My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. – Ezekiel 33:31

Today's Scripture Reading (October 1, 2026): Ezekiel 33

The Christian Church has failed. God is not dead; rather, his church has steadily refused to die. Our pride drives us, and that pride has created the ideal setting for our failure. It is time to admit that our critics are right. The church really is filled with hypocrites. Of course, this is no surprise. The church's pews are filled with very fallible humans, and humans have a habit of falling short. The church has been left with a choice to make: we can either stay in our comfort zones, or we can let ourselves be stretched, knowing that stretching means that we will fail, and that failure is actually a good thing. By allowing ourselves to be stretched, we become more like Christ. That is also why we can't live up to what we say we believe. We try to live up to that standard; we want to be more like Jesus, but we fail. You fall off a bicycle many times before you finally learn to ride it. We realize that if you never fall, you never learn. The Christian life is similar; in our failures, we learn what it means to be like Jesus.  

However, that isn't really the problem. The actual problem in the Christian Church is more that we often just don't seem to care. We preach a gospel and then refuse to follow it when it is not convenient. We keep looking for reasons why we don't have to follow our own rules. This refusal to even try to live the Christian life is the reason the church fails. Specifically, we don't seem to want to love. I can find no other reason for the behavior that the church seems to exhibit. Vast populations of people have never felt the overwhelming love of Christianity for only one reason: we have never been willing to offer it to them.

As Ezekiel looks at the exiles, this is precisely what he sees in his church. The people are willing to speak about right things, to say that they love, but they are not willing to walk that road. Love requires a selfless spirit, but Ezekiel says that the people's hearts are filled with greed, and greed focuses our hearts on ourselves, making true love impossible.

I believe that the church's obsession with orthodoxy is part of our greed. And as long as we strive to be orthodox, to believe what is right, we will find that we are unable to love because our orthodoxy forces us to concentrate on ourselves instead of on each other. Our orthodoxy stops us not only from seeing the other, but also from loving the other. In the end, love is never about right belief, but rather about right practice. Our problem is that while we want to make sure we are orthodox and believe rightly, God has called his church to love unconditionally. 

In the end, I am convinced that if we love, no one will care that we are hypocrites and that we frequently fall as we try to learn to walk with Christ. But if we refuse to love, then we will be judged harshly, and we will deserve every negative word. The church has failed. And unless we are willing to love, there is no road back to success for us.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 34

Their graves are in the depths of the pit and her army lies around her grave. All who had spread terror in the land of the living are slain, fallen by the sword. – Ezekiel 32:23

Today's Scripture Reading (September 30, 2026): Ezekiel 32

In 246 B.C.E., Qin Shi Huang ascended the throne and became King of the State of Qin, an ancient Chinese state roughly occupying the western section of China. At the time of his accession, Qin Shi Huang was thirteen years old. For the next 25 years, Qin Shi Huang continued the conflict the State of Qin had with the other Chinese states. But in 221 B.C.E., Qin Shi Huang did what no other leader had been able to do; he united the warring Chinese States under one banner: his. To commemorate the unification of the Chinese States, Qin Shi Huang replaced the title King, used by every Shang and Zhou ruler before him, with the title "First Emperor." For the next two millennia, Chinese rulers followed Qin Shi Huang's example and continued to use the title "Emperor."

However, for all of the accomplishments and honor that the memory and record of Qin Shi Huang demand, today we remember him for a vastly different reason. In 1974, some local farmers in the "Lintong District" uncovered a surprise that no one seemed to know about Qin Shi Huang. Buried with the First Emperor was an army of statues. 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses. Most of Qin Shi Huang's army is still buried, and it has become known as the Terracotta Army. Amazingly, each statue was created to be unique. The entire army was created to protect the emperor after he died as he prepared to enter the afterlife. Although we do not know for sure, the statues likely began being built on the day Qin Shi Huang became King of the State of Qin, when the would-be emperor was only 13 years old.

Ezekiel speaks of all of the warriors who had died, spreading terror throughout the land. Ezekiel knows the reality: the damage these warriors could cause was finished. Whether it is soldiers once alive but now buried in the grave, or the Terracotta Army buried with the First Emperor of China, the truth is that they cannot influence the land of the living. The only soldiers that we need to fear are the ones who remain alive and are still able to handle a weapon.

In the end, the living are responsible for the living. Who knows, maybe Qin Shi Huang got it right. Leave the living soldiers to fight the battle among the living and bury the statues, because whether the soldiers are dead or if they never lived in the first place, they have no authority over those of us who continue to inhabit the land of the living.                

