So the lamb and the grain offering and the oil shall be provided morning by morning for a regular burnt offering. – Ezekiel 46:15

Today's Scripture Reading (October 16, 2026): Ezekiel 46

The old adage is right. In business, there is no big mystery about turning a profit. All we have to do is make sure our income exceeds our expenses. So, if you are in business or even want to improve your personal finances, the key to profit is to cut expenses until they fall below your income. Simple, right? Okay, maybe not.

The problem is that some expenses can't be cut. Rent and insurance are often fixed. To run a business or a home, these expenses form a baseline. They set a floor for our income. They are the costs that exist before you even open the doors and turn on the light switch. These expenses are the "turnkey" costs of the business—expenses you have to pay before you even turn the key to open the business's door.

Ezekiel 46 essentially addresses the spiritual equivalent of these expenses. These are the daily spiritual requirements for living in a world far from God. The problem with baseline expenses is that they never go away. Paying once isn't enough; they keep recurring. Sin had its own permanent cost requirement under the law. There was a daily obligation that had to be paid.

For those of us living on our side of the cross, the news is good. The good news is that Jesus paid that turnkey debt once and for all. We no longer need to make daily sacrifices to atone. It is too bad that not many of us live as if we know that. We live as if guilt is threatening to overturn our lives. Some of our practices seem to reinforce this idea. Confession is one of those practices. Confession encourages us to keep an account of our sins so we can confess them to a priest or spiritual leader, who can then impose spiritual punishment. We should confess to one another in the spirit of accountability so we can grow beyond the sin limits in our lives. However, that confession shouldn't be to make restitution for sin that has already been paid for.

We need to remember that guilt has no place in our lives. The debt has been paid, and our lives should reflect that truth. Does yours?

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 47