30 June 2005 Devotion for Today " Losing Your Way" 1 Samuel 21:1-6

30 June 2005 Devotion for Today  " Losing Your Way"  1 Samuel 21:1-6

 Samuel 21:1-6
1 "Now David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech was afraid when he met
David, and said to him, "Why are you alone, and no one is with you?"
2So David said to Ahimelech the priest, "The king has ordered me on some business, and
said to me, "Do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I send you, or
what I have commanded you.' And I have directed my young men to such and such a place.
3Now therefore, what have you on hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or
whatever can be found."
4And the priest answered David and said, "There is no common bread on hand; but there is
holy bread, if the young men have at least kept themselves from women."
5Then David answered the priest, and said to him, "Truly, women have been kept from us
about three days since I came out. And the vessels of the young men are holy, and the
bread is in effect common, even though it was consecrated in the vessel this day."
6So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread which
had been taken from before the LORD, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day
when it was taken away."
 
I just recently returned from the European Baptist Convention in Brussels, Belgium.  We
had a great time fellowshipping with believers from all parts of Europe and one
church in the United Arab Emirates.  There were several highlights which I will not go
into, but there were some moments of exasperation- not as part of the conference- but
in trying to get to the location of the convention and to my hotel.  The traffic pattern
of Brussels was unlike any that I have yet known in Europe.  From my hotel, I managed
to pick up our speaker and his wife, Dr. and Mrs. Nigel Wright of Spurgeon's College,
and take them to their hotel.  This dear, patient and sweet couple helped me to find
the way to the hotel.  Getting to the church was another matter.  I found myself entirely
lost on several occasions.  I was about an hour late for one meeting- and for another I
did not even bother to attend simply because I had lost my way.  Towards the end of the
week, I managed to become more familiar with the road system.
 
Losing your way is a very frustrating experience- especially while driving many of
Europe's large cities.  It is difficult to remember how I got off the direction I was
going- or to find my way back to it. It was also very embarrassing- here I had a very
important speaker in my car and I wonder if he must have thought we will never make it
to the speaking engagements on time.  What kind of an idiot had the EBC sent out to pick
him up, anyway?
 
In reflection on that experience, how even more
subtle it is to lose one's way in the spiritual journey of life.  David comes to mind
as I look at this chapter.  While he is fleeing from King Saul, he finds it necessary
to lie in order to deceive Ahimelech about David's true intentions.  Perhaps David did
this in order to protect the priest from certain harm should Saul discover what Ahimelech
had done. (Indeed Ahimelech is put to death, anyway).  David tells the priest that he
and his men are on a secret mission from Saul- and that it was so hastily undertaken that
he didn't even have time to get his sword.  Ahimelech gives David the weapon with which he
had beheaded the giant, and offers he and his men the showbread from the table of the
Lord for their nourishment.
 
One might argue that David was trying to preserve he and his men, and not tell the
priest everything in order to protect him.  But was it right for David to do what he
did?  Certainly David and his men were sustained for another day- but this act of
deception cost the priest and his whole family their lives.  The priest perhaps should
have asked more questions- for the whole situation did not appear right before him based
on the questions that he did ask David.  He also knew that it was not really "kosher" to
offer the showbread for them to eat.  But out of his respect for David, and desiring
to meet a need- he did not inquire of the Lord whether it was best to do what he did,
and offered the holy showbread to David. 
 
Many times we lose our way like this.  It is when we compromise what we know to be right
and true thinking that a greater good will come of the situation.  Its like taking a
short cut when we see ourselves about to get bogged down in heavy traffic on the freeway-
only wishing that we had stayed where we were because the short cut boggs us down even
worse.  Our intention is to do good, but it causes everything to become a big mess.  This
is what happened with David and Ahimelech.  One deceit turns into a situation for which
neither man bargained.  When Saul found out about it and inquired of Ahimelech the
situation, the priest was executed immediately.
 
What could we have done differently?  It is one of those pinpoints on the map of life
that is unclear until we inquire of God.  Realize that our act of deceit- no matter how
innocent or good the intention might be- will cost somebody something.  We may not have
to pay the cost of it outright.  But someone else will.
 
Do you find it difficult to keep from losing your way?  Consult with your roadmap of life-
the Word of God, and ask Him for direction every day.  Have a blessed day!

 

 

Jeff Russell
Devotion for Today
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net
salembaptistch@earthlink.net
Web address: http://25621.lifewaylink.com

29 June 2005 Devotion for Today "Late Bloomers" Ezekiel 19:10-14

29 June 2005  Devotion for Today  “Late Bloomers”  Ezekiel 19:10-14

 

As I write this morning there is a beautiful refreshing rain falling on Weeksville, North Carolina.  We have not had rain like this in weeks.  It’s the kind of rain that makes you want to lie in bed in the morning and snooze beneath the sound of the heavy drops tapping lightly on the rooftop.  There is not a better night’s sleep to be had like that.  The flowers and garden need it badly- especially the hydrangea bush that I planted late this spring in memory of my father.  It was looking quite wilted even though I tried to water it every evening.   For weeks we wondered if the poor little plant would make it.  But today it is thriving- its green leaves are reaching up to heaven as if to say, “Thank you, God!”  There is even a small, pink blossom which I have not seen before.  It gives me hope that the other foliage and garden plants will follow suit.

