Boast... In the Lord!

"Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you." -- Ezekiel 28:17

God is good. He has chosen to bless each one of us with personal qualities and abilities. The temptation arises when we become more focused on ourselves than our Lord. When we are more enamored with the creation than the Creator we are in serious trouble.

The King of Tyre forgot the source of all beauty and wisdom, seeing himself as a god. His pride blinded him to the grace and glory of God. Humility gave way to arrogance and he learned that "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble". (1 Peter 5:5)

Be wise my friend and pray for a grateful heart that always and only boasts in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:31) The word of wisdom from Solomon is, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.", and then "It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud." (Proverbs 16:18, 19) So, give thanks to the Lord for His many blessings and glorify Him in all things.

Materialism

"Javan, Tubal, and Meshech traded with you; they exchanged human beings and vessels of bronze for your merchandise." -- Ezekiel 27:13

In a world of materialism and greed the souls of men become nothing more than a commodity. This list of materials traded for merchandise includes a wide variety, but that which is of highest value is human beings. Yet, they are listed as no greater worth than vessels of bronze. Materialism blinds the eye to human significance.

In your pursuit of monetary gain, do you consider those who may be hurt along the way my friend? While we may not trade in human beings, we can certainly abuse and misuse others in the pursuit of selfish gain. Pray for a heart that does nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility counts others more significant than yourself. Look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3-4)

God cares

"For thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced with all the malice within your soul against the land of Israel, therefore, behold, I have stretched out my hand against you, and will hand you over as plunder to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and will make you perish out of the countries; I will destroy you. Then you will know that I am the LORD." -- Ezekiel 25:6-7

Even in times of rebuke and chastening God cares for His people Israel. The prophets speak of a day when Messiah Jesus will sit on David's throne and reign. Israel will have a new heart and worship in Jerusalem for a thousand years. God is not finished with His people.
With the above future in mind, the Lord will not tolerate other nations abusing and mistreating Israel, the apple of His eye. This whole chapter reinforces the loving and protective care He has for His people. We would be wise to love Israel too and pray for the peace of Jerusalem. 

In addition my friend, may we find assurance in these passages concerning Gods faithfulness to all His redeemed? He, who began a good work in you, will most certainly bring it to completion. (Philippians 1:6)

Will you?

"So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did as I was commanded." -- Ezekiel 24:18

Has the Lord asked too much of you lately? Are the sacrifices far too great to bear? Is serving Jesus a far greater challenge than you expected? Well, take a moment and meet Ezekiel. We find a faithful prophet who willingly obeyed in the darkest hour. 

The Lord won't always ask us to make such a demanding effort in our service, but the question is... will we? Are you ready to suffer tremendous loss for the sake of Christ and press on with all diligence? Is the glory and grand purpose of your Savior of greater importance than your own grief?

The words of the Lord are timeless my friend... "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:26-27)  Ezekiel lived them before they were spoken, will you?

Spirit and truth

"Moreover, this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary on the same day and profaned my Sabbaths. For when they had slaughtered their children in sacrifice to their idols, on the same day they came into my sanctuary to profane it. And behold, this is what they did in my house." -- Ezekiel 23:38-39

How far will hypocrisy take someone? Will anyone really participate in idolatry on the very same day they come to worship at church? Is it possible to carry on in gross sin during the early hours and then appear before the Lord as if all is spiritually well? Great displeasure and wrath was poured out because such was the case for Israel.

Strong and harsh were the words of this passage, but they came from a deeply offended God. And for our thought, are such things possible for us today? We may not slaughter our children before Sunday worship service, but do we sacrifice them and ourselves to other forms of idolatry? How caught into the world of materialism are we? Does the pursuit of pleasure take first place in our lives? Are our hearts right with the Lord and others in our lives? Or do we attend church as an obligation to sooth the conscience, so we can live any way we want the rest of the week?  

Don't be too self-righteous my friend. Worship is a serious matter and the Lord looks for those who will worship Him in  "spirit and truth" (John 4:24) As you come to worship this morning, prepare your heart and be sure that your walking in the Spirit before you attend and then enter the week planning to worship the Lord with all your heart every day.

Standing in the breach

"And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none." -- Ezekiel 22:30

Moses pleaded for Israel to the point of offering his own life for theirs. Paul prayed the very same way for the lost people of his nation. Such was the kind of man that God sought at the time of Ezekiel's writing, but He found none. Sadder words are not found among the servants of God.

As we look across our nation on this weekend of Independence Day, will the Lord find someone who will build up the wall and stand in the breach before Him for the land? The only hope for the future of this nation is the same as in the above passage. Will someone stand in the breach?

The question comes home to you and me my friend. Will we be counted as prayer warriors for God in this crucial hour? Will we be willing to lay down all that we are to seek the face of God for our nation? When the Lord seeks such men and women, will He find us faithful in prayer?

Change is coming...

"thus says the Lord God: Remove the turban and take off the crown. Things shall not remain as they are. Exalt that which is low, and bring low that which is exalted." -- Ezekiel 21:26

Life goes on as if it will always remain the same. But then, the inevitable comes to pass... change. In the case of Israel this change was to be a serious time of divine judgment. As the Lord said, "Things shall not remain as they are."

When we live in rebellion toward God and disobey His commands from day to day, will life continue unchanged? How long will God remain silent and apparently unmoved? The day is coming when the first shall be last and the last shall be first. The day is coming when He will come, "to whom judgment belongs, and I will give it to him." 

Are ready for change my friend?  "Things shall not remain as they are" so live for two days... today and that day!