ESOCS Devotional 14 January 2025 – God Knows What You Are Thinking
MEMORY VERSE: “Thus says the LORD: “Thus you have said, O house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind.” Ezekiel 11:5
TEXT: EZEKIEL 11:1-11
Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the East Gate of the Lord’s house, which faces eastward; and there at the door of the gate were twenty-five men, among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. 2 And He said to me: “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and give wicked counsel in this city, 3 who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses; this city is the caldron, and we are the meat.’ 4 Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man!”
5 Then the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said to me, “Speak! ‘Thus says the Lord: “Thus you have said, O house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind. 6 You have multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled its streets with the slain.” 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Your slain whom you have laid in its midst, they are the meat, and this city is the caldron; but I shall bring you out of the midst of it. 8 You have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you,” says the Lord God. 9 “And I will bring you out of its midst, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and execute judgments on you. 10 You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. 11 This city shall not be your caldron, nor shall you be the meat in its midst. I will judge you at the border of Israel.
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There is a part of us that believes that our minds are a private place that only we know what happens there. We believe that we can hide things there from God. Our verse for the day tells us something much different. There is nothing in our minds that is hidden from God’s holy gaze. In a strange way, this is comforting to me. I have a desire as a man trying to be a true Christ-follower, to be holy. But the truth is that I daily miss the mark of perfection that God desires for me to hit. Through Christ’s blood I have forgiveness for all the sins that I commit; but God expects me to come in repentance of those sins and seek reconciliation. Knowing that I can’t hide my sins from God makes it easier for me to come to Him whenever I need to (Prov. 21:2; 1 Sam. 16:7; Heb. 4:13; Jer. 23:24; 2 Chron. 16:9; Ps. 147:5; Prov. 15:3)
The more intimately we are acquainted with this concept of God’s absolute omniscience, the more we are willing to accept the purifying work of the Holy Spirit in our minds. Of course, this assumes that I agree with God that some of the things that come into my mind are sinful, ungodly, or impure. God is a gentleman; He will not force His purity upon us. This is one of the reasons why a daily exposure to the written word of God is so important. It is within the pages of the Bible that we find truth. It is the truth of God revealed in Scripture that God desires to use as our guide to holiness. Without a regular feeding of God’s words of life, we will mentally starve our minds of the very thing it needs to survive spiritually.
This is also why it is so important that we control what we do allow to come into our minds. The old computer saying, ‘Garbage in, garbage out!” applies to our minds as much as to computers. If we do not do anything to filter the things that come into our minds, then, we will not be able to do anything about what comes out in our lives. If you put enough garbage into your life, you can be assured garbage will come out.
CHALLENGES
- If you are conscious of maintain a pure heart and mind, you won’t allow them get dirty.
PRAYER POINT
- Father, help me to keep my heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.
FURTHER READING: Isaiah 17:1-end; 18:1-end; Matthew 7:1-end
ESOCS Devotional 14 January 2025
