We are on a holiday, like many others.Nevertheless, I am inspired to write a blog post.

God gives wisdom and knowledge, revealing the things that we need just in time. In this passage from the book of Daniel, God reveals deep and hidden things to the one in exile (he and his 3 friends were exalted to positions of being called wise men).

Although God knows what is in the darkness (sleep, night terrors), the light dwells with Him.

You see that God had a plan for the king’s life. A plan that was more beautiful than the strong will of the king. More glorious than a golden image of Nebuchadnezzar that everyone was required to bow down to. Yes, God wanted to capture the king’s heart to bring about God’s plan for Nebuchadnezzar’s eternity and for the nations.

Therefore, Daniel was able to not only discern the King’s dream but to provide the interpretation. Daniel truly was a wise man. He understood who he was (the created) AND more importantly who God was (the creator).

When we are faithful in the little things God calls us to, there may be emergencies that come up. Prayer and fasting have a way of bringing clarity to complex situations.

Like Daniel, I want to be faithful in discerning the issue and then providing God’s correct interpretation. Although the problem usually starts in the dark, God knows what’s there AND the light dwells with Him. -Teresa #enlightened #forHisglory

Daniel 2:1-23 ESV*

2 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. ² Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. ³ And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” ⁴ Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic,^[b] “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” ⁵ The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. ⁶ But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” ⁷ They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.” ⁸ The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— ⁹ if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.”¹⁰ The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. ¹¹ The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

¹² Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. ¹³ So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them.¹⁴ Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁵ He declared^[c] to Arioch, the king’s captain, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. ¹⁶ And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.

God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

¹⁷ Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, ¹⁸ and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.¹⁹ Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. ²⁰ Daniel answered and said:

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
to whom belong wisdom and might.
²¹ He changes times and seasons;
he removes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who have understanding;
²² he reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what is in the darkness,
and the light dwells with him.
²³ To you, O God of my fathers,
I give thanks and praise,
for you have given me wisdom and might,
and have now made known to me what we asked of you,
for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”

Footnotes

1. Daniel 1:3 Hebrew of the seed of the kingdom
2. Daniel 2:4 The text from this point to the end of chapter 7 is in Aramaic
3. Daniel 2:15 Aramaic answered and said; also verse 26

*OneyearBibleonline.com

Being in the world but not part of it is a difficult balance. Unstained by the world’s perspective means not allowing the shadow of sin to snuff out the light in us.

When my husband and I were young marrieds, we lived in a one-bedroom apartment that had vanity lights above the master bathroom mirror. We dusted them on Saturday (our cleaning day). On Sunday morning as we got ready for church, most of them burned out…1-2-3-4, one right after the other. My husband happened to be teaching the sermon that week and his point was, don’t let Satan burn out your spiritual light.

Certainly anger is the beginning of the “burning out” process (staining us). In the passage below, James (the brother of Jesus) is telling the new believers that hearing the Word is the first step towards escaping this trap (of being stained by the world). But acting on what you hear is the essential step towards “walking in the light”.

Of interest, C.S.Lewis’s fiction book, “The Great Divorce”, he uses the term ‘Shadowlands’, to describe hell and in the Narnia final trilogy to describe earth. Sheffner’s reading blog.

To take this a step further, an unbridled tongue goes hand in hand with a deceived heart. I had to do some self-introspection and find the areas where I’d harbored pockets of anger. They all began when I allowed myself to jump to conclusions that were hurtful. There were times when my tongue was bridled and then there were times when it was not. The full force of my fury even came unfurled a few of those times. Yikes!

Well, any religious stance I took was worthless at this point. What’s more amazing is the possibility of hurtful conclusions but to still believe the best in others. Or better yet, that God allowed it for my good, their good or most importantly, His glory.

Wow!! That is something to behold. True love and true religion go hand in hand. After all, that is what Christ did for us. #MotherTeresa

The righteousness of God was given to me when Jesus Christ the Lord paid for my sin on the cross. He entered the ‘shadowlands’ for all who were in bondage there . “Substitutionary atonement” is the term Bible scholars use for this, (explained to me by Pastor Tim Lane, Union Gospel Mission).

Ultimately, I want to remember that the cross stands as a bridge between God, the Father and me. Lord, help me not to be deceived by anger, by a need to be admired or any other “stain” Satan casts onto this “world’s” view of things. Instead, please allow me to always remember, “You are Creator, I am created”. -Teresa #meekness

James 1:19-27 (ESV)*

¹⁹ Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;²⁰ for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. ²¹ Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. ²⁴ For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. ²⁵ But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

²⁶ If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. ²⁷ Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

*OneyearBibleonline.com

Jude 1:24-25 , NET **

24Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling, and to cause you to stand, rejoicing, without blemish before his glorious presence, 25 to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.

