Devotions
Pancreatitis and Kingdom Advance
I recently finished a biography of William McKinley, the 25th president of the United States. The author (Robert W. Merry) detailed McKinley’s assassination. On 6 September 1901, McKinley was shot twice in the stomach as he attended the World’s Fair in Buffalo New...
Kept in Heaven
This is it: We reach the end of our time in Ezekiel this morning, as we consider 47:13–48:35. These verses, which discuss Israel’s restoration to the Promised Land, focus on the broad theme of inheritance. As has been the case throughout this extended closing vision,...
The Key to Human Flourishing
We are quickly reaching the end of our time in Ezekiel, with just one more devotion to come after today. But the text before us this morning (47:1–12)confronts us with Ezekiel’s vision of the water flowing from the temple. Ezekiel’s tour of the temple compound is...
Lessons for Christian Worship
As we continue focusing on Ezekiel’s vision of a rebuilt temple (chapters 40–48), our attention narrows this morning (chapters 45–46) on the division of the land (chapter 45), the reinstatement of the feasts (46:1–18), and the assigned places for preparing sacrifices...
Holy Access
In the extended section of Ezekiel detailing the new temple (chapters 40–48), we have thus far considered lessons from the initial measuring of the temple (chapters 40–42) and the glory of the Lord filling the central temple space (chapter 43). Chapter 44 continues...
The Heart of Worship
Matt Redman revealed the inspiration behind his song “The Heart of Worship” as a time when the church in which he served had entered a time of devotional apathy. While the music was stirring, it became apparent that the singing was glorifying the musicians rather than...
A Temple-Centred World
Readers of the Old Testament tend to hurry through the closing chapters of Ezekiel. The preceding chapters have been filled with great excitement. Chapter 37 contained the famed vision of the valley of dry bones while chapters 38–39 told of the thrilling offensive of...
Miscalculating the Matchup
With Daniel 10–11, the text before us this morning (Ezekiel 38–39) may be the most frequently-read text with newspaper in hand. For centuries, people have tried to identify with precision the characters and nations portrayed in this text to map its fulfilment. In the...
The Holy Grail of Church Life
In the age in which we live, unity has become something of a holy grail of church life. Unity is good, of course. Jesus prayed that his church would experience the same kind of unity that was experienced within the Trinity before the ages began (John 17:20–23). But in...