The Living Word: A Daily Devotional with Jeff & Dale from The Jenkins Institute
The Living Word is a daily devotional featuring Scripture and encouragement from Jeff and Dale of The Jenkins Institute. Each episode offers a thoughtful reading to coincide with the daily devotional guides from our annual devotional books. They are designed to help listeners begin or end their day grounded in God’s Word.
The Living Word: A Daily Devotional with Jeff & Dale from The Jenkins Institute
Week 20: Wednesday, Plug In
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A vacuum cleaner serves a very useful purpose. It has all sorts of
attachments. Many of them have an extension wand, a crevice tool, a
dusting brush, and an upholstery tool. Some are even more advanced and
have a ceiling fan tool and a pet grooming tool. There’s a tool for any job.
And, of course, there’s the standard use—just pushing the contraption
across the carpet to pick up dirt. Yes, a vacuum cleaner is a highly useful
piece of technology and one that just about everyone utilizes. Virtually
everyone has a vacuum cleaner. But here’s the important thing to know
about vacuum cleaners
Welcome to Hearing God's Stories, a daily devotional on the parables presented by the Jenkins Institute.
SPEAKER_00Chapter twenty Wednesday plug in. Today's scripture, Ezekiel chapter fifteen, verse six, by Chris McCurley, and this is John Arvin. Therefore, thus says the Lord God, like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem. A vacuum cleaner serves a very useful purpose. It has all sorts of attachments. Many of them have an extension wand, a crevice tool, a dusting brush, and an upholstery tool. Some are even more advanced and have a ceiling fan tool and a pet grooming tool. There's a tool for any job, and of course, there's the standard use, just pushing the contraption across the carpet to pick up dirt. Yes, a vacuum cleaner is a highly useful piece of technology and one that just about everyone utilizes. Virtually everyone has a vacuum cleaner. But here's the important thing to know about vacuum cleaners. You can't buy one at the store, bring it home, take it out of the box, and start pushing it across the floor and expect it to work. Why? Because vacuum cleaners take electricity. You've got to plug it in. Otherwise, it's not useful. It's not productive. It doesn't do anything. Its connection to the power source gives the vacuum its value and usefulness. When you throw wood into a fire, you have given up on the wood. God had given up on the citizens of Jerusalem. Israel was intended to be a blessing to the nations around them, but they failed miserably. They were a dead vine and thus not bearing fruit. Since the vine was dead and no longer productive, the only recourse was to use it to stoke the fire. Israel was created for a useful purpose. They were equipped for a special task, but like a vacuum cleaner, their usefulness could only be realized if they were connected to the power source. The same is true with each one of us. We were created for a purpose, the same purpose as the Israelites, to shine our lights. We have been given talent, ability, and opportunity, but it's our connection to the power source that turns the light on. Today I will shine my light so that others may see my good works and glorify the Father who is in heaven. Matthew five, verse sixteen.
SPEAKER_01Thank you for joining us for the Living Word. For more encouragement and ministry resources, visit the Jenkins Institute dot com, and may God's richest blessings be yours, is our prayer for you.