Walking the Way: A daily devotional

Ezekiel 28:9 Will you still say, “I am a god,” in the presence of those who kill you, though you are but a mortal and no god, in the hands of those who pierce you?   Thought for the day – Namaste Have you ever used the word ‘namaste’. It’s a traditional greeting used in India by Hindus, Buddhists and Jainists. When you say it, you hold your hands together like you’re praying, bow slightly and say ‘namaste’. And in translation it means ‘the sacred in me recognizes the sacred in you’. The god in me recognises the god in you. And I think it has entrenched that new age principle that I am divine. I am my own god. As Christians, we might read that differently. We are not divine, but we are made in the image of God. But we are definitely mortal. I remember having a conversation with someone who had an eclectic approach to faith. She wanted to take the best bits from every religion and incorporate it into her own faith system (her word not mine). She was dying of cancer and want...

Ezekiel 27:33 When your wares came from the seas, you satisfied many peoples; with your abundant wealth and merchandise you enriched the kings of the earth.   Thought for the day – Eternal Father strong to save When I was training to be a minister, I had the opportunity to visit the Queen Victoria Seafarers Rest. It’s a program run by the Methodist Church as an outreach to seafarers. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it here before, but my family has a long tradition of being seafarers. My Dad was a communications specialist in the Royal Navy; I had an uncle that served as a submariner; and my grandad served on a destroyer. I also have friends who serve in the merchant navy and from my time in Cornwall I know lots of people who are fisherman. I spent three months of my life aboard a ship as a project manager back in 2000. I have a huge respect and love for seafarers.   Seafarers are a special group of people who put their lives on the line for us on a regular basis. T...

Ezekiel 26:5 It shall become, in the midst of the sea, a place for spreading nets. I have spoken, says the Lord God. Thought for the day – When the walls come down Today’s verse has been described as one of the most accurately verifiable prophecies we have. And while there is some debate about how the prophecy was fulfilled Tyre was eventually destroyed by Alexander the Great. Tyre had two parts, the land city and the bit on an island. The city was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar for 13 years and was never fully destroyed until Alexander arrived, tore down the land city and used the material to build a causeway to finally tear down the island part of Tyre in 322 BC. And so finally Tyre did become a place where fishing nets were spread out. And it’s downfall was the result of the same hubris that was shown by Ammon, Moab and Edom.  Tyre was apparently secure. It’s walls and the sea gave it a real sense of security that was real and tangible. And it got me thinking about the things that w...

  Ezekiel 25:5 I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon a fold for flocks. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. Thought for the day – What goes around comes around Have you ever caught yourself smiling at someone else's downfall? Not proud of it. But there it is — that little flicker of satisfaction when the arrogant get humbled, when the bully finally loses. That's exactly the mood God is confronting here. Ammon had watched Jerusalem burn and the temple fall, and instead of grief, they said "Aha!" They clapped. Judah's tragedy was Ammon's entertainment. So God speaks — not against Judah this time, but against the gloating. Rabbah, Ammon's proud capital, would become nothing more than a camel pasture. The mockers would become the punchline. I think of Winston Churchill, drafting his maxims for the Second World War. He didn't write "in victory, celebration." He wrote ‘in victory, magnanimity’. He'd watched what triumphalism doe...

Ezekiel 24:16 “Mortal man,” he said, “with one blow I am going to take away the person you love most. You are not to complain or cry or shed any tears.   Thought for the day – at what cost? I wonder what went through Ezekiel’s mind when he heard God speak today. When he heard that God was going to take his wife suddenly and he was not allowed to grieve for her? I simply can’t imagine what he went through. And in some respects, Ezekiel’s story reminds of God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. And on a deeper theological level, God must have known what he was asking Ezekiel to do, as he gave up his only son for us.   And as hard as God’s command to Ezekiel to is, the bigger question for us is: what is the cost of following God. Would we be willing to accept what God was doing for the greater cause of the Kingdom? If God told us he was going to take away our livelihood, how would we react? If God told us he was going to take away our church, how would we react? ...

  Ezekiel 23:35 Now this is what the Sovereign Lord is saying: “Because you forgot me and turned your back on me, you will suffer for your lust and your prostitution.” Thought for the day – Consequences I don’t know about anyone else at the moment, but I’m finding Ezekiel rather heavy going at the moment. Imagine being Ezekiel and being the messenger of bad news upon worse news. But today’s chapter really is taking it to a new level. God describes Israel and Judah as sisters and prostitutes. In very graphic detail. And I found myself asking the question why? Not why is God describing them like this, but why were they unfaithful to God. I suppose that’s one of those eternal questions. The easy answer is they were sinful. Yes, but all have fallen short according to Paul in Romans. But that’s not necessarily it. There was something else scratching at my brain. The thing that was scratching at the back of my brain was how far do we have to push God for God to do what he did to Israel a...