One Year Bible

Ezekiel 12:1-14:11; Hebrews 7:1-17; Psalm 105:37-45; Proverbs 27:3

Those around you can affect your future.  We have heard it said, “Birds of a feather flock together.” The people we spend time with are a reflection of what’s going on in us and they will paint the picture of our future. More than human wisdom, the Bible says it this way, “bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33).

Israel was full of people who refused to listen to good counsel and see the path that God laid out for them. The rebellious people corrupted the good people. It is a simple formula: when negative is introduced, it corrupts everything around it.

If you have people around you who speak and act contrary to God’s love and plans, please be careful! You are setting yourself in a position to fall away from God’s purpose for your life. These relationships may need to be eliminated. These are tough actions to take but your life and future depend upon it.

Tomorrow’s Reading:  Ezekiel 14:12-16:41; Hebrews 7:18-28; Psalm 106:1-12; Proverbs 27:4-6

Ezekiel 10:1-11:25; Hebrews 6:1-20; Psalm 105:16-36; Proverbs 27:1-2

God cannot be contained in a building. No matter where we are or where we go, God is always there. When Israel was exiled from Jerusalem they no longer had access to the Temple where God’s presence resided. What made their exile worse, was knowing they could not get to God. In fact, God’s presence had withdrawn from the Temple.

God tells Israel, “I will be a sanctuary to you during your time in exile” (Ezekiel 11:16). In other words, though you cannot get to me, I will come to you. God is not only going to be with them but God is going to be Their Sacred Dwelling Place.

It is good to know that no matter where we go, it is never away from God! Even if we are experiencing the consequences of our own actions, God will not let us be cut off from Him unless we reject Him. How near is God? Just a whisper away! Call out to Him and He will answer you no matter where you are.

Tomorrow’s Reading: Ezekiel 12:1-14:11; Hebrews 7:1-17; Psalm 105:37-45; Proverbs 27:3

Ezekiel 7:1-9:11; Hebrews 5:1-14; Psalm 105:1-15; Proverbs 26:28

God is so passionately in love with His people that He is jealous! We have to be careful about this word because we think when we hear it that it means what we see on reality TV shows. God desires to be our Heavenly Father and that we would seek no other gods but Him.

He is passionately protective of your relationship with Him. He will do anything to protect that relationship. When the Bible speaks of God’s jealousy, it is not speaking about the petty games that humans play. It speaks about a God who goes all out for His children and when His children ignore Him and go looking for other gods, then it breaks His heart.

God, however, never abandons us! He continues to pursue us, even when we are running away from Him. He will not give up on us, even when we give up on Him. When we put God at the back of the line, He just waits there patiently for His turn.

This is the true meaning of God’s jealousy! He is zealous for us and that is why God sent His one and only son, Jesus, to die for us!

Tomorrow’s Reading: Ezekiel 10:1-11:25; Hebrews 6:1-20; Psalm 105:16-36; Proverbs 27:1-2

Ezekiel 3:16-6:14; Hebrews 4:1-16; Psalm 104:24-35; Proverbs 26:27

God loves us enough that He never leaves us without a warning when we are going astray. He sends people into our lives to speak forth His Word to give us a chance to repent.

God told Ezekiel that his role was to be a Watchman for Israel. He was to stay connected to God and warn Israel when God spoke. This was a serious role because if Ezekiel didn’t tell Israel and they continued, then their death would be his responsibility.

In a like manner, God wants to help us so we don’t ruin our future. If we ignore God’s warning, then all the consequences fall upon us. If we heed the warning, then we will be rescued from the perils that lie ahead. Have enough respect for God and His Word that when you hear His voice warning you, that you listen. Make whatever corrections God says and your future will be bright.

Tomorrow’s Reading: Ezekiel 7:1-9:11; Hebrews 5:1-14; Psalm 105:1-15; Proverbs 26:28

Ezekiel 1:1-3:15; Hebrews 3:1-19; Psalm 104:1-23; Proverbs 26:24-26

Is there a place where you get away to hear from God? Ezekiel was by a river in Babylon when he received a powerful vision. God wants us to encounter Him supernaturally so that we can have an unshakeable confidence in Him.

When God connects with us it is to give us His Word. God had a Word for Israel but He could not get a Word to Israel until God got His Word into Ezekiel. God will never call us to speak for Him until we allow Him to speak to us!

Is your heart open for God to speak to you? Are you ready to have a bedrock conviction about His Word and purposes for your life? If so, then you are ready for God to speak through you to others. Ezekiel had to “eat” what God was serving him and once he had ingested it, then he would be ready to speak what God told him to others. God always wants to work in us before He works through us!

Tomorrow’s Reading: Ezekiel 3:16-6:14; Hebrews 4:1-16; Psalm 104:24-35; Proverbs 26:27

Lamentations 4:1-5:22; Hebrews 2:1-18; Psalm 103:1-22; Proverbs 26:23

Every act of sin (disobedience) leaves a debt which needs to be satisfied. You can think of sin like a credit card. Every time you use it, you will have to pay with interest. Israel repeatedly sinned (disobeyed) and their sin debt skyrocketed.

