[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 8

Thu Sep 8 02:52:52 UTC 2022

DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 8

SPECIAL NOTE: Starting this coming Monday September 12, I will have a new
email address. My new email address will be preacherdp1961 at gmail.com.
My "Donnie Daily Gems" will come from this new address.
Please make the change in your address book.

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THOUGHT OF THE DAY

Real faith is not receiving from God what you want; real faith is accepting
from God what He gives.

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DAILY DEVOTION

Peace in the Storms

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein
we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we
glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And
patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed;
because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which
is given unto us.
Romans 5:1-5

We live in a world of storms and trials, yet even in the midst of those
trials, God's people can enjoy His peace. We are not dependent on our own
strength and resources, and every trial is an opportunity to build our
faith. A. T. Pierson wrote, "Beneath the surface that is agitated with
storms, and driven about with high winds, there is a part of the sea that is
never stirred. When we dredge the bottom and bring up the remains of animal
and vegetable life, we find that they give evidence of not having been
disturbed for hundreds of years. The peace of God is that eternal calm which
lies far too deep down in the praying soul to be reached by any external
disturbance."
The heart that is trusting in itself can never really know peace. There is
always one more thing to check, one more threat to fear, one more potential
problem about which to worry. There is always another trial ahead-that is a
natural part of living in a broken and fallen world. Rather than allow these
trials to discourage us and take away our peace, we should celebrate them.
James wrote, "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers
temptations" (James 1:2). The only way that we can have that attitude toward
trouble is is we are living in God's peace. No human source of comfort can
sustain through tribulation. Only the peace of God that comes to those who
have peace with Him through His Son can bring that strength.
Peace does not come from an absence of trouble, but from the presence of
God.

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DAILY BIBLE READING

Ezekiel 28-30 New King James Version
Proclamation Against the King of Tyre
28 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, 2 "Son of man, say to the
prince of Tyre, 'Thus says the Lord God:

"Because your heart is lifted[a] up,
And you say, 'I am a god,
I sit in the seat of gods,
In the midst of the seas,'
Yet you are a man, and not a god,
Though you set your heart as the heart of a god
3 (Behold, you are wiser than Daniel!
There is no secret that can be hidden from you!
4 With your wisdom and your understanding
You have gained riches for yourself,
And gathered gold and silver into your treasuries;
5 By your great wisdom in trade you have increased your riches,
And your heart is lifted up because of your riches),"

6 'Therefore thus says the Lord God:

"Because you have set your heart as the heart of a god,
7 Behold, therefore, I will bring strangers against you,
The most terrible of the nations;
And they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom,
And defile your splendor.
8 They shall throw you down into the Pit,
And you shall die the death of the slain
In the midst of the seas.

9 "Will you still say before him who slays you,
'I am a god'?
But you shall be a man, and not a god,
In the hand of him who slays you.
10 You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
By the hand of aliens;
For I have spoken," says the Lord God.' "

Lamentation for the King of Tyre
11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 12 "Son of man, take up
a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord God:

"You were the seal of perfection,
Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The sardius, topaz, and diamond,
Beryl, onyx, and jasper,
Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.
The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes
Was prepared for you on the day you were created.

14 "You were the anointed cherub who covers;
I established you;
You were on the holy mountain of God;
You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,
Till iniquity was found in you.

16 "By the abundance of your trading
You became filled with violence within,
And you sinned;
Therefore I cast you as a profane thing
Out of the mountain of God;
And I destroyed you, O covering cherub,
>From the midst of the fiery stones.

17 "Your heart was [b]lifted up because of your beauty;
You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor;
I cast you to the ground,
I laid you before kings,
That they might gaze at you.

