Daily Devotional For Monday, September 21, 2026
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Good morning Southside! I am following the One Year Chronological Bible reading suggestion and any Bible verses you see highlighted in bold (ex. John 3:16), means it is a link to that verse. All you have to do is click on the reference and it will take you to the verse online. Our daily devotional reading for today comes from Ezekiel 21:28-32:
“And now, son of man, prophesy concerning the Ammonites and their mockery. Give them this message from the Sovereign LORD: “A sword, a sword is drawn for your slaughter. It is polished to destroy, flashing like lightning! (29) Your prophets have given false visions, and your fortune-tellers have told lies. The sword will fall on the necks of the wicked for whom the day of final reckoning has come. (30) “Now return the sword to its sheath, for in your own country, the land of your birth, I will pass judgment upon you. (31) I will pour out my fury on you and blow on you with the fire of my anger. I will hand you over to cruel men who are skilled in destruction. (32) You will be fuel for the fire, and your blood will be spilled in your own land. You will be utterly wiped out, your memory lost to history, for I, the LORD, have spoken!” (NLT).
When I read this passage I thought of the church in America. So many churches in America have gone “woke” and liberal for the sake of being inclusive and inoffensive. They water down the Gospel so much that there are no elements to the original and authentic Gospel in their view of it. They become like the parent who wants to be their kid's friend and not their parent. They have swallowed the bait that the Apostle Paul talks about in 2 Timothy 4:3, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires” (NASB). Notice the emphasis on having the ears tickled – do not tell me biblical truth. “Tell me the truth I want to hear.” God’s word is not subjective. It is inerrant. It is infallible. It is inspired. It is holy.
.Does your church preach and teach the holiness of God? Or, is it so “woke” you cannot even stay awake because the “word” has no wake to it? Judah had chosen false prophets who only told them what they wanted to hear while they ignored God’s true prophets such as Ezekiel, Daniel, Jeremiah and Isaiah. In the American church, many “churches” are calling “woke” pastors who are false teachers of the Word. As in our text above, God’s wrath will come upon them. The Gospel is offensive. Biblical cuts like a surgeon's knife.
Look at 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and Hebrews 4:12. As you read the passage above in Ezekiel, you should have noticed that the word “sword” dominates in it. God’s sword was about to bring about total destruction, death, disease and distress like never experienced before in Judah. In our American culture, we prefer the pagan false teachings of preachers such as Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, Creflo Dollar, Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Meyer and others. Why? They appeal to our selfishness not to our sacrifice. They appeal to our pride, not to our praise of God the Father. They tell us what we want to hear, not what we need and should hear.
God’s truth is always the truth no matter what culture or generation or decade it is. When a doctor tells you not to smoke because you run the risk of lung cancer, heart disease and possibly a premature death, that is still true whether you accept it or not. It doesn’t become “untruth” because you don’t like it. Our passage for today shows the Jerusalemites made two big mistakes: they refused to believe God’s prophets and second, they resisted in accepting the ultimate end result of God’s punishment.
As in the Garden of Eden, the serpent lied and deceived Adam and Eve and in many “churches” today, that same serpent is doing the same thing. But biblical churches have a promise from Jesus that cannot be thwarted. It is found in Matthew 16:18, “I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it” (NLT). Praise God and come quickly, Lord Jesus.
Reflection Assignment: Do you have a hunger for the Word of God? Do you ever skip Bible passages that convict you of your sin? Do you consistently thank the Lord for His Word and its power to challenge you, convict you and change you? Are you excited to read God’s word no matter what it has to say to you? If your pastor is a biblical pastor in his preaching, do you ask the Lord to reveal to you during the sermon how His Word to you should apply?
Scripture To Meditate On: Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, please forgive me when I am resistant to the truth of Your Word. I want the soil of my heart to always be ready for the seed of Your Word to germinate in my heart. I want Your Word to convict me, challenge me and change me so that my life reflects more of Your character in my life. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly