Ezekiel 41

The altar was of wood, three cubits high and its length two cubits; its corners, its base and its sides were of wood. And he said to me, "This is the table that is before the LORD."Ezek 41:22

There have been a few highly prized football recruits that have not had the professional careers that they were expected to have. And why not? Because they forgot about football when it wasn't football season. Instead of working out, they spend more time eating out. When it came time for teams to pick their players for the new year, one guy had ballooned by 40 pounds in just a few short months. He knew he was good and decided not to put as much effort into the offseason. Yet one of the greatest professional athletes of all-time, Michael Jordan, was known for working in the offseason as if he were still playing the game night in and night out.

Are you keeping God before you when it's not Sunday? Here we see the table for sacrifices in the temple. And do you notice that it was before the Lord? It was always before the Lord. There was, never a time off that God wasn't ready for someone to do business with Him over their sin. Yet we live our lives as if there is an off-season from faith when Sunday is over. God is ever-present and ever-aware of who, where and what we are. Our role is to be like the table...before the Lord. Think about the off-season breaks you took from the Lord this week? Remember the sin you fell into as the distance grew? Remember the confusion that came from not knowing where to turn next? Let's commit today to live our day before the Lord. Let us give ourselves and our day as an offering to Him.

Ezekiel 40

For the burnt offering there were four tables of hewn stone, a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide and one cubit high, on which they lay the instruments with which they slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice. Ezek 40:42

I'm not going to say this is the situation in every church, but every church I have been in or personally interacted with, devalued the time of offerings to the Lord. In the Baptist church, we usually keep the plates hidden somewhere until the ushers need them and bring them out. There isn't a great deal of thought put into our offering times, and as a result I imagine many people don't think of themselves as offering anything to the Lord. They think of it as a collection time for the church.

Look at how prepared the priests were for a time of offering. There was a specific place that they sacrificed the offering. They never had to look around for their tools, because all of them were readily available in the right place. In the life of Old Testament Israel, there really was no more important time. This was their way to repair broken relationships between themselves and God. They knew that they should never approach God without first cleansing themselves of their sin. Does your church value the time of offerings? Is it a time of worship, or just a time of collecting money? Think of how this time could be improved in your church, and discuss it with you church leadership. Pray and ask God to help you worship during this time and to be prepared for it. Don't hurriedly write out a check or grab some cash out of your wallet during the prayer. Prepare yourself in your house to be in God's house.

Ezekiel 39

On that day I will give Gog a burial ground there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea, and it will block off those who would pass by. So they will bury Gog there with all his horde , and they will call it the valley of Hamon -gog. Ezek 39:11

When I was 16, I visited the Little Bighorn Battlefield Memorial. Custer's last stand is often mentioned, but I really didn't know much about it, other than they had lost a battle during the Sioux war. What I didn't know was that the American soldiers who died there were buried there. We don't do that today, but in those days they couldn't carry the bodies back from the wilderness of Montana to be with their families. And over the years, the downfall of Custer has been speculated for many reasons, but none seems bigger than pride. Custer refused an offer of additional soldiers before the battle, and told his men at the outset, "Hurrah boys, we've got them! We'll finish them up and then go home to our station."

Gog planned on invading Israel and having a rousing defeat. Instead of victory, God promised them they would find a cemetery to rest in. Just like Custer and the nation of Gog, our sin can sometimes be our final resting place. Think back to a sin that you dealt with for a long time. Remember how defeated you felt over your failures? Even though it wasn't a physical death, I remember feeling useless and worthless for God. I wasn't living an effective life and as a result, my sin had become a grave to me. I was no more useful than a dead man. Is your sin killing you? Is it killing your witness? Is it killing your passion for the Lord Jesus Christ? Custer's pride was his final resting place. And we will be in danger of losing spiritual battles if we refuse to put our trust in the Lord and allow Him to guide our steps.

Ezekiel 38

and you will say, 'I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates, Ezek 38:11

There are major college teams who are known for scheduling "cupcakes". These are smaller schools that the major schools have every right to play, but probably shouldn't play against every week. These major schools beat up on these little schools for several weeks and then their winning record appears more impressive than it should. They're not willing to pick on someone their own size, and are taking advantage of the weak.

