The Trial of Your Faith

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KJB Daily DevotionFollowing Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Chapters: Ezekiel 46-48
Message: The Trial of Your Faith

Hello My Friend,

You know the times in your life when you are on fire for God, your faith is on high, and you have convinced yourself that nothing is impossible with God. Those are good times. Unfortunately, our fire for God tends to go out as life’s often gets in the way, but keep in mind, even a little bit of faith goes a long way. So, when life pours salt on your fire it is time to remind yourself that Jesus is with you and will start it up again with our faith. “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.” – I Peter 1:7-9.

That the trial of your faith,” Now, that is an understatement. I do not do this often, if fact, I do not recall ever having talked about it, the attack on American soil seventeen years ago when two airplanes crashed into the famous twin towers in New York. I imagine, and many still do today, question that day, all the lives lost, they have been talking about tragic events and mass shootings that have been going on, but thousands of people lost their lives that day, a day that no one will ever forget, a day that actually brought many to Christ. Trials of faith really are not meant to test whether or not we will be faithful to God, He would never tempt us like that, they are meant to increase our faith and remind us that if we are saved there is hope of a day when we will no longer have to witness or be in the midst of this wicked world. In order to get through trials of faith, we need God, every hour, of every day, and the sooner we realize that the better we are able to endure the next one. As God continues to show Ezekiel visions of His glorious temple, He tells him that the gate to the inner court (the place were the prince would abide), will be open to all believers on sabbath days.

Thus saith the Lord GOD; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened. And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the LORD in the sabbaths and in the new moons. And when the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch of that gate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof. But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it. And the prince in the midst of them, when they go in, shall go in; and when they go forth, shall go forth.” – Ezekiel 46:1-3,8-10.

he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate;” Once you receive Jesus Christ as your Saviour, you do not go back into the world from which you came, you go forward, walking in the newness of the Lord, changing a little each day as you draw nearer to Him. Jesus became the sacrificial lamb that would replace the need for constant redemption from sin, when we get saved we are not to dwell in our past, Jesus made us new, we are to move forward and not look back. Contrary to what people like to believe that our past defines us, it does not, man tries to define us, but when we make Jesus Lord, He defines us and lets us use our past to be a testimony of just what He can do in our lives. The key to overcoming our past and enduring the trials that come from them is not going backward, but forward. “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:13-14.

I press toward the markI love this because it does remind me that this life in only temporary, we who are saved will survive this because once we leave this earth, no matter how tragic things get, we will suffer no more. Jesus uses trials of faith to heal us, mainly our heart, as it is the backbone of what causes our faith to get smothered in the first place. We must remember that once we receive Christ as our Saviour, nothing we do in the flesh can separate our soul from Him, with that said, God does not just want us to do anything with our body while we wait for Him to come and get us. As Ezekiel stands at the door of the temple something weird begins happen, water comes gushing from underneath the door, fills the room, and it becomes a river. God explains the meaning of the river.

And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river. Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt. And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.” – Ezekiel 47:6-12.

because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary:Jesus is the living water, through Him we receive the water of life, the water that will quench our thirst forever. Let me tell you, when you are in the world trying to handle the trials of life you literally dry out like a lake that has dried up, but when you come to the fountain of living water He continuously fills you up so you can endure them. Oh, and if you read this passage you will discover that this is similar to the vision that John had when Jesus showed him the Kingdom, a new fruit on the tree of life every month. What a day that will be, praise God! “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” – John 4:14.

Jew or Gentile, not everyone follows God’s will to receive the gift of eternal life from the prince. And yes, God does and always has given all the opportunity to choose Him as LORD. Through Ezekiel, God gives the order on who will inherit a portion of the Kingdom, these are both the tribes of Israel (sons of Jacob) and strangers (not sons of Jacob).

Thus saith the Lord GOD; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions. And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance. So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD.” – Ezekiel 47:13-14,21-23.

that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth,” All who receive Christ as their Saviour become heirs with Christ and will receive an inheritance in the Kingdom of God. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” – Romans 8:14-17.

Further account is given of each of the portions of land Israel, not for only the twelve tribes of Israel, including the cities in which God and His ministers will dwell. “The oblation that ye shall offer unto the LORD shall be of five and twenty thousand in length, and of ten thousand in breadth. And for them, even for the priests, shall be this holy oblation; toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the midst thereof. This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions, saith the Lord GOD. And these are the goings out of the city on the north side, four thousand and five hundred measures. And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi. It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.” – Ezekiel 48:9,10,29-31,35.

The LORD is there.” Everyone who believes in and accepts Christ as their Saviour becomes heirs with Him and receives an inheritance in His Kingdom, above all, we will not only feel His presence, He will be seen, and we will be able to fellowship with Him face to face. Let me tell you, things are going to happen in this life that smother our fire for God, but if we trust Him, and give it all to Him, He will not only rekindle that fire, we will see others get on fire for Him as well. Serving God in this life is all about bringing others to Him, because He is the only one who can save us from hell fire. “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” – Revelation 21:7-8. Praise God!

Jesus Christ Magnified: “And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. – Ezekiel 46:2.

Today’s Prayer: God, As the trials of our faith put salt on our fire for You, it can be hard to come to You every hour of every day, and hand them all over to You. Lord, we cannot avoid the trials of our faith but we can get through them as we draw near Your Son, and stay close to Him with full assurance of our salvation and a better life beyond this one. Give us Your power to ignite our faith, and see amazing things come as we increase our faith, and see You rekindle the fire in us. Give us Your strength to keep going through the trials, if we fall down, help us to get back up, help us to keep moving forward, and never look back as You have already forgotten everything we ever did the second we accepted Your Son as our Saviour. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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