Keep Faith Alive In Your Heart

 

 

Ezekiel 28:25-26 -  " 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: When I gather the people of Israel from the nations where they have been scattered, I will show myself holy among them in the sight of the nations. Then they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob.  They will live there in safety and will build houses and plant vineyards; they will live in safety when I inflict punishment on all their neighbors who maligned them. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.' "

 

Ezekiel had given one more message to the ruler of Tyre to make sure he knew that he was not a god. God wanted him to know that his wisdom had been a gift from the one true God…and his abuse of this gift had led to the downfall of his city. God’s last words in this chapter were another reminder that the chosen people would one day be gathered together….to live in safety as the children of God.

 

The end of this chapter is a great reminder to me that as bad as the world is …and will become….God has a plan to save his children in the end. He allowed John to have a detailed vision…and even remember it to write it down in Revelation. Most of the details are cloaked with symbolism that keeps us from understanding the full picture….but one thing is sure in my heart.  God will allow Jesus to return to Earth someday…and set up an Earthly Kingdom. It will be a place of safety for all who have been faithful and earned the title ‘child of God.’

 

As hard as it is some days…my job is to keep the faith alive in my heart and never lose hope that God has a future of goodness and prosperity planned for me. I will be honest and tell you that I find myself struggling these days. I make 10 wrong choices for every 2 that are the right one… the ones that keeps me walking the perfect will God has planned for me. The one constant in my life that I know I get right is the reading of my Bible each night…and sitting each morning to write the insight he gives me each morning. Those prayers of honest repentance and requests for God to strengthen and help me to better keep me from falling and struggling more than I do.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that I still have much work to do if I am to be called one of your faithful.  Forgive me for allowing the world to weaken my faith…forgive me for letting whatever dark force hold me in a stall pattern of struggle. Help me to use the time I spend with you to renew my passion to serve you and help you to win as many souls to your kingdom as possible.  Put feet and fire to my prayers of repentance and renewal each morning. Let not the prayers I type be empty and routine…just to place words on a page…but allow them to manifest and give me strength to overcome the darkness that tries to hold me down.  Amen.

Guard You Heart With Humility

 

 

Ezekiel 27:1-3 - The word of the LORD came to me:  "Son of man, take up a lament concerning Tyre.  Say to Tyre, situated at the gateway to the sea, merchant of peoples on many coasts, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: " 'You say, O Tyre, "I am perfect in beauty."

 

God had more to say to the people of Tyre.  He wanted them to know that concentrating their focus on the beauty of their city…that bragging about their riches… that letting pride become an idol in their lives was not acceptable.  They thought they were important because of the success and beauty they had achieved.

 

It’s just one more reminder that God does not like pride…especially when it puffs us up and makes us think we are better than others….or what we have collected around us is more beautiful than anyone else’s stuff. Proverbs 16:18 says…pride goeth before a fall. 

 

James takes the problem of pride to another level and reminds us that we do not have a clue what the next hours of our lives hold. It says in James 4:13-16… “Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.

 

God wants our lives to be constantly guarded by humility…and a sense that he is in total control.  He wants us to always maintain a humble dependence on him. If we let pride sneak into our hearts…that humility is damaged….and like a virus in a computer it will eventually control or even shut down our relationship to God.

 

Father… thank you for the reminder that you are in control of my life and know what is best at every moment you allow me life on this earth.  Forgive me for the times that I let pride consume my heart and keep you from controlling my thoughts and actions.  Help me to build a sense of humility that will always guard my heart from attacks of pride.  Help me to live more in this present day and let you do the worrying about my future.  Amen.

Love Past Your Feelings Of Hate Or Pleasure

 

 

Ezekiel 26:15-16 - "This is what the Sovereign LORD says to Tyre: Will not the coastlands tremble at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan and the slaughter takes place in you? Then all the princes of the coast will step down from their thrones and lay aside their robes and take off their embroidered garments. Clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled at you.

 

God did not leave out the nation of Tyre when he handed down his judgment of the nations that lived around is people.  They were so pleased with the fall of Judah and the control of the land trade routes that they celebrated a bit too much for God. He poured out his wrath on these who coveted the land he meant for his people…and the city they lived in was completely destroyed…never to be rebuilt ….even to this day.

