relationships (Ezekiel 25:1-17) Who or What Drives Our Decisions?

(Ezekiel 25:1-17)

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face against the sons of Ammon and prophesy against them, 3 and say to the sons of Ammon, ‘Hear the word of the Lord God! This is what the Lord God says: “Because you said, ‘Aha!’ against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into exile, 4 therefore, behold, I am going to give you to the people of the east as a possession, and they will set up their encampments among you and make their dwellings among you; they will eat your fruit and drink your milk. 5 I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels, and the sons of Ammon a resting place for flocks. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” 6 For this is what the Lord God says: “Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet, and have rejoiced with all the malice in your soul against the land of Israel, 7 therefore, behold, I have reached out with My hand against you and I will give you as plunder to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and eliminate you from the lands. I will exterminate you. So you will know that I am the Lord.”

8 ‘The Lord God says this: “Because Moab and Seir say, ‘Behold, the house of Judah is like all the nations,’ 9 therefore, behold, I am going to deprive the flank of Moab of its cities, of its cities which are on its frontiers, the glory of the land, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim; 10 and I will give it as a possession along with the sons of Ammon to the people of the east, so that the sons of Ammon will not be remembered among the nations. 11 So I will execute judgments on Moab, and they will know that I am the Lord.”

12 ‘The Lord God says this: “Because Edom has acted against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has incurred great guilt, and avenged themselves upon them,” 13 therefore this is what the Lord God says: “I will also reach out with My hand against Edom and eliminate human and animal life from it. And I will turn it into ruins; from Teman even to Dedan they will fall by the sword. 14 And I will inflict My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel. Therefore, they will act in Edom in accordance with My anger and My wrath; so they will know My vengeance,” declares the Lord God.

15 ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Because the Philistines have acted in revenge, and have taken vengeance with malice in their souls to destroy with everlasting hostility,” 16 therefore this is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to reach out with My hand against the Philistines and eliminate the Cherethites; and I will destroy the remnant of the seacoast. 17 I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes; and they will know that I am the Lord, when I inflict My vengeance on them.”’”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

God has given us a free will, and because mankind chose to bring sin into the world, there is death, evil and suffering.  Even though people commit crimes with selfish and evil intentions, God can and does use these for good.  Nothing happens without His knowledge or permission.  And one day He will bring about perfect justice.  Even though it often seems like the wicked get away with their crimes, we have to know and be confident in the fact that the Lord is sovereign, just and fair.  

And while all of this is going on around us, or even while things are happening to us, in a personal relationship with the Lord, we can find healing and refuge in Him.  Because Christianity is all about a personal relationship, the Lord wants us to be in communication with Him daily - all of the time - for everything!  Because He loves us so deeply, He speaks to us clearly in His word, to save us, guide us, strengthen and equip us.  And because He cares about us in every detail of our lives, He wants us to communicate back to Him in prayer - all of the time - for everything!  This is why He has given all of His children His indwelling Holy Spirit!  He cannot get any closer!  He is already right here for us.  

The question always is, how close are we to God, spiritually?  Where is our heart, and where is our will?  The crazy world will simply shrug and say "oh well, the heart wants what the heart wants", but this is just an excuse to continue going down the wrong path.  It's far to easy to get sidetracked when we let our emotions make all of our decisions.  But we can use our will to steer our hearts back to the Lord.  

Just like in a marriage, love is a decision of commitment and an act of the will, and the two become one flesh!  When we become believers, we receive the Holy Spirit of promise, and enter into an eternal relationship with the Lord!  For all that the Lord has done for us, is doing for us, and will do for us, let us never forget our first love!  As we put God first in our lives, what is first in our hearts will become evident in our actions, and then in our experiences and feelings will follow.  It is the Lord and our godly love that should drive all of our decisions...

(1 John 4:7-19) Beloved, let’s love one another; for love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 By this the love of God was revealed in us, that God has sent His only Son into the world so that we may live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we remain in Him and He in us, because He has given to us of His Spirit. 14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God. 16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. 17 By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, we also are in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 19 We love, because He first loved us.

relationships (Ezekiel 24:1-27) Not Going It Alone

(Ezekiel 24:1-27)

Now the word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, saying, 2 “Son of man, write the name of the day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. 3 Present a parable to the rebellious house and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says:

     “Put on the pot, put it on and also pour water into it;
4   Put in it the pieces of meat,
     Every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder;
     Fill it with choice bones.
5   Take the choicest of the flock,
     And also stack wood under the pot.
     Make it boil vigorously.
     Also boil its bones in it.”

