form of Government, we are a constitutional monarchy. The constitutional monarch, Queen Elizabeth, is our “Head of State.” Those who led Canada into its sovereignty believed that we needed someone above the political process. By its nature politics is messy, but not the Queen, or our Governor General who represents her for Canada, and our Lieutenant Governors who represent her in the Provinces and Territories. This institution of the monarchy illustrates in human terms the “faithfulness” of God. He remains the same! He does not wander from one position to another, as do our political leaders. God is over and above the fray. He is SOVEREIGN! We give to Him His divine right to rule over every area of our lives. “Yes” and “So be it!”

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, King of the Cosmos, Absolute Ruler over my life, I kneel before You in complete submission to Your will and purpose for me. You have given me a bill of rights, in that I can come into Your presence daily, presenting my petitions. You have promised that “The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37b). That is my promise from You, and You never lie as some in human government do. Thank You for Your GREAT FAITHFULNESS! In the Name of the One the Apostle John saw in his vision of Jesus, the One who will return to earth in great power and glory…the “KING of KINGS!!!” Amen!!! (Revelation 19:16b).

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

There are many twists and turns in the road of life and I tell myself, “Just keep going!” Sometime back Norma-Jean and I bought a GPS (Global Positioning System) unit for our car. Don’t ask me how it works. I just use it! I know that there is a communications satellite parked in a stationary orbit about 22,500 miles above the earth through which a lady I call “Mabel” talks to me, telling me the way to turn at each crossroads. To support Mabel’s spoken word there is a road map on the screen and a purple arrow which points me to my desired destination. Mabel’s words and what I read on the screen are in agreement. Amazing! The odd time there is confusion. The words on the screen say, “Searching for satellite.” I know it’s up there somewhere.

How often on life’s road I’ve had to wait, even pull over to the side of the road, while waiting for my connection with God to be restored. As today’s reading says to God, “Great is Your faithfulness!” He’s always there, and if there is a problem, it’s my fault, not God’s. I simply go back to the instructions (the written Word), follow carefully what I read, and wait for a while. Soon the directions are clear, and there is the still small Voice of God confirming what I’ve read. I begin to move, and as He has promised, He directs my movements (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Yours because God is faithful,

David

P.S. I count among my friends the Hon. David Onley and his wife, Ruth Ann. David served for years as the Queen’s representative as Lieutenant Governor for the province of Ontario.

THE LONELY CITY

Today’s Reading: Lamentations 1-2

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

There are many covered stone streets in the Old City of Jerusalem. In this picture, one orthodox Jew walks up an incline. Imagine Jeremiah, who was left behind in Jerusalem, after most of the people were taken captive to Babylon.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

Key Verses: Lamentations 2:11

My eyes fail with tears,

My heart is troubled;

My bile is poured on the ground

Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,

Because the children and the infants

Faint in the streets of the city.

According to the dictionary, a “lament” is a poem expressing passionate grief or sorrow. “Lamentations” is such a poem. Each chapter in this book contains 22 stanzas, but chapter three has 66 (22×3). Each stanza begins with the succeeding letter of the Hebrew 22-letter alphabet. Jeremiah’s prophecies came true, and he had every right to say, “I told you so!” He not only knew the Word of God, he knew the heart of God! Here in chapters 1 & 2, Jeremiah cannot stop weeping. Can we hear the weeping in the voice of Jesus when He said of Jerusalem the words found in Matthew 23:34-37. Jesus ministered in person in Jerusalem, as did Jeremiah. Shortly before the next great destruction of Jerusalem, Jesus is recorded saying the words of Matthew 24:6-14.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, I pray for the same heart of compassion and grief as was evident in Jeremiah and in Jesus. Grant me, I ask, the strength to bear a burden of intercession for my country and its great cities, towns, villages and country areas. Increase my capacity to care for people who are all very precious and of infinite value to You. I pray in the Name of the One who cared more than anyone else for people, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

The photo below shows the street lights of Burlington and the lights on the Burlington Skyway Bridge over the entrance to the Hamilton Harbour. The light is reflected off the snow and ice. The harbour is frozen over and the ships are docked at the wharfs for the winter. In the distance are the lights of the city of Hamilton. Fire is visible coming from the huge chimneys at the steel plants, Stelco and Dofasco. For a time I served as a pastor of a Hamilton congregation. Often early in the morning I would walk to the brow of the escarpment which overlooks Hamilton from the opposite direction from where this picture is taken. There I would pray over the needs of these cities, sometimes weeping as I cried out to God for His mercy and salvation to come to many more people. I am committed to prayer and to experiencing a greater manifestation of the caring heart of Jesus than ever before.

