Category: Through the Bible Devotions

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Imagining the temple

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Some “through the bible” thoughts from Ezekiel 40-42.

To be honest, I don’t find chapters 40-42 of Ezekiel inspiring. There’s little devotional material here.

Twenty-one years ago, as my church made plans to build a new sanctuary, the architect included a thick volume of specifications for the construction along with the blueprints. It was not inspiring either. But we had one man, retired from construction, who took them home and digested them!

However, the architect also supplied us with artist renderings of the finished building, along with a scale model to display in the entryway of the church. That was inspiring! That got everyone excited. That fueled the fund-raising which made the new building possible. Not only could we see the finished structure, but we could picture ourselves worshiping there.

So I figure that these chapters from Ezekiel helped his audience picture the restored temple when God brought them back to Jerusalem to rebuild what the Babylonians had destroyed. It was intended to inspire and excite those who would undertake that effort. They would once again be worshiping there.

A few years after, our church attempted a capital campaign to pay down debt and reduce our mortgage payment. It was a flop. No one gets excited about debt reduction.

But a building program? Everyone loves that! Maybe Ezekiel’s description encouraged the hearts and minds of the exiles waiting to go home.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Physical Benefits of Spiritual Practices

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Yesterday, I promised to explore spiritual pursuits that have physical benefits. I’ve been pondering that throughout the day. To tell you the truth, the converse was easier. But (as usual) I came up with a few examples.

  • The obvious example is healing. Prayers for healing are powerful. Healing may come through medication, doctors, time, or rest. But it’s all ultimately from God.
  • Spiritual activity brings you into the church, where surrounded by other believers, we find mutual encouragement and support. We help meet the physical needs of others; they meet ours.
  • We often pray for and give thanks for tangible things. Safety. Protection. Homes. Food. Whatever we need to live. All physical blessings from a spiritual source.
  • Fasting as a spiritual discipline has a physical benefit, at least according to the intermittent fasting experts. Who knew?

God knew what he was doing. Spirit and flesh, body and soul, physical and spiritual. It all works together.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

I’ll just have a salad

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Nadine Primeau on Unsplash

Some “through the bible” thoughts from Daniel 1.

When Daniel and his friends are taken in to exile, they are quickly selected for education and training, to work in the king’s palace. Rather than the usually fare of food and wine, Daniel asks that they be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. In a place far from his home and family, he has little control over his destiny. This small request is a way of sidestepping food that may have been an offering to an idol. It is one small corner of his life where he can still have control and still be faithful.

After ten days, Daniel and his friends are in better health than any of their classmates. They also surpass the wisdom and abilities of all the other magicians and enchanters in the kingdom. In a sense, they become better Babylonians than the Babylonians!

In this account, a physical habit has a spiritual benefit. Their choice of foods becomes a way of being faithful, of demonstrating their trust as they obey the statutes of God.

So I’m wondering: What other physical habits benefit someone spiritually?

  • Closing our eyes to pray. Shutting out visual distractions heightens our other senses, helping us focus on both speaking and listening. The folding of hands brings us fully into that moment.
  • Walking in the morning heightens my awareness of the creation around me, which reveals God’s glory and power.
  • Some will fast to escape the habitual shopping for, preparing, eating, and cleaning up after meals to focus on prayer.
  • When I enter a church that burns incense, the aroma seems to say, “This is a sacred space.” The smell of candles and wine proclaims that reality, too.
  • Some of my best devotional thoughts have come to mind while walking or running.

Those are just a few things that come to mind. As people with both bodies and souls, our physical and spiritual selves are vitally connected.

Next time: how does spirituality affect our physical lives?

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

A night with an angel and lions

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Jonathan Cooper on Unsplash

Some “through the bible” thoughts from Daniel 6.

First, a summary of the classic Sunday School story. Then, some unorthodox thoughts that come to mind.

When other officials fail to dig up any dirt to discredit Daniel, they decide they will use his faith against him (Daniel 6:5). They set him up, getting the king to establish an ordinance that no one can pray to anyone else but him for the next thirty days. The penalty? Offenders will be cast into the den of lions (6:7).

When Daniel deliberately disobeys and prays to God has he always did, the king has no choice but to throw him into the den of lions, wishing him the best: “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” (6:16).

The next morning, Daniel is safe and sound, explaining, “My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me” (6:22). It’s not that the lions weren’t hungry. Those who conspired against Daniel, along with their wives and children, were immediately torn apart when they were thrown to the lions (6:24).

Wouldn’t you like to spend the night with an angel? I would. Perhaps I need to consider what radical faithfulness would look like for me, so that I could have that opportunity.

In the same vein, wouldn’t it be great to spend the night with lions, especially knowing that they wouldn’t harm you? We used to line up early for feeding time at the Philadelphia zoo, eager to see the lions sink their teeth into some large slabs of beef. How great would it be to stroke their manes and hear them purr?

Daniel got to experience both of those things by simply giving God thanks on a regular basis. That simple spiritual habit was not only courageous and faithful, but resulted in a night he would never forget!

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

God is really good at the game of Risk

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Some “through the bible” thoughts from Jeremiah 46.

“The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations” (Jeremiah 46:1).

It turns out that God had a message for the whole world, not just Israel or Judah. God speak of judgment for Egypt, Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Edom, Syria, Persia, and Babylon. Their violence, cruelty, pride, oppression, and idolatry has not gone unnoticed. Don’t worry. God will deal with them.

As I read through these chapters, I jotted down two notes in my journal. First, God is not a spectator in human history. He doesn’t passively watch it unfold. He’s the star. He’s on the stage, causing and working through current events.