Who are you most bothered by in the scriptures above? There are a group of people who live in unwalled, unprotected villages. Maybe they couldn't afford to get the protection they needed, or they were just too trusting. Then you have the aggressors who don't just invade, but invade the weakest people around. Clearly God was unpleased with the invaders, but there are many of us who might place the blame on the unprotected cities. They should have been more careful, or more prepared for such an attack. But at the end of the day, someone was taken advantage of. We do not hold the victims at fault in this situation, but the attackers who caused it. Are you harassing the helpless? Maybe a friendless person at school or work is an easy target for you. Perhaps you have become nitpicky and are truly harassing someone. We need to recognize that there will always be people weaker than us. Our responsibility as believers is to never allow the weakness of others to give us an excuse to show our strength. Jesus was stronger than every person around Him, yet at the cross we see a picture of someone who would not overcome the weak just because He could.

Ezekiel 37

I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever. Ezek 37:26

Peace is often sought after, but so rarely attained. In fact, I found a publication by the Moody Bible Institute from 1988. It said that during the "3530 years of recorded history, only 286 years saw peace. Moreover, in excess of 8000 peace treaties were made--and broken." Here is America we have seen allies turn to enemies (Russia) and enemies to allies (Japan). Peace provided by man is fleeting and always corrupted by our selfishness and disregard for others.

God is bringing the two divided kingdoms back together. He is putting them under one king, Jesus. He is providing everything needed for them to be spiritually successful. There will be no more waiting for the Messiah. He will come and the choice of salvation will be clearer than ever. I could imagine some might say that a covenant of peace from someone who created Hell is a bit of a stretch. But remember, there are two destinations for every person. God gives as much eternal access to Heaven as He does to Hell. In either case, we make the choice. God's covenant of peace is there if we will simply declare our willingness to follow Jesus and give Him control of our lives. God has made a covenant of peace with you, but are you living in it? Are you bringing your sin before a God of peace? He will not reject your repentance because He is a God who loves us and wants to see us move from sin. Are you encouraging others to give their lives to the God of peace? Show them today the benefits of a covenant with a personal God. He will not break his peace treaty with us because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross for us.

Ezekiel 36

But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went. Ezek 36:21

Twitter is a website that allows you to tell the world what you are doing at any time of day in 140 words or less. Honestly, I view it as TMI (too much information). I don't need to know what anyone is doing more than once a day at the most. The early problem became people assuming the names of celebrities and then "tweeting" daily incidents that weren't actually coming from the stars themselves. For instance, you'll find "The Real Shaq" which is Shaquille O'Neal making sure people know which words are his and which are not because his name was hijacked by an imposter before he ever joined.

A name is a powerful thing. Someone mentions the name of a friend to you, and instantly there are certain thoughts that come into your mind about that person. But no one is more careful about His name than God. The third commandment is proof enough of that. But here God says that His rescue of Israel is for His name's sake. As His chosen people, their restoration will not be a vindication of Israel, but of God. Think of a Jewish Messiah coming in a world where Israel had been forsaken. Might we have wondered about God's true willingness to hold onto us despite our faults and failures? It would have been a valid concern. Today, don't worry about what people think of your name. Care about what they think of God's name. Are you being a good representative for Him? Do people see you and your deeds, and glorify God or you? Let's remember we serve a God who's name is worthy to be praised.

Ezekiel 35

therefore as I live," declares the Lord GOD, "I will give you over to bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you; since you have not hated bloodshed, therefore bloodshed will pursue you. Ezek 35:6

There are a lot of great events and activities for churches to take teenagers to. Often times the cost can be as high as $75 for a really good event, and I worry about the cost being a barrier for some of our kids. But then I see how much money they spend on cell phones, cell phone applications, ipods and other electronics. The realization is people will spend their money on what's important. If they think the event is important, they will come up with the money for it. If not, they'll spend their money on the things that truly interest them.

Talk is literally cheap, but when we have to commit our money or our time to something, that is when we find what our hearts are really after. God tells the people of Edom that bloodshed, violence and war will pursue them for one reason: that's what they pursued. They gave themselves over to it, and so later that thing they chased after becomes what has chased after them. It's amazing how the things we chase after are so rarely good for us. Think about things that you used to chase after that you've quit on. When I look on my old life I am often bewildered by the sins I used to chase after and be a part of. But at the time, they all seemed like they were giving me some sort of benefits. When we chase after God, we find ourselves chasing after everything He wants for us. When we chase after sin, we find ourselves chasing after the things God wants us to be separated from. So think about what you are committing yourself to with your time and money. Are you committing yourself to the things of God or the things of man? Will there be benefit later as a result of what you're doing today.