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 33

I made the nations tremble at the sound of its fall when I brought it down to the realm of the dead to be with those who go down to the pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, the well-watered trees, were consoled in the earth below. – Ezekiel 31:16

Today's Scripture Reading (September 29, 2026): Ezekiel 31

Ashurbanipal rose to power in the Assyrian Empire in 668 B.C.E. He inherited a growing empire, and early in his reign, he sustained that growth. Soon after Ashurbanipal took control, the Assyrian Empire became the largest empire ever to rule in the known world. The empire extended from the Caucasus region in the north to North Africa in the south, and from the eastern Mediterranean in the west to central Iran in the east. The empire's sheer size became a strain on the kingdom's health. The decline of the Assyrian Empire seems to have been entirely because the empire simply reached too far. Suddenly, the member provinces found they could rebel against their Assyrian overlords because the Assyrians could not police or secure their own territory. With that realization, the fall had begun.

Ezekiel compares the fall of Assyria to the felling of a great tree in the forest. Just as a great tree makes the forest tremble, Ezekiel asserts that the destruction of the Assyrian Empire made the nations tremble. Ezekiel is not prophesying about the future; Ezekiel is not speaking of things that had not yet happened. It is a prophecy of the past; Ezekiel was putting into perspective events that had already taken place. The reign of Ashurbanipal and the fall of the Assyrian Empire had happened probably fifty to sixty years before the exile. Ezekiel seemed to be trying to add understanding to recent history.

However, Ezekiel was right: the nations did tremble, although some possibly trembled with fear while others trembled with anticipation. Of direct concern to Ezekiel were the fates of two nations: Babylon and Egypt. Assyria's overextension opened a window for the Babylonians that might not have existed otherwise. The other major nation in Judah's sphere of influence, Egypt, tried valiantly to aid Assyria but could not stop Assyria's decline and Babylon's rise. Egypt would continue to struggle against Babylon, but could not overcome the new Empire builder, a ruler remembered as Nebuchadnezzar II.

And in the midst of all of this conflict was Judah. The tree that was Assyria had fallen, and Judah was in no position to do anything. Ezekiel wants to make this clear. Judah's disobedience to God had made it a pawn instead of a major player in the events that followed the fall of the Assyrians. God was not absent in all that was happening. In fact, he authored what was happening, including many of the miraculous circumstances that led to the rise of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. But at the center of world events in the Middle East was the moral failure of Judah, the children of God. While other nations had at least tried to follow their made-up gods, Judah had spurned the real one they had once followed.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 32

The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “Wail and say, ‘Alas for that day!’” – Ezekiel 30:1-2

Today's Scripture Reading (September 28, 2026): Ezekiel 30

My grandfather was a great storyteller. I used to love sitting and listening to his stories. I'd heard most of the stories many times over, and sometimes I might have outwardly groaned at hearing them again, but inwardly, it was great to just sit and listen. Listening to Grandpa’s stories, you could almost see the adventure unfold; I could almost feel the excitement as if I were the one at the center of the tale. I got to know the streets and townships he remembered. It was great. I really miss Grandpa and his stories, and often wish I could sit with him again and just listen to his voice as he tells the familiar stories one more time, something that has been missing from my life for almost forty years.

One of the things that I think we are going to miss is the stories of our older friends. When they are gone, we will have lost a rich flavor from life forever. I still have older friends that I love to sit with and listen to their stories. However, the flipside is also important. Yesterday is not where we are supposed to live. God is all about leading us into the future. If all we have is yesterday, then we really have nothing.

This message of caution about yesterday was God’s message to Egypt. Everything that you have to look forward to is now in your past. And that is not a good thing; it is worthy of a song of lament.  It wasn’t necessary; Egypt could have looked forward to the future, but in this moment, the great stories of the past were all Egypt had left to celebrate. God tells Ezekiel that all Egypt can do is “Wail and say, ‘Alas for that day!’”

I want to remember that God is always about my future. The past isn’t unimportant or uninstructive, but it is a story already written and now can only be retold. Nothing can change what has gone before. But tomorrow has yet to be written. God always intends for our best days to lie ahead. He wants us to walk into that undiscovered country without lament, knowing the one who created us is already there waiting to welcome us into tomorrow.

So, walk into tomorrow with confidence, because God is already there, waiting to welcome us and shape what we need to do in that unknown area of life.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 31

Speak to him and say: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, you great monster lying among your streams. You say, The Nile belongs to me; I made it for myself.'" – Ezekiel 29:3

Today's Scripture Reading (September 27, 2026): Ezekiel 29

In the Russell Crowe film Noah (2014), the creators present an interesting view of the battle between good and evil. In a world dominated by the evil descendants of Cain and the fallen angels known as the Watchers (a variant on the biblically based Nephilim), the earth is filled with darkness and death. The earth's riches are being used up, and Cain's descendants are forced to explore more and more of it, draining the world of its precious resources. But Noah, a descendant of Seth, refuses to let his family take anything from the earth they cannot use. Even the flowers in the field are sacred and must not be picked. When Noah meets his grandfather, Methuselah, he is given a seed. Noah plants his grandfather's seed, and the dark, lifeless environment quickly becomes a lush, green forest. Death is defeated in favor of life; evil is subdued in favor of what is good. This plot clearly nods to our generation's environmental concerns, rather than the beliefs and fears of biblical Noah. 

