Daniel 1

¹² “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink...¹⁵ At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.


This chapter appears to be mostly setup so I don't have any major takeaways.  The part about the 10 day diet test did catch my eye for some reason.  So going vegetarian for 10 days made a difference they could see.  We go to Cabo in January, so there is time for me to go on a quick veggie diet to start looking healthier.

I don't think we are supposed to be testing God but maybe trying to live by the principles he gives us and then stopping after a period and taking note of how our lives look differently when we do this a good thing to do?  Maybe its a way to evangelize too?  speaking with someone about tithing for a period and see how you feel different....for example

that's it.  I was going to take us back to the NT but with only 4 days until Christmas I figured we could just continue in the OT.  Maybe we can get through daniel by early January.

hope all is well.
knut

Ezekiel 48

This is a tough one to get any nuggets out of.
I suppose we could look at the specific instructions that God is laying out here.  I don't feel like I get that much direction, or have that level of his involvement.  That is something that I'm certain, I am dis-abling with my own broken-ness.  I strive for that interaction.


I hope you got something better than I, today.


Ezekiel.......out!


tp

Ezekial 47

⁸ He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah,^[b] where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh.


I wish I had more time to study on this one.   I did not realize the the Dead Sea is a higher saline content than the oceans. Its so high animal life cannot floursih, hence the name.  There is something here intriguing to me but I can't put my finger on it.  Its something with the perfect connection of God's word all woven together. 

Jesus spoke of drinking water--John 4:10 “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water”

I believe this is all connected together.  The Holy Spirit the living water we need in side us to flourish and make us fresh just like the fresh water running into the Dead Sea making salty water fresh. 

I know there is more here...

knut

Ezekial 46

¹³ “‘Every day you are to provide a year-old lamb without defect for a burnt offering to the Lord; morning by morning you shall provide it.


This morning I am reminded to give God my best everyday.  Whether it is in effort or from the resources he has provided me.  Don't just donate old stuff to Goodwill and feel like you have done something special.  Go out an purchase some brand new stuff and give it to someone who needs it.  Don't just give offering at church from what is left over.  Give at least 10% from the first fruits and do it happily not begrudgingly.

probably not the point of today's chapter but in this Christmas season its the thought that crossed my mind.

knut

Ezekial 45

^9-12 “This is the Message of God, the Master: ‘I’ve put up with you long enough, princes of Israel! Quit bullying and taking advantage of my people. Do what’s just and right for a change. Use honest scales—honest weights and honest measures. Every pound must have sixteen ounces. Every gallon must measure four quarts. The ounce is the basic measure for both. And your coins must be honest—no wooden nickels!


So whether it is Princes or the politician in a democracy like the US those in power let it go to their heads and take advantage of their constituents.  But God is paying attention and in due time the tables will turn.  The meek will inherit the earth.

knut

Ezekial 44

 ² The Lord said to me, “This gate is to remain shut. It must not be opened; no one may enter through it. It is to remain shut because the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered through it.


This verse captured my attention but I didn't know where to go with it.  I went to Tom's blog and he wrote a bit on what he has seen in person.  His last sentence is how I often feel watching the news, trying to make connections but not trying to over read into today's situations in the middle east.


https://tomvanderwell.wordpress.com/2015/05/01/the-gate-is-shut/

with a chapter a day this week we will complete Ezekial.  While we haven't made it through the entire bible it might be time to re-read a NT book connected with the Christmas season?
knut

Ezekiel 43

I'm gonna go a little lite hearted today.

Let them consider its perfection, ¹¹ and if they are ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the design of the temple—its arrangement, its exits and entrances—its whole design

What I see here is that God is a "designer"........just like me.   He appreciates and values the perfection of his design and idea.  BOOM!

Ezekiel 42

The only part to this chapter that wasn't measurements, was the part about the priests and their clothing.  I'm failing to take anything meaningful out of that.

you?

tp

Ezekiel 41

WOW!  So much detail here.  I'm trying to come up with a good message to be taken from it.

The thing that strikes me is how detailed it really is.  In other words, God is giving directions down to the minutia about how the temple should be constructed.  I'm not thinking as much about why, as I am about how involved he is.  I tend to think of God as not being interested in the details, as much as the big picture.  But, that is clearly not the case here, and it probably isn't the case with our lives. 

Sometimes I don't even pray about things, just because I think its too small for him.....or not worth his time.  What he is illustrating here that he is intimitely interested and involved.  Now, it probably doesn't hurt that he is directing the look of the very thing that will be the symbol of his presence.  But, in some ways......we are his temple.  Right? 

doing some serious Tuesday rambling here.

tp