Words of Encouragement

What must it have been like to have meet Jesus walking along the shores and him calling you to follow him? We may not know the actual feeling the disciples had, but we do know that when he calls us from our places of comfort, we must be willing to stand up and follow him(picture taken by James S. Williams).





He said to me, "Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you." As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. He said: "Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says.' And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house. You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you." - Ezekiel 2:1-8



Ezekiel. Called for a Purpose. We read this week the words that Ezekiel was called to speak to the rebellious people of his time. They were probably not received well by the people of his time just as they would not be appreciated in our time.



However, in today's scripture we see the mandate that is given to Ezekiel from God on what his purpose is to be. God tells Ezekiel to stand up and when he does God tells him I am sending you to my people, my people that are stubborn, and rebellious. They refuse to heed my commands, yet this is who I am sending you to.



I am sending you to this rebellious people to tell them my truth. He is told do not be afraid to speak my truth even if you are not believed. Tell my truth because it is only my truth that will set the people free from the sins of their disobedience. Tell them my truth and not simply what they want to hear.



God's final command to Ezekiel is listen, I know I am sending you to a rebellious people, but you cannot be rebellious like them. Why do you think God told Ezekiel this?



He was warning Ezekiel not to move off of what he had to do. If he, Ezekiel refused to tell the truth, he was in fact becoming as the rebellious people and running from what God was telling him to do. Now there is a time when God says speak and you must speak. There is also a time when God says be quiet and stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. Whatever the time is and whatever the command is, we must do it.



This call to Ezekiel is not just a call to Ezekiel, but to those that God has called to speak his truth. Yes it is for the pastors, minister, prophets, etc. but it is also the truth for all believers. If God assigns you to talk to someone and you refuse because they are rebellious or stubborn, you are becoming just as they, stubborn and resistant against God's will.



We do not always understand the will or the ways of God, but we are called to trust him. I know it does not feel good to tell individuals what God gives you and then they do not believe you or think wrongly about you. Yet we must take courage in knowing that God has tested our hearts and he knows the truth about us, even if no one else does.



Today, I pray that we take courage and comfort in doing well for the Lord. Let us not get weary for doing what we are commanded to do. Let us continue to trust God even in the midst of the difficult situations. When you go to worship this week, go with praise upon your lips for God's great mercy unto you.

Words of Encouragement

The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its food supply and send famine upon it and kill its men and their animals, even if these three men—Noah, Daniel and Job—were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign LORD. "Or if I send wild beasts through that country and they leave it childless and it becomes desolate so that no one can pass through it because of the beasts, as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved, but the land would be desolate. "Or if I bring a sword against that country and say, 'Let the sword pass throughout the land,' and I kill its men and their animals, as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved. "Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out my wrath upon it through bloodshed, killing its men and their animals, as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they could save neither son nor daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness. - Ezekiel 14:12-20

Ezekiel. Judgment Inescapable. God speaks to Ezekiel about the condition of a country. He says if that country sins and he cuts off the supply of food in that country and the people begin to die and Noah, Daniel and Job were there, they would be the only three that would survive.

Not only that, but they could not save anyone else other than themselves. They could not save their children or families, but they alone would be saved. He says if he left the country childless because a wild animal came through and desolated the land, these three would still be the only three standing.

When you read this scripture it sounds almost depressing! Yet, let us look a little deeper into its verses. This country could also represent our churches, our homes our communities. If all that are in these places are not obedient to the will of God, he will judge as he sees fit. The message for us today is this, God's judgement is inescapable. If God were to remove the "food" from the land, we would die. That food is his presences, his Spirit. If His Spirit does not dwell with us because of our disobedience, we will be as the land filled with famine and dying. Yet, you can take encouragement even in this midst.

The encouragement is this, God is going to save those that are obedient to him. He will save those that speak his truth and have his vision (Daniel), those that are faithful through the trials (Job) and those that are preparing a refuge for the faithful (Noah). He will not let his faithful die in the famine, because he will not remove His Spirit from them.

He will not allow his faithful to go "childless" when the wild beast (the deceiver) tries to come through and destroy. Yet, you might say, but the scripture said they cannot save their own children, so how will they not be childless? What the word is telling us is this, every man stands accountable to God. My children cannot trust in my relationship with God to save them. They must have one for themselves. If the faithful own children do not obey the will of God, he will allow you to "graft" in others that will become your spiritual children. That is what he said about the people of Israel. If they being the chosen people, branch refuse to obey then God would graft in a new branch (the Gentiles) and make them his people.

So in the midst of the land that is disobeying God, I can still have hope that someone will listen, someone will be faithful and someone will continue to make refuge for God's people that do not bow down to Baal. When the sword comes to destroy or to cut through the flesh, the faithful will not be destroyed. The word of God is a doubled-edged sword cutting through the lies and falsehoods of our lives. When you are a faithful one of God His word does not harm, but it builds up. For the unfaithful it becomes a judgment to them, because they have not obeyed it.

