- And you have not kept charge of my holy things, but you have set others to keep my charge for you in my sanctuary. Ezekiel 44:8 – Here we read that the people of Israel had allowed foreign religious leaders, ones who worshipped idols, to work and lead within the temple. As we can see God was not alright with this and we shouldn’t either. We must make sure that the ones we have in leadership areas in the church are first following God within their own life. Just because someone is older, younger, has musical talent, or just isn’t doing anything else on a Wednesday night doesn’t equal the perfect church leader. They first need to be pursuing God otherwise how can they help anyone to Him. So to all the church families out there, have higher standards for you who place in leadership. God sure has high standards for them. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1108
- But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me to minister to me. And they shall stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the Lord God. Ezekiel 44:15 – Immediately before this verse the Lord speaks of the other priests in Israel. The Lord shares how not only did these other priests sin alongside Israel in idol worship, but they were the ones who led Israel astray in this sin. These priests didn’t witness the idol worship of the people and speak the truth of God’s word to them and aid them in their turning back to the worship of God alone. Instead they partnered alongside the people in idol worship and welcomed the idols within the walls of the temple. Yet, the priests who were from the family of Zadok, didn’t follow the example of the other priests and the people. They remained steadfast in their worship of the Lord and refused to entertain the sinfulness that was happening around them. They demonstrated the truth that you can be surrounded by sin yet still say no to it. Everyone around may be moving one way, but you can still move another way. In the ways our culture is steadily moving away from the truths of scripture, it can be tempting to behave as the other priests did in the days of Ezekiel. To see the sinful ways people are acting and choose to follow their lead. Yet God isn’t calling us to follow the lead of sinners but to lead sinners to Him. The lost in our world needs to see that there is a different, holy, and better way to live than how culture is telling them to live. Yet if followers of Jesus aren’t displaying a life of following Jesus, how will the lost ever see this better life? Make the choice and effort to live differently for Jesus today so the lost around you can see how good our God is and how deep His love for them is. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2385
Daily DEVO 