The Reading Plan Daily Devotions

Followers of Christ have enemies. Always have, always will. It is important to understand those enemy’s tactics. Some are described in Ezra, Chapter 4 when the Israelites began to rebuild the temple that had laid in ruins for many years. ENEMIES OFTEN MASQUERADE AS FRIENDS TO INFILTRATE GOD’S WORK Jesus said that there would be “tares among the wheat.” The Bible also says that Satan Himself parades as an angel of light. Paul spoke of those who came into the church to “spy out our liberty in Christ.” Now when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a temple to the Lord God of Israel, they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ households, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we, like you, seek your God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.” But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers’ households of Israel said to them, “You have nothing in

We somehow think that God is far removed from the political scene. That men just do what they want, and God is nowhere to be found. But we forget the record in Scripture of how God moved upon leaders of many nations to accomplish His purposes. A GODLESS KING MAKES A GODLY DECISION Cyrus, the King of Persia in Ezra, Chapter 1 is a prime example. The Israelites had been captured years before and taken into captivity in Babylon. Prior to their leaving, the prophet, Jeremiah, had prophesied that they would be taken into captivity because of their sin, but would return in 70 years. At the precise moment prophesied, God moved upon a pagan king to accomplish His purposes. Ezra 1 1  Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying: 2  “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the

In Daniel, Chapter 9, we read one of the great prayers of the Bible. Similar to Jeremiah’s prayer in Jeremiah 1, Daniel pours out his soul for his nation. His prayer is a mighty prayer for us to pray, word-for-word, as we cry out for our nation. But does God hear his humble, repentant prayer? The next chapter reveals the response of our prayer-hearing and prayer-answering God. GOD COMES Daniel 10:4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, while I was by the bank of the great river, that is, the Tigris, 5 I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, whose waist was girded with a belt of pure gold of Uphaz. 6 His body also was like beryl, his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a tumult.   Whether you believe this was the pre-incarnate Christ or a mighty angel, it was a messenger from heaven. God came.   GOD SPEA

"Are you THAT DANIEL who is one of the exiles from Judah ... Now I have heard about you that a spirit of the gods is in you, and that illumination, insight and extraordinary wisdom have been found in you." ( Daniel 5:13 ) The world has never known how to handle authentic followers of God. THEY DON'T USUALLY LIKE US ... because our lives and words are often convicting. Daniel stood like a mighty, unwavering oak in the midst of changing political administrations and godless cultures. He was ignored and seen as irrelevant when not needed. But there was something about this man that was recognizably different and a little scary to the world. THEY CALL UPON US IN TROUBLE This has happened thousands of times. When the King (Belshazzar) encountered a message of judgment from God, he didn't know how to interpret it. His mother reminded him that there was "that Daniel” in whom was an "extraordinary spirit" who could solve difficult problems, as he had in the pas

God will go to extraordinary lengths with leaders to make them understand that God is the King over heaven and earth and no one else. Read Daniel, Chapter 4. God had given Nebuchadnezzar multiple opportunities to understand this truth. In Chapter 4, we read of a dream he had and of Daniel given a sobering interpretation. If the king would not acknowledge God, he would be removed from his office and “eat straw like an ox.”  If you read the story, that is exactly what happened. Heaven rules. Any leader who says, like Nebuchadnezzar, “Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?” is in for a rude awakening. If we will not humble ourselves privately, God will humble us publicly. Copyright © 2021 Bill Elliff. All Rights Reserved.

"But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king's choice food or with the wine which he drank ... " ( Daniel 1:8 ) The world and its ideas and practices press on every follower of Christ with increasing weight. How can a man not be pulled into its trajectory? Daniel stands forever as the model and encouragement to us. Pulled into the pagan king’s court, he had every reason to accept the lifestyle around him. But something about this young man was different. HE MADE UP HIS MIND It called for a conscious decision from the very beginning. He could have accepted the habits of the world easily and no one would have blamed him. In fact, many would think he should have done it and not disagreed with the King’s orders. But Daniel walked with God. Somehow, he knew that this was not the path for him to spiritual success. He determined in his heart or "made up his mind" that he did not want to even begin that path. THAT HE WOULD NOT DEFILE HIMSE

Everywhere we look—in our lives, our families, our church, community, and nation—we see darkness. It's easy to spot because it is actually there! We live in a sin-wrecked and sin-damaged world. This reality was clear to Ezekiel. God took him to a valley, and all he saw was the dried, decaying bones of those past (Ezekiel 37). Ezekiel would not have perhaps seen the nation of Israel in such stark terms, but God did, and he wanted His prophet to understand the actual spiritual condition of the people. "The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones ... and they were very dry." (Ezekiel 37:1-2) But with God, there is always more to the story. God's prophet (and all of us for all time) was about to learn a lesson in spiritual physics. CAN DEAD THINGS LIVE? "Son of man, can these bones live?" God asked the prophet. "O Lord God, You know." (vs. 3). Go