6   ‘Therefore, this is what the Lord God says:

     “Woe to the bloody city,
     To the pot in which there is rust 
     And whose rust has not gone out of it!
     Take out of it piece after piece,
     Without making a choice.
7   For her blood is in her midst;
     She placed it on the bare rock;
     She did not pour it on the ground 
     To cover it with dust.
8   So that it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance,
     I have put her blood on the bare rock,
     So that it will not be covered.”

9   Therefore, this is what the Lord God says:

     “Woe to the bloody city!
     I also will make the wood pile great.
10 Heap on the wood, kindle the fire,
     Cook the meat thoroughly 
     And mix in the spices,
     And let the bones be burned up.
11 Then set it empty on its burning coals 
     So that it may be hot 
     And its bronze may glow,
     And its filthiness may be melted in it,
     Its rust eliminated.
12 She has wearied Me with work,
     Yet her great rust has not gone from her;
     Let her rust be in the fire!
13 In your filthiness is outrageous sin.
     Because I would have cleansed you,
     Yet you are not clean,
     You will not be cleansed from your filthiness again 
     Until I have expended My wrath on you.

14 I, the Lord, have spoken; it is coming and I will act. I will not overlook, I will not pity, and I will not be sorry; according to your ways and according to your deeds I will judge you,” declares the Lord God.’”

15 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 16 “Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you what is precious to your eyes with a fatal blow; but you shall not mourn and you shall not weep, and your tears shall not come. 17 Groan silently; do no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban and put your sandals on your feet, and do not cover your mustache, and do not eat the bread of other people.” 18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And in the morning I did as I was commanded. 19 And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are doing?” 20 Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 21 ‘Speak to the house of Israel, “This is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride of your power, that which is precious in your eyes and the longing of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword. 22 And you will do just as I have done; you will not cover your mustache, and you will not eat the bread of other people. 23 Your turbans will be on your heads, and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn and you will not weep; but you will rot away in your guilty deeds, and you will groan to one another. 24 So Ezekiel will be a sign to you; according to all that he has done, you will do. When it comes, then you will know that I am the Lord God.’”

25 ‘As for you, son of man, will it not be on the day when I take from them their stronghold, the joy of their splendor, that which is precious in their eyes and their heart’s longing, their sons and their daughters, 26 that on that day the one who escapes will come to you with information for your ears? 27 On that day your mouth will be opened to him who escaped, and you will speak and no longer be silenced. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.’”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

How God is going to judge us - is up to each individual!  The Lord is more than fair.  All unbelievers will be judged according to their sins.  And not only will He judge everyone fairly, but He gives everyone fair warning and fair opportunity to turn away from sin and turn to Him for His salvation.  

Those who are born again into God's family are clothed in Jesus' righteousness, therefore the Lord will judge and reward us according to our good deeds done with right motives.  So then as Christians, because it is all about having a personal relationship with the Lord, the way to do this is to go to Him for everything, always.  

As verse 13 lets us know, the Lord desires to purify us of our sins, but it is up to us.  Because of His great love, He will not force anyone to love Him back.  And even once we are in a personal relationship, He will not force anyone to be obedient, because it is all up to us.  So then, in our walk with the Lord, He desires that we ask Him for opportunities to serve, and to equip us with His love, strength and wisdom... not to do these things all on our own, but to do all things together, all to His glory!

relationships (Ezekiel 23:1-49) To Remain Estranged or Not

(Ezekiel 23:1-49)

The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, 2 “Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother; 3 and they prostituted themselves in Egypt. They prostituted themselves in their youth; there their breasts were squeezed and there their virgin breasts were handled. 4 Their names were Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister. And they became Mine, and they gave birth to sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah and Jerusalem is Oholibah.

5 “Oholah prostituted herself while she was Mine; and she lusted after her lovers, after the Assyrians, her neighbors, 6 who were clothed in purple, governors and officials, all of them handsome young men, horsemen riding on horses. 7 She bestowed her obscene practices on them, all of whom were the choicest men of Assyria; and with all whom she lusted after, with all their idols she defiled herself. 8 She did not abandon her obscene practices from the time in Egypt; for in her youth men had slept with her, and they handled her virgin breasts and poured out their obscene practice on her. 9 Therefore, I handed her over to her lovers, to the Assyrians, after whom she lusted. 10 They uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters, but they killed her with the sword. So she became a subject of gossip among women, and they executed judgments on her.

