In Jeremiah 2, God has Jeremiah shout His warnings to His children. He reminds them of all He has done and poured out in blessings in their lives and they still reject Him and turn to worship false idols and false gods. He reminds them God gave them a pure river of Living Waters to drink from but instead they choose the polluted waters of the Nile and Euphrates. When we choose sin and false idols instead of God and His will, "the heavens are shocked" and "shrink back in horror and dismay." The false idols cannot save us, but God can. Jesus specializes in hopeless cases and desperately wants everyone to turn and choose life found only in Him.

In Jeremiah 1, God calls and equips Jeremiah for an extremely difficult mission of warning Israel of coming destruction. He doubts his ability to carry this out, but God gives him the assurance he needs and equips him with God's power and protection. He becomes a radically faithful prophet for God even in the midst of physical dangers and a wickedly evil nation. He trusts God. God will watch over His Word and fulfill it and will protect Jeremiah. Jeremiah chooses the cross over conforming to the crowd and faithfully walks forward with God.

In Ezekiel 46 - 48, God shows Ezekiel the river that will flow right from the Temple and bring healing, restoration and even life to the Dead Sea. The boundaries of the land promised to Israel are outlined as they are finally able to both receive and enjoy the land promised to them by God. God is faithful and His promises do come true. Jesus was rejected when He came to earth the first time, but the 2nd time He comes the reality of truth will be known to all. Even in the midst of chaos when the world around us makes no sense and evil seems to be everywhere, God is still on the throne. If we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, our future is safe and secure in in Him. This is all temporary and God will wrap His almighty strong arms around us and carry us through it all until we are safely home with Him where we belong.

In Ezekiel 44 & 45, God shows Ezekiel the distribution of tasks and land among and around the amazing new Temple. God says to store up treasures in heaven. Heaven is our eternal home and when we pursue God with all our guts, everything in us, we can't help but reflect His love and character to those around us. We bring glory to God through our lives and thus expand God's Kingdom as people around us want what we have and choose Jesus too. These things all build our future home. We don't work for salvation. We are saved by faith and faith alone in and through Jesus. Because of our exploding love for Jesus, we want to serve Him and His Kingdom and share His love with those around us.

In Ezekiel 43, God shows Ezekiel that the glory of the Lord will return. He will appear from the east. Jesus will return and the glory of God will be present in this new millennial Temple. Ezekiel again responds by falling face down. The glory of God is so magnificent. The only proper response is humble worship. The law of the Temple is "absolute holiness!". The entire mountain top will be holy. God is holy, holy, holy and His Temple will be as well. There's a lot going on right now in our world and a lot to come. Se can stand firm in faith and trust God through every moment. We know God is here as well as there, we know God will provide, we know God heals, we know God is our peace, we know God is our righteousness, we know God is present, we know God is our banner, and we know God is our shepherd and is returning. No matter what we don't know, we can stand firm on what we do know and continually trust in Him.

In Ezekiel 41 & 42, God continues to show Ezekiel more details about the coming Millennial Temple. This Temple will be like no other. God's Kingdom is like no other. It will be glorious and majestic and amazing and something we cannot even comprehend this side of heaven. God was giving future hope of coming restoration and glory to His people who were currently in exile. In doing so, He also gives us hope of coming restoration and glory as we live as foreigners in a sinful, wicked world.

In Ezekiel 40, God gives Ezekiel a very detailed descripting of a coming Temple. This Temple is like no other. It gives hope of restoration to the exiles and hope for us that there is resolution coming. This Temple will have no ark, no altar of incense, no lampstand, no table of bread, no veil, and no high priest. None of that will be necessary because we'll be with Jesus. He is our eternal High Priest. Evil and wickedness will be dealt with and we'll get to dine with Jesus for eternity.

In Ezekiel 39, God shows Ezekiel how the enemy is completely wiped out and Israel is restored along with all of God's faithful remnants. It will be done. God's glory and greatness will be revealed to all the nations. All will know God is the Sovereign Lord - the One and only true God. God will bring full restoration and celebration forth for His children.

In Ezekiel 38, God tells Ezekiel to let the enemy know God is on it. The enemy may come in and attack Israel for a time, but God would have the victory and victory is coming in a way that ALL the nations would know God is God. He is Who He says He is. We need to join and pray. The prayers of the righteous break the chains of the enemy. We need to pray for ALL the people suffering, being tortured, and treated utterly horrible. There are no words, but there is God. All people are created in His image and He desperately wants everyone to choose Him. To choose salvation. It is our choice and the time is coming for judgment. It's a day closer than it was yesterday. We desperately need to pray in the wait. Pray for salvation to pour out, pray for peace to flow down from the heavens, pray for hatred and division to end. Prayer breaks chains, so let's break them.

In Ezekiel 37, God gives Ezekiel a message to speak to a vast number of bones in a valley. He asks Ezekiel, "Can these bones become living again?" Yes, yes they can. Only God can bring forth life and by the breath of our Almighty God, they come alive. Ezekiel is speaking to Israel after Jerusalem had been destroyed and giving them a promise of hope, restoration, and a future. He even shows them a future where Jesus would reign as King for all eternity and there will be a covenant of peace that can only come from God - future of complete restoration and unity - under God. When we choose Jesus, God gives us His life. His Holy Spirit and He fans the flames within us to desire Him more, to worship Him more, and to encounter Him more. He increases our faith. If there is a loved one who seems "dead" in God, pray, trust God, pray some more. As we intercede in expectant faith, watch God move - watch Him breath life in ways we'd never expect. He is mighty. He is faithful. He breaths life and loves to perform miracle after miracle. He receives all the glory and honor. He is the One and only Life-giver.