Agape Devotions

TEXT FOR REFLECTION The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech[a] and Tubal, and prophesy against him and say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.  After many days you will be mustered. In the latter years you will go against the land that is restored from war, the land whose people were gathered from many peoples upon the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual waste. Its people were brought out from the peoples and now dwell securely, all of them. You will advance, coming on like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your hordes, and many peoples with you. But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord God, my wrath will be roused in my anger.  EZEKIEL 38, 1-3, 8-9, 18 REFLECT Today we look at the elephant in the room: God uses man's evil to accomplish His purposes...

Read: Ez 36.16-37.28 No devotional today

Read: Ezekiel 35-36 Verses chosen for reflection: 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. 30 I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, ...

READ : Ezekiel 34 REFLECT : Ezekiel 34 is a turning point to the prophecies of this book. Ezekiel 33 recorded the fall of Jerusalem. A messenger who escaped from Jerusalem travels to Babylon and informs Ezekiel that the city has fallen to Babylon. Ezekiel’s messages proclaimed that this was going to happen. The good meat had not remained in Jerusalem. The meat and the pot were defiled and needed deep cleansing. The remnant was actually in Babylon, not in Jerusalem. God had left His temple and city and has caused Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, not to go to Ammon first, but to turn to Jerusalem instead and destroy it. But this is not the end of God’s messages to His people. The final chapters of the book are not God telling the people, “See, I told you so.” Rather, God is going to proclaim promises of what He will do in the future. These final chapters of Ezekiel give a detailed picture about what will happen when the Spirit comes.  The prophecy begins by God observing that Isr...

READ : Ezekiel 33   Verses chosen for meditation: Ezekiel 33:7-9  7  “So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.  8  If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.  9  But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. REFLECT This chapter marks a turning point in the book of Ezekiel, from focus on judgement to Israel’s future hope. The opening verses of the chapter parallels Ezekiel 3:16-21, where Ezekiel was first appointed as watchman of Israel. Why the repeat here was not only to remind of Ezekiel’s role in delivering warnings to ...

Read Ezekiel 31-32 Verses chosen for meditation: Ezekiel 31:10-11 ESV: Therefore, thus says the Lord: Because it towered high and set its top among the clouds, and its heart was proud of its height, I will give it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations. He shall surely deal with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out. Reflect To the proud and mighty who pride themselves and lord over others, who do you think you are? You are nothing compared to some others and nothing at all compared to the One. To the proud and mighty who pride themselves and lord over others, do you think you will never crumble? You will be made a spectacle of gross and shocking humiliation. To the proud and mighty who pride themselves and lord over others, do you think others will care if you fall? You will be immediately forgotten and remembered only for your arrogant and foolish ways. You will be found among the outcasts, those whom you detested and despised. Relate These two chapters of Ezekiel, ...

READ : Ezekiel 29 - 30. Verses chosen for meditation: Ezekiel 29:8-9, 30:24-26. 8  Therefore thus says the Lord  God : Behold, I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast,   9  and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. Then they will know that I am the Lord. “Because you said, “The Nile is mine, and I made it,”   .. .  24  And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him like a man mortally wounded.   25  I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt.   26  And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will...