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God is calling me to seek Him always…. (devo reflection)

Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Yesterday, when I finished reading Revelation 22, I completed my first entire read-through of the Bible. I read roughly one chapter per day, and it took me three years, three months, and nine days to complete. Each day I read a chapter, I read commentary, I sat with the material, I asked God for guidance.

Deuteronomy 4:29 But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.

I realized during this time that God is calling me to seek Him always. I am not a Bible expert now, but I am definitely stronger in my faith. I don’t have answers to life’s difficult questions, but I absolutely have a stronger biblical base to pull support and encouragement for myself and others.

Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

Lord, As I ponder next steps after reading the Bible through, I absolutely know that I will continue to seek You. Thank You for the myriad ways You continue to show up in my life. Thank You for the reminder that it’s the seeking—seeking You—that is important. Your face, Lord, do I seek. Amen.

Psalm 27:8 You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”

Have a blessed day.

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“The work to which I have called them….” (devo reflection)

Acts 13:2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

I believe that God had a plan for me before I was born, a task that I was uniquely created to fulfill. Jeremiah 29:11 reinforces my thinking: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Acts 13:22 After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’

That doesn’t mean that if I mess it up, ignore His call on my life, etc, that the task He created me for will go undone. It simply means that I am most uniquely qualified to complete it and that by doing so, I, like David, will be a person after God’s own heart.

Acts 13:30 But God raised [Jesus] from the dead….

Lord, This world is so overwhelming at times. Help me to claim Your peace, which surpasses all understanding. Help me to fulfill the plans You have for my life in the way You created me to do. Help me to shine Your light and comfort Your people. Draw me closer to You. Amen.

Acts 13:38-39 “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin….

Have a blessed day.

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“Do not be afraid….” (devo reflection)

Luke 1:13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.”
In both verse 13 and verse 30, one of the first things the angel says is: “Do not be afraid.” Worry, fear, anxiety have been such a part of my life for so long that the angel’s words are a balm to my soul. “Do not be afraid.”
Luke 1:18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
The other thing that strikes me about verse 13 specifically is the fact that the angel tells Zechariah that the Lord has heard his UNSPOKEN prayer for a son, the prayer that he held in the quiet of his heart, the prayer he had probably given up on. Zechariah reacts with disbelief (“How can I be sure of this?”). I feel his disbelief on a gut level as it is something I struggle with as well.
Luke 1:30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.”
Precious Savior, Thank You for the repeated reminder not to be afraid. Thank You for hearing the prayers that we hold in the quiet of our hearts. Thank You for the promise to never leave us nor forsake us (Heb 13:5), for the promise of a divine plan for us (Jer 29:11), for the promise to work all things to our good and Your glory (Rom 8:28). Help me never to lose sight of the fact that Your thoughts are not my thoughts and Your ways are beyond anything I can imagine (Isaiah 55:8). Thank You, Lord. Amen.
Luke 1:37 “For no word from God will ever fail.”
Have a blessed day.
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Pay attention to what’s important…. (devo reflection)

Hosea 7:2 …but they do not realize that I remember all their evil deeds. Their sins engulf them; they are always before me.

Hosea in this chapter is describing a completely oblivious Israel. They don’t realize, they don’t notice, they don’t care. “Their sins engulf them; they are always before me.” As I search for connections in my own life, the chapter brought to mind Matthew 7:3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”

Hosea 7:9a Foreigners sap his strength, but he does not realize it….

I’ve been struggling this week with the hurtful actions of a friend, analyzing and over analyzing what’s done and undone. I feel Jesus gently calling me here to pay attention to what’s important: Him, to focus on actions I can control—my own, and to let the rest go, to find my center, my comfort, my peace in Him alone. Thank You, Jesus.

Hosea 7:9b …His hair is sprinkled with gray, but he does not notice.

Lord, You are my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold (Psalm 18:2). Forgive me for taking my eyes off of You. Forgive me for worrying about things outside of my control. Thank You for forgiving me of my iniquities and remembering my sins no more (Jer 31:34). Help me to keep You as my center and my focus. Draw me closer. Always. Amen.

