Then you shall know that I am the LORD.

The Word for today:
Ezekiel 14-15

mark this: Ezekiel 14:8b
"Then you shall know that I am the LORD."

Want to live life as it was meant to be lived? If you do, then here's how to do it: Stand in the Rain every day.

"Stand in the Rain," an image borrowed from Isaiah 55:10-11, means to let the Word of God fulfill its purpose in your life.

So what is the purpose of the Bible? The purpose of the Bible is to know God. Not only is that the purpose of the Bible, it's the purpose of existence! Being the purpose of the Bible and the purpose of existence, it's not surprising that knowing God is also the theme of Ezekiel.

The expression "Then they will know that I am the LORD" (and variations of it) occurs 70 times in the book of Ezekiel (which is near the middle of your Bible).

Near the beginning of your Bible is the book of Exodus. Typing Ezekiel's thematic phrase into my electronic concordance, I found out that "Then they will know that I am the LORD" appears in Exodus 6:7; 7:5, 17; 8:10,22; 10:2; 14:4,18; 16:6, 8, 12; 29:46; 31:13.

The gospels are near the end of the Bible. John 20:31 tells us that the gospels (and by inference the entire Bible) were written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:31)

"That you may have life" might just as well be written "that you may know God"--because they mean the same thing. The Bible defines life itself as a relationship with God. (Conversely, "death" in scripture doesn't mean you stop breathing. It means you are separated from God.)

So Bible reading (getting to know God) is nothing short of life itself.

If you really want to be alive, don't ever miss a day in the "rain!"

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