Monday, September 28, 2015

Weekly devotion - The Life - 9/28/2015

The Life

by Lenae, GEMS Training Manager

I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord. Ezekiel 37:6

This is going to date me, but here it goes. The song girls swooned over in my day was “Almost Paradise” by Mike Reno and Ann Wilson. (And for those who cannot resist checking this out on youtube, don’t miss the 80’s hair while you’re there.)

Thinking that paradise can be found in a place like prom or a boy’s arms is not limited to teenage girls. For the Jews exiled to Babylon, the temple was their almost paradise. It was a symbol of security and God’s gifts—the Davidic monarchy, the Promised Land, and the city of Jerusalem. And though Ezekiel warned that it would be destroyed because of their rebellion, they didn’t listen. Surely nothing would ever happen to the temple!

Until it did . . . In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month on the fifth day, a man who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has fallen!” (Ezekiel 33:21) Like the collapse of a human heart that seeks life in idols instead of God, the city was in ruins. And from that point of hopelessness, Ezekiel preached life.

The One who can breathe dead bones to life, can breathe new life into us from the inside out! So people will know He is the Lord, God cleanses, forgives, and purifies. For the sake of His name, He gives us a new heart, a new spirit, and rebuilds from ruins (Ezekiel 36:26, 33). And in the newness of life, we see The Life—Jesus!

For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it (John 5:21). That’s why Jesus came! So we may have life, and have it to the full! (John 10:10)

If you’re feeling lifeless, think about where you’re seeking life. Are you looking for paradise in gifts from God or in the presence of God? At the conclusion of Ezekiel’s book, his final vision is a new temple—true paradise! Is it a place? Yes, but it’s so much more. Just check out the name of the city.

The name of the city from that time on will be: THE LORD IS THERE (Ezekiel 48:35). In God’s presence is fullness of life!

What’s your story? In Ezekiel Jesus is The Life (Ezekiel 37:6). How does His Story help you tell your story?

Get in the Book: Read the book of Ezekiel.

His presence filling me. This is what it means to fully live. — Ann Voskamp

Monday, September 21, 2015

Heartbroken for Us - Weekly Devo 9/21/2015

from Lenae, GEMS Training Manager

Let’s think together on our Annual Theme, Choose Truth.  

Heartbroken for Us


My eyes fail from weeping, I am in torment within; my heart is poured out on the ground because my people are destroyed, because children and infants faint in the streets of the city. Lamentations 2:11

What breaks your heart? What sickens your spirit and moves you to tears? ____________________________.

For Jeremiah it was Jerusalem’s destruction. Although he had 40 years to prepare for it while he prophesied, it didn’t soften the blow. From the inside out he grieved. He cried to God, “See, Lord, how distressed I am! I am in torment within, and in my heart I am disturbed, for I have been most rebellious. Outside, the sword bereaves; inside, there is only death” (Lamentations 1:20).

Jeremiah wasn’t the only one to weep over Jerusalem. Jesus did, too. He said, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing” (Matthew 23:37).

And Jesus weeps over us, too! It was for our sin that He lay prostrate in the Garden—His heart poured out on the ground (Lamentations 2:11). It was for our deliverance that He cried, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38). And from His overwhelming sorrow and overflowing love, He went from Gethsemane to Golgotha where He was broken for us. Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Whether our suffering is self-inflected like Jerusalem’s persistent rebellion or part of living in a broken world like Lazarus’ death, Jesus weeps. The Man of Sorrows is heartbroken for us! Our sin, sorrow, and struggles, pain Him, too. He doesn’t stand helpless or idle at a distance, wondering what to say or do. No! He draws near and empathizes with our weakness and gets what we’re going through. He counts our tears and comes close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 56:8, Psalm 34:18).

When your heart is breaking, cry out to the One who is heartbroken for you! Because in the remembering who He is and all He’s doing, we find hope (Lamentations 3:21).

What’s your story? In Lamentations Jesus is Heartbroken for Us (Lamentations 2:11). How does His Story help you tell your story?

Get in the Book: Read the book of Lamentations.

A holy despair in ourselves is the ground of true hope. For the God who dwells in the highest heavens dwells likewise in the lowest soul. — Richard Sibbes