 

It is another reminder to me to never take pleasure in the downfall of others….even if we think they deserve it. We are never to find any pleasure in others pain….even if we have been hurt or wronged by them. Proverbs 24:17 says… “Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice.”

 

A piece of this story also reminds me that God uses great tragedy in our lives to awaken our need for him. The many rulers around this city realized that God was a force to never reckon with.  They took off their royal robes and mourned publicly for the loss of this place and the many lives that were lost. They felt the true fear of God as they sat with trembling hearts.

 

I understand both too well. Finding forgiveness in a divorce situation is not easy…but finding it powers your heart to love everyone around you more deeply.  Likewise, losing my second husband was not an easy thing ….but because I chose to cling to God…it has led me to a deeper relationship with him.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder to always pray for justice…but never to celebrate when we are honored to see it take place.  Forgive me for the times that I have gloated over justice…and forgotten to pray for the innocent that may have been hurt in the process. I thank you for the short time you allowed with my sweet Mitchell…and all he taught me about the true meaning of love.  Help me to always to be thankful …letting it be a reminder of who you are and that you control everything in my life.  Amen.

Always Use Words Of Love And Compassion

 

 

Ezekiel 25:6-7 -   For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet, rejoicing with all the malice of your heart against the land of Israel,  therefore I will stretch out my hand against you and give you as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the nations and exterminate you from the countries. I will destroy you, and you will know that I am the LORD.' "

 

God gave Ezekiel a word for the 7 nations that surrounded the nation of Israel. They too would suffer punishment because of the many things that they had done to scoff and berate God’s chosen people. The Ammonites….the Moabites…the Edomites…and the Phististines had all angered God to the point that he was going to put an end to the issue.

 

The list of sins against God included laughing at or taunting…scoffing or making fun of…finding pleasure in the wickedness around them…racial hatred and feeling joy when the Jews found hard times…or putting them down in any way. God’s punishment ranged from letting the Bedouins take over and capture some of the land…to complete destruction of some of the nations that had never believed in the one true God of the Israelites.

 

It is a vivid reminder to me of how important it is to never let these practices become a part of my own routines of dealing with others around me. Laughing at…taunting….finding joy when anyone is allowed to be brought low in any way…or putting someone down in anyway is not appropriate for someone who has embedded God’s love in their heart. My life should overflow with compassion and mercy…just like Jesus modeled for us during his 33 years on Earth.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder to keep my heart free of behaviors that berate others…whether they are believers or nonbelievers.  Forgive me for the times that I am guilty of some of the behaviors in Ezekiel’s list.  Help me to always search my heart for the compassion and mercy you would want me to use the next time I am tempted to be so callous and cold again. Help me find a way to love through the issues I find with those around me…and model for them your love.  Amen.

Let God Clean Your Pot

 

 

Ezekiel 24:11-13 - Then set the empty pot on the coals till it becomes hot and its copper glows so its impurities may be melted and its deposit burned away.  It has frustrated all efforts; its heavy deposit has not been removed, not even by fire.  " 'Now your impurity is lewdness. Because I tried to cleanse you but you would not be cleansed from your impurity, you will not be clean again until my wrath against you has subsided.

 

Ezekiel was given a parable for the King. He was to act out the parable as an object lesson. The best cuts of mutton were placed in a pot of boiling water.  They were cooked to tender then poured out on the rocks piece by piece. Then the bones were to be burned and the empty pot put back over the hottest coals to clean it….but the rust and impurities would not burn away.

 

It was a vivid picture of the lives of the people the king was in charge of.  God had given them the best of everything…and they had wasted it….used it for evil. God had tried to burn all the evil out from among them….but they were a stubborn…rebellious people….and refused to be changed.

 

It is a reminder to me that when times are tough…God is trying to reveal sin in our lives.  And he isn’t just talking about the obvious sins we already know we should not be involved in.  He is also talking about the hidden sins…the ones we don’t think are a problem. The more righteous we think we have become…the harder it is for God to show us the sin that might be affecting our relationship with him.