**https://apps.apple.com/us/app/biblescope/id284805499

When our soul is not open to God (cold as ice), it is at risk of being susceptible to an unholy invasion (unquenchable fire).

The imagery in this passage is disturbing and violent. It’s hard to understand God’s point given through Ezekiel the prophet to His people, the Jewish nation.

Matthew Henry says it well in his commentary from the app Bible Scope : “A history of the apostacy of God’s people from him, and the aggravation thereof. – In this parable, Samaria and Israel bear the name Aholah, “her own tabernacle;” because the places of worship those kingdoms had, were of their own devising. Jerusalem and Judah bear the name of Aholibah, “my tabernacle is in her,” because their temple was the place which God himself had chosen, to put his name there.” (Also see Wikipedia definition) “The language and figures are according to those times. Will not such humbling representations of nature keep open perpetual repentance and sorrow in the soul, hiding pride from our eyes, and taking us from self-righteousness? Will it not also prompt the soul to look to God continually for grace, that by his Holy Spirit we may mortify the deeds of the body, and live in holy conversation and godliness?”

If God chose to make His dwelling amongst us (Emmanuel, God with us), then how could we desire any “self-made” god? Is it easier to devise our own rules of worship than to bow our knee to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?

I’m not Jewish but I do believe that Jesus Christ the Lord came from the tribe of Judah as Messiah to deliver the whole world from sin. Once we turn to His rule and reign, we have the choice to avoid being burned up in a fire of lust and unholy desire. That’s why the Gospel is called good news. He has tabernacled among us to offer a new and living way. Read the New Testament gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) to bring daily refreshment for your heart, filled with God’s intent for the world.

In our day, when many are ignorant of God’s loving presence, we also see unquenched desire and violence. Hatred is ruling, which may be the ultimate end recorded in this passage. It is basically the penalty of sinful idolatry.

Lord, help me to place all my desire on you and your ways. May my heart be responsive to your amazing grace and love. – Teresa

Ezekiel 23: 1-49 (ESV)

Oholah and Oholibah

23 The word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother. ³ They played the whore in Egypt; they played the whore in their youth; there their breasts were pressed and their virgin bosoms^[a] handled.⁴ Oholah was the name of the elder and Oholibah the name of her sister. They became mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

⁵ “Oholah played the whore while she was mine, and she lusted after her lovers the Assyrians, warriors ⁶ clothed in purple, governors and commanders, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses. ⁷ She bestowed her whoring upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them, and she defiled herself with all the idols of everyone after whom she lusted. ⁸ She did not give up her whoring that she had begun in Egypt; for in her youth men had lain with her and handled her virgin bosom and poured out their whoring lust upon her. ⁹ Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians, after whom she lusted. ¹⁰ These uncovered her nakedness; they seized her sons and her daughters; and as for her, they killed her with the sword; and she became a byword among women, when judgment had been executed on her.

¹¹ “Her sister Oholibah saw this, and she became more corrupt than her sister^[b] in her lust and in her whoring, which was worse than that of her sister.¹² She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and commanders, warriors clothed in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men. ¹³ And I saw that she was defiled; they both took the same way. ¹⁴ But she carried her whoring further. She saw men portrayed on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion, ¹⁵ wearing belts on their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them having the appearance of officers, a likeness of Babylonians whose native land was Chaldea.¹⁶ When she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. ¹⁷ And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoring lust. And after she was defiled by them, she turned from them in disgust. ¹⁸ When she carried on her whoring so openly and flaunted her nakedness, I turned in disgust from her, as I had turned in disgust from her sister. ¹⁹ Yet she increased her whoring, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the whore in the land of Egypt ²⁰ and lusted after her lovers there, whose members were like those of donkeys, and whose issue was like that of horses. ²¹ Thus you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your bosom and pressed^[c] your young breasts.”

²² Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I will stir up against you your lovers from whom you turned in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side: ²³ the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, governors and commanders all of them, officers and men of renown, all of them riding on horses.²⁴ And they shall come against you from the north^[d]with chariots and wagons and a host of peoples. They shall set themselves against you on every side with buckler, shield, and helmet; and I will commit the judgment to them, and they shall judge you according to their judgments. ²⁵ And I will direct my jealousy against you, that they may deal with you in fury. They shall cut off your nose and your ears, and your survivors shall fall by the sword. They shall seize your sons and your daughters, and your survivors shall be devoured by fire. ²⁶ They shall also strip you of your clothes and take away your beautiful jewels. ²⁷ Thus I will put an end to your lewdness and your whoring begun in the land of Egypt, so that you shall not lift up your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.

