"'But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.' Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it." (Ezekiel 2:8, 9-- from yesterday's Major Prophet reading)
At the risk of sounding "hyper-spiritual," something very much like this happened to me in the summer of '70.
Could our text be the inspiration for, "Feed on the Word of God"? To me it's very clear: The, "rebellious," do not, "eat what I give you." They eat, feed on what they think is best, like a child who wants to forget the vitamin/mineral needs for the IHOP sugary syrup and Dairy Queen sundaes. The, "rebellious," if they hear or read the, "scroll of a book," at all, would really like be as the king of Israel who, when he heard the reading of, "a scroll of a book," had it cut up and destroyed. But, as with Jeremiah, the Holy Spirit just keeps finding people who will write the same words over and over again. God bless those monks of the Middle Ages who laborious wrote word by word the, "God-Breathed," Words.
Sometimes devotionals can be like a telemarketer call. After the first few words, you hang up; you know what they are going to say. Many are like that with the Bible, "O, I've read that several times before." So? I too have "read that several times," and never grow tired of the Food. "Open your mouth and eat what I give you," is a glorious invitation/command, a glorious eating, glorious taste, glorious sustenance. I can see more and more why our Lord Jesus spoke to my heart on that dark day in the summer of '70. My response was not to fall on my knees in prayer, or sing, or go to a prayer meeting. I "instinctively" picked up my Bible, however, and began the journey. It was a little like Wesley's heart, "strangely warmed," experience. "O, taste and see that the Lord is good." I did/do and He Was/Is.
Father, in Jesus' Name, thank You for the, "Medicine to those who find," Your Word. Amen.
At the risk of sounding "hyper-spiritual," something very much like this happened to me in the summer of '70.
Could our text be the inspiration for, "Feed on the Word of God"? To me it's very clear: The, "rebellious," do not, "eat what I give you." They eat, feed on what they think is best, like a child who wants to forget the vitamin/mineral needs for the IHOP sugary syrup and Dairy Queen sundaes. The, "rebellious," if they hear or read the, "scroll of a book," at all, would really like be as the king of Israel who, when he heard the reading of, "a scroll of a book," had it cut up and destroyed. But, as with Jeremiah, the Holy Spirit just keeps finding people who will write the same words over and over again. God bless those monks of the Middle Ages who laborious wrote word by word the, "God-Breathed," Words.
Sometimes devotionals can be like a telemarketer call. After the first few words, you hang up; you know what they are going to say. Many are like that with the Bible, "O, I've read that several times before." So? I too have "read that several times," and never grow tired of the Food. "Open your mouth and eat what I give you," is a glorious invitation/command, a glorious eating, glorious taste, glorious sustenance. I can see more and more why our Lord Jesus spoke to my heart on that dark day in the summer of '70. My response was not to fall on my knees in prayer, or sing, or go to a prayer meeting. I "instinctively" picked up my Bible, however, and began the journey. It was a little like Wesley's heart, "strangely warmed," experience. "O, taste and see that the Lord is good." I did/do and He Was/Is.
Father, in Jesus' Name, thank You for the, "Medicine to those who find," Your Word. Amen.
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Our prayer requests are not casual cliches. As with everyone really, we desire and need the Book of Acts, "....but constant (earnest) prayer was offered to God for him by the church." Thanks.
Our prayer requests are not casual cliches. As with everyone really, we desire and need the Book of Acts, "....but constant (earnest) prayer was offered to God for him by the church." Thanks.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