11 “Now her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was more corrupt in her lust than she, and her obscene practices were more than the prostitution of her sister. 12 She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and officials, the ones near, opulently dressed, horsemen riding on horses, all of them handsome young men. 13 And I saw that she had defiled herself; they both took the same way. 14 So she increased her obscene practices. And she saw men carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans drawn in bright red, 15 wearing belts around their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, like the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth. 16 And when she saw them she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 17 And the Babylonians came to her to the bed of love and defiled her with their obscene practice. And when she had been defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust. 18 She exposed her obscene practices and exposed her nakedness; then I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister in disgust. 19 Yet she multiplied her obscene practices, remembering the days of her youth, when she prostituted herself in the land of Egypt. 20 She lusted after their lovers, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys and whose discharge is like the discharge of horses. 21 So you longed for the outrageous sin of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your breasts because of the breasts of your youth.

22 “Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold I am going to incite your lovers against you, from whom you turned away in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side: 23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them; handsome young men, governors and officials all of them, officers and men of renown, all of them riding on horses. 24 And they will come against you with weapons, chariots, and wagons, and with a contingent of peoples. They will attack you on every side with shield, buckler, and helmet; and I will commit the judgment to them, and they will judge you according to their customs. 25 I will set My jealousy against you, so that they may deal with you in wrath. They will remove your nose and your ears; and your survivors will fall by the sword. They will take your sons and your daughters; and your survivors will be consumed by the fire. 26 They will also strip you of your clothes and take away your beautiful jewelry. 27 So I will remove from you your outrageous sin and your prostitution that you brought from the land of Egypt, so that you will not raise your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.’ 28 For this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am going to hand you over to those whom you hate, to those from whom you turned away in disgust. 29 They will deal with you in hatred, take all your property, and leave you naked and bare. And the nakedness of your prostitution will be exposed, both your outrageous sin and your obscene practices. 30 These things will be done to you because you have adulterously pursued the nations, because you have defiled yourself with their idols. 31 You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will put her cup in your hand.’ 32 This is what the Lord God says:

     ‘You will drink your sister’s cup,
     Which is deep and wide.
     You will be laughed at and held in derision;
     Because it contains much.
33 You will be filled with drunkenness and grief,
     A cup of horror and desolation,
     The cup of your sister Samaria.
34 And you will drink it and drain it.
     Then you will gnaw on its fragments 
     And tear your breasts;

for I have spoken,’ declares the Lord God. 

35 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because you have forgotten Me and discarded Me behind your back, suffer on your own part the punishment for your outrageous sin and your obscene practices.’”

36 Moreover, the Lord said to me, “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations. 37 For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. So they have committed adultery with their idols, and even made their sons, whom they bore to Me, pass through the fire to them as food. 38 Again, they have done this to Me: they have defiled My sanctuary on the same day, and have profaned My Sabbaths. 39 For when they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My sanctuary on the same day to profane it; and behold, this is what they did within My house.

40 “Furthermore, they have even sent for men who come from a great distance, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came—for whom you bathed, put makeup on your eyes, and adorned yourselves with jewelry; 41 and you sat on a splendid couch with a table arranged in front of it on which you had set My incense and My oil. 42 And the sound of a carefree multitude was with her; and heavy drinkers were brought from the wilderness with people from the multitude of humanity. And they put bracelets on the wrists of the women and beautiful crowns on their heads.

43 “Then I said concerning her who was worn out by adulteries, ‘Will they now commit adultery with her when she is like this?’ 44 But they went in to her as they would go in to a prostitute. This is how they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, the lewd women. 45 But they, righteous people, will judge them with the judgment of adulteresses and with the judgment of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.

46 “For this is what the Lord God says: ‘Bring up a contingent against them and turn them over to terror and plunder. 47 The contingent will stone them with stones and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and their daughters and burn their houses with fire. 48 So I will eliminate outrageous conduct from the land, so that all women will take warning and not commit outrageous sin as you have done. 49 Your outrageous conduct will be repaid to you, and you will bear the guilt for your idols; so you will know that I am the Lord God.’”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

I remember my struggles back in middle school after drifting away from the Lord.  I had made friends with the wrong girls, thinking that they would be "good" friends.  Well, they turned on me... several times, because for whatever reason I thought they were worth my compromises and concessions.  But months later, spending a week with a group of Christian kids started to expose my erroneous thinking.  