Hosea 7:10 Israel’s arrogance testifies against him, but despite all this he does not return to the Lord his God or search for him.

Have a blessed day.

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Pride, arrogance, and humility…. (devo reflection)

Hosea 5:4 “Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the Lord.

Matthew 6:24 comes to mind as I read Hosea 5 today: “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other….” Israel is arrogant, prideful. They have a spirit of prostitution, of using their talents in unworthy or corrupt ways. They are so full of themselves that they have turned from God toward man and idols.

Hosea 5:5 Israel’s arrogance testifies against them; the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble in their sin; Judah also stumbles with them.

Jeremiah 29:13 also comes to mind: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” The Israelites are so full of themselves that their attempts to seek God are halfhearted. They aren’t really looking for Him. They want to look good. God doesn’t care about appearances. He wants our hearts. He has no use for pride and arrogance. He cannot be found with apathy.

Hosea 5:6 When they go with their flocks and herds to seek the Lord, they will not find him; he has withdrawn himself from them.

Lord, I stand before You humbled this morning. I have been arrogant and prideful. I have used my God-given talents in unworthy ways. I have called out to You for appearance sake. Forgive me. Renew me. Cleanse me. Empty me of myself so that I can be filled with Your love, compassion, mercy, and grace. Help me, Lord. Amen.

Hosea 5:15 Then I will return to my lair until they have borne their guilt and seek my face—in their misery they will earnestly seek me.”

Have a blessed day.

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According to plan…. (devo reflection)

Ezekiel 42:1 Then the man led me northward into the outer court and brought me to the rooms opposite the temple courtyard and opposite the outer wall on the north side.

We are still measuring the temple in this chapter, and it would be easy to brush it off as irrelevant, but I think God’s always speaking to us if we listen. What caught my attention in this chapter was the end of verse 11 when it says “all their exits and entrances were according to plan.”

Ezekiel 42:10 On the south side along the length of the wall of the outer court, adjoining the temple courtyard and opposite the outer wall, were rooms.

It’s not so much the entrances and exits that piqued my interest but the mention of a plan. The Israelites are dealing with generations of sin and idolatry, destruction and exile. I would have a hard time seeing the plan in all of that. But I “see through a glass, darkly” (1 Cor 13:12). My Savior, however, sees the bigger picture. He has a plan to give His people a hope and a future (Jer 29:11). No detail is too trivial for Him. Thank You, Jesus.

Ezekiel 42:11 There was a walk in front of them also, and their appearance was like the chambers which were toward the north; they were as long and as wide as the others, and all their exits and entrances were according to plan.

Lord, Thank You for meeting me here each morning. Thank You for helping me see more of You as I study Your word. Thank You that even when life seems chaotic, You have a plan, down to the tiniest detail. Help me to trust You. Always. Amen.

Ezekiel 42:15 When he had finished measuring what was inside the temple area, he led me out by the east gate and measured the area all around.

Have a blessed day.

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Pondering the lesson…. (devo reflection)

Ezekiel 26:19 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I make you a desolate city, like cities no longer inhabited, and when I bring the ocean depths over you and its vast waters cover you….”
What struck me as I read this chapter this morning was verse 21 and how similar yet utterly different it is from Jeremiah 29:13: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” When we seek God, truly seek God with all our heart, we will find Him. Always. Yet in this chapter, Tyre who is profiting from Jerusalem’s destruction, will be dealt with by God, to the point that even those intentionally seeking Tyre will not be able to find it.
Ezekiel 26:20a “…then I will bring you down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of long ago….”
Pondering the lesson here: when we seek God—seek to find Him, to know Him—we will find Him. He wants us to know Him. He knows that we can only find true peace and contentment through Him. Yet when we seek to elevate ourselves—profiting from the misfortune of others like Tyre—God will bring us low because He knows that the way of the world will never bring us a full life and bringing us low will lead us back to Him.
Ezekiel 26:20b “…I will make you dwell in the earth below, as in ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit, and you will not return or take your place in the land of the living.”
Lord, Thank You for allowing me to hear Your voice each morning. Thank You for the reminder that You are my future, my present, every good thing in my life. Please don’t ever let me lose sight of the need to keep You at my center. Please help me always to seek, to listen, to know Your voice. Amen.
Ezekiel 26:21 “I will bring you to a horrible end and you will be no more. You will be sought, but you will never again be found, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
Have a blessed day.
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Earnestly seek Him…. (devo reflection)