Yours for a heartfelt concern for people everywhere!

David

FERVENT LOVE

Today’s Reading: 1 Peter 3-5

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

A visit to Rome is a feast for the eyes. In the centre is the Trajan’s Column with a church on either side. The larger church in the photo is the Church of the Most Holy Name of Mary at the Trajan Forum. At the very end of today’s reading, “Babylon” is mentioned. In Roman times the persecuted Christians called the source of their persecution, Rome, by the name of the capitol city of the ancient persecutors of the Jewish people, “Babylon” (Revelation 17:1-6).

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

Key Verse: 1 Peter 5:7

…casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

There are three points of emphasis here, all three mentioned more than once!

(1) PRAYER – 1 Peter 3:7 informs us that if we, as husbands, don’t honour our wives properly, our prayers may be hindered. Let’s not forget that elsewhere it says, “Let the wife see that she respects her husband” (Ephesians 5:33b). This is serious! Do we want God’s ears to be open to our prayers? Then pay attention to 1 Peter 3:9-12. Amen!!!

(2) A message from Jesus to those “spirits in prison” (3:19 & 20) and “those who are dead!” (4:6). This seems strange. Yet we understand that all who had died in faith prior to the Cross and the Resurrection were somehow incarcerated in a place where they could not enter Heaven above, because their sins were not removed until Jesus had paid the full price for their redemption by His blood sacrifice. It would be amazing to hear a replay of Jesus’ message to these people someday.

(3) “Love!” “Love!” and “Love!” (3:8 & 4:8). And this is to be “FERVENT LOVE!” We may think we know something about the meanings of the word “love.” But what about the word “fervent.” The dictionary says, “Displaying a passionate intensity – burning – glowing – boiling hot!”

O yes! Let’s read several times 1 Peter 5:5-9. “Be humble!” “Cast your cares on Him!” “Be sober!” “Be vigilant!” The result? The Devil may roar, but he can’t harm us!!! Let us be “steadfast in the faith.”

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, I pray for all You have for me. I now am wide open to receive Your provisions. Thank You! Praise Your holy Name! I worship You with a fervent heart full of love for You, and for others. Through the world’s greatest Lover, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS (or more)

I’ve just read all of First Peter again. As I read Chapter 1 verse 3, the word “begotten” stood out for me. The same thing happened as I read 1:23 which says, “Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the Word of God which lives and abides forever.” Recently someone sent me a picture of Billy Graham and Chuck Templeton (below). I remember when Billy and Chuck worked together as Evangelists in the Youth For Christ Movement. Billy was steadfast in his faith and commitment to the Gospel, but Chuck went to a very liberal theological seminary, and it seems he lost his faith in Christ. He returned to Toronto, wrote books, and became a broadcaster of note. On one occasion I was interviewed by Chuck on national CBC television. Chuck said, “David, you talk a lot about being born again. The Bible only refers to this one time.” I responded in a way that I later apologized for. I said, “Chuck, you’ve not been reading your Bible lately! Jesus said those words twice in John 3, and there are other places where the ‘born again’ experience is found. For example, Peter wrote those words, ‘born again.'” Then I referenced other synonymous expressions of this truth. e.g. “a new creation” and “born of the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 5:17 & John 3:8b). After the live show was over (I would only go on live shows because they had in the past edited me to make me say what I did not!), I prayed about it, and that still small Voice said to me, “David, you do not love Chuck.” I repented, and the next time when we were together (off camera), I asked his forgiveness for my lack of love, and he graciously forgave me. In the late 80’s, when the TV Evangelists scandals broke, Chuck was everywhere on Canadian TV, radio, and in the press defending me as an evangelist of integrity. Shortly before his death, he said to an interviewer, “I love Jesus very much, and I’ve missed Him for a long while.” I believe I’ll meet Chuck in Heaven!

Yours because, as the Scriptures say over and over, “His mercy endures forever!”

David

Young Evangelists, Chuck Templeton of Toronto and Billy Graham of Chicago at the time.

PETER’S PRIORITIES

Today’s Reading: 1 Peter 1-2

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

The Church of St. Anne (the mother of Mary) is located at the start of the Via Dolorosa, near the Lions’ Gate in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The current church is erected near the remains of an earlier Byzantine basilica. There is a tradition which claims that this was the site of the home of the parents of the Virgin Mary, and that she was born here and grew up here. The sculptor has offered us this depiction of a mother and a young girl.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

Key Verses: 1 Peter 1:5, 2:2

…who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.…As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.