The plagues, of the land will not destroy the faithful because God will keep them. The disease of sin will not overtake the faithful because they have trusted in the cure for all that would destroy. God's faithful will be able to stand in that time of judgment. I'm not talking only about the judgment that comes in eternity. God still judges even right now! He does it not to destroy as we said on Monday, but to draw people to himself.

Today my prayer is this, Lord we know that your judgment is inescapable. You start first at those that call themselves the children of God and at the house of God. Lord thank you that you will provide a way of escape for those that trust you.

Words of Encouragement

People look for answers in many places. Some look to reading about their "signs". Some look to readers, fortune tellers. Some look to others that will tell them what they want to hear. Yet, we must do as Joshua did and say, as for me and my house we will serve the Lord. And when we do, we must look to the "Hills, from whence cometh our help". Our Help comes from the Lord.



"Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices! " 'When any Israelite or any alien living in Israel separates himself from me and sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet to inquire of me, I the LORD will answer him myself. I will set my face against that man and make him an example and a byword. I will cut him off from my people. Then you will know that I am the LORD. " 'And if the prophet is enticed to utter a prophecy, I the LORD have enticed that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him from among my people Israel. They will bear their guilt—the prophet will be as guilty as the one who consults him. Then the people of Israel will no longer stray from me, nor will they defile themselves anymore with all their sins. They will be my people, and I will be their God, declares the Sovereign LORD.' " - Ezekiel 14:6-11

Ezekiel. Whose Answer will you Believe? God's answer to the people regarding their sinful condition is a simple one, repent. Turn from all the things you are doing that are against the holy God. God's answer through the prophet is if anyone has the nerves to come to seek something from me (other than forgiveness) in their sinful condition, I will answer them myself.

What will his answer be? The answer is I will punish the wicked for their wickedness. I will do this to turn them back to me. And then the answer goes on to warn do not come to a prophet seeking something that will sooth you and make you feel comfortable in your sin. Do not look for "Cotton Candy" messages to help the taste of your sin to feel good in your mouth. If a prophet is tempted to tell you lies to make you feel better, they too will have to deal with the punishment for disobedience.

What does this have to do with us today? Things are very similar today as in times of old, and that is because people are still people. Some people go to church but only to have that form of godliness so they feel better about what they are doing. They do not come seeking messages that call them to change, grow or examine their lives, deeds and thoughts.

Instead, they are looking for messages that simply feel good, that is why I call those messages "Cotton Candy". You cannot grow on cotton candy. It may taste good, but don't depend on that to make you strong. God's message is also to those that preach the word of God. He is not sending messages from his word just to make people feel good about where they are. His messages are to encourage us to live right and know that he has provisions for us to do so.

The question then for us today is the same one then, whose message will you believe? Will you believe the messages that tell you God is just happy and pleased with you no matter where you are and what you are doing? Or will you believe the message that God wants a holy people, set aside for him and his good works? I encourage us today to listen to God's message of come and receive of me so that you can become all I have ordained you to be.

I pray for us today that we would seek God's answer to what our lives should be about. Give us ears to hear.

Words of Encouragement

When we turn our hearts away from God toward other things that would take his place, we put ourselves on a slippery slide and the only way is down! Have you ever tried to climb up a slide when it's wet. It's really difficult to do. That's our lives. When we try to climb back up the slipper slides we have gone down, it is impossible without the help of God, who comes and makes the way straight.

Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me. Then the word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all? Therefore speak to them and tell them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: When any Israelite sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet, I the LORD will answer him myself in keeping with his great idolatry. I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols. - Ezekiel 14:1-5

Ezekiel. What shall I tell you? Some of the elders of Ezekiel's time came to him to inquire about the things of God. The strange thing is, God's assessment of these elders is that they are not obedient to him. So then why would they seek a prophet about the things of God, when they do not obey the things of God?

When these elders come to Ezekiel what is the response that he is instructed to give them? God tells the prophet to tell them because they have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces when they come to a prophet, God will answer himself. When God answers, he is doing it to recapture the hearts of the people.

What does this really mean to you and I? It is clear that it God knows the heart of man and that is what determines how he will answer our seeking. We may go to church looking to be made to "feel" better, but if our hearts are set or determined not to obey God, he says he has an answer for us. He does not answer you so that you will feel better, but his answer to you is to recapture your heart and turn you back to him.

What can I say to you? Must have been the thought on Ezekiel's mind when addressing these people. Yet there is nothing he can say other than, repent and turn to God for this is his will for you.

This week as we look at Ezekiel, may we see God's words speaking to us clearly. Today Lord if there be anything that I have allowed to creep into my heart that causes me to set up idolatry there, remove it. If I have turned in such a way that has allowed that which is in front of me to be a stumbling block, help me to remove it. Help me to turn back to you so that I can come and hear clearly from you the words of Life. Speak to my heart!