Promises to the Dry Bones: May 14th Devotional

Promises to the Dry Bones

Ezekiel 37:11

May 14th Devotional

 

     The Jews were a people without a nation for nearly two thousand years.  The land known as Palestine was under the control of Britain since WW I and the British government was to relinquish authority over to the Jewish agency. The Jewish people were nearly exterminated under Nazi Germany. It seemed like nothing good could come from the Holocaust, but God works the evil of this world for good. On this day in 1948, in Tel Aviv, the Jewish Agency Chairman named David Ben Gurion (who later would become the first prime minister) declared Israel a free state for the Jewish people. The reaction among the Arab world was quick and harsh. Within minutes Arab armies moved against the nation of Israel. Egypt started an air raid. The cities were told to have a blackout, but that night during the black out the people celebrated. Why? Because on this day in history US President Harry Truman telegraphed to congratulate Ben Gurion.  Only eleven minutes had passed since the official announcement of Israel becoming an official nation.  The United States was the first nation to recognize Israel as a country. This was not an easy decision for Truman to come to. Truman had already been working on reuniting the world after WW II and rebuilding the world economy. Truman faced a battle over the official recognition of the nation of Israel. His predecessor, FDR, was an adamant opponent. His own Secretary of State, General George Marshall strongly withstood him and even threatened to resign, but Truman held firm. Why did Truman go against the opinion of everyone? The reason why was because of a daily prayer he prayed, "Almighty and Everlasting God, help me to be, to think, to act what is right because it is right."  Harry Truman was a passionate Christ follower and understood the promises that God had made to the Jewish people. Truman knew it was the right thing to do and compelled other nations to recognize the nation of Israel.

      Why is this event important in history? This event was a fulfillment of prophecy.  It was a supernatural work done by the hand of God. The Jews had wandered without a home for nearly two thousand years after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD by Roman Emperor Titus. Many thought that God forgot them, abandoned them, and had broken the promise that He made to Abraham thousands of years earlier. But God always keeps His promise, including the rebirth of the nation of Israel. In Ezekiel 37 God brings Ezekiel to a valley of Dry Bones and asks him to prophesy over them. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army." Life came back into the dead, and sinews formed over dry bones. Some argue who the dry bones are, but God gives us the answer in Ezekiel 37:11 "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel." This day is not just a day in history, but a day in prophetic history. God keeps His promise!  God isn't just a promise maker, but a promise keeper.  Scripture contains countless promises that God makes to us,  each one of them irrevocable.  If God can keep a two-thousand-year promise to the children of Israel then God can also keep His promises to us.

Gifts from Above: June 26th Devotional

"Gifts from Above"

June 26th Devotional

James 1:17

On this day in 1948, President Harry Truman along with other allies begin a massive relief effort called the Berlin airlift. World war II had just ended three years previously and the world was still reeling from the aftermath of so much devastation. Tragically the end of the war did not diminish the tensions at that time. After the war, Germany was divided among the allies into 4 segments. One was given to the United States, another to the United Kingdom, another to the French, and a final quarter to the Soviets. Falling in the middle of this division was the German capital of Berlin. Berlin suffered severe devastation and was struggling to rise from the ashes. To complicate matters the Soviets attempted to create a blockade to prevent any aid to Berlin. This would cut off over 2 million people from food, oil, and other crucial supplies for daily life. President Truman and the allies debated on a military response but resigned to a more peaceful resolution. The Allies agreed to fly planes from the United Kingdom and West Germany over the city of Berlin to provide necessary supplies like food, clothing, fuel, medicine, and other essentials that they were desperately lacking. Multiple different makes of planes were used such as Boeing, Fairchild, and Lockheed, but the most famous were the c-47 and the c52s. Wikipedia mentions that during the length of this mission those two types of aircraft flew 92 million miles, almost the distance from the Earth to the sun. These planes took off every 4 minutes without end. Every day these planes would drop between 5 to 8 thousand tons of supplies. Pilots would often make two to three runs per day. Tragically 70 soldiers died in these operations. The Berlin airlift lasted until May of 1949 when negotiations started afresh with the Soviets. The Soviets saw the futility of their blockade and ended it.

The Germans that were on the ground would often hear the noise of planes and rush outside to receive the much-needed supplies as they were dropped. Their hearts were filled with gratitude for the ample supply that the Allies provided. They often called it gifts from above. The Allies were not the only ones to provide gifts from the sky. The Bible tells us in James 1:17, " Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." Every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the providing hand of a loving all-knowing Father. A good father loves to provide for their children and God is no exception. It is in his constant unchanging nature to take care of his children. The gifts that he provides are good, perfect, and always in his timing. We can trust in God's never-failing provision because James tells us that there is no shadow of turning (or change) in God's faithfulness. We do not need to look to the skies hoping for a plane to drop good gifts on us. We merely need to drop to our knees thanking our Father in heaven for how he cares for us.

Fake News: May 8th Devotional

Fake News

May 8th Devo

Matthew 28      

      On this day in history, 1884, Harry S. Truman was born in Lamar Missouri. Harry's family were dedicated farmers and livestock dealers. He didn't receive a formal education until he was eight years old. Harry loved to learn history and play the piano. He would often wake at 5 in the morning to start practicing. Harry went to business college to learn how to be a timekeeper for the railroad. During this time he struggled financially and would often sleep in hobo camps near the railroad. He would go on to faithfully serve his country in WW I, in France in the battery/artillery unit. After that Harry skyrocketed through local politics to become a Senator from Missouri. He served in the Senate from 1935 to 1945, which would be one of the most traumatic times in American history. Truman was looked upon favorably by both major parties and would eventually become the third VP for President Franklin Roosevelt. He was sworn in January 1945 little knowing that four months later he would be sworn in as president after the death of FDR. Truman was famous for two major events in history: the first was the dropping of nuclear bombs on Japan, and the second was his shocking defeat of NY Governor Thomas Dewey.  The presidential race of 1948 was neck and neck between Truman and Dewey, but many pundits already claimed that Dewey would end up with the victory.  Weeks before the election Truman would go on a “Whistle Stop” tour through America’s towns showcasing that he was the better candidate.  The morning after the election shows Truman holding the front page of the Chicago Tribune paper that falsely said that Dewey defeats Truman. Talk about fake news!

      Fake news has always been a part of not only American history but world history. The greatest piece of fake news came from Jerusalem around 33 AD. Matthew 28 tells us about the resurrection of Jesus. The guards that kept watch over the tomb came and reported to the religious leaders what happened. This news disturbed the religious leaders greatly. The Bible says that the religious leaders commanded the guards "“Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep (Matthew 28:13)." They even paid them for the lie and offered protection. FAKE NEWS! Indeed Jesus did rise from the dead showcasing His wounds to hundreds of people over the course of forty days. If there would have been a newspaper in Christ's time it would have read "Disciples steal Jesus' body" but the truth is "Jesus rose from the dead." He lives! Rejoice in His glorious resurrection.