Noah's environmental concerns are meant to prompt the audience to reconsider their own environmental footprint. I am coming to the conviction that what seems to be the traditional Christian response to environmentalism might be wrong. It is like we miss the first chapter of the Bible. In the opening words of the Bible, God pronounces everything that he creates as good, and then the combined product of creation as very good. Have we somehow missed that? One prevalent argument among some Christians is that God has given us the resources of this planet to extract and use. The earth is essentially a holder for these gifts from God, and when we have used up the resources of the world that God has given us, then the earth, which we seem to believe has been made disposable or designed to be thrown away eventually. But more and more Christians are asking: if the world was created as a disposable cup to hold a finite number of resources, why did God pronounce that creation was very good? While we definitely do not believe we are disposable, other than the statement that we are created in the image of God, the Bible does not seem to differentiate between us and the rest of creation; we are all pronounced as good.

Beyond that, God seems to react differently to what he has made. As Ezekiel begins to prophesy against Egypt, part of the complaint is that the Pharaoh seems to believe that the rivers that flow through his territory belong to him, but God disagrees; the rivers, and really all the resources of the planet, God has made for himself. All of this is part of what God has considered good.

So maybe it is not surprising that the movie "Noah" features a strong environmental theme. Noah, the protector of the planet, like Adam before him, is an environmentalist. He is a protector of the resources of the earth, resources that have never belonged to him, but instead belong to the one who created both the resources and the protector of the resources in the first place. We need this reminder as we continue to use our planet's resources.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 30

By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, and because of your wealth your heart has grown proud. – Ezekiel 28:5

Today's Scripture Reading (September 26, 2026): Ezekiel 28

I have to admit I am at odds with some beliefs in the contemporary church.  One of them is the belief that God wants you rich. It is not that I believe that God wants you poor, or that money is necessarily evil, but I don't think our Creator wants you to be rich. Some argue that God owns everything, so why wouldn't he want to give it to those of us who follow him? Why shouldn't Christians possess the world's wealth, especially if we decide to use it to help those in need?

On the surface, it might seem like a good argument, but the problem is that material wealth can make us believe in our own power. We become secure in our designs and our wisdom. God doesn't necessarily want us poor, but he does want us to remember that he is the source of everything. I firmly believe that the lack of power (and integrity) in the Western Church is because of our affluence and our lack of dependence on God. God wants us to trust him. That is his priority.

We stand in the modern place of Tyre. We have depended on our power and on our wisdom. Our hearts have grown proud, and our lives are experiencing a severe power failure. We have come to believe, like Tyre, that our wealth and material goods are the fruit of our great talent. We sincerely believe we deserve what we have. In fact, we often believe that we deserve more than what we have. What will eventually defeat us is not what we lack, and prosperity will not come from what we have. We have much. However, what will defeat us is who we believe gave it to us. Everything that we have comes from God. I don't deserve anything I possess in my life. I have what God has given to me. You have what God has given to you. Understanding that will return power to our lives, because that knowledge allows us to tap into God's power instead of our own. And that is power that I know I need.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 29

 

 

Men of Beth Togarmah exchanged chariot horses, cavalry horses and mules for your merchandise. – Ezekiel 27:14

Today's Scripture Reading (September 25, 2026): Ezekiel 27

The Armenians trace the beginnings of their nation to a very specific date in history: August 11, 2492 B.C.E. The day marks King Haik's defeat of King Bel of Babylon, establishing a home for his people. That home surrounded the mountains of Ararat. And it is there that the kingdom has remained. Not surprisingly, the ancient beginnings are shrouded in mystery. But we are beginning to understand that ancient Armenians may have been a highly advanced civilization. For instance, the earliest known leather shoe and wine-producing facility have been found there. But the significance of the ancient Armenians for the biblical story is that King Haik was the son of Togarmah. Ezekiel's "Men of Beth Togarmah" means the "Men of the House of Togarmah," and the "House of Togarmah" is still a name Armenia uses today.

As Ezekiel continues his description of Tyre's destruction, he lists several nations that had contact with Tyre. Among the listed nations are the "Men of Beth Togarmah." Beth Togarmah not only represented an ancient civilization, but it was also the northernmost civilization about which Ezekiel possessed knowledge. Beth Togarmah existed on the fringe of the Earth, or the ends of the Earth, at least as far as Ezekiel knew. The things that Tyre had imported from Beth Togarmah at the ends of the Earth were chariots and horses, symbols of military strength, which Tyre had imported from the farthest reaches of the Earth. Ezekiel's message seems to be that even with help from the ends of the Earth, Tyre was still going to fall. No military strength could fight what God had decreed, even one from the exotic ends of the Earth.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 28