Before firmly making the decision to change the direction of my life, I went through a time of depression.  It was a time of "mourning", really... feeling disgusted with guilt and feeling a sense of loss.  I hadn't lost my salvation, because that isn't possible, but I had created the estrangement between me and the Lord.  I had tried to shut Him out, and His silence was "loud".

Since God doesn't force anyone to love Him back, and doesn't even force a believer to live in obedience, God allowed me to go through those struggles in order for me to realize the need and desire to change.  I needed to see that life on the other side of the fence is NOT greener.  It is anything but!  And I hadn't even done things that were all "that bad" - but that doesn't even matter - my heart had not been seeking after the Lord!

It doesn't matter how much sin one has committed, or for how long one has avoided God, the Lord desires that all come to know Him and have a close relationship with Him.  It is only the Lord who can satisfy us.  Only He can "complete" us and give us true contentment, peace, joy and purpose in life.

relationships (Ezekiel 22:1-31) Picking a Direction

(Ezekiel 22:1-31)

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then inform her of all her abominations. 3 And you shall say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “A city shedding blood in her midst, so that her time is coming; and a city that makes idols, contrary to her own good, for defilement! 4 You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and you have become defiled by your idols which you have made. So you have brought your days closer and have come to your years; therefore I have made you a disgrace to the nations, and an object of mocking to all the lands. 5 Those who are near and those who are far from you will make fun of you, you of ill repute, full of turmoil.

6 “Behold, the rulers of Israel, each according to his power, have been among you for the purpose of shedding blood. 7 They have treated father and mother with contempt among you. They have oppressed the stranger in your midst; they have oppressed the orphan and the widow among you. 8 You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths. 9 Slanderous men have been among you for the purpose of shedding blood, and among you they have eaten at the mountain shrines. In your midst they have committed outrageous sin. 10 Among you they have uncovered their fathers’ nakedness; among you they have abused her who was unclean in her menstruation. 11 And one has committed abomination with his neighbor’s wife, another has outrageously defiled his daughter-in-law, and another among you has sexually abused his sister, his father’s daughter. 12 Among you they have taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken interest, you have injured your neighbors by oppression, and you have forgotten Me,” declares the Lord God.

13 “Behold, then, I strike with My hand your profit which you have made and the bloodshed which is among you. 14 Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong for the days that I will deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken and will act. 15 And I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you among the lands, and I will eliminate your uncleanness from you. 16 Then you will defile yourself in the sight of the nations, and you will know that I am the Lord.”’”

17 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become waste metal to Me; all of them are bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the smelting furnace; they are the waste metal of silver. 19 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because all of you have become waste metal, therefore, behold, I am going to gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20 As they gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the smelting furnace to blow fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in My anger and in My wrath, and I will place you there and melt you. 21 And I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted in the midst of it. 22 As silver is melted in the furnace, so you will be melted in the midst of it; and you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out My wrath on you.’”

23 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 24 “Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is not clean or rained on in the day of indignation.’ 25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her. 26 Her priests have done violence to My Law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the common, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have closed their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am defiled among them. 27 Her leaders within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to make dishonest profit. 28 And her prophets have coated with whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ when the Lord has not spoken. 29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery, and they have oppressed the poor and needy, and have oppressed the stranger without justice. 30 I searched for a man among them who would build up a wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. 31 So I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; I have brought their way upon their heads,” declares the Lord God.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Going through the fire to be smelted could be seen as an allegory of someone going through tests, trials and tribulations.  These things are either a way for God to get someone's attention, or a way to shape and mold believers in order to grow stronger in their faith.  But when we pass away and leave this earth, everyone will go through the fire (the judgment of the Lord).  

Those who are protected by God's righteousness and grace will survive the fire and enter heaven, because all of our sins have been forgiven and God has chosen not to remember them.  It is not up to any of us to judge what is right or wrong, or judge who goes where... God alone is the judge.  This is why, at the beginning of this passage, God told Ezekiel to give the people His word!  We need to always be going to God's word for our guidance.  Without His guidance, we are all lost!

If a person believes in their own way or another way, this is their choice and their direction.  Anything that disagrees with or opposes God's word - is not His will - and it moves that person in the opposite direction.  It is evident from the passage above that this direction is prideful, selfish and self-serving.  

If one decides to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, having a personal relationship with Him, we will choose His way, and desire to do His will.  Not only are we to strive to be like Christ, which is to selflessly love and serve Him, but we are to do all these things in His love, strength and guidance, and all to His glory.  This is the only way that leads to the Lord and His home, which is called heaven.