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I WANT TO BE FIRST

Revelation 1:8 “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’”

LINE LEADER

The church where I serve has a Preschool that serves children 3 months through Pre-K.  It is fascinating to watch those 2, 3 and 4 year olds.  Anyone who doesn’t believe we are born sinners should work one day in a Preschool.  They would quickly change their tune.  Lol.

I enjoy watching them when they are lined up to go somewhere.  They all want to be first in line.  They will push and shove and do whatever it takes (when the teacher isn’t looking) to get to that most coveted spot in the line.  They are ALL going to the same place, but for some reason being first is better.

TEACHING MOMENT

Our verse today tells us that Jesus is the Alpha and Omega (first and last letters of the Greek alphabet), the beginning and the end.  He always has been and always will be.  He is ALWAYS first in line, or at least He should be.  We must teach our children this timeless truth.  When we allow Jesus to be first in our lives (in His rightful place), He will lead us safely to our destination.

The next time you see Gertrude or Elrod pushing and shoving in line somewhere, take a moment and share this verse.  Say, “Why don’t we let Jesus be first in line today?  Who is being like Jesus right now?”  Christ first – ALWAYS

Are you allowing Christ to guide you?  Have you given Him first place in your life?  Is He the head of the line in your life?  Those are all good questions for us.  We need to examine ourselves daily.  It is so easy to jump in front of Christ.  We may not even realize we are doing it sometimes.  But Christ promises to always be with us.  Just look at who He is – “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Father God, thank You for being first in my life.  Thank You that You will always be with me.  Help me to line up behind You and allow You to lead me daily.

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HOW SOON WE FORGET!

Hosea 13:6 “As they had their pasture, they became satisfied, and being satisfied, their heart became proud; therefore they forgot Me.”

SATISFIED

Isn’t it amazing how we forget about God when everything is going great?  But let one thing go wrong, and we are asking for prayer, begging for mercy and looking to heaven for answers.  It has always been that way, though.  People get satisfied and think they don’t need God as much.  Hosea saw it.  So do we.

Now, we can rationalize that, can’t we?  “Well, God is busy with all those less fortunate than me.  I won’t bother Him right now.”  So, we go about our business as if God is only called upon when we “need” Him.  Stop it!  God wants to hear from us at all times.  He desires our worship in the good times and bad.  He is God over all and through all.

TEACHING MOMENT

The only way to teach our children this is to live it.  No amount of preaching and lecturing will get them to understand.  Consistency in the Word.  Dedication to the Body of Christ.  Discipline in our prayer life.  These are all ways to show little Johnny and Susie that Christ means more to you than just someone to call on when needed.

The next time your child is in a pinch and hollers for you, take a moment and compare this to our walk with Christ.  Don’t you want to spend time with your kids in the good times as well as the bad?  Don’t you want to rejoice in their triumphs, not just cry at their defeats?  What kind of relationship would you have with your children if you only showed up when things were bad?  Not very much of one.

So, when do you call on the Lord?  What does it take for you to reach out to Him?  Why don’t you try just talking to Him?  Let God “in on” what is happening in your life that is good.  He is already aware of it, I promise.  But He sure loves hearing you talk about it.

Father, I know you are there all the time.  I know you desire to spend time with me, not just hear my complaints.  Thank You for listening.  Thank You for loving me in the good times and bad.

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HARVEST

Hosea 10:12 “Sow with a view to righteousness, reap in accordance with kindness; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you.”

THE RIGHT CROPS

I just love this verse.  Righteousness and kindness are the crops we bring in if we seek the Lord.  He will allow those who seek Him to benefit from His blessings, but they must break up their fallow grounds.  Have you ever done that?  Have you ever broken up your fallow ground?  What is that?

Fallow ground is ground that has been allowed to be unplanted for a period of time.  Sometimes that is necessary, but as this relates to us, we tend to just not plant the good stuff.  We get complacent.  We just allow our hearts to get hard.  We have to break it up and allow the Lord to sow the right things.

TEACHING MOMENT

How do we teach this to our kids?  Righteousness only comes from the Lord.  Your children cannot understand righteousness apart from God.  He is the only source.  And true kindness is only lived out through Christ.  Sure, you can be kind to people if you aren’t a believer.  But there will be that person who pops up who will challenge you.  For those people, you need Christ.

