DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR TUESDAY AUGUST 30:
WORD OF WISDOM
"Dusty Bibles lead to Dirty Lives"
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DAILY DEVOTION
Think on These Things
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things
are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue,
and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Philippians 4:8
God wants you to be blessed in every area. The Bible says that Jesus came so
that you and I could have life more abundantly, but it all starts in your
thinking. That's why the scripture tells us very clearly what we should be
thinking about-things that are noble, right, lovely, pure and praiseworthy.
In other words, when a thought comes to your mind that you're never going to
be successful, replace it by saying, "Father, You said in Proverbs that if I
would put You first, You would crown my efforts with success. You said in
the Psalms that You surround me with favor like a shield. You said in
Deuteronomy that Your blessings would chase me down and overtake me!" That's
how you take every thought captive, one thought at a time!
Today, refuse to allow any negative thoughts to take up space in your mind.
Fill your heart and mind with the Word of God and open the door for His hand
of blessing in every area of your life!
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DAILY BIBLE READING
Ezekiel 1-3Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Introduction
1 I am the priest, Ezekiel son of Buzi. I was in exile by the Kebar Canal in
Babylonia when the skies opened up, and I saw visions of God. This was on
the fifth day of the fourth month of the thirtieth year.[a] (This was the
fifth year of King Jehoiachin's exile. The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel.
The power of the Lord came over him at that place.)
The Chariot of the Lord-God's Throne
4 I was watching a big storm come in from the north. It was a big cloud with
a strong wind, and there was fire flashing from it. Light was shining out
all around it. It looked like hot metal[b] glowing in a fire. 5 Inside the
cloud, there were four living beings that looked like people. 6 But each one
of them had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight. Their
feet looked like calves' feet, and they sparkled like polished brass. 8
Under their wings were human arms. There were four living beings. Each
living being had four faces and four wings. 9 The wings touched each other.
The living beings did not turn when they moved. They went in the direction
they were looking.
10 Each living being had four faces. In the front they each had a man's
face. There was a lion's face on the right side and a bull's face on the
left side. There was an eagle's face on the back. 11 Their wings were spread
out over them. With two of the wings each living being reached out to touch
the one near it, and with the other two wings it covered its body. 12 Each
living being went in the direction it was looking. They went wherever the
spirit[c] caused them to go, but they did not turn when they moved. 13 That
is what the living beings looked like.
Inside the area between the living beings, there was something that looked
like burning coals of fire. This fire was like small torches that kept
moving around among the living beings. The fire glowed brightly and
lightning flashed from it. 14 The living beings ran back and forth-as fast
as lightning.[d]
15-16 I was looking at the living beings when I noticed four wheels that
touched the ground. There was one wheel by each living being. All the wheels
looked the same. The wheels looked as if they were made from a clear, yellow
jewel. They looked like there was a wheel inside a wheel. 17 They could turn
to move in any direction. But the living beings did not turn when they
moved.[e]
18 The rims of the wheels were tall and frightening. There were eyes all
over the rims of all four wheels.
19 The wheels always moved with the living beings. If the living beings went
up into the air, the wheels went with them. 20 They went wherever the spirit
wanted them to go, and the wheels went with them, because the power that
moved the living being was in the wheels. 21 So if the living beings moved,
the wheels moved. If the living beings stopped, the wheels stopped. If the
wheels went into the air, the living beings went with them, because the
spirit was in the wheels.
22 There was an amazing thing over the heads of the living beings. It was
like a bowl[f] turned upside down, and the bowl was clear like crystal. 23
Under this bowl, each living being had wings reaching out to the one next to
it. Two wings spread out one way and two wings spread out the other way,
covering its body.
24 Then I heard the wings. Every time the living beings moved, their wings
made a very loud noise like a lot of water rushing by. They were loud like
the Lord All-Powerful. They were as loud as an army or a crowd of people.
When the living beings stopped moving, they put their wings down by their
side.
25 The living beings stopped moving and lowered their wings. Then there was
another loud sound that came from above the bowl over their heads. 26 There
was something that looked like a throne on top of the bowl. It was blue like
sapphire. There was also something that looked like a man sitting on the
throne. 27 I looked at him from his waist up. He looked like hot metal with
fire all around him. I looked at him from his waist down. It looked like
fire with a glow that was shining all around him. 28 The light shining
around him was like a rainbow in a cloud. It was the Glory of the Lord. As
soon as I saw that, I fell to the ground. I bowed with my face to the
ground, and then I heard a voice speaking to me.
The Lord Speaks to Ezekiel
2 The voice said, "Son of man,[g] stand up and I will speak with you."
2 Then the Spirit came into me[h] and lifted me up on my feet, and I
listened to the one who spoke to me. 3 He said, "Son of man, I am sending
you to speak to the family of Israel. Those people and their ancestors
turned against me many times. They have sinned against me many times-and
they are still sinning against me today. 4 I am sending you to speak to
them, but they are very stubborn. They are very hardheaded, but you must
speak to them. You must say, 'This is what the Lord God says.' 5 They are
people who refuse to obey, so they may not listen to you. But even if they
don't stop sinning, at least they will know that there is a prophet living
among them.
6 "Son of man, don't be afraid of the people or what they say. It is true:
they will turn against you and try to hurt you. Their words will be sharp
like thorns and will sting like scorpions. But don't be afraid of what they
say. They are people who refuse to obey, but don't be afraid of them. 7 You
must tell them what I say, whether they listen or not. They are people who
usually refuse to listen!
