November 24th Bible in a Year Readings

Ezekiel 47:1-48:35 + 1 Peter 2:11-3:7 + Psalm 119:49-64 + Proverbs 28:12-13
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Old Testament - We finish the book of Ezekiel today!  The book of Daniel begins tomorrow!  Ezekiel chapter 47's opening verses about the River of Healing are just beautiful.  Verses 1 through 3 tell us - "Then the man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple. There I saw a stream flowing eastward from beneath the Temple threshold. This stream then passed to the right of the altar on its south side. The man brought me outside the wall through the north gateway and led me around to the eastern entrance. There I could see the stream flowing out through the south side of the east gateway. Measuring as he went, he led me along the stream for 1,750 feet and told me to go across. At that point the water was up to my ankles."

As I was reading these verses about the River of Healing I imagined myself jumping into the river and just being refreshed and renewed and restored!  Great stuff...  This river is very reminiscent of the river in the Garden of Eden - and the River of Life described in Revelation chapter 22.  Verse 9 in ch. 47 of Ezekiel sums it all up well - "Everything that touches the water of this river will live.  Fish will abound in the Dead Sea, for its waters will be healed. Wherever this water flows, everything will live."  Can you imagine this river of healing flowing from the temple?  Can you imagine some rest & restoration & refreshment & healing through this river?

Today in Ezekiel chapter 48 we read about the division of land in Ezekiel's vision, which the map below details quite well (you'll need to scroll down a bit to view it all) -

Ezekiel chapter 48's last words - and the last words in the book of Ezekiel are simply this - "And from that day the name of the city will be `The LORD Is There.'" In Hebrew this is Yahweh Shammah.   The Hebrew pronunciation of Jerusalem is Yerushalayim - which some say could be a wordplay on Yahweh Shammah.  Jerusalem = The Lord is There...

New Testament - 1 Peter 2 verse 11 is powerful - "So I warn you to keep away from evil desires because they fight against your very souls."  Do you believe evil desires fight against your soul?  If so, will you keep away from evil desires?  Will you not entertain those desires anymore?

Verse 24 today about Jesus is so strong - "He personally carried away our sins in his own body on the cross so we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. You have been healed by his wounds!"  Are you dead to sin?  Are you living for what is right?  Do you believe you have been healed by Jesus' wounds?  Will you accept this healing?  Will you kneel down at the foot of the cross and be healed?

Psalms - Wow.  I love Psalm 119 verse 54 today - "Your principles have been the music of my life throughout the years of my pilgrimage."  What a beautiful metaphor - God's principles being the music of our lives through all our years as we are on our pilgrimage.  Great stuff!  How might God's principles actually become the music of your life?  Do you think you'd need to be reading God's Word frequently to tune into his frequency?  (did you catch that - frequently & frequency? :)   I commend you for reading the Bible each day this year as we go through the One Year Bible.  I pray you'll continue to read the Bible daily in all of your years to come.  I pray God's principles are and will be the music of your life.

Verse 59 today is a great verse for each of us to consider - "I pondered the direction of my life, and I turned to follow your statutes."  Have you ever reached a mid-life or maybe even a quarter-life crisis where you pondered the direction of your life?  Do you like the direction your life is heading now?  Do you want to change that direction?  Will you turn to follow God's way?  God's Truth?  God's life for you?  Do you believe that God's plans for you are so much bigger than any plans of your own that you could dream up on your own?

Proverbs - Today in Proverbs 28 verse 13 we read:  “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”  Are there sins you are concealing?  Maybe even from your own consciousness?  Do you believe concealed sin will affect your prosperity?  (Not just financial prosperity, but your spiritual, physical, & mental prosperity?)  Can you find a trusted friend or pastor to confess your sins to?  Do you believe that in doing so you will find mercy?  Will you confess and renounce your sins?  Will you find mercy?

Worship Video: Today's readings in First Peter remind me of Phil Wickham's song "The Day True Love Died:"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL7Uo__ss7g

Do you know about the day True Love died??  Click here and learn!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on two verses of Scripture today: "Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor." 1 Peter 2:16-17 NIV

Prayer Point: Pray that you are living as a free person, but not as a cover-up for evil. Pray that you are a slave of God's. Pray that you show proper respect to others, love fellow believers, and honor your leaders.

Comments from you - What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings?  Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!

God bless,
Mike

p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Bible readings at this link.

p.s. #2 - Download a schedule of our Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.

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Comments

[Ramona]

Ezekiel 47:1-48:35

Types and shadows of things to come, that is what the Old Testament contains according to Paul’s letter to the church at Colossi (Col 2:16-18). The design of the temple, the laws and regulations all point to the future in Christ and in Heaven, so I thought as I read the last two chapters of Ezekiel.

What I began thinking of as I read the 47th chapter and continued on to chapter 48, was this: Both the description of this Temple and the water that flowed out, the division of the land apportioned to the 12 tribes was a type of the body of the Believer, our local church bodies as well as the Body of Christ in whole.

Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own, You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made His own]. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body.
(1 Corinthians 6:19-20 AMP)

And

So as you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but chosen and priceless in God's sight, you yourselves, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood and to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4-5 NET.)

Right now upon the earth we are the ones that bring healing to our neighbors, our local bodies bring healing to our communities, states and countries, and the Body of Christ brings healing to a dead and dying world.

Conduct yourselves properly (honorably, righteously) among the Gentiles, so that, although they may slander you as evildoers, [yet] they may by witnessing your good deeds [come to] glorify God in the day of inspection [when God shall look upon you wanderers as a pastor or shepherd looks over his flock]. (1 Peter 2:12 AMP)

As believers, we are each given a role, a purpose to fulfill the call on our lives. Everyone has a purpose our job is to communicate with God in prayer to find out what it is, to find out what part of the Body we belong too.

For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. (Romans 12:4-5 KJVR)

Proverbs 28:13

13 People who cover over their sins will not prosper. But if they confess and forsake them, they will receive mercy.

Mike, May I throw something in the mix here? I believe confessing our stuff to others is necessary but something else is missing: confessing our “stuff” to ourselves. Too often we think that just telling our sin(s) to others absolves us of dealing with our issues and holding ourselves responsible, not our parents, the neighbor, the frog or the dog. It is only when we accept that we did the deed, and then go on to figure out why, will we break out of the cycle of committing the same sin repeatedly. Let us not fall into the trap of just mowing the lawn of our issues instead of digging deep and pulling out the root.

To all our One-Year-Bible Travelers in the United States, Happy Thanksgiving season, and to all those around the world, Make each and every day a day of Thanksgiving.

Grace and peace,
Ramona

[Nancy]

Last week in my small group the question came up about where Rev 22.1-2 was taking place. In today's reading of Ezekiel as I was listening the same words came up & caught my ear. There is more depth there. So it's not Heaven but during the Millennium if I'm understanding it correctly. It is a foretaste of Heaven which John is writing about.
We were questioning why would the tree leaves be needed in Heaven. It seems it wasn't Heaven but Earth. Commentaries spiritualize it saying it is symbolic or figurative. Will be asking my pastor about it before I share with my small group. Want to correctly share God's Word.