Agape Devotions

Read: Daniel 6 No devotional today.

Read: Daniel 5 Verses chosen for reflection Daniel 5:22-23 And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored. Reflect  When King Belshazzar started to use the golden vessels of the First Temple to drink wine, it was an abomination to God. These actions dishonoured the Name of God as the vessels were once used by the Israelites in their ministry and worship of God. God was angry and sent a message. Literally a hand writing on the wall. "mene mene tekel, parsin".  Belshazzar panicked and called all of his best enchanters and astrologers ...

READ : Daniel 4 REFLECT : Nebuchadnezzar has a confusing and alarming dream. He dreams of a great tree that shades the earth but is chopped down at the command of an angel (Dan.4:11,14). The stump is bound in chains, and then the stump goes insane and acts like an animal for seven seasons (Dan.4:15). The angel then interprets the image of this tree turned stump, turned animal. It means God alone rules the kingdoms of men. God gives power to the kings of the earth. And God has decided to give authority to the humble, not the proud (Dan.4:17). Daniel warns Nebuchadnezzar that he is the tree in danger of being chopped down (Dan.4:22). He has grown proud in his power. Soon he will become more like an animal than a man and spend seven years dethroned and humiliated (Dan.4:25). Nebuchadnezzar must repent, do justice, and acknowledge God is the only God of the world (Dan.4:26). But a whole year passes, and Nebuchadnezzar does nothing to change (Dan.4:29). Forgetting his dream, he goes onto hi...

READ : Daniel 3   Verses chosen for meditation: Daniel 3:16-18   16  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.  17  If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  18  But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” REFLECT In this chapter, Nebuchadnezzar ordered the construction of a large statue and mandated that the people worship the image. The refusal to do so would lead to death by burning in a fiery furnace. Some Chaldeans then came and maliciously revealed that three Jews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refused to follow the king’s orders (Daniel 3:8-12). This reveal was likely driven by jealousy, as the three jews were held in high regard by the king, who promoted and trus...

READ : Daniel 2. Verses chosen for meditation: Daniel 2: 21, 47. 21 He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; .. . 47  The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.”     REFLECT In 1478, Lorenzo de Medici, the ruler of Florence, Italy, escaped an attack on his life. His countrymen sparked a war when they tried to retaliate against the attack on their leader. As the situation worsened, the cruel King Ferrante I of Naples became Lorenzo’s enemy. But a courageous act by Lorenzo changed everything. He visited the king unarmed and alone. This bravery, paired with his charm and brilliance, won Ferrante’s admiration, and ended the war . 1 Similarly, the prophet Daniel had showed himself to be a courageous man, but not a fearful captive under the Babylonian king. That happened when one night, King Ne...

Read Daniel 1 Verse chosen for meditation: Daniel 1: 8 ESV:  But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. Reflect When we find ourselves in a new and harsh environment, how do we adjust to the new code of rules and living? When we feel that God has let us down, would we be quick to forget him as well and choose a side that is more favourable? What if we choose to stand by our convictions, how far would we go and how would we go about it? What if we decide to accept the ways of the new culture or system that is different from our convictions, would it be considered a compromise?  What is our personal take on Daniel 1: 8? Relate The book of Daniel focuses on the sovereign hand of God in human history. It shows the great might of God overpowering those of the world's greatest empires, whether in the days gone by like the Jewish Babylonian e...

 Please use today to catch up on your readings.

Read Ezekiel 47-48 Verses chosen for reflection: Ezekiel 48:35 "The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits. And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The Lord Is There.” Reflect: Ezekiel Chapters 40-48 talks about the final vision that was given to the prophet Ezekiel. The final vision contains very specific details on the size and content of the new temple, a new system of worship as well as a new city.  Some Christians believe that the final vision was given as a blueprint for a new temple and city to be built in the near future, during the 1000 years when Jesus returns at the interim. Some believe that the exiles should have built such a city and temple after they returned from the exile and failed to do so.  Some believe that the final vision is symbolic and as a whole, they give hope to the exiles and also to us, that someday, a new heaven and a new earth will be established for the cosmic restoration of humanity.  I lean on the symbolic approach...

READ : Ezekiel 45-46 REFLECT : We recapitulate Ezekiel 44. Chapter 44 begins with a new figure called the prince. The first three verses of Ezekiel 44 state that the gates of the temple must remain shut and no one is allowed to enter except the prince. Now why are we talking about a prince? The Lord through Ezekiel uses the title of prince to refer to the various kings, rulers, and leaders of Israel (cf. 11:1; 17:12; 19:1). In Ezekiel 12 the prophecy was the prince in Jerusalem was going to pack his bags, leave the land, and not see where he is going. This was a prophecy concerning Ezekiel 19 a lamentation was taken up against the final three kings of Judah, calling them princes and noting their spiritual failures. Ezekiel 21-22 expand on those judgment, noting how the kings and leaders have been bent on shedding blood, profaning the Sabbaths, taking bribes, extorting people, and treating parents with contempt. I want us to focus on one particular problem of the prior princes.   “Y...

READ : Ezekiel 43-44   Verses chosen for meditation: Ezekiel 44:10-14   10  But the Levites who went far from me, going astray from me after their idols when Israel went astray, shall bear their punishment.  11  They shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the temple and ministering in the temple. They shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before the people, to minister to them.  12  Because they ministered to them before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have sworn concerning them, declares the Lord God, and they shall bear their punishment.  13  They shall not come near to me, to serve me as priest, nor come near any of my holy things and the things that are most holy, but they shall bear their shame and the abominations that they have committed...

Read Ezekiel 41 - 42 Verses chosen for meditation: Ezekiel 41: 4, 22; 42: 13 ESV:  And he measured the length of the room, twenty cubits, and its breadth, twenty cubits, across the nave. And he said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.” an altar of wood, three cubits high, two cubits long, and two cubits broad. Its corners, its base, and its walls were of wood. He said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.” Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers opposite the yard are the holy chambers, where the priests who approach the Lord shall eat the most holy offerings. There they shall put the most holy offerings—the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering—for the place is holy. Reflect What do you make of today's Scripture reading? Do you glean anything from the 2 chapters? Besides the dimension of the various parts of the temple, is there any practical lesson for you?  What are some of your thoughts concerning the temple as mention...

  Read  Ezekiel 40 Verses chosen for devotion Ezekiel‬ ‭40‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬ ”In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very day, the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me to the city. In visions of God he brought me to the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which was a structure like a city to the south. When he brought me there, behold, there was a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring reed in his hand. And he was standing in the gateway. And the man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.”“ ‭‭ Reflect We would probably agree that this is not an easy passage to comprehend, especially with the measur...