8 "Son of man, listen to what I am telling you. Don't turn against me like
those people who refuse to obey. Now open your mouth to receive the words I
will give you to speak."
9 Then I saw an arm reach out toward me. It was holding a scroll with words
written on it. 10 It rolled the scroll open in front of me. Words were on
the front and on the back of the scroll. There were all kinds of sad songs,
sad stories, and warnings.
3 God said to me, "Son of man,[i] eat what you see. Eat this scroll, and
then go tell these things to the family of Israel."
2 So I opened my mouth and he put the scroll into my mouth. 3 Then God said,
"Son of man, I am giving you this scroll. Swallow it! Let that scroll fill
your body."
So I ate the scroll. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
4 Then God said to me, "Son of man, go to the family of Israel. Speak my
words to them. 5 I am not sending you to some foreigners you cannot
understand. You don't have to learn another language. I am sending you to
the family of Israel. 6 I am not sending you to many different countries
where people speak languages you cannot understand. If you went to those
people and spoke to them, they would listen to you. But you will not have to
learn those hard languages. 7 No, I am sending you to the family of Israel.
Only, these people have hard heads-they are very stubborn! And the people of
Israel will refuse to listen to you. They don't want to listen to me. 8 But
I will make you just as stubborn as they are, and your head just as hard. 9
A diamond is harder than flint rock. In the same way you will be more
stubborn than they are, and your head will be harder. Then you will not be
afraid of them or those who always turn against me."
10 Then God said to me, "Son of man, listen to every word I say to you and
remember them. 11 Then go to all of your people in exile and tell them,
'This is what the Lord God says ..' They will not listen, and they will not
stop sinning, but you must still tell them my message."
12 Then the Spirit[j] lifted me up, and I heard a voice behind me. It was
very loud, like thunder. It said, "Blessed is the Glory of the Lord!" 13
Then the wings of the living beings began moving. The wings made a very loud
noise as they touched each other, and the wheels in front of them began
making a noise as loud as thunder. 14 The Spirit lifted me and took me away.
I was very sad and upset in my spirit, but I felt the Lord's power in me. 15
I went to the people of Israel who were forced to live in Tel Aviv[k] by the
Kebar Canal. I sat there among them for seven days, shocked and silent.
The Watchman of Israel
16 After seven days, the word of the Lord came to me. He said, 17 "Son of
man, I am making you a watchman for Israel. I will tell you about bad things
that will happen to them, and you must warn Israel. 18 If I say, 'These evil
people will die!' Then you must warn them. You must tell them to change
their lives and stop doing evil. If you don't warn them, they will die
because they sinned. But I will also make you responsible for their death,
because you did not go to them and save their lives.
19 "If you warn them and tell them to change their lives and stop doing
evil, but they refuse to listen, they will die because they sinned. But
since you warned them, you will have saved your own life.
20 "If good people stop being good and begin to do evil, and I send
something that makes them stumble and sin, they will die because they
sinned. But since you did not warn them and remind them of the good things
they had done, I will make you responsible for their death.
21 "But if you warn good people and tell them to stop sinning, and they
listen to your warning and stop sinning, they will not die. In that way you
will have saved your own life."
22 The Lord's power came to me. He said to me, "Get up and go to the
valley.[l] I will speak to you in that place."
23 So I got up and went out to the valley. The Glory of the Lord was
there-as I had seen it by the Kebar Canal. So I bowed with my face to the
ground. 24 But the Spirit came into me and lifted me up on my feet. He said
to me, "Go home and lock yourself in your house. 25 Son of man, people will
come with ropes and tie you up. They will not let you go out among the
people. 26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth-you will
not be able to talk. So they will not have anyone to teach them that they
are doing wrong, because they are always turning against me. 27 But I will
talk to you, and then I will allow you to speak. But you must say to them,
'This is what the Lord God says.' If a person wants to listen, fine. If a
person refuses to listen, fine. But those people always turn against me.
Footnotes:
a.Ezekiel 1:1 fifth day . year If the year refers to Ezekiel's age, this is
the same as the fifth year of exile, that is, July 31, 593 B.C.
b.Ezekiel 1:4 hot metal The Hebrew word might mean "melted copper," "an
alloy of gold and silver," or "amber." Also in verse 27.
c.Ezekiel 1:12 spirit Or "wind." Also in verse 20.
d.Ezekiel 1:14 Or "And there was something like lighting shooting back and
forth among the living beings."
e.Ezekiel 1:17 The wheels . moved Or "The wheels could move in any four
directions, but they did not turn when they moved."
f.Ezekiel 1:22 bowl This Hebrew word is the same word used in Gen. 1:6-7 to
describe the dome of the sky.
g.Ezekiel 2:1 Son of man This was usually just a way of saying "a person" or
"a human being." Here, it is a way of addressing Ezekiel, as one the Lord
chose to be his prophet. It is used in this sense throughout this book.
h.Ezekiel 2:2 the Spirit came into me Or "a wind came."
i.Ezekiel 3:1 Son of man This was usually just a way of saying "a person" or
"a human being." Here, it is a way of addressing Ezekiel. Also in verses 3,
4, 10, 17, 25.
j.Ezekiel 3:12 Spirit Or "wind." Also in verse 24.
k.Ezekiel 3:15 Tel Aviv This was a place outside of Israel. The name means
"Spring Hill."
l.Ezekiel 3:22 the valley Possibly, Jezreel Valley, a fertile area where
many battles were fought. It is often called simply "The Valley."
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright C 2006 by Bible League International