Ezekiel 1:1 In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
Commentary goes into great detail about Ezekiel’s vision in this chapter. And while there is much that is fascinating in Ezekiel’s vision, that’s not what I find most noteworthy about this chapter. Ezekiel wanted to be used in God’s service. He had planned on being a priest for the LORD. Captivity made that impossible. Yet on His 30th birthday, the day he would have begun his temple service, by a river in a faraway land, God shows up.
Ezekiel 1:26 Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man.
God knows that Ezekiel has a heart for Him. God knows his 30th birthday marks and important milestone that will never be, God knows Ezekiel’s seeks Him with all his heart—and God. Shows. Up. But this should hardly surprising. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.” It seems as if the revelation isn’t that God is with us if we seek Him, it’s that we forget that all we have to do is earnestly seek Him to be able to find Him in our lives.
Ezekiel 1:28a Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him…
Lord, You promise to never leave us nor forsake us. You promise that if we seek You wholeheartedly, we will always find You. Forgive us for our forgetfulness on such a crucial point. Help us to develop the daily habit of earnestly seeking You. Help us to see Your presence everywhere in our lives. Amen.
Ezekiel 1:28b …This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
Have a blessed day.
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The power of remembering…. (devo reflection)

Jeremiah 52:31 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the year Awel-Marduk became king of Babylon, on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month, he released Jehoiachin king of Judah and freed him from prison. 
Commentary says that this chapter is essentially a summary of the prophecies of Jeremiah. One might wonder why this was necessary. This was an incredibly difficult, gruelingly destructive time in the history of Jerusalem and Judah. Why remember?
Jeremiah 52:32 He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 
There is power in remembering the small, cumulative steps that led to this destruction. There is power in remembering that God gave so many chances for them to return and repent before this destructive end. There is power in remembering the small kindnesses and blessings even in all the heartbreak and despair, in remembering that God’s goal even here was redemption for His people.
Jeremiah 52:33 So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king’s table. 
Lord, Help me never to forget the power of remembering. Help me never to forget that return and redemption are Your goals for me, for all of us, that relationship is foundationally important. Help me never to forget that even in all the heartbreak and despair, there are kindnesses and blessings. Thank You. Amen.
Jeremiah 52:34 Day by day the king of Babylon gave Jehoiachin a regular allowance as long as he lived, till the day of his death.
Have a blessed day.
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Even in my confusion…. (devo reflection)

Jeremiah 51:24 “Before your eyes I will repay Babylon and all who live in Babylonia for all the wrong they have done in Zion,” declares the Lord.
Lord, I struggle so with the destruction in these chapters. I see You as a God of love and compassion, so this destruction is very hard for me to reconcile.
Jeremiah 51:25a “I am against you, you destroying mountain, you who destroy the whole earth,” declares the Lord….
Lord, I know You are with me every morning as I go through Your word. And perhaps that is the lesson here—that even in the destruction, even in my confusion, You are with me, drawing me closer to You.
Jeremiah 51:25b …“I will stretch out my hand against you, roll you off the cliffs, and make you a burned-out mountain.”
Lord, Mornings like this, I feel I lack the Biblical knowledge to discuss what I am reading, but You know that my heart belongs to You and that every morning I seek You as I read Your word. Thank You for being with me always. Help me to shine Your light, to reflect Your love to others, always. Amen.
Jeremiah 51:26 “No rock will be taken from you for a cornerstone, nor any stone for a foundation, for you will be desolate forever,” declares the Lord.
Have a blessed day.