Category: Morning Musings

Morning Musings: Hebrews 11:1

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“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

As the writer of Hebrews defines it here, faith is, by definition, a conviction about the positive existence of something we have not seen.  For instance and as the writer observes in v. 3, it is by faith that we conclude the world and everything in it was created by God.  We weren’t there and so we could not possibly have seen it.  And yet we believe it all the same.  The question here we must address in light of modern misunderstandings about the nature of faith, though, is this: Is it reasonable? Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Hebrews 10:22-23

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“…let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

This is the tail end of an incredible argument that has stretched on for several chapters focused on the greatness of Jesus, our high priest.  He is infinitely superior to the old system of priests and sacrifices that had been laid out under the law of the old covenant.  Because of Him, through Him, we draw near to God with boldness and confidence of being received. Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Ezekiel 11:19-20

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“And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them.  I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them.  And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

This is one of the great promises of God in the Old Testament.  Apart from Christ, people lack both the will and the ability to pursue a relationship with God.  It’s not just that we want to, but can’t, or even that we are able, but don’t really want it.  We couldn’t do it even if our heart desired it. Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Ezekiel 11:5

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“And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he said to me, ‘Say, Thus says the Lord: So you think, O house of Israel.  For I know the things that come into your mind.'”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Ezekiel is announcing some pretty grim judgment here, but I just want to give a bit of attention to the end of this verse.  “For I know the things that come into your mind.”  You probably already knew or guessed this about God, but here it is explicitly stated.  God knows what’s going on inside your mind. Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Ezekiel 1:1-3

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“In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.  On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin), the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Ezekiel is a wild book.  Of all of the prophets, much of his work has always been some of the hardest to understand for me.  With that in mind, these first three verses are really important.  You see, as wild as some of Ezekiel’s visions were (and as you read the rest of this chapter, they start out pretty wild), they really happened to him.  They may have stretched the limits of what he was able to mentally process, much less try and explain to someone else, but there was a clear and firm historical context to them. Read the rest…