 

As I delight in the flowers this morning I am reminded of our text in Ezekiel 19:  “Your mother was like a vine in your bloodline, planted by the waters, fruitful and full of branches because of many waters.  She had strong branches for scepters of rulers.  She towered in stature above the thick branches, and was seen in her height amid the dense foliage.”  Ezekiel 19:10-11

 

As Ezekiel relays this imagery, he is reminded of how fruitful Israel once was when she was responsive to God’s Word and His ways.  She prospered and thrived under the godly leadership of David and Solomon.  However, with a few exceptions, the generations which followed produced ungodly political and spiritual leadership, causing a spiritual drought that deeply affected Israel’s once glorious reign.  Her bloom has turned into blight, causing the prophet to continue by saying, “But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried her fruit.  Her strong branches were broken and withered : the fire consumed them and now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.  Fire has come out from a rod of her branches and devoured her fruit, so that she has no strong branch- a scepter for ruling.”  Ezekiel 19:12-14.

 

I used to marvel how people’s lives are very much like the plants that we tend.  Some thrive and take off quite naturally with no apparent trouble, while others are what you call, “late bloomers.”  Yet the early thriving plants have no guarantees that they will continue as they are now, and the ones we almost give up hope for, like the hydrangea, turn out to surprise us later when the right conditions appear.  So it is in God’s economy.  It shows us that we ought never to rest upon our laurels and glory in spiritual victories of the past, and never give up hope in apparent hopelessness. 

 

Have a blessed day!

 

 

Jeff Russell
Devotion for Today
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net
salembaptistch@earthlink.net
Web address: http://25621.lifewaylink.com

28 June 2005 Devotion for Today "Bone Trouble" Psalm 6:2; 8-9

28 June 2005  Devotion for Today  "Bone Trouble"  Psalm 6:2; 8-9

 

Many people suffer from the affects of arthritis and joint
inflammation.  When the weather changes, they are usually the first
to announce that a storm is coming.  One of our older gentlemen in
the American community, a 70 year-old retired colonel, commented last
night that we would soon have a severe rainstorm.  We were on our way
to a meeting when he said, "I can't say exactly when, but some time
in the next hour, we're going to have a bad storm.  I feel it in my
bones, so you better make sure your car window is rolled up!"  It was
amazing how accurate he was.  Just as the meeting concluded, the storm
arrived with powerful flashes of lightening and peals of thunder.  Heavy
rain pelted down on us as we rushed to our vehicles.  He was right!
 

Of course, I never doubt it when people tell me this.  Their
aching bones give signs of experience.  When David says, "Have mercy
on me, O Lord, for I am weak; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled."
(Psalm 6:2), he suggests that the extent of the aching is not just because
of old age.  Years of torment and grief caused by other people caused
his spirit to become very sensitive to the dissention and strife at the
royal court and keen even to the intriques that might have even cost him
his life.  God gives us that sensitivity, at times, to warn us of danger;
a perception to aid us in our refuge to Him.  At other times, we may
be troubled in our bones because of memory of past sins.  Even though
we know we have been forgiven, the consequences and reminders of our
sinful actions through out life take their toll upon our spirit also.
 In David's old age, he was likely plagued with the memory of
what he had done to Uriah, and with Bathsheba, and bitter memories
haunted his mind concerning his children.  Nevertheless, David is
confident of God's love and concern for him as he says, "For the Lord
has heard the voice of my weeping.  The Lord has heard my supplication;
The Lord will receive my prayer."  vv. 8-9.

 Are you "troubled in your bones" today?  If you are, take comfort
in God's forgiveness.  May those troubled bones remind you never to
stray away from the fellowship of God.  Have a blessed day!

 

(from 27 June 2002)

 

Jeff Russell
Devotion for Today
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net
salembaptistch@earthlink.net
Web address: http://25621.lifewaylink.com

27 June 2005 Devotion for Today "Sour Grapes" Ezekiel 18:1-4

27 June 2005 Devotion for Today  “Sour Grapes”  Ezekiel 18:1-4

 

            Dr. Ravi Zacharias once gave this quotation from a poem as he introduced one of his riveting messages.  It is an excellent commentary for the times we live in:  “At three I had the sense of ambivalence toward my brothers; and so it follows naturally- I poisoned all my lovers.  But I’m so happy I have learned the lesson this has taught: everything I do that’s wrong is someone else’s fault.”    Dr. Zacharias gave this quote to illustrate the attitude of society in the twenty-first century that the reason we are the way we are is because our parents made us this way and therefore we ought not to be accountable.  Educators and sociologists have bought in to this idea- that we are products of our environment and that if we commit a crime, then it is the fault of societal pressures and not the individual.  If a child makes poor grades in school, it is the fault of his or her learning environment, poor teachers, disinterested parents, and a whole host of conspiring factors against this student.  The student cannot be faulted if he or she drops out of high school.  It may be true that you and I were born into a world that we could not help, and we certainly have no control over our parentage, our income or status level we found ourselves in, etc.  But we certainly do have control over what we do with what or whom we have been given.