“Kept by the power of God!” What a confidence-building statement! Can it be any better than that? Add to that the amazing privilege of growth through the Word of God! We’ve been reading daily the Prophets. We are encouraged to learn a most important lesson from them. They “inquired and searched diligently!” (1:10). We are given clear instructions as to how to do this: “Gird up the loins of your mind” (1:13). That picturesque language helps us understand the process. We could put it differently, like, “Take yourself by the scruff of the neck and partake daily of all the spiritual nutrients we need to grow and thrive.” A baby’s whole world is all about survival and growth.  As a hungry baby desires mother’s milk, so we should hunger and thirst, eating and drinking God’s Word!!!

In Peter’s writing he sounds a lot like he did when he delivered the very first sermon on the birthday of the Church (Read Acts 2:22-24). Peter quotes from his Hebrew Bible from Isaiah 53. Compare 1 Peter 2:24 & 25 with Isaiah 53:5 & 6. All the Apostles were “Word of God” preachers and teachers.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, I pray for the grace of consistency in my reading and my meditating on and in Your Holy Word. I ask that Your Spirit will impart to me a greater comprehension and practical application of Your Word. May I, like the Apostles, have a strong ministry to others by skillfully, and with wisdom, sharing Your Word with others. In the Name of the “Living Word,” Jesus Christ I pray. Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

A while back, I spoke at the Crossroads Chapel service about the DNA of the Crossroads Ministry. I took “Uncle Jasper” and “Caspar the Cop” with me to illustrate the commitment Crossroads has had to children’s ministry since the beginning of the TV ministry back in 1962 (photo below). I used these same puppets to help me grab the attention of the children in a Sunday School I started in Chalk River, Ontario, when I was 18 back in 1954. Most of the time there has been a children’s component to the Crossroads ministry.

Yours for getting the attention of the children so that they will drink the “pure milk of the Word” and “grow thereby!”

David

P.S. Jasper and Caspar are pictured below. Notice the copy of a Bible under the wooden shoes. The symbolism is that we stand on the solid foundation of the Scriptures. The Word of God is over and above all the other books in my library! The wooden shoes were a gift from the Netherlands when I travelled to that country speaking about the dangers of euthanasia in the great reformed churches of that land. To the dismay of historical Christians, the government passed a bill allowing the killing of the elderly. I weep now because Belgium, where two of my grandchildren were born, has passed legislation by which children can be euthanized. May God have mercy on His human family!!!

ALL OUR DAYS!

Today’s Reading: Jeremiah 52

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

In today’s reading, pots, bowls and utensils are mentioned. Reynold, who is still in Africa, sent this picture on the internet of vessels excavated in Corinth, Greece. It’s just possible that the pottery of Babylon might have looked like these. It’s a stretch for my imagination to connect these to Babylon, but history tells us that the Greeks were going to defeat Babylon, Persia and all the lands of the Middle East within about 200 years after the time of Jeremiah 52.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

Key Verses: Jeremiah 52:33

So Jehoiachin changed from his prison garments, and he ate bread regularly before the king all the days of his life.

Jehoiachin was made King of Judah when he was just 18 (read 2 Kings 24:6-15). Eight years later he was taken captive to Babylon in the first defeat of Judah. Zedekiah was ordered to serve as a vassal king under Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah’s rebellion caused the Babylonians to destroy the Temple, the walls, and the homes of Jerusalem, murdering Zedekiah’s sons in front of him and then blinding him and taking him in chains to Babylon where he was executed.

Meanwhile, Judah’s former King, Jehoiachin, languished in prison in Babylon for 37 years. When Nebuchadnezzar’s son ascended to the throne, he released Jehoiachin, brought him into the Palace, and cared for him for the rest of his life. I expect there will be more about Babylon in Lamentations, Ezekiel and Daniel, but beginning tomorrow, God willing, we’ll move over to First Peter for our meditations. What Jehoiachin experienced is something like Jesus does for us. He brings us out of the prison house of sin, forgives us, and makes us clean before God. He put a robe of righteousness on us, and we are seated in heavenly places with Him. Hallelujah!!! (read Isaiah 61:10 & Ephesians 2:4-9).

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, I am the recipient of much greater mercy from You than Jehoiachin received. His freedom and provision was temporal, but what You’ve done for me is eternal! I pray for more and more opportunities to come my way to tell everyone that there is freedom, peace, blessing and honour in the Salvation which is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, in whose Name I pray. Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

(Originally written by David on February 19, 2016)

I mentioned in a previous blog that, according to the doctor’s prediction in 2012, my journey into the “great beyond” was scheduled to take place at the latest in March 2014. Back at the first of January 2014 he said that my health was “jaw-dropping remarkable.” Thanks for your prayers!!! God’s timing is O.K. with me whenever it’s time to step out of this life into the next one. If it’s today, it would appear I’ll be feeling well for the trip home to Heaven! My children have reminded me over the past months that I’ve said to them, “We who serve the Lord are indestructible until God is finished with us!” Any time Lord!