 

The people of Israel thought they were protected in the city God had placed them.  But the city became the pot that God used to try and burn the sin from their lives. We are not protected anywhere but wrapped up in God’s arms. And that requires a daily relationship with him that is two way.  It requires the serious study of the Bible he left us…and at least one talk with him in prayer every day.

 

I think of all the dirt that was on the cleaning pad of my Swiffer mop as I clean sometimes.  My bathroom floor was filthy….hairspray has a way of collecting on the vinyl floor and catching everything. I could see the dirt before I mopped.  But the kitchen floor looked clean…I saw no obvious dirt.  But the brand new pad I attached pulled up quite a bit of dark grit that my eyes could not see against the vinyl.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder to keep searching for hidden sins in my life….even though I think I have removed all the ones that keep me from having the deepest relationship I can with you.  Forgive me for letting Bible study become routine…and prayer become short and surface.  Instill in me this morning a new passion to clean the hidden sin from my life so you can use me more effectively to love others. Amen.

The Dangers Of Being Double Minded

 

 

Ezekiel 23:38-39 -  They have also done this to me: At that same time they defiled my sanctuary and desecrated my Sabbaths. On the very day they sacrificed their children to their idols, they entered my sanctuary and desecrated it. That is what they did in my house.

 

Ezekiel was given a message for the northern and southern kingdoms. He likened them to prostitute sisters who gave themselves away to the nations around them.  They forgot the promise the made to God….and worshiped the idols of any nation they pleased. God had had enough of the two-faced hearts of his choose people….and he told them so in very harsh words.

 

It is inconceivable to me that a parent would believe it was ever okay to sacrifice a child to any god….but they had gotten to that point. And if that was not enough sin…they would go straight to God’s Holy Temple and offer a sacrifice to him too. They believed that they were covering all their bases…just in case one of those gods’ might help them out.

 

They forgot that God is a jealous god and would not allow them to play both sides of the fence.  He required all of their love…and would not share them with anyone.  He said the practice of loving more than one god was just as bad as prostituting themselves to other men when they were promised in marriage to another.

 

It is a reminder to me to be very careful to repent of any sin he exposes in my life before I go to worship him.  I can’t do what I want all week and expect God to look the other way when I go to worship him on Sundays. He let James 4:4 record these words….”You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”  That is pretty clear to me.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that all of my heart must belong to you.  Forgive me for the times that I have let the world seep into my week then expect you to pick up the mess I have caused because I took my eyes off of you for a time.  Help me to stay focused on you …. so the world looks less attractive to my human heart. Help me wake each day with a new resolve to follow you more closely that the day before.  Amen.

Pray For The Leaders Of The World

 

 

Ezekiel 22:6-9 - " 'See how each of the princes of Israel who are in you uses his power to shed blood.  In you they have treated father and mother with contempt; in you they have oppressed the alien and mistreated the fatherless and the widow.  You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths.  In you are slanderous men bent on shedding blood; in you are those who eat at the mountain shrines and commit lewd acts.

 

Ezekiel was given a long list of sins that were found among the nation’s people. The list started with the leaders who had misused their power and continued through the entire population of Israelites who had committed many different acts that dishonored the God they promised to worship and love forever. Not one person was found as an example of love and righteousness.  Not one person could God find that had not sinned against him in some way.

 

There was a note in my Life Application Bible that concentrated my thoughts on the need to uplift everyone in prayer around me…especially those that God has allowed to be in leadership positions. I was immediately convicted of my lack of prayers for the great country I am privileged to live in. We are told in James 3 that those called to be leaders are judged more harshly.

 

America can only be as strong as the prayers of its people….and those prayers should start with me. Elections around the nation just decided the leaders of the next few years…I should be actively praying for each one…whether it was my personal choice or not. I should be asking God to bless them and give them wisdom and a heart that will seek to do God’s will in all the matters they must decide.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that my prayers should include a time of intercession for the leaders you have allowed to serve in so many positions around my town and state and country. Forgive me for being so complacent about the needs of these people you have allowed to have such power. Instill in me this morning a need to spend time in fervent prayer for the leaders in my world…that they would have a heart like yours…and always choose the ways that honor your commands.  Amen.