         

   Ezekiel would have had equal disdain for the attitude expressed in the quotation, or at least as much as he found in a popular proverb quoted by hapless individuals of Israelite society in his day:  “What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: ‘the fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?’  As I live,” says the Lord God, “you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel.  Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father as well as the woul of the son is Mine;  The soul who sins shall die.”  Ezekiel 18:2-4

          

  The prophet proposes from God that individual accountability is the answer for why man has failed.  He cannot blame his parents or grandparents.  He is responsible for what he does even if he was born that way.  Everyone is accountable for his or her own sins, and will experience eternal death and separation from God if they die in their sins apart from faith in God through Jesus Christ.  We can no longer point to the fact that our mother was an alcoholic or if our father beat us.  Granted, their dysfunction might point to why we have certain quirks and irrationalities, but it does not explain why we should remain as we are or seek to perpetrate our pain upon others.  Sour grapes is no excuse.  Through the power of Jesus Christ we have the ability now to overcome the worst that the world can give us and still bring glory to God and be an example and testimony to others to what God and His grace can do. 

           

Have a blessed day.

 

Jeff Russell
Devotion for Today
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net
salembaptistch@earthlink.net
Web address: http://25621.lifewaylink.com

23 June 2005 Devotion for Today "Compromise or Integrity" Ezekiel 17:1-11

23 June 2005   Devotion for Today  “Compromise or Integrity”  Ezekiel 17:1-11

 

            On the Discovery Channel was a one-hour television special on the Great Wall of China. Perhaps you have also seen it.  It told how the original wall, erected two-hundred years before Christ, was built with dampened dirt that was firmly packed.  But throughout the centuries it has eroded, and few traces of it remain today.  In contrast, the later wall built with stones has not only been preserved, but will probably be standing as long as this earth remains.  But the stone wall was one hundred times more costly than the wall built with mud.

            We all face a choice: Do we take the cheaper route and build our lives on convenient decisions, or do we make the tough and right choices, at great personal cost?  In Ezekiel’s prophecy, the prophet confronts Israel with the same choices:

 

             The word of the LORD came to me: ² "Son of man, set forth an allegory and tell the house of Israel a parable. ³ Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: A great eagle with powerful wings, long feathers and full plumage of varied colors came to Lebanon. Taking hold of the top of a cedar, ⁴ he broke off its topmost shoot and carried it away to a land of merchants, where he planted it in a city of traders.     ⁵ " 'He took some of the seed of your land and put it in fertile soil. He planted it like a willow by abundant water, ⁶ and it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine. Its branches turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out leafy boughs.   ⁷ " 'But there was another great eagle with powerful wings and full plumage. The vine now sent out its roots toward him from the plot where it was planted and stretched out its branches to him for water. ⁸ It had been planted in good soil by abundant water so that it would produce branches, bear fruit and become a splendid vine.'  ⁹ "Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Will it thrive? Will it not be uprooted and stripped of its fruit so that it withers? All its new growth will wither. It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it up by the roots. ¹⁰ Even if it is transplanted, will it thrive? Will it not wither completely when the east wind strikes it—wither away in the plot where it grew?' "  Ezekiel 17:1-10

 

            The prophet’s allegory basically makes the same point. If we desire to plant something that will last, we must take the time and trouble to make certain that its roots go way down deep.  The world is so constituted that the right path is usually not the easiest path.  History is full of heroes who made great sacrifices- not because they were forced to- but voluntarily. 

 

            How deep do your roots go?  Make them go so deep that the strongest temptation or compromise cannot pull them out.  Then you will have what cannot be said of others: integrity.   Have a blessed day!

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

 

website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
http://jeffrussellsblog.blogspot.com
http://devotionfortoday.blogspot.com/

21 June 2005 Devotion for Today "Dysfunctionality" Ezekiel 16:60-63

21 June 2005  Devotion for Today  “Dysfunctionality”  Ezekiel 16:60-63

 

The term “dysfunctional” has gotten to the point where it is almost played-out.  In the 1990’s one used to hear the term all the time with reference to family relationships.  But now we don’t seem to hear it that much.  The reason?  We used the term when dysfunction meant the exception rather than the norm.  Now dysfunction is almost the norm, and what we understood as the traditional family is the exception.  Even within the traditional family, elements of dysfunction are widespread.  Role reversal and transference are evidenced everywhere.  This thought was brought home to me on Father’s Day- a holiday almost without relevance in some of the households in our churches because two and three generations have raised children without a father being present in the home.  I’ve met many families where every family member has a different last name to the point it is hard to identify what name to place with the household to identify them. I bring this up because the assumptions we used to make about these types of things can no longer be made.   It is a commentary to show us that it is getting to the point where few understand what it is to be a family anymore.

 

Ezekiel lamented the dysfunction in his own culture and the tendency toward sinfulness- the dissonance which people gave to a relationship with God, and the emptiness sown through the fabric of the nation.  In this stinging prophecy in chapter sixteen he highlights the blessings of what the Heavenly Father has done for Israel; providing everything for her only to have her grow up into promiscuity and to prostitute herself among the nations around her.  The manner in which Ezekiel describes Israel sounds uncomfortably close to the dysfunctionality of America in the 21^st century.

 

⁶⁰"Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. ⁶¹Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed, when you receive your older and your younger sisters; for I will give them to you for daughters, but not because of My covenant with you. ⁶²And I will establish My covenant with you. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, ⁶³that you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth anymore because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all you have done," says the Lord GOD."Ezekiel 16:60-63

 

God still loved Israel and remembers the Covenant which He gave to His chosen even though they do not deserve it. He also remembers us and loves us and has given us His Son to show us what it means to belong to a family of relationships that are present not thrown together for economic reasons, but for those who really care and love each other.  Have a blessed day!

 

 

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

 

website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
http://jeffrussellsblog.blogspot.com
http://devotionfortoday.blogspot.com/

20 June 2005 Devotion for Today "Worse than Nothing" Ezekiel 15

20 June 2005  Devotion for Today  “Worse than Nothing”  Ezekiel 15

 

            I was at the bank trying to fill out a deposit slip.  When I reached for the pen secured by a small chain, I found that it would not work.  There was another next to it, so I reached for that one as well.  Again it would not write.  “These pens are good for nothing,” I thought. They had worked at one time, but had exceeded their usefulness and needed to be replaced.  But worse than that was the predicament of the woman sitting in the lobby who was trying to get an extension on the loan for her car.  I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, because the conversation could be heard throughout the entire building, “Well I just can’t pay it and pay the repairs on the car,” she said rather agitated, “Its not only good for nothing, it is worse than nothing!”  She had a good point.  Having a car which would not run and having to pay for it on credit was worse than not having any vehicle at all.

            The prophet Ezekiel describes a similar situation with reference to Israel in chapter 15:

    ¹ The word of the LORD came to me: ² "Son of man, how is the wood of a vine better than that of a branch on any of the trees in the forest? ³ Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful? Do they make pegs from it to hang things on? ⁴ And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle, is it then useful for anything? ⁵ If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, how much less can it be made into something useful when the fire has burned it and it is charred?   ⁶ "Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: As I have given the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel for the fire, so will I treat the people living in Jerusalem. ⁷ I will set my face against them. Although they have come out of the fire, the fire will yet consume them. And when I set my face against them, you will know that I am the LORD. ⁸ I will make the land desolate because they have been unfaithful, declares the Sovereign LORD."

            The prophet describes the relationship Israel has with God like that of a sucker vine on tree.  You can’t make anything out of it- not even the smallest item can be made from the wood of this vine.  You cannot even burn it, because the wood just smolders and creates a lot of smoke but not heat and certainly no light.  Such a vine is a parasite to the tree, sapping its strength and vitality.  God laments the relationship as being worse than not having a relationship at all and declares His intention to dispose of it.

            Think of our own relationships?  Are they vital to others?  Do we enrich them and bless them with God’s love and grace, or do we place a drain on them and sap everything we can from them?  I am not speaking of situations where one is physically dependent on others- for that cannot be helped.  I am talking about the source of our emotional and spiritual resources.  I have met people who take from others whatever they can get- the value of the relationship lasts as long as the willingness on the other party to keep giving.  But once those resources are gone- that person moves on to find whatever he or she can find. 

            God is patient with us, but sooner or later He will not tolerate “sappers” and “suckers” in relationships with Him.  God is not so weak and dependent on us that He is co-dependent.  He will work change in us and help us to grow, but He will not tolerate a “freeloader.”  When we were in our sins there was nothing about us which appealed to Him- nothing about us which He valued in having a relationship with us.  But since He has given us a new life in Jesus Christ we now have a purpose.  Instead of being worse than nothing, we are great because of the greatness which He gives us in Christ.

            Have a blessed day!

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

 

website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
http://jeffrussellsblog.blogspot.com
http://devotionfortoday.blogspot.com/

17 June 2005 Devotion for Today "Father's Day Gift" Psalms 127:3-5

17 June 2005  Devotion for Today  “Father’s Day Gift”   Psalms 127:3-5

 

My daughter Jinger turns twelve this week- an adorable, raven-haired beauty whose zest for life suits the name that we gave her.  When we  brought her home on Father’s Day she completed our family circle.  I remember bringing her brothers into the hospital room to visit Robin and Jinger for the very first time.  I said to the tow-headed tots, “You boys now have a baby sister, what about that?”  They looked at one another, their thumbs in their mouths, and then John, the oldest at age four said, “What’s a sister?”  I did not know how to reply to his thought-provoking question, but somehow I knew that in time he and his brother would surely find out.  They did a remarkable job of making room in their house and in their lives for baby Jinger.  All my children are considered teenagers, now.  I can scarcely fathom the idea. As our oldest receives his driver’s license in a few weeks, our middle child, Jared, shares his love for the outdoors.  But Jinger will always our “baby.” What frightens me more is the thought that in a few short years all of our children will be gone from the nest.  In the meantime, Robin and I are going to do all we can to continue enjoying our children as we enter a new phase of parenting.  But I know one thing, as I reflect on Father’s Day I could not be more blessed to be one.

            Scripture says in the Psalms:

³Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
       The fruit of the womb is a reward.
       ⁴Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
       So are the children of one's youth.
       ⁵Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;
       They shall not be ashamed,
       But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.

(Psalms 127:3-5)

 

Have a blessed day!

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

 

website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
http://jeffrussellsblog.blogspot.com
http://devotionfortoday.blogspot.com/

16 June 2005 Devotion for Today "Heart Seizure" Ezekiel 14:4-6

16 June 2005  Devotion for Today  “Heart Seizure”   Ezekiel 14:4-6

 

     I was about to conduct a worship service at a local nursing home last week when I noticed that one of the regular attenders was not present.  I missed seeing her.  She was not particularly old but had been stricken by a stroke and left in a wheelchair some years before.  When I inquired of her whereabouts I was crestfallen when someone said, “Miss Louise died two weeks ago- she had a heart seizure.”  I had not heard of a heart seizure before.  I wondered if it was the same as a heart attack.  I wondered what symptoms would bring something on like a heart seizure.  But I am certain to the victim the result is just the same.