So, we teach this to them by making sure they know Jesus and His Word.  As they yield to Him the fallow ground is broken up.  God can plant!  They can reap!  They can live in righteousness and kindness.

I don’t know about you, but I want that.  I prefer to be kind, but sometimes I just can’t do it.  When I begin to struggle, it always comes back to my hard, rocky heart.  Will you join me today in plowing the ground of your heart?  Will you allow the Lord to sow His Spirit in you?  Oh, He wants to do so much in and through you.

My God and Father, help me to keep my heart broken and receptive to your Spirit.  Thank You for rescuing me from my own self.

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SORRY, DON’T KNOW YOU

Hosea 8:2 “They cry out to Me, ‘My God, we of Israel know You!’”

STRANGER

How many people do you know claim to know God, but their lifestyle is anything but godly?  Now, I am NOT judging.  I am simply stating an observation.  There are a lot of people who believe in God and will even call on His name when they are in trouble.  But as far as genuine commitment and surrender…well…let’s just say that’s a foreign concept.

Israel was the same way.  They were saying, “But God, we are ISRAEL!  We are Your chosen people.”  God would have none of it.  They had turned their backs on Him.  They had rejected His laws. They had spurned His love.  They had no REAL knowledge of Jehovah.  Their faith was only a convenient religion.

TEACHING MOMENT     

That is why it is so important that we teach our children that our faith is NOT about going to church.  Our faith is NOT about doing something for God.  Our faith is NOT about keeping certain rules and commands.  Our faith is all about surrender.  It’s about total abandonment to the Lord Jesus.

Gertrude and Elrod will obey most of the time, right?  But every once in a while they get that wild hair and bow up at you.  They get a rebellious spirit and want their way.  When you correct them and hand out their consequences, make sure they realize their relationship with you is not based on what they do or don’t do to please you.  They are your child because they have been birthed into your family.  And make sure they understand the same is true with God’s family.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I just blow it.  I am thankful that the Lord God doesn’t toss me aside because I blew it.  He welcomes me back into the fold as I confess and repent of my sin.  He loves to see my surrender because then He can do something with me.  When I give up, He can get in and work.  As His child, I will ALWAYS be in His family.

Thank You Lord for saving my soul.  Thank You Lord for making me whole.  Thank You Lord for giving to me Thy great salvation so rich and free.

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SAME SONG, DIFFERENT VERSE

Hosea 4:1-2 “1 Listen to the word of the Lord, O sons of Israel, for the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land, because there is no faithfulness or kindness or knowledge of God in the land. 2 There is swearing, deception, murder, stealing and adultery. They employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed.”

NOTHING CHANGES

As I was reading Hosea today, it sounded like America.  We have turned our backs on God, yet cry out to Him when something bad happens. We beg for deliverance from a God we shun most of the time.  City, state and national leaders will lead prayer vigils after a major disaster, but will vote to stop prayers from happening at a football game.  We are just like Israel and Judah.

We are quick to criticize Judah for not seeing the judgment that fell on Israel.  But here we are, over 2000 years later, and we are ignoring it all.  And it’s not only America.  I can only speak for where I live.  But our world is in desperate need of deliverance.  There is only one Deliverer, Jesus Christ.  So, what do we do?

TEACHING MOMENT

We must teach our children the truth of God’s Word and the importance of confession of sin.  We must show our children how to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord by truly living it.  We must share the Gospel with everyone we meet.  We must be the watchman on the wall shouting warnings of coming judgment to a lost and dying world.

“Wow, Carl!  I normally read this devotion to get encouraged.  You’ve got me all depressed today.”  Sorry about that.  But I can only write about what I am reading at the time.  Hosea warns us to turn to the Lord.  Have we done that?  Are you doing that?  Are you pointing your children toward Him?

I don’t know about you, but I am tired of “playing church.”  I want to live a life that honors Him.  I have made too many stupid mistakes in my life.  I want to live the rest of my life loving as many people as possible to Jesus.  Will you join me?  Then start right at home with your spouse and your children.  Love them to Jesus.

Father God, You are certainly going to judge this world.  Your Word tells us so.  Allow me to share Your Word and Your Hope with as many as I can before then.  Help me to be bold and courageous as I share with others the love of Christ.

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JUST ONE NEEDED

Ezekiel 46:15 “‘Thus they shall provide the lamb, the grain offering and the oil, morning by morning, for a continual burnt offering.’”

PERMANENT SACRIFICE

I cannot imagine how it must have been to have to present a daily sacrifice at the temple.  Every day a year-old lamb without blemish.  Every day a grain offering and oil.  Every day!  Surely, the priests got tired.  Perhaps they even wondered why.

I am so thankful that our God sent the perfect, permanent sacrifice to cover all sin.  It was a one-time sacrifice, never to be repeated.  His blood was not only unblemished by sin, it was also perfectly sinless.  It was perfectly divine.  That’s why it was a permanent sacrifice.  Up until that time there had not been a sacrifice like that.  But now…

TEACHING MOMENT

Teaching our children about sacrifices may seem strange.  But the Lord wants us to so they will truly understand the magnitude of what Christ did. Why not use this as a math exercise for your kids.  Help them figure out how many lambs were sacrificed before Christ.  Use your imagine.  Google it.  I found some interesting facts documented by Josephus, an early Jewish writer.

He said that between 66 and 70 A.D. over 250,000 lambs were sacrificed on Passover alone.  That’s a lot of mutton.  So, you can just guess how many were killed over all the years of the temple.  All of that and still no permanent forgiveness of sins.  But Jesus came and gave His life and poof – all forgiven.

Do you truly understand the greatness of that act in your life?  Do you understand that there is nothing you could ever do to acquit yourself of your guilt?  You and I were doomed to eternal punishment, but Jesus…  What a perfect sacrifice!  What a perfect Lamb of God!

Father, we thank You today for Your Son’s perfect sacrifice.  Thank You that we don’t have to stand in line with our little lamb to have it slaughtered for our sins.  Thank You for Your Son’s shed blood on Calvary which washes away all my sin!

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WHERE HE DWELLS

Ezekiel 43:6-7a “6 Then I heard one speaking to me from the house, while a man was standing beside me. 7 He said to me, ‘Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell among the sons of Israel forever.’”

WE ARE THE TEMPLE

Ezekiel was shown the glory of the Lord as it came near the temple.  And then the Lord God told him, “this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell among the sons of Israel forever.”  God would dwell there.  God would put His presence right there.

Isn’t it incredible to know that now, through Christ, He dwells IN us through the Holy Spirit.  His glory fills us at salvation as His Spirit enters us.  We are filled to overflowing with the presence of God. Think back to your moment of salvation.  That flooding of Jesus is still there. So, why don’t you feel it anymore?

TEACHING MOMENT

One of the basic doctrinal truths we need to teach our children is this.  God fills you with ALL of Him at salvation.  You receive the Holy Spirit, with all the benefits of the Spirit, at salvation.  Whenever your children need the Lord, He is RIGHT THERE.  They do not need to go to a church building to find the Lord.  They just need to hit their knees in prayer and allow Him to speak.

But we parents don’t set such a good example for them, do we?  We forget that we, too, have access to the fullness of God.  We are indwelt with the third Person of the Trinity.  That’s no small thing.  We have the glory of the Lord, the same glory that filled the temple, in us.  So why are we living like spiritual paupers?

Will you today decide to peel back your flesh and allow the Spirit of the Lord to shine through?  Don’t let the battles of the flesh cause you to hide God’s glory that lives in you.  Let it pour out of your mouth, eyes, hands and feet.  Allow the Holy Spirit to determine your EVERY move today.

God, my Father, I give You praise for the gift of Your glory that dwells within me.  I praise You that You are willing to live in me through Your Holy Spirit.  Help me today to show forth You more than me.

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DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS

Ezekiel 40:3-4 “3 So He brought me there; and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze, with a line of flax and a measuring rod in his hand; and he was standing in the gateway. 4 The man said to me, ‘Son of man, see with your eyes, hear with your ears, and give attention to all that I am going to show you; for you have been brought here in order to show it to you. Declare to the house of Israel all that you see.’”

THE GREAT ARCHITECT

My Uncle Larry is an architect. He has been doing that for over four decades.  Let me tell you something.  He knows about details.  Every building he designs, whether it is a 13,000 square foot home or a 900 square foot garage, has to have pages and pages of drawings and elevations and measurements.  He knows the codes and regulations and studies them each year.  Details!

Chapters 40-42 of Ezekiel shows us a picture of the Lord God giving details about His house.  Exact measurements!  Extreme details!  Precise.  Some may read these verses and say it is boring.  But just think how precise He is about your life.  He knows every square inch of you.  He has counted every hair on your head.  Details!

TEACHING MOMENT

Teaching our children the importance of “getting things right” is hard to do sometimes.  Some kids, maybe your little Susie, just want to get it done quickly.  But doing something right the first time is a lot better than having to do it again the second time.  Unfortunately, our children have to learn that the hard way.

God gives them written instructions, detailed instructions, on how to live their lives.  It is all contained in His Word.  But they can’t just get a Bible and put on a shelf.  Like my Uncle Larry, they have to study the plans and know how to use them.

What details of your Christian walk are you overlooking today?  You know, missing the mark by a “smidgeon” is as bad as missing the mark by a mile.  A miss is a miss.  Pay attention to the Master Architect.  He will give you the plan to follow.

Father, thank You that for giving me Your plan for my life.  I know if I follow it, all will turn out as You designed.  Help me to trust Your plan and not improvise my own.

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FULL DISCLOSURE

Ezekiel 38:23 “‘I will magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the Lord.’”

THERE WILL BE NO DOUBT

Man, these chapters right here in Ezekiel are pretty gruesome.  God is telling Ezekiel to prophesy against Gog and Magog, which we know is tied to the final judgments here on earth.  There’s blood and flesh and all kind of vivid pictures of death and destruction.  Someone might read this and wonder why God is so brutal.  Well, there’s a reason.  He is a holy God who will not allow wickedness and evil to go unpunished.  He will defend His children.  We can depend on that.

But the point I want to make today is there will come a time when NO ONE will be able to say, “There is no God.”  He says right here in verse 23 that “they will know that I am the Lord.”  He will fully disclose Himself.  He will remove all doubt of His existence and holiness.

TEACHING MOMENT

As “scary” as these verses may sound, for a child of God, they hold no fear.  We are on His side.  He is defending US.  He is fighting for US.  He is our mighty God who is ALL POWERFUL!  So, as you read these verses to your child, make sure they understand that we are on the winning side.  There is NO power on earth or in heaven that can defeat our Lord.

Those are reassuring words for a little one when they are having a bad day.  We should reinforce their faith with the knowledge that God is and always will be God.  He is not going anywhere.  He is and always will be their protector.  He covers them with His shield.  Wow!  That’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?

Do you believe that?  Do you hold that truth close to your heart?  Or are you constantly in the doubting mode?  Rest, my child.  He is there.  Call out His name.  He is just waiting to respond in the way that is BEST for you.  Let Him have His perfect way in your life.  Then all fear can be released, and you can rest in His perfect peace.

O God of peace, remind me daily of Your peace and love.  Remind me of Your protecting arms that surround me.  Help me rest in You and in no other.

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A NEW HEART

Ezekiel 36:26 “‘Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.’” 

HARD TO SOFT

Have you ever known someone who was just plain ornery?  I have.  Everything they say is said with a critique or a jab.  They always look mad – mad at the world.  You can just picture their heart being made of stone, can’t you?  We would call them hard hearted.  That’s what we were before Christ.  God called His children the same.  But He changed them, and He can change us.

My old heart of stone, that cold, hard muscle in my chest, was removed and the Lord replaced it with a soft, moldable one.  This one had been fashioned by Christ.  It had His stamp on it.  In fact, His Spirit now lives in it.  He is the one who directs my thoughts and words now, at least when I surrender to Him daily.

TEACHING MOMENT

I am sure little Johnny has probably said something harsh or mean to someone, hasn’t he?  Those are the moments we talk about our hearts.  Those are the opportunities to point out the hardness of our hearts without Christ.  Most children really want to be sensitive to others, but that flesh gets in the way.  That original hard heart is tough.

How do you keep your heart tender and soft towards the things of the Lord?  You stay in His Word.  You keep an attitude of prayer.  You spend time with the Father.  He will keep His hands firmly on your heart massaging and manipulating (in a good way) it towards things that please Him.  A soft heart pumps much better than a hard one.

So, is your heart hard or soft?  Is it a rock or flesh?  How do you view life – with cynicism or hope?  Open your chest to the master cardiologist.  He wants to give you a heart transplant.  And this heart He wants to give you does not have to be cross checked for compatibility.  His heart fits all chests – guaranteed.

Father, here is my heart.  Take it and exchange it for an eternal one, one made from the heart of Your Son.  Thank You for giving me Your heartbeat for others.

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