Divine Encounters

Day 243 Reading: Zechariah 11:1 - Zechariah 14:21 Do you wonder what the timeline is in God's eyes? The headlines, the happenings, all the crime, corruption, poor economic news, the debt levels, everything seems to be heading in one direction: bad news. In the midst of the doom and gloom that we seem to live in, there is a story that the world is not paying attention to. Zechariah calls the children of God to attention. Zechariah issues a clarion call that God is coming into the scene and this will have a dramatic effect. My dear reader a day is coming when we shall see God. A day is coming where we shall see Him in all of His glory. It shall be a day of great awe as humanity meets its Maker. This will be a moment where the created meets the Creator. The day of the Lord will be a day where the enemy will be devastated as he will know that his life is over. All those who refused to worship God will worship Him. It will be a day where those who have survived the onslaugh...

Day 224 Reading: Ezekiel 45:1 - Ezekiel 48:35 Ezekiel was a unique person. He was a priest who was called to be a prophet. He represents the new kind of child of God who would walk in dimensions that were not only priestly but prophetic. The Book of Ezekiel is not only a present-day book, however, it also is a futuristic book. The Book of Ezekiel has insight into the end times. Here was a priest who saw the temple of God in the future. Out of this temple flowed a river that would affect every life. The first thing about the river of God that flows out of the temple is that it influences the environment. The River of God in us is to flow outwards and affect our environment. The River of God flows out of the temple that we are and affects everywhere it flows. My prayer is that God's river in our lives will flow and affect the culture of the day. Secondly, the River of God has different dimensions with it. You begin by walking in the water that reaches ankle deep. The...

Day 223 Reading: Ezekiel 40:1 - Ezekiel 44:31 Child of God, God's hand is upon you. Yes even in the nightmare situation you are faced with God's hand is upon you. I know that sounds far-fetched considering that when we are faced with challenges God seems far. However, consider that every challenge is a fire that purifies us removing every impurity that blemishes us. When we have that viewpoint we appreciate that God is with us. As Isaiah prophesied God is with us in the waters and even when we walk through the fire Isaiah 43:2 . Why then is God's hand on you and me? Firstly, God is building us His children into His temple. Ezekiel saw the temple filled with the glory of God. You and I have a role in the building of God. Ezekiel saw a vision of a temple that has never been built.  Secondly, God desires that we worship Him aright. God is rebuilding His people. No longer will the place of worship be defiled by having those who are uncircumcised of heart speaki...

Day 222 Reading: Ezekiel 37:1 - Ezekiel 39:29 I grew up in a country that loves goat eating excursions. From a young age, I would be given a rib and told to clean the bone. That meant not only eating the meat but to nibble everything on the rib. After such a wonderful experience of eating the meat came the hard process of ensuring the bone had no meat. At the end the bones would be put together. Now when reading Ezekiel's vision of the valley of dry bones the best comparison of thinking of many bones was my goat eating excursions. To think that Ezekiel saw a valley of dry bones it must have been disheartening as he must have seen that the bones were human. We all have dry bones in our lives. Prophecies that we have never seen the slightest bit come to pass. Dry bones are what we are when we lose hope. Our inside starts to dry out when hope is lost and soon if the situation is not rectified one loses faith in the one who gave a reason for hope. Many today are facing thi...

Day 221 Reading: Ezekiel 34:1 -Ezekiel 36:38 God has great things ahead. Oh, I can feel it within me that God has great things for me. As I read the scriptures all that came on me was a sense of a new beginning. God is interested in our well being. He desires the best for us.  Throughout the Bible we see God drawing mankind to Himself. Declare the new season in your life. While reading today's passages I picked a few promises from God that accompanied the sense of a new beginning that weighed heavily on me as I read and meditated on the Scriptures.  God will give us good shepherds. Shepherd not just in the Temple but in nations. God promised that the reign of poor shepherds who only want to eat for themselves will come to an end and that He would appoint good shepherds whose heart is aligned to God Jeremiah 3:15 . God is the True Shepherd and will provide, nourish, nurture, and protect His sheep. He also promises to judge the sheep. Don't ever forget that Go...

Day 220 Reading: Ezekiel 32:1 - Ezekiel 33:33 Growing up in a developing nation the term watchman was not one that brought a thrill. It may have shown a family as wealthy to have a watchman but the job of a watchman then was not one to be envied or even studied for. Watchmen have always been seen as dropouts or people who are at the bottom of the ladder careerwise. Most times we saw the watchman fall asleep and when thugs came he was nowhere to be found. Am sure many can relate.  So you can imagine my reaction while reading the Bible God uses this term watchman. Immediately my mind recoiled because this wasn't what I expected. At that moment the Holy Spirit spoke to me. He didn't begin with pointing out my error. He first showed me why God expects us to be watchmen. God has given the earth to men and He cannot interfere in the affairs of the earth Psalms 115:16. When Adam and Eve sinned they delegated their authority to the enemy Genesis 3. God has through the Bibl...