            In this prophecy of Ezekiel, the prophet is greatly concerned with the symptoms of godlessness problematic to Israel.  Idolatry has seized the hearts of the people, particularly the leadership, and turned them away from actively following the Lord.  We think of idolatry as bowing down to idols and graven images.  But idolatry is more broadly defined than that.  Idolatry is the spirit that causes us to be focused on other things or where the concern for the things of God begin to diminish in importance.  The tension is found between doing what is popular versus doing what is right.  Before long, behavior and standards of personal morality begin to slide down the slippery slope of godless disinterest.  I don’t believe all people actually intend to live a godless life- although some do.  I think its just a matter of what or who they make themselves available to until the gods of this world seize their hearts.

            “Therefore speak to them, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts them before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols, that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols.  Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ‘Repent, turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations.”  Ezekiel 14:4-6

            In this passage God speaks of seizing the hearts of Israel.  To seize means to capture.  Ask yourself today, “what has captured my heart?”  Have a blessed day.

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

 

website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
http://jeffrussellsblog.blogspot.com
http://devotionfortoday.blogspot.com/

15 June 2005 Devotion for Today "Wild Foxes" Ezekiel 13:1-3

15 June 2005 Devotion for Today  “Wild Foxes”  Ezekiel 13:1-3

 

            You may have heard the story of the country farm boy who saw a vision with the letters P.C. written in the sky.  Excitedly, he ran to tell his pastor and to get his advice on what the vision meant.  “I know what P.C. means!” exclaimed the country boy, “P.C. means Preach Christ!”  The pastor, hearing the young man’s enthusiasm, suggested that he preach his first sermon the following Sunday.  The young man gave it all he could, but he was unable to connect with his listeners.  Evaluating the sermon, the pastor said, “Son, I am not so sure P.C. means Preach Christ.  I think what God meant was Plough Corn!”

            It seems as though everybody has their own idea of what it means to have God speak to them. But how do we really know?  Many times I have people approach me telling me, “God told me such and such” when every other indicator shows me that their argument for doing what they really want to do is weak, so they add “God told me” to the statement to keep me from analyzing it or challenging them on what they said.  Once I heard of a woman who said it was God’s will to divorce her husband.  Another said it was God’s will to quit their job and leave his young family in financial impoverishment to follow the Nascar circuit- doing contract body work and repairs.    It often amounts to no more than justifying what they wanted to do- following some spurious dream.   I am not discounting sincere people who are really striving to know God’s will.  But finding God’s will is never attached to spurious ideas or used to mask-over motives.  Finding God’s will is never found when our hearts, or our feet are in two different camps.  Discerning God’s direction never creates or presents a distorted view of reality, and it always is consistent with His Word.  Yes, there is always a certain amount of risk involved, but that risk, working alongside of God’s Word and prayer, and impressions of His Word in preaching- is the pattern we find in the Bible concerning knowing if God is speaking to our hearts.  Many times we only get glimpses or snatches which warm our hearts to His leading, and admittedly it is not always clear.  But that why we must take caution to make certain that the voice that we hear is God’s and not our own.

            Ezekiel challenged the people who were listening to a multitude of prophets who were leading them astray.  Here is what he said in Ezekiel 13:1-4:  “And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, ‘Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the Lord.’ Thus saith the Lord God; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing.  O Israel, your prophets are like foxes in the desert.”

            I haven’t seen foxes in the desert, but I have seen foxes in the countryside around Weeksville.  And I can tell you that they run all over the place.  You never see where they set down on any one thing.  That is the nature of wild animals.  True, they are most beautiful to look at when you get the rare chance to see one.  And they are clever- or at least have the reputation of being so.  But their cleverness doesn’t keep them from being “road kill” along the highway.  Often they are disease-ridden and unhealthy.  The prophet Ezekiel said that the false prophets are wild- wild in the view of not making a full commitment.  True, they expect others to make full commitments of their lives to what they want them to make, but they never come down full on one side or another.  That is because emotionally, or even with their feet, they are all over the place.

            Where are your feet today?  Are you like the fox, running through the fields and the wilderness- never setting down to make a commitment of your life?  The spurious, whimsical society in which we live breeds this kind of animal.  Settle down today and make a full commitment of your life to Jesus Christ.  Then you will know who speaks for God today.  Have a blessed day!

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

 

website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
http://jeffrussellsblog.blogspot.com
http://devotionfortoday.blogspot.com/

14 June 2005 Devotion for Today "Digging Through the Wall" Ezekiel 12:3-6

14 June 2005  Devotion for Today  “Digging Through the Wall”  Ezekiel 12:3-6

 

            Friendship Baptist Church met in a three hundred-year-old barn in the town of Langenselbold, Germany.  One year we experienced a severe plumbing problem where the waste water from the kitchen was trapped somewhere and not flowing out of the building.  No one knew much about the pipes or the drain lines since most of our congregation transferred in or out every two to three years.  The residue from the waste water left a horrible musty smell in the building that would nearly take your breath away.  After several weeks of trying to locate the source of the problem, we were able to locate a drain line that went into a brick wall.  No one knew where the line went from that point.  With mallets and chisels we penetrated the wall only to discover that the pipe had been stuck into an empty hole in the wall.  The waste water was allowed to pour through that hole and leach into the dirt floor beneath.  The putrid smell was unbearable as we cleaned up the mess and began re-plumbing the kitchen waste water drainage line.  We do not know how long it had been that way.  It appeared that the plumber- probably one of our temporary members, placed the line in the hole and was not able to complete the job without telling anyone.  Only when we dug through the wall did we discover the problem to get rid of the “funky smell” that was so offensive to us.

