In the last couple
of days I've gotten to taste both sides of the sword so to speak.
Today I was reading
Ezekiel 40. It is one of those sections
of the Bible that I just have a hard time reading because I don't see the
point. Here is a little bit of it.
Ezekiel 40:6-13(NKJV)
6Then he went to the gateway which faced
east; and he went up its stairs and measured the threshold of the
gateway, which was one rod wide,
and the other threshold was one rod
wide.
7Each gate chamber was one rod long and one rod wide; between the
gate chambers was a space of five
cubits; and the threshold of the gateway by the vestibule of the inside
gate was one rod.
8He also measured the vestibule of the
inside gate, one rod.
9Then he measured the vestibule of the
gateway, eight cubits; and the gateposts, two cubits. The vestibule of the
gate was on the inside.
10In the eastern gateway were three gate chambers on one side and three
on the other; the three were all
the same size; also the gateposts were of the same size on this side and that
side.
11He measured the width of the entrance to
the gateway, ten cubits; and the
length of the gate, thirteen cubits.
12There was
a space in front of the gate chambers, one cubit on this side and one cubit on that side; the gate chambers were six cubits on this side and six cubits on
that side.
13Then he measured the gateway from the
roof of one gate chamber to the
roof of the other; the width was
twenty-five cubits, as door faces door.
See what I mean?
It's the measurements of the temple.
When I read this my eyes just glaze over. I don't mean to be disrespectful but I just
don't have a clue what I am supposed to learn from it. The measurements are so detailed that I lose
track and can't really picture it. If
you just tell me it’s the temple, I'm good with that, I get the general idea.
Now let's look at
the other side of the sword. A lot of
detail that I find very helpful. For my
NT reading I am in the book of Luke. I
love the extra detail that Luke goes into.
What I want to focus on today is his description of how Simon Peter,
James and John were called.
Luke 5:3-11(NKJV)
3Then He got into one of the boats, which
was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down
and taught the multitudes from the boat.
4When He had stopped speaking, He said to
Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
5But Simon answered and said to Him,
“Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word
I will let down the net.”
6And when they had done this, they caught a
great number of fish, and their net was breaking.
7So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and
help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to
sink.
8When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying,
“Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
9For he and all who were with him were
astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken;
10and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with
Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will
catch men.”
11So when they had brought their boats to
land, they forsook all and followed Him.
Here the details
help me see this progression. Simon
Peter as well as James and John meet Jesus and in a short time develop a
personal relationship with Him. They
listen to Jesus' counsel and see how they are richly blessed. Based on that very real and personal
relationship with Jesus they are willing to make a full commitment.
Isn't that the way
it is for us? We've met Jesus and we've
seen the tremendous positive impact He has made in our lives so we are willing
to commit. So the question for me becomes,
how can we communicate that very real and personal experience to others?
Folks if you haven't
yet experienced that personal relationship with Jesus then why not ask Him into
your heart today? Give yourself a chance
to experience the peace that passes all understanding!
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