Worship and Atonement

Ezekiel 45:19-20 
19 The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the gateposts of the gate of the inner court. 20 And so you shall do on the seventh day of the month for everyone who has sinned unintentionally or in ignorance. Thus you shall make atonement for the temple.

Just as God passed over His people before freeing them from bondage in Egypt, so here He told the priest to mark the blood to pass over unintentional or unknowing sin.  The entrance to the temple, the altar for atoning for sin, and the gate to the inner court nearer to God's presence - these all were so marked.  So we are forgiven in Christ by His blood when we sin, as we draw near in worship or seeking forgiveness.  His blood covers sufficiently. 

Difference Between Holy and Unholy

Ezekiel 44:4, 23  
4 Also He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple; so I looked, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord; and I fell on my face.   23 And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

Revelation 4:10-11   10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:  11 “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”

God's glory seen in Him and His presence should drop us to our knees... And so must we take seriously the command to be holy as He is.  In the end we will bow before Him who only is worthy of all glory, honoring and acknowledging His power, His creation, and no other.   This is discerning the difference between the holy and unholy.  

Perfection's Glue

Colossians 3:14-16  
14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Love is essential to walking with Christ.  We must allow peace to rule our hearts as we know we are forgiven forever, and are putting to death our fleshly sins' desires.  All this comes from yielding to His word, giving it permission in a sense to fill our lives.  Love without truth is impossible in a godly sense; peace based on lies repeated to ourselves is no better.  Ah, but truth filling us allows solid peace with God and others so that we can truly love with no demand for anything in return.

Colossians 3:17  And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. 

The Throne Where God Dwells

Ezekiel 43:7, 12  
7 And He said to me, "Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. No more shall the house of Israel defile My holy name, they nor their kings, by their harlotry or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places.   12 This is the law of the temple: The whole area surrounding the mountaintop is most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple." 

God's temple for us now is our bodies; just as the building is where He put His throne to rule from and demanded that the temple is not defiled by sin, so we are to even more protect the holiness of our temples.  As it is written here, the whole area around the temple is to be holy, set aside to be used only as God says and so for His honor and glory.  And so our lives must be kept clean with what we surround ourselves with.  1 Peter 1:16 "because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” 

God's Glory in His Presence

Ezekiel 43:2-5 
2 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory.   4 And the glory of the Lord came into the temple by way of the gate which faces toward the east. 5 The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

God's glory is seen in His a presence.  When He speaks, it is more awesome than bubbling multitudes of running water, melodious and fluid.  So when He shows His glory in the face of Jesus Christ to us, we must understand that we are the temple He lives in now, and so are to be set aside (holy) for Him to dwell in.  We worship from here, and He wants to fill us with His glorious presence. 

Spirit Poured Out to Show God

Ezekiel 39:29 
"And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,” says the Lord God.

God's mercy on Israel for turning away from Him led to restoration and a promise - that He would pour His Spirit into them and show His face.  They would be able to see Him, as we now in Christ see Him and will see forever in His very presence.  God lives in us, and we gaze into the face of the almighty.  This is grace on top of mercy. 

He is All Mighty!

Ezekiel 38:19-20, 23.  
19 For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ‘Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel, 20 so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.  23 Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.’ 

Jesus told us that the earth will suffer a great battle, a great earthquake, and judgment when He ends time and evil's rule here to usher in true peace forever in His presence.  In all of these things, in how He deals with sin and justice, He offers mercy and great grace before that time - all so we admit He is our Lord, and that He alone deserves honor, praise, and worship.  He is all-mighty! 

Eternal Covenant of Peace with God

Ezekiel 37:26-27 
26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Revelation 21:3  And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.”

God promised all His people that He would make a promise that is unbreakable to forgive and keep us.  He went further to assure us He would live within us, in our midst, because we are His people and He is our God.  This kingdom cannot be shaken, and the covenant of peace in Jesus Christ cannot be removed. 

This is True Life

Ezekiel 37:13-14  
13 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. 14 I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’ ”

John 7:46   The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this Man!”

Jesus spoke of our redemption, being brought back to God from our sin, and being in dwelt by Himself as Spirit.  He also told us we will rise from death as He did first to prove it and calm our doubts.  We live now and forever with the one who spoke like no other, whose words are recorded for us to know He said it, did it, and so we believe and trust it all.   This is true life!  He has put His Spirit in us; God lives within us!  

A True Witness Seeks Good

Proverbs 14:22-25.  
22 Do they not go astray who devise evil?  But mercy and truth belong to those who devise good.  25 A true witness delivers souls, But a deceitful witness speaks lies.

There seems to be more and more false teachers and self proclaimed prophets lately, but they cannot be used to deliver souls.  By speaking lies, not truth, in what appears to be love, they deceive many.  