 

            In our Scripture text today we find Ezekiel digging through a wall of his own.  It was not to signify a plumbing problem, but the problem of pending judgment upon Israel.  He was to dig through the wall of his house and exit onto the open street.  Then he was to carry all of his luggage with him.  You can imagine what effect this might have upon the people as they are forced to stop and look.  It would compel them to ask, “Where are you going?”  Ezekiel the prophet answers by saying that their captors would dig through walls to capture them and take them back to Babylon.

 

            “Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, and remove by day in their sigh, and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight.  It may be they will consider though they be a rebellious house.  Then shalt thou bring forth thy stuff for removing and thous shalt go forth at even in their sight, as they that go forth into captivity.  Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby.  In their sight shalt thou beart it upon thy shoulders, and carry it forth in the twilight: thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the ground: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel.”  Ezekiel 12:3-6 

 

            This prophecy may seem bizarre to its readers, but no more bizarre and strange were the ways of the people- especially in their relationship toward the God who loved them.  You may want to consider what walls you may wish to dig through today to get at the source of whatever is causing that “funky smell” that affects your relationship with Him.  Have a blessed day!

 

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

 

website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
http://jeffrussellsblog.blogspot.com
http://devotionfortoday.blogspot.com/

13 June 2005 Devotion for Today "Departing Glory" Ezekiel 10:18-22

13 June 2005 Devotion for Today “Departing Glory”  Ezekiel 10:18-22

           

            One winter as I was attending Spurgeon’s College I arrived on early on a Sunday morning.  But it was too early to check in.  I was very tired after making a transatlantic flight, but it was Sunday and I wanted to attend a church service.  The only problem was that I needed to bring my suitcase because there was no where to leave it since I could not get into the campus.  I hopped a red double-decked bus and made my way to a certain community in the south of London where a famous Baptist preacher had once preached a hundred or so years before.  I was hoping that my visit in this particular house of worship I might receive some sort of impression of him.  I was wrong.  The ushers, seeing that I was carrying a suitcase, gave me a rough time of it as I tried to enter the building.  I suppose I must have appeared to them as a homeless person.  They would not allow me to leave my luggage in an unused room, so I left it in the vestibule and sat down in the almost empty auditorium.  The great expanse was built to seat some four to five thousand people, but there were only about a hundred or so people spread thinly around the room- most of them elderly people.  I sat down in a row by myself- no one came up to me, no one sat near me, no one even personally greeted me.  I was filled with awkwardness and uneasiness- halfway between trying to convince myself that the situation might just get better or perhaps I better try to leave before the service begins.  I elected to stay for fear my retreat would be noticed and I should be placed in a more awkward position than I was already in.  The minister came in- dignified, in a long black robe as the stodgy worship leader announced the beginning of the service.  A pipe organ blasted away some tunes that I did not know.  After a few oratorio prayers and more hymns, the minister cleared his throat and began to speak.  He did not preach, rather began to lecture on the effects of post-modernism on our world and that post-modernism was the reason why the church was so discouraged.  I can’t even recall if he had read a Scripture text.  After the message, the service abruptly ended without so much as a benedictory prayer- I scarcely knew when the service had ended.  I left the building as inconspicuously as I tried to enter and very disappointed.  People were chatting away by the front steps but no one said anything to me- not “have a nice day, kiss my foot, or anything.”  I retreated down the steps and made my way to the first bus I could find back to the campus at the College.

            Reflecting on that situation taught me much about my own ministry.  I resolved then and there never to allow such a situation to happen to anyone else if I could help it.  The large edifice of the building was a monument to the famous preacher whom I am quite certain would have felt as I did had he had been present that day.  But the worse tragedy, greater than my own feelings of awkwardness, was the overwhelming sense that God had decided to visit another church that morning.  He simply was not there.

            I had no trouble identifying the feelings of the prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 10.  As one reads this prophecy, it is not difficult to sense the utter dread and sadness as the glory of the Lord’s departure is depicted in this chapter:

^“18 Then the glory of the LORD departed from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim. ¹⁹ While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them. They stopped at the entrance to the east gate of the LORD's house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.  ²⁰ These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Kebar River, and I realized that they were cherubim. ²¹ Each had four faces and four wings, and under their wings was what looked like the hands of a man. ²² Their faces had the same appearance as those I had seen by the Kebar River. Each one went straight ahead.”  Ezekiel 10:18-22

            Why was God’s glory gone?  Because the people had no more room for Him in their hearts.  Post-modernism has nothing to do with it.  I thought about that when no one spoke to me that morning.  People do not make room in their hearts for others when no room is made for the Lord.  At that point they are more interested in themselves, and will make room for God only when it suits them or when it is convenient.  When God is not wanted or needed, His glory departs.  He is not going to sit around aimlessly feeling ignored or rejected.   He refused to put Himself in that situation.  He has better things to do.

