Monthly Archives: September 2013

Ezekiel 20, Luke 17

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The elders of Israel come to Ezekiel, to enquire of God through him. But God says He would not be inquired of by the elders. They had rejected God time and time again, and God lists 6 times that the nation rebelled against Him.  This seems like an overly negative response, but it’s important to realise how constant Israel was in their rejection, and yet God still offers hope. “You shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that I swore to give to your fathers”.

This section of Ezekiel should inspire us to reflect on our own lives, to “look intently at our natural face in a mirror”, and do something about what we see. Our God is merciful, but He requires action from us, to seek Him out and develop His character.

Jesus demonstrates God’s mercy in healing the 10 lepers, who pleaded “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us”. They were healed on their way to the priests, following Jesus’ instructions. Let us similarly seek God’s mercy, and let it affect our lives.

Ezekiel 19, Luke 16

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Ezekiel takes up a lamentation for the children of Israel, even before they were taken into captivity. They had been given all they needed to serve God, like strong a vine with ready access to water. Despite great men of faith like Moses and David, Israel eventually rejected God and so they would be shortly removed from the perfect vineyard to the wilderness.

A similar idea is expressed by Jesus in Luke 16, “no servant can serve two masters…you cannot serve God and money.” We’ve been called to serve God with our whole existence, to be “like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season”. Let’s seek the true riches God has offered, to be like the vine planted by water, freely soaking up the water of life available in God’s word.

Luke 13-14

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“I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it…I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them…I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come”. It’s easy to make excuses for not putting God first. Our lives today are so busy. We’ve been invited to the marriage supper, an invitation that requires appropriate preparation in our lives now.

In Luke 13-14 there are a number of warnings about being preoccupied with this life.  The Pharisees wanted to limit the work of Jesus to six days a week. We can do the same, limiting God in our lives to just Sundays and Wednesday nights. The kingdom of God needs to be like a grain of mustard seed or like leaven, with its tiny beginning, yet growing to fill our lives, effecting an irreversible change.  Let’s take up our cross, renounce all that this life offers, and follow the only one that is able to give us life, Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel 16, Luke 12

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In Ezekiel 16, God describes in graphic detail the care that He had provided to Israel, and the way she betrayed that care, seeking the attention of others outside the covenant she had made with God. The metaphors of marriage and prostitution are used to describe the intensity of the relationship and betrayal.  This chapter is as much a warning for us as it was for Israel, to be sure we’re not actively betraying our covenant made with God at baptism.

Yet after all this, God still provides hope. “I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth…I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord…when I atone for you for all that you have done.”  Our God is both loving and jealous. He will forgive our sins if we  turn to Him and seek after Him.

Jesus said, “it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom”. Let’s focus on gaining heavenly treasure, dedicating our lives to God, turning again to Him when we fail.

Luke 11

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In Luke 11, Jesus describes our God. Like a natural father with his children, so our heavenly Father has provided for all our needs. He is not far away or lazy; if we seek Him then He will respond. He is a God that will hear our prayer.

We are encouraged to have our whole body full of light, just as Jesus is the light of the world, to focus on the understanding and application of Godly principles, rather than the outward show of pedanticism demonstrated by the Pharisees.

“Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it”.  Let us be active in our keeping of the word of God, shining our light, forgiving others and longing for God’s kingdom to arrive now.

Luke 10

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Jesus said to his disciples, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”  This is a blessing for which Jesus thanked God, “I think you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children”, and it is a blessing that we have also. We need to have the attitude of little children, trusting in our Father to help and guide us, growing to be like Him.

Like children, we should love our God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind.  It’s a love that is reflected in the way we treat our neighbour, a love that the Samaritan demonstrated in his actions towards the people around him.  Let’s respond to the blessing God has given us in revealing His purpose, by the way we treat those around us.

 

Luke 8

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Jesus’ words in Luke 8 reminds us of the gift and subsequent responsibility we have. Like the disciples, we have an understanding of “the secrets of the kingdom of God”, but that brings with it the need to be like the good soil, to really hear God’s word and act on it. “Hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.”

We have the chance to be Jesus family if we are among those “who hear the word of God and do it”. This is not a passive thing. Legion was instructed “return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” God has done so much for us, and in return we too should share the great hope we’ve been given with those around us.

Ezekiel 11

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Ezekiel 11 is a chapter of destruction and hope. A prophecy of Israel’s imminent downfall, and a future time when they would be restored. “I will gather you from the peoples…and I will give you the land of Israel…a new spirit I will put within them…that they may walk in my statues and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”

This is the comfort provided by God to a devastated Ezekiel, that God would once more serve their God and have a relationship with Him.  This is a hope continually set before us too, a weekly re-establishment of our relationship with God after a week of sin.  Let us rededicate our lives to God this morning, knowing that we too have been called to be God’s children and to be part of that time when Israel will once more be God’s people.

2 Kings 19, Luke 5

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Jesus said “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance”. He demonstrated his authority to forgive sins by healing the paralysed man.

Like Levi, we’ve been called to leave everything this life has to offer behind us, to repent and heal our relationship with God. Like Hezekiah, we’ll experience challenges to our faith, but we should follow his example and take those challenges to God in prayer. “So now, O Lord our God, save us, please”

Luke 4

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Jesus quotes Isaiah, saying that he had been sent “to proclaim good news to the poor… proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.”

Like the audience in the synagogue that day, we too have been given good news, as Paul describes “the mystery of Christ… that the Gentiles are fellow heirs…partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”  We’ve been set free from the captivity of sin, had our eyes opened, and been offered everlasting liberty from the pain and suffering of a mortal life.