Day 218 Reading: Ezekiel 24:1 - Ezekiel 26:20 We all hate enemies. Everyone has enemies even the baby that is unborn has an enemy just ask any expectant couple. Reading through the Book of Ezekiel today I was struck at how many times God sent prophets to speak against the enemies of Israel. Notice that God didn't send the prophets to prophesy when David was king. God sent His prophets to the enemies of His children when all was haywire for His children. When the children of God went into captivity the nations surrounding them were happy. Happy that their enemy was vanquished. I have news for my enemies, don't rejoice when I seem to fall. God is a God of second chances and this is one thing enemies don't understand.  No matter where you are in life, God is able to save you. Ezekiel was sent to the nations around Israel. He was sent to prophesy to them God's intention for them. The common denominator was that they rejoiced that Israel was no more. They sc...

Day 216 Reading: Ezekiel 17:1 - Ezekiel 21:32 Now before the grace preachers hit the delete button, this blog is about the daily readings. Sin has a prize that is painful, and that's not a spelling mistake. Reading through the Book of Ezekiel we keep seeing God calling His children back to Him. Sin can be defined as that which displeases God. Sin has plagued mankind from the Garden of Eden. Sin didn't begin when you came into the earth.  It was the sin that resulted in Adam and Eve being evicted from the Garden of Eden. Disobedience to the command of God resulted in Adam and Eve leaving the place God had settled them. In the Law of Moses, blessings were promised for obedience and curses to those who disobeyed. The whole reason the children of Israel went into captivity was in fulfilment of God's word that when they walked in disobedience the children of Israel would become slaves. Sin makes you a slave of a system that is not your natural place. Ezekiel was...

Day 215 Reading: Ezekiel 14:1 - Ezekiel 16:63 My Child, I created you to fellowship with Me. In the beginning, when I made Adam and Eve I made mankind in my image and likeness. I, the Creator and Ruler of the Heavens and Earth desired to have an intimate friendship with mankind. This relationship is based on love. My child, know that I love you. My love for you cannot be stopped or crushed Jeremiah 31:3-4 . My covenant is one of love and My greatest desire is a heart that loves genuinely.  Many today have idols in their hearts. Idols that are blocking My love from reaching them. These idols are from selfish desires to the things of this world. Many today claim to love Me, however, they worship themselves more than anyone else. Listening to their conversations you can hardly hear them express My love for others. It's all about themselves and never about others which makes Me wonder who do they love. My love for you should, in turn, provoke you to love others that th...

Day 214 Reading: Ezekiel 10:1 - Ezekiel 13:23 God, I have read and heard of Your greatness. I can testify that yes I have seen You and know that of a truth You are the Living God. You have been there for me in the good and bad times. Thank You for loving me even when I doubted You. The more I read Your Word the more I am stirred to seek Your face. However, Lord, I am troubled. Troubled by many things. Troubled when I see the state of things in my world. Troubled by a feeling that I am wasting away striving to get somewhere and maybe I have chosen the wrong route to get to my destination. Troubled because my world is far from what Your promises say. Troubled because I can't see Your hand in my life. I seem to hear prophecies that never come to pass. Will I arrive in Canaan? Will I see what I desire from You? Will I fulfil that which You have ordained me for? God, have I departed from Your will is a question I am constantly asking myself. Not because I think I have l...

Day 213 Reading: Ezekiel 5:1 - Ezekiel 9:11 Today as I sat down to write the blog I bowed my head in prayer first to thank God for the testimonies I hear and those I don't know. We all love receiving good news and so for me to hear testimonies of how God is using the blog to minister to people of different age groups and nationalities it humbles me to seek God more than ever. My desire is for this blog to be a battle-axe in the Hand of God against His enemies in the lives of His own. Ezekiel was called to be a prophet who functioned very much in the realm of visions. Reading through today's reading it struck me that Ezekiel's eyes saw beyond what was natural. For this prophet he was not just sent with words he heard but also he saw into the heavenly realm. Ezekiel not only saw heaven but would be transported in the spirit to see what was happening in the natural. Let me explain this. Imagine being sat at home and suddenly God takes you for a walk and you see wh...

Day 212 Reading: Ezekiel 1:1 - Ezekiel 4:17 Welcome to the Book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel was a priest and we are introduced to him when he's a captive in a foreign land. Priests presented the sacrifices to God and carried out duties in the Temple of God. Here was a priest living in the foreign land far from the place he was called to serve. Many believers today are like Ezekiel. They are prayerful but are crying to God far from the land they are ordained to live. Let me interject here, Ezekiel was not living away from Israel because of choice, he was captured and taken to live abroad. Many believers are living far from where God ordained for them bound by a captor who takes many forms. Ezekiel means God strengthens. It is amazing that the Book of Ezekiel opens with God strengthening him. The heavens opened over Ezekiel and his eyes saw into the Heavens. Reading this phrase my heart began to yearn for the heavens to open and that my eyes would be opened to see the unseen. To...