            Do not let the glory of God leave you or your place of worship.  Make room in your heart for God today!  Have a blessed day.

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

 

website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
http://jeffrussellsblog.blogspot.com
http://devotionfortoday.blogspot.com/

09 June 2005 Devotion for Today "Is There Life on Other Planets?" Ezekiel 10:9-12

09 June 2005  Devotion for Today  “Is There Life on Other Planets?”  Ezekiel 10:9-12

 

            From this passage I can recall the old gospel spiritual, “Ezekiel saw a wheel a rollin’, way up in the middle of the air.”  I have to admit I never understood that song very well.  Up to now I have found Ezekiel’s prophecies seemingly bizarre.  Of course the language of the prophecy is highly symbolic, whereas Jeremiah and Isaiah’s prophecies were stated in a more literal fashion.  But I did mention that Ezekiel is a very difficult book to read as well as to understand.  I have had some speculate that Ezekiel saw a “UFO” and that his prophecy was a revelation that there is life on other planets.  Hardly.  The world Ezekiel lived in had not discovered all that there was on their own planet to be concerned with whether there was life on other planets.

            God is not concerned with us discovering whether there is life on other planets or not. These things will not be in the Bible. The Bible is concerned with man’s eternal salvation. So when we read of points plainly made, or symbols, as in the scriptures we read, the point is still the same. God is saying something about salvation through the cross. We do not need to think that we will never understand certain passages. God would not have given them to us if we were to never find out their meanings. He wants us to understand their meanings.
            There is really nothing fanciful about the Bible’s symbols. They simply point, in some way, to the cross. Read the Word of God with that in mind, and the Lord will reveal to you the meaning.  In this series of scriptures we read was that the cherubims were covered completely with "eyes."
            When God wants to get our attention, He will present to us some seemingly odd things.  He wants us to stop and take notice so He can then show us something.
You might ask why does He not simply say it in plain language? Why use symbols?
Jesus told the disciples that it is not for the Pharisees to know the things of the Kingdom. But it was for the disciples to know. And as we said earlier, intellectualism is not the key, for the Pharisees were the intellects of their day. It is a matter of the heart, not the head.
God does not cast His pearls before swine.  The Bible is symbolized in certain places for this reason. God reveals it only to those who are sincerely seeking Him.
Moses saw a strange sight, and turned to look at the bush that was on fire, but not being burned up. Then God was able to talk to him. John turned to see a strange sight in a vision, and then saw Jesus in candlesticks as Jesus then proceeded to talk with Him in the Book of Revelation.

            The symbolic nature of the world is all around us if we would just be open to it.  Everything in creation also points to the cross.  Have a blessed day.

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

 

website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
http://jeffrussellsblog.blogspot.com
http://devotionfortoday.blogspot.com/

06 June 2005 Devotion for Today "Weeping for Tammuz" Ezekiel 8:13-16

06 June 2005  Devotion for Today  “Weeping for Tammuz”  Ezekiel 8:13-16

 

            In this prophecy we find the prophet being shown a vision in which the Temple of God is being desecrated by many abominations.  We know that history records at least one horrendous event when, about two hundred years after this prophesy, the Grecian general Antiochus Epiphanies slaughters a pig on the altar of the Temple in Jerusalem.  Of course the nature of this outrage is clear- to deliberately affront the righteousness of God by having an unclean animal sacrificed on His altar. 

            But as one reads this prophesy in Ezekiel, one finds that there is a desecration going on that in many ways far worse than slaughtering a pig on the Temple altar. 

Please read this passage in Ezekiel 8:13-16

            ¹³And He said to me, "Turn again, and you will see greater abominations that they are doing." ¹⁴So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the LORD's house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.   ¹⁵Then He said to me, "Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these." ¹⁶So He brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house; and there, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east.”

            Tammuz was known as the god of many eastern and middle eastern religions.  He is also known as Adonis in Greek mythology.  His goddess-wife was Ishtar or the moon-goddess.  They say that Tammuz would die each year in winter and be resurrected to bring life and the harvest.  The pagan event commemorating this event was a ritual of a group of women sitting around crying for the death of their pagan god.  The more crying they did, and the louder their cries the sooner Tammuz would return.  This ritual would follow by prayers of the faithful, lining up side by side chanting and prostrating themselves toward the east.  The ritual in the Ezekiel’s prophecy reminds us of the ritual of Islam.  The moon goddess Ishtar is the symbol of the same religion whose crescent prominently adorns the flags and seals of state in many nations.  In more western cultures, she was depicted as a woman holding a small baby. 

            The real nature of the abomination is found in the acceptance of religious pluralism.  All the major pagan faiths are found in the Temple worshipping their gods and goddess on the same basis as Yahweh.  God says this is not only unacceptable but detestable. 

            The same spirit of religious pluralism exists today.  There is much pressure in politics to include to assert the “all roads lead up the same mountain,” and “it doesn’t matter which god you worship as long as you have a belief system.”  But not all belief systems are the same.  How can one faith which promotes hatred, terror, and bloodshed be equated with love, forgiveness, and reconciliation?  The same spirit that Ezekiel decried is still alive and well.   It is an ancient lie which waters down the truth and seeks to diminish the value of Almighty God in the sight of society which really wants to fashion a god in their own likeness rather than conform to the God of Scripture.  The warnings Ezekiel gives about this practice are still valid for our own time. 

