The Shepherd's Apprentice

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May 7

As I was among the captives by the river of Chebar,
the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God ...
and the hand of the Lord was there upon me
Ezekial 1:1,3

Do you want God to act in powerful ways in your life? First you may wish to join Ezekial down by the riverside.

Chebar is a river in Babylon. This means that Jerusalem had already been sacked by the Babylonians and much of the Jewish nation -- including Ezekial -- had already been shipped into Exile.

Bad Babylonians, right?

No.

It was God's people who had been "bad." In spite of generations of warnings from God, the Jews had opted for generations of unfaithfulness and sin. In effect, they chose their own bondage.

The very first verse of Ezekial ought to remind us of God's continual promise to set the captives free! And all of us have some thing(s) we need to be set free from. But as this book of prophecy unfolds, Ezekial will remind us that there is always a two initial steps to freedom -- 1) recognizing our own part in our own bondage and 2) turning from those sins.

In Christ's Love,
a guy who'd rather blame the chocolate bar for my bondage
than accept personal responsibility
(repentance = turn away from the chocolate bar and turn toward God)

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May 6

And all of us have had that veil removed
so that we can be mirrors
that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord
2 Corinthians 3:18

On Mount Sinai, Moses saw God, and when he came down the mountain, his face glowed. In fact, for many days afterward, he needed to wear a veil so that the reflection of God's glory -- shining on his face -- wouldn't overwhelm others.

Paul says in today's verse, that it's time to take our veils off. If you've encountered God, let it show and let it glow! Our world, our nation, needs shining faces right now -- not smiling faces, but lives and faces that are transformed by a very real encounter with God.

Indeed, a few verses earlier, Paul invites us to be "3 a letter from Christ" to the world around us, "written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. [C]arved -- not on stone, but on human hearts."

In Christ's Love,
a guy who's more like the shine on a car than a mirror
(i.e. kind of dull ... especially if you've seen my still pollen-coated vehicle)

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