18 "You defiled your sanctuaries
By the multitude of your iniquities,
By the iniquity of your trading;
Therefore I brought fire from your midst;
It devoured you,
And I turned you to ashes upon the earth
In the sight of all who saw you.
19 All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you;
You have become a horror,
And shall be no more forever." ' "

Proclamation Against Sidon
20 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 21 "Son of man, set your
face toward Sidon, and prophesy against her, 22 and say, 'Thus says the Lord
God:

"Behold, I am against you, O Sidon;
I will be glorified in your midst;
And they shall know that I am the Lord,
When I execute judgments in her and am hallowed in her.
23 For I will send pestilence upon her,
And blood in her streets;
The wounded shall be judged in her midst
By the sword against her on every side;
Then they shall know that I am the Lord.

24 "And there shall no longer be a pricking brier or a painful thorn for the
house of Israel from among all who are around them, who despise them. Then
they shall know that I am the Lord God."

Israel's Future Blessing
25 'Thus says the Lord God: "When I have gathered the house of Israel from
the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am hallowed in them in the
sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave
to My servant Jacob. 26 And they will dwell [c]safely there, build houses,
and plant vineyards; yes, they will dwell securely, when I execute judgments
on all those around them who despise them. Then they shall know that I am
the Lord their God." ' "

Proclamation Against Egypt
29 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month,
the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, set your face
against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all
Egypt. 3 Speak, and say, 'Thus says the Lord God:

"Behold, I am against you,
O Pharaoh king of Egypt,
O great monster who lies in the midst of his rivers,
Who has said, 'My [d]River is my own;
I have made it for myself.'
4 But I will put hooks in your jaws,
And cause the fish of your rivers to stick to your scales;
I will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers,
And all the fish in your rivers will stick to your scales.
5 I will leave you in the wilderness,
You and all the fish of your rivers;
You shall fall on the [e]open field;
You shall not be picked up or [f]gathered.
I have given you as food
To the beasts of the field
And to the birds of the heavens.

6 "Then all the inhabitants of Egypt
Shall know that I am the Lord,
Because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.
7 When they took hold of you with the hand,
You broke and tore all their [g]shoulders;
When they leaned on you,
You broke and made all their backs quiver."

8 'Therefore thus says the Lord God: "Surely I will bring a sword upon you
and cut off from you man and beast. 9 And the land of Egypt shall become
desolate and waste; then they will know that I am the Lord, because he said,
'The River is mine, and I have made it.' 10 Indeed, therefore, I am against
you and against your rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste
and desolate, from [h]Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Ethiopia. 11
Neither foot of man shall pass through it nor foot of beast pass through it,
and it shall be uninhabited forty years. 12 I will make the land of Egypt
desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate; and among the
cities that are laid waste, her cities shall be desolate forty years; and I
will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout
the countries."

13 'Yet, thus says the Lord God: "At the end of forty years I will gather
the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered. 14 I will
bring back the captives of Egypt and cause them to return to the land of
Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly
kingdom. 15 It shall be the lowliest of kingdoms; it shall never again exalt
itself above the nations, for I will diminish them so that they will not
rule over the nations anymore. 16 No longer shall it be the confidence of
the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity when they turned
to follow them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God." ' "

Babylonia Will Plunder Egypt
17 And it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on
the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 18
"Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor
strenuously against Tyre; every head was made bald, and every shoulder
rubbed raw; yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre, for the
labor which they expended on it. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
'Surely I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he
shall take away her wealth, carry off her spoil, and remove her pillage; and
that will be the wages for his army. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt
for his labor, because they worked for Me,' says the Lord God.

21 'In that day I will cause the [i]horn of the house of Israel to spring
forth, and I will open your mouth to speak in their midst. Then they shall
know that I am the Lord.' "

Egypt and Her Allies Will Fall
30 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, 2 "Son of man, prophesy
and say, 'Thus says the Lord God:

"Wail, 'Woe to the day!'
3 For the day is near,
Even the day of the Lord is near;
It will be a day of clouds, the time of the Gentiles.
4 The sword shall come upon Egypt,
And great anguish shall be in [j]Ethiopia,
When the slain fall in Egypt,
And they take away her wealth,
And her foundations are broken down.