            We find enough aspects of Christianity to extol and to follow without including the rest.  Making an exclusive claim for Jesus Christ has never been popular, but it has always been the truth.  Have a blessed day!  

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

 

website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
http://jeffrussellsblog.blogspot.com
http://devotionfortoday.blogspot.com/

03 June 2005 Devotion for Today "A Singular Disaster" Ezekiel 7:5-6

03 June 2005  Devotion for Today  “A Singular Disaster”  Ezekiel 7:5-6

 

            I spoke some of my sailing venture this past week.  Sailing is something I have always wanted to learn.  But there were lessons about the experience that I had to learn before I could actually enjoy this new sport.  I mentioned yesterday that “the rigging always costs more than the hull.”  However, I was grateful that while we had some trouble with the sails they sustained no damage.  There was not much wind that day, and we experienced a few problems with the old boat but it floated remarkably well for having been beached for some fifteen years.  We did, however, spring a small leak in the hull where the centerboard (swing-keel) bolt was not sealed properly.  We had to bail some water but it was not too significant.  More significant, however, was the noted lack of safety equipment after we had decided to set sail.  We had forgotten to install one small piece of equipment that ended up costing us a $125 fine- a fire extinguisher! After the wildlife and fisheries officer pulled away in his boat, Ezekiel’s words clamored in my head as I stood gaping on the deck “A disaster, a singular disaster!”

 

            Ezekiel’s prophecy noted the particular state of the people of Judah in the ensuing calamity which was to befall her:  “Thus says the Lord GOD: "A disaster, a singular disaster; Behold, it has come! ⁶An end has come,  The end has come; It has dawned for you; Behold, it has come!”   Ezekiel 7:5-6

 

            Why did disaster come?  Because Judah, as Israel had done before her, had consistently ignored the warnings of judgment for turning away from God.  They felt they had gotten away from following the Lord for so much and for so long that they really did not believe that they would be held responsible.  Not even the calamity which befell the northern kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians seemed to have made much impact.  In the last chapter we learned how God was going to start over again with a remnant- a new Israel.  It would be decidedly different than the old nation, however.  Their political autonomy was to be no more.  They would no longer have geographical boundaries which defined the land in which they lived.  This new Israel would be scattered through the nations.  The political sovereignty would be defined by the new law and the new covenant which God would one day write upon their hearts.  But to receive this, the Jews-which is what they were to become- must submit to the disaster to end all disasters. 

 

            Are you headed for disaster today?  Turn about and head back into a safe haven where you will be properly fitted for the journey you take today.  Take on Jesus at the helm of your vessel.  Have a blessed day!

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

 

website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
http://jeffrussellsblog.blogspot.com
http://devotionfortoday.blogspot.com/

02 June 2005 Devotion for Today "A Remnant" Ezekiel 6:8-10

02 June 2005  Devotion for Today  “A Remnant”  Ezekiel 6:8-10

 

            As we were hoisting the sails of the Visitation the other day we were overjoyed to see that the sails were in much better shape than the hull itself had been in.  They were well-cared for and untattered.  They had quite a bit of wear left in them, as someone courteously pointed out- “remember, the rigging is more expensive than the hull.”  He was certainly right.  There was no patching required for the sails, which we were also happy about.  In the sail bags were small pieces of cloth for this purpose if we ever needed it.  They are called remnants.  I presume they were cut from the same material before the sails were made.  If there is a hole or a tear in the sail, these small pieces are already shrunken and can be sewn right into the sails without there being a danger of them coming unraveled. 

A remnant is a leftover piece of cloth and can be used in a variety of ways.  Remnants may be limited in size or breadth,  but they are still identified as part of the larger piece.  Ezekiel’s prophecy declares “Yet I will leave a remnant, so that you may have some who escape the sword among the nations, when you are scattered through the countries.  Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations where they are carried captive, because I was crushed by their adulterous heart which departed from Me, and by their eyes which play the harlot after their idols they will loathe themselves for the evils which they committed in all their abominations.  And they shall know that I am the Lord; I have not said in vain that I would bring this calamity upon them.”  (Ezekiel 6:8-10). 

In spite of the tremendous wrath and punishment about to be rendered to the nation of Judah, God still demonstrates His love.  By preserving a remnant, He shows that He is not trying to destroy these people called His children.  Quite the contrary, God leaves a remnant- a group of people from which He may start over again with- to sew in the character of God where sin had previously torn a huge hole.  The value of the remnant should not be discounted.  It is a terrible disappointment to many to experience loss.  Companies down-size because of poor cash-flow.  Budgets are cut back and programs are eliminated.  Many enterprises go out of business altogether.  But understand that in Ezekiel’s prophecy- or anywhere else where people have rejected God on a mass scale- God still preserves His remnant.  A group of people is held out from which God can rebuild on a greater and grander scale.

Have you had to cut back on something and found it disappointing?  Don’t consider it a complete loss.  God has instilled enough of His character within you to set sail again.  It may require stitching and a lot of work.  But the remnant which He has sewn into your life will make all the difference.  Happy sailing, and have a blessed day!

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

 

website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
http://jeffrussellsblog.blogspot.com
http://devotionfortoday.blogspot.com/