Yours for trusting God with His perfect timing in all things,

David

P.S. The motorcycle pictured below was a bank repossession with a dented front fender that I bought very cheaply in February 2014. I considered this a statement of victory over the prediction of my soon demise. It was a way of thumbing my nose at “the last enemy.” I sold my former bike in 2006, after we had completed the “Steel Horse Ride,” a trip across Canada where we raised funds to equip our Circle Square Ranches for children with physical limitations. I bought my very first motorcycle with money I had earned when I was just 14. In the photo I have on my “Duck Dynasty” T-shirt that says, “Happy, Happy, Happy!”

DULL HEARTED

Today’s Reading: Jeremiah 51

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

Reynold photographed a Ugandan woman winnowing. Reynold and Kathy are helping to bring church leaders together in several areas to help answer the prayer of Jesus for unity (John 17). In today’s reading Jeremiah says that Babylon is “like a threshing floor” (51:33). This woman is standing on such a floor where the harvest is beaten with sticks and then exposed to a winnowing process to remove the chaff. You can see a bag of charcoal in the background ready for sale.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

Key Verses: Jeremiah 51:17a

“Everyone is dull-hearted, without knowledge.”

It’s apparent that Jeremiah is trying to get God’s message through, not only to his own people, but to the Babylonians also. Jeremiah is doing his best to awaken the “dull hearted” and to impart knowledge, so he writes the words of this prophecy on a special scroll. Then he arranged to have the scroll taken to Babylon (Iraq), read to the exiles who were already there, such as Daniel and the others, and then, with a stone tied to the scroll, sink it to the bottom of the Euphrates River, which flows through the centre of Babylon (Jeremiah 51:63, 64). This picture would probably have been in Daniel’s mind as he opened his window toward Jerusalem three times each day and prayed (Daniel 6:10).

Any of us who take the time and exercise the discipline necessary to read and study the Word of God daily are definitely not “dull hearted” and are not “without knowledge.” For example, we can have our hearts stimulated and our knowledge increased by reading Revelation 17:1 to 18:24. Here we read of a yet future Babylon which symbolically represents an “Evil Empire” (to quote Ronald Reagan) opposed to God. Again, as in the prophecy of Jeremiah, the Lord urgently calls to His people by a Voice from Heaven, “Come out of her, My people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.” We, as believers in Jesus, the holy Son of God, have a message for the present time, which, if our hearts are not dull, we will heed! The Apostle quotes from Isaiah 52:11 and tells all followers of Jesus to “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord, and do not touch what is unclean.” Paul is referring to the idols of the Greeks and Romans. Read 2 Corinthians 6:11-18. He’s not telling us to enter a monastery or join the Amish. Essentially he’s telling us to be faithful to God in the midst of a Babylonian world all around us.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, I pray that You will help me not to be dull hearted. May I apply myself most diligently to the “knowledge” of You as You reveal Yourself through Your thoughts, which are expressed in all the Scriptures. May my heart be inundated by Your Truth, always perceiving Truth with the insight gained through the knowledge of Jesus, the One who is the “Living Word,” the true and full Expression of what You have to say to Your human family. In His Name I pray, Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

I am praying fervently early each morning that God, the Holy Spirit, will use this blog to stimulate hearts (the opposite to “dull hearted”) by providing a practical daily path to “knowledge.” That fisher of men from the Sea of Galilee, Peter, gave his reason for writing his letters. He urged people to “be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets” (2 Peter 3:2a). I try to put myself in his shoes by remembering that the only written Word of God Peter had was his Hebrew Bible. He may or may not have been aware that he was writing a part of the Scriptures of the New Covenant of which Jeremiah had written. The Apostle Paul wrote, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable…” Join me in reading Paul’s words about his Bible (the Scriptures of the First Covenant) found in 2 Timothy 3:14 to 4:5. This speaks to me about the importance of reading even the difficult Scriptures such as Jeremiah 50 and 51.

Through this blog at “100words.ca,” we are taking a 24-month journey through all the Scriptures. I ask every reader to help me to get the word out about these blogs. Remember that anyone can start at any point and two years hence will have completed the entire volume of the knowledge God wants us to read from His Word, the Bible. Readers can take what I have to say as relatively unimportant compared to the actual Bible readings. I started this the day after the 50th Anniversary celebrations of the ministry I founded known as Crossroads Christian Communications (for a short video of the inspiration for this blog click here).

Yours as faithfully as God has given me His grace to continue,

David

P.S. It occurs to me that anyone can go back to all the earlier blogs and find any specific reading suggestion and commentary. I’m asking my son, Ron, to explain here how we can do this on our computers. For example, Ron, show me how I can find the longest recorded message of Jesus in Matthew 5, 6, and 7. I know how to find this in my Bible, but how do I find the commentaries from those blogs. Thank you my son!

OK…Ron here. If you go to www.100words.ca, you can type search words into the search bar at the top right, then hit “enter.” The results will show all of the blog posts with that particular word, and at the bottom of the results page you can click “older posts” to keep going back in time for that search. HOWEVER…if you want to be specific with a phrase or specific chapter of the Bible, then add “quotation marks” around the search words. For example, to find a blog regarding the Sermon on the Mount, you could put “Matthew 5” into the search bar (using quotation marks). Then the results will show ONLY the blogs where “Matthew” and “5” are used together in combination (otherwise, without quotation marks, it will show every blog where either “Matthew” or the number “5” was written). You could also put “Sermon on the Mount” in quotation marks. Hopefully that makes sense!

SHEEP AND THE GOOD SHEPHERD

Today’s Reading: Jeremiah 50

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

For thousands of years sheep have fed on these grasses in the Jordan Rift Valley in Israel. Again and again the Bible likens us to sheep. I think I’ve found a sheep that represents me in this picture. Pick one out that may represent you! Where is the shepherd?

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

Key Verses: Jeremiah 50:6

My people have been lost sheep.

Their shepherds have led them astray;

They have turned them away on the mountains.

They have gone from mountain to hill;

They have forgotten their resting place.

Chapters 50 (today) and 51 (tomorrow) are the longest pronouncements of judgment against a people. The Chaldeans, with their capital city of Babylon (located about 80 km south of modern Bagdad, Iraq), were defeated by the Persians (Iran), and much of the city was destroyed. Sadam Hussein, former President of Iraq, was in the process of beginning to rebuild Babylon when he was removed from power. The rebuilding stopped. The prophecy of Jeremiah remains true to this day (50:39b)…”It shall be inhabited no more forever, nor shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.”

Three times in today’s reading the Babylonians are referred to as “proud.” The images of their god, Bel Merodac (or Marduk, creator and sun god), were “broken in pieces” as verse two says. “Pride” can be traced to its source; Lucifer, the Archangel, was lifted up in “pride,” sought to be worshipped, and, as a result, was exiled from Heaven and banished to the earth. He has, by inspiring idolatry, sought to receive the worship that he was denied in Heaven. When Jesus came to us through the gateway of the Virgin’s womb, He modelled the opposite to this pride. For a New Testament reading, consider Philippians 2:5-11.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, Your Word tells me, “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5). Also, You tell me that “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). I pray for Your grace so that I may humble myself before You. As I’ve just read in Philippians, Jesus is my Example of humility, and I pray this in His Name. Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

I’ve just been looking at the sheep in Reynold’s photograph. I identify with the one near the back of the flock that has its head up looking at the familiar paths. I can see those paths on the right. They are worn into the hillside by generations of sheep ascending and descending the slope. Perhaps the sheep with the raised head wants to head back home to the safety of the cave where the shepherd personally stands guard between the sheep and any approaching enemy. I’ve just read, as I’ve done hundreds of times before, John 10:1-18. I have total confidence in Jesus, the One Who said, “I am the Good Shepherd.” In contrast to our “Shepherd,” the people of God in Jeremiah’s prophecy had become as “lost sheep” because of shepherds who had led them astray. I’m singing just now Psalm 23: “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” Here’s the song I’ve found online by Keith Green, my son Ron’s musical hero when he was a teenager (click here).

Yours because the “Good Shepherd” takes “Good” care of His own sheep,

David

P.S. When we travel with our friends in Israel I often have a little fun by taking the microphone on the bus and pointing out the worn paths on the hillsides, as in today’s picture. Then I’ll say that the forces of evolution over thousands of years have caused the legs of the sheep and goats to be shorter on one side than the other, because they are always on a hillside. I pause to let that sink in, and then I say, with a grin on my face, this gives the sheep trouble when they turn around and start for home (laugh here). This is an example of a warped sense of humour. With all the doom and gloom in our readings, it occurred to me that we could use a laugh. If you don’t find my story funny, please forgive me, like Norma-Jean does several times a day!