5 "Ethiopia, [k]Libya, [l]Lydia, all the mingled people, Chub, and the men
of the lands who are allied, shall fall with them by the sword."

6 'Thus says the Lord:

"Those who uphold Egypt shall fall,
And the pride of her power shall come down.
>From [m]Migdol to Syene
Those within her shall fall by the sword,"
Says the Lord God.

7 "They shall be desolate in the midst of the desolate countries,
And her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are laid waste.
8 Then they will know that I am the Lord,
When I have set a fire in Egypt
And all her helpers are destroyed.
9 On that day messengers shall go forth from Me in ships
To make the [n]careless Ethiopians afraid,
And great anguish shall come upon them,
As on the day of Egypt;
For indeed it is coming!"

10 'Thus says the Lord God:

"I will also make a multitude of Egypt to cease
By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him, the most terrible of the nations,
Shall be brought to destroy the land;
They shall draw their swords against Egypt,
And fill the land with the slain.
12 I will make the rivers dry,
And sell the land into the hand of the wicked;
I will make the land waste, and all that is in it,
By the hand of aliens.
I, the Lord, have spoken."

13 'Thus says the Lord God:

"I will also destroy the idols,
And cause the images to cease from [o]Noph;
There shall no longer be princes from the land of Egypt;
I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 I will make Pathros desolate,
Set fire to Zoan,
And execute judgments in [p]No.
15 I will pour My fury on [q]Sin, the strength of Egypt;
I will cut off the multitude of [r]No,
16 And set a fire in Egypt;
Sin shall have great pain,
No shall be split open,
And Noph shall be in distress daily.
17 The young men of [s]Aven and Pi Beseth shall fall by the sword,
And these cities shall go into captivity.
18 At [t]Tehaphnehes the day shall also be [u]darkened,
When I break the yokes of Egypt there.
And her arrogant strength shall cease in her;
As for her, a cloud shall cover her,
And her daughters shall go into captivity.
19 Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt,
Then they shall know that I am the Lord." ' "

Proclamation Against Pharaoh
20 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, on the
seventh day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 21
"Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and see, it has
not been bandaged for healing, nor a [v]splint put on to bind it, to make it
strong enough to hold a sword. 22 Therefore thus says the Lord God: 'Surely
I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, both the strong
one and the one that was broken; and I will make the sword fall out of his
hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them
throughout the countries. 24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of
Babylon and put My sword in his hand; but I will break Pharaoh's arms, and
he will groan before him with the groanings of a mortally wounded man. 25
Thus I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of
Pharaoh shall fall down; they shall know that I am the Lord, when I put My
sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against
the land of Egypt. 26 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and
disperse them throughout the countries. Then they shall know that I am the
Lord.' "

Footnotes
Ezekiel 28:2 Proud
Ezekiel 28:17 Proud
Ezekiel 28:26 securely
Ezekiel 29:3 The Nile
Ezekiel 29:5 Lit. face of the field
Ezekiel 29:5 So with MT, LXX, Vg.; some Heb. mss., Tg. buried
Ezekiel 29:7 So with MT, Vg.; LXX, Syr. hand
Ezekiel 29:10 Or the tower
Ezekiel 29:21 Strength
Ezekiel 30:4 Heb. Cush
Ezekiel 30:5 Heb. Put
Ezekiel 30:5 Heb. Lud
Ezekiel 30:6 Or the tower
Ezekiel 30:9 Or secure
Ezekiel 30:13 Ancient Memphis
Ezekiel 30:14 Ancient Thebes
Ezekiel 30:15 Ancient Pelusium
Ezekiel 30:15 Ancient Thebes
Ezekiel 30:17 Ancient On, Heliopolis
Ezekiel 30:18 Tahpanhes, Jer. 43:7
Ezekiel 30:18 So with many Heb. mss., Bg., LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT refrained
Ezekiel 30:21 Lit. bandage