My second note is, “God is playing the game of Risk.” Risk was one of my favorite childhood games. We left the Risk board on a basement table, since an ongoing game might take days to complete. Ours was an original game with wooden pieces representing armies and tens of armies. Risk taught me geography and strategy, along with statistics and luck. With a large enough army, I could defeat anyone, even if the dice seemed to be against me.

When it comes to God, there’s no luck or odds. He’s in control of the board, and he comes out on top. I too often forget about God’s role when I read the news. For better or worse, he’s behind all the headlines. He’s not a passive observer of human ambition. God is the headliner, the main event, and the star of the show. Nothing happens outside of his control. There may be a lot of players in the game of Risk (I think six is the max), but when it’s all said and done, God always wins.

My memories of playing Risk with my brother and sister and neighborhood friends helps me understand the Old Testament. There are lots of nations in play, we think it’s all random and luck, but God reveals himself and his plans as nations rise and fall.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

You should have seen it coming

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Jun Weng on Unsplash

Some “through the bible” thoughts from Lamentations 2.

The Lord has done what he purposed;
    he has carried out his word,
which he commanded long ago;
    he has thrown down without pity;
he has made the enemy rejoice over you
    and exalted the might of your foes. (Lamentations 2:17)

When I think of God’s promises, I think of positive ones. I remember promises of his presence protection, provision, and forgiveness.

But what about God’s promises of discipline, punishment, and destruction? As Jeremiah witnesses the siege, invasion, and destruction of Jerusalem, he recalls God’s promise of consequences for unfaithfulness and disobedience (Deuteronomy 29). Whether you like it or not, God keeps his word.

I used to have a little book that listed all of God’s promises by topic. Well, not all of them. Only the positive ones. It never occurred to me that the negative ones had been conveniently overlooked. I don’t think they would sell as many of those books.

Come to think of it, the first promise in the bible was a warning. “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) I never see those words on a t-shirt or wall plaque.

So when you want talk about God’s faithfulness, don’t forget the warnings as well as the blessings. It’s all part of his word that teaches, reproves, corrects, and trains (2 Timothy 3:16).

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Sick to his stomach

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Image by Darko Djurin from Pixabay

My eyes are spent with weeping;
    my stomach churns;
my bile is poured out to the ground
    because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,
because infants and babies faint
    in the streets of the city. (Lamentations 2:11)

The destruction of Jerusalem and the suffering of the people is gut-wrenching. The whole scene makes Jeremiah sick to his stomach.

His words made me wonder, “Have I ever seen anything that made me want to throw up?”

Some people lose it when they see blood or a hypodermic needle. Neither bothers me. Pictures of an especially violent car crash might make me a little queasy, but not too bad. I used to find vomit or poop disgusting, but after raising kids, helping care for grandkids, and cleaning up after puppies, I got used to it. I might lose it watching an autopsy, but I’ll probably never find out.

I’ve never seen the violence Jeremiah witnessed. Perhaps I’ve never seen the suffering his family and friends endured. Devastation has never hit my home and my community as it did his.

Or, I’ve become desensitized to violence, destruction, abuse, and killing. Jeremiah didn’t see any of that on television or in movies. He experienced it first hand, and it was like a punch to the gut.

It bothers me that I’ve been desensitized. Can I get that back, or is that just the way I’m going to react to the world around me now?

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Alone

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Jamison Riley on Unsplash

Some “through the bible” thoughts from Lamentations 1.

“How lonely sits the city
    that was full of people!” (Lamentations 1:1)

Left behind after most of the people have been taken into exile, Jeremiah sees a deserted Jerusalem.

It must have looked like a once vibrant shopping mall that sits empty as people shop online or on the streets of trendy town centers. It was as deserted as my evacuated county when wildfires raced towards our homes. It was as empty as a closed Wally World when Clark Griswold and his family arrive in “National Lampoon’s Vacation.” Or like the church when everyone stayed home because of Covid-19.

When someone dies, family and friends gather to mourn, comfort, and support their loved ones. When they leave, and you’re alone, the house feels especially empty. It’s so quiet. Your voice echoes. You’re never felt so alone.

Jeremiah knew it would happen. In distress he groans, “You have brought the day you announced” (1:21). But he didn’t know his stomach would church and heart would be faint as he witnessed the faithful justice of the holy God.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

I don’t want to do that

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen on Unsplash

Some “through the bible” thoughts from Jeremiah 42 and 43.

Most of the nation has been taken into exile. The remnant who’s left wants Jeremiah to ask God, “Now what should we do?” They promise, “We will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we are sending you” (Jeremiah 42:6).

Jeremiah passes along this message from the Lord: “Don’t run away to Egypt. Stay here. I’ll take care everything” (42:10-12).

That’s not the answer they wanted to hear. “You’re lying!” they said, and “did not obey the voice of the Lord” (43:7). They all ran away to Egypt, dragging Jeremiah with them.

How often has someone asked you, “What do you think I should do?” Or, “What can I do to help?” After your thoughtful and loving response, they reply, “I don’t want to do that.” You’ve been that someone, haven’t you? Yeah, me, too. We don’t really want advice. We just want someone to affirm what we wanted to do all along.

It’s just like the man who asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16) He had obey all the commandments, and wanted to make sure he had left nothing undone. When Jesus told him to sell his possessions, give to the poor, and follow Jesus, he walked away sadly because he had a lot of possessions. Jesus’s instructions were the last thing he wanted to do.

The fact that Jesus’s instructions are often the last thing I want to do reveals a lot about my heart. I need his grace a lot more than I like to admit.