²⁸ “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you hate, into the hands of those from whom you turned in disgust,²⁹ and they shall deal with you in hatred and take away all the fruit of your labor and leave you naked and bare, and the nakedness of your whoring shall be uncovered. Your lewdness and your whoring³⁰ have brought this upon you, because you played the whore with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols. ³¹ You have gone the way of your sister; therefore I will give her cup into your hand. ³² Thus says the Lord God:

“You shall drink your sister’s cup
that is deep and large;
you shall be laughed at and held in derision,
for it contains much;
³³ you will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow.
A cup of horror and desolation,
the cup of your sister Samaria;
³⁴ you shall drink it and drain it out,
and gnaw its shards,
and tear your breasts;

for I have spoken, declares the Lord God.³⁵ Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, you yourself must bear the consequences of your lewdness and whoring.”

³⁶ The Lord said to me: “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Declare to them their abominations. ³⁷ For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. With their idols they have committed adultery, and they have even offered up^[e] to them for food the children whom they had borne to me. ³⁸ Moreover, this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary on the same day and profaned my Sabbaths. ³⁹ For when they had slaughtered their children in sacrifice to their idols, on the same day they came into my sanctuary to profane it. And behold, this is what they did in my house. ⁴⁰ They even sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came. For them you bathed yourself, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments. ⁴¹ You sat on a stately couch, with a table spread before it on which you had placed my incense and my oil. ⁴² The sound of a carefree multitude was with her; and with men of the common sort, drunkards^[f] were brought from the wilderness; and they put bracelets on the hands of the women, and beautiful crowns on their heads.

⁴³ “Then I said of her who was worn out by adultery, ‘Now they will continue to use her for a whore, even her!’^{[g] 44} For they have gone in to her, as men go in to a prostitute. Thus they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, lewd women! ⁴⁵ But righteous men shall pass judgment on them with the sentence of adulteresses, and with the sentence of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.”

⁴⁶ For thus says the Lord God: “Bring up a vast host against them, and make them an object of terror and a plunder. ⁴⁷ And the host shall stone them and cut them down with their swords. They shall kill their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses. ⁴⁸ Thus will I put an end to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not commit lewdness as you have done. ⁴⁹ And they shall return your lewdness upon you, and you shall bear the penalty for your sinful idolatry, and you shall know that I am the Lord God.”Read full chapter

Footnotes

1. Ezekiel 23:3 Hebrew nipples; also verses 8, 21
2. Ezekiel 23:11 Hebrew than she
3. Ezekiel 23:21 Vulgate, Syriac; Hebrew bosom for the sake of
4. Ezekiel 23:24 Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew word is unknown
5. Ezekiel 23:37 Or have even made pass through the fire
6. Ezekiel 23:42 Or Sabeans
7. Ezekiel 23:43 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain

The sunshine from the east brings us new hope and reminds us of God’s glory.

The east side of Jerusalem is where the glory of the Lord departed (in Ezekiel’s vision). It will also be where God’s redeemer returns in a full display of splendor upon His return, with the Second Coming of Jesus. This was prophesied in Zechariah 14.

The whole world has been impacted this past month, seeing the horror against the people of Israel.

They shall be my people, God says. And…He will be their God.

This cannot happen if God’s people continue to go after detestable things and abominations. How much more so for those of us in the Church to be reminded about trusting God’s provision vs. letting our hearts stray to worldly solutions?

My daughter and I have been working through a wonderful Bible Study together (by The Daily Grace Co). It’s called “Follow Me – A Study on the Gospel of Mark”. One nugget that encouraged me is the authority with which Jesus works. God’s voice was heard audibly during his baptism (by John the Baptist). Although the Sanhedrin refused to acknowledge it, Jesus clearly acted consistently with His role as the Son of God.

Just because we choose not to believe does not mean it won’t happen. The truth is, we need a Savior who is rich in mercy.-Teresa #maranatha

Ezekiel 11:14-21 ESV*

Israel’s New Heart and Spirit

¹⁴ And the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁵ “Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen,^[g] the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Go far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.’ ¹⁶ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while^[h] in the countries where they have gone.’ ¹⁷ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’¹⁸ And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations.¹⁹ And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,²⁰ that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. ²¹ But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will^[i] bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God.”

²² Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. ²³ And the glory of the Lordwent up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city. ²⁴ And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me.²⁵ And I told the exiles all the things that the Lordhad shown me.

Footnotes

1. Ezekiel 10:1 Or lapis lazuli
2. Ezekiel 10:11 Hebrew to their four sides
3. Ezekiel 10:11 Hebrew the head
4. Ezekiel 10:12 Or their whole body, their backs, their hands, and their wings
5. Ezekiel 10:17 Or spirit of life
6. Ezekiel 11:3 Or Is not the time near… ?
7. Ezekiel 11:15 Hebrew the men of your redemption
8. Ezekiel 11:16 Or in small measure
9. Ezekiel 11:21 Hebrew To the heart of their detestable things and their abominations their heart goes; I will

*OneyearBibleonline