Ezekiel 18:1-19:14; Hebrews 9:1-10; Psalm 106:32-48; Proverbs 27:10No one is born a Christian. Everyone is responsible for making a choice either for or against God. Each person must choose their eternal destiny. Ezekiel prophesies that judgment is coming and that everyone must decide whether to pursue righteousness or wickedness. Ezekiel 18 describes a man who followed God and reflected this in t...  Read More

Ezekiel 16:42-17:24; Hebrews 8:1-13; Psalm 106:13-31; Proverbs 27:7-9Everyone’s doing it! We have all said these words as kids when we wanted to do something that went against our family rules and, if you’re a parent and said no to your kids, then you have heard this phrase. It speaks to our innate desire to fit in and conform to the pattern around us.This tendency towards conformity can be seen r...  Read More

Ezekiel 14:12-16:41; Hebrews 7:18-28; Psalm 106:1-12; Proverbs 27:4-6We are more loved than we can fathom. So much of the world’s love must be earned and maintained, while God’s love is unconditional. This amazing love needs to be understood and believed.God describes his love for his people in Ezekiel 16 using the image of an adoptive parent. He took Israel in like an abandoned child and raised h...  Read More

Ezekiel 12:1-14:11; Hebrews 7:1-17; Psalm 105:37-45; Proverbs 27:3We live some of the most comfortable lives in history. We live in nice homes with beautiful landscaping and have more food than we could ever hope to eat. Living with such ease can cause us to miss our desperate need for God. We can feel comfortable and content in what we have seemingly achieved for ourselves rather than having a de...  Read More

Ezekiel 10:1-11:25; Hebrews 6:1-20; Psalm 105:16-36; Proverbs 27:1-2Hebrews has been continually teaching us about the surpassing greatness of Jesus. Yet the author is concerned that we might intellectually assent to Jesus’ greatness without it making a difference in our lives. We can know something is great but not trust it. It is not hearing the message that makes the difference but faith. Verse...  Read More

Ezekiel 7:1-9:11; Hebrews 5:1-14; Psalm 105:1-15; Proverbs 26:28One of the themes of Ezekiel is God removing his presence from wicked Jerusalem. God loves Judah but due to his holiness, he must remove himself from the sinful nation. This happens in Ezekiel 7-9 as God's glory moves from above the cherubim in the holy of holies to the edge of the temple. Then in chapter 11, God will move east of the...  Read More

Ezekiel 3:16-6:14; Hebrews 4:1-16; Psalm 104:24-35; Proverbs 26:27I continually tell my kids that they are not responsible for the actions of others but only for their own choices. They can't control what others do but they can always choose to do what is right. The same is true for us. We are called to follow Christ no matter what the world around us is doing.Ezekiel shares that the outcome of th...  Read More

Ezekiel 1:1-3:15; Hebrews 3:1-19; Psalm 104:1-23; Proverbs 26:24-26Imagine this, flying objects and wheels with eyes! Ezekiel are you crazy? No, anything but that. The book of Ezekiel is visionary literature containing symbolic reality. Meanings are communicated through symbols. As we explore the meaning of all this, let’s keep in mind the theme of Ezekiel—the holiness of God and the depth of Isra...  Read More

Lamentations 4:1-5:22; Hebrews 2:1-18; Psalm 103:1-22; Proverbs 26:23 As a kid, I would scour the Where's Waldo books for hours trying to find Waldo, his friends, and all the various objects in the checklist in the back of the book. If I wasn't systematic or super careful, I would easily miss what I was looking for. The author of Hebrews has a similar challenge for us. He wants us to "pay more car...  Read More

Lamentations 3:1-66; Hebrews 1:1-14; Psalm 102:1-28; Proverbs 26:21-22 Irma hit Naples in 2017! “Oh my,” I whispered as we turned into our association and surveyed the destroyed homes and scattered debris lying about us. In a minuscule way I could empathize with Jeremiah’s feelings as he surveyed the dead bodies, flattened temple, and crumbled walls that left Jerusalem in shambles after the Babylo...  Read More

Lamentations 1:1-2:22; Philemon 1:1-25; Psalm 101:1-8; Proverbs 26:20 When I was in college my grandfather passed away and for years afterward, every time I called my grandmother she would cry. In my youthful naivety, I thought that there must be something wrong with her. Surely, she should feel better by now, I thought. Yet I failed to understand the place of lament in life. The book of Lamentati...  Read More

Jeremiah 51:54-52:34; Titus 3:1-15; Psalm 100:1-5; Proverbs 26:18-19 Teachers must teach the same lessons over and over again. Students are prone to forget what they have been taught and the same is true for us. We consistently need to be taught the truths of God so that we might apply them to our lives.The fall of Jerusalem is described twice by Jeremiah. First, it was detailed in chapter 39 and ...  Read More