When it was time to pay the price, they were unable and unwilling. The price was that they had to be exiled from the land and everything that they had built would be destroyed. Instead of being an independent nation led by God, they would be slaves in a foreign land and their homeland would be under foreign leadership. Jeremiah felt this was a high price to pay. Once Israel paid the price, Jeremiah says that the Lord’s anger was satisfied.

The same is true with our sin. When Jesus died on the cross, He satisfied all of our sin debt once and for all. God is no longer mad at us and He responds to us based on Jesus’ blood. But, sin still exists and it still remains a stumbling block for us! It is a tool of the devil to stop our purpose.

Sin always costs us something! And, it is usually more than we are willing to pay in the end. God challenges us to think about sin and its built-in consequences. If we try to enjoy the pleasures of sin, they will only last momentarily. But, when the due date comes, we cannot make a minimum payment. The devil will require maximum payment plus penalties.

Tomorrow’s Reading: Ezekiel 1:1-3:15; Hebrews 3:1-19; Psalm 104:1-23; Proverbs 26:24-26

Lamentations 3:1-66; Hebrews 1:1-14; Psalm 102:1-28; Proverbs 26:21-22

Jeremiah does not paint a pleasant picture of his walk with God. I am certain that anyone who reads this would not want to sign on for the job of God’s prophet! His experience with obeying God is so rough that he said it was like “chewing on gravel” and that God rips him apart like a stalking bear or lion!

Then in a moment, he changes and talks about “The faithful love of the Lord never ends. His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!’”

When our feelings control our lives, they can give us a skewed view of who God is. When faith kicks in and overrides our feelings, we can truly see the love, mercy and grace of God. It is so easy to look and see the bad and the burden but when you look through eyes of faith, you can see God’s unfailing love.

Regardless of how bad you may feel or things may seem, you must believe that God is for you and “The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.”

Tomorrow’s Reading: Lamentations 4:1-5:22; Hebrews 2:1-18; Psalm 103:1-22; Proverbs 26:23

Lamentations 1:1-2:22; Philemon 1:1-25; Psalm 101:1-8; Proverbs 26:20

God cares about our tears. The Book of Lamentations is all about what Jeremiah was feeling about seeing Jerusalem invaded and destroyed. God allowed a whole book in the Bible to record all of Jeremiah’s feelings.
As people of faith, we do not rely upon our feelings but we cannot deny them either. Feelings are a part of the human experience and we cannot ignore them. We feel real hurt and pain when tragic things happen. We feel joy and pain. The key for all of us is to make certain that our feelings never override our faith.

Jeremiah had the painful task of telling Israel about God’s impending judgment. He had to obey God but it did not negate how he felt about what God told him to do. You can walk by faith to the degree that your feelings don’t stop you from obeying God. God understands our feelings but know that the best path for us is to trust Him not our feelings.

Tomorrow’s Reading: Lamentations 3:1-66; Hebrews 1:1-14; Psalm 102:1-28; Proverbs 26:21-22

Jeremiah 51:54-52:34; Titus 3:1-15; Psalm 100:1-5; Proverbs 26:18-19

God can prosper you even in difficult seasons! Israel was completely defeated and overrun by the Babylonians. They took the King of Israel and most of the people to be slaves in Babylon. As much as Israel had angered God by their disobedience, God would not go back on His promise to the House of David.

Even though the Israelite king was in bondage, the new leader of Babylon showed him kindness and favor. Was it because Evil-Merodach was a good guy? No! It was because God never goes back on His promises!

If God made you a promise, you can trust it regardless of what happens around you. God’s promises will lift you up even in the worst of situations. Can you trust God’s promises? Your future depends upon it. God made a promise that one of David’s descendants would sit on the throne. Nothing was going to change that. God will put the same power behind every promise He made to you!

Tomorrow’s Reading: Lamentations 1:1-2:22; Philemon 1:1-25; Psalm 101:1-8; Proverbs 26:20

Jeremiah 51:1-53; Titus 2:1-15; Psalm 99:1-9; Proverbs 26:17

Gods that we create are called idols. Our culture creates many things that we gladly bow down to. These idols fall into three categories: Money, power or prestige. We neglect the God who gives us so much more for things that cannot satisfy.

The way Israel missed the mark was by placing some other idol above the True God. When God delivered Israel from Egypt by using His miraculous power, Israel used the gold that God provided them to make a golden calf (which was the god of Egypt.) Isn’t that what we do?

God blesses us with a new job and that job consumes all our time so that we neglect our families and our relationship with God. Or, God provides “nice things” for us and we make them an idol so that they become more important than people. Others have been blessed financially but cannot bring themselves to use those finances to help those in need. These are all idols and, slowly but surely, they lead us away from God.

Daily, we should renounce all idols that may have been setup in our lives and recommit ourselves to the One, True and Living God! There is no God like Our God! Israel learned this the hard way! Let’s learn from their example.

Tomorrow’s Reading: Jeremiah 51:54-52:34; Titus 3:1-15; Psalm 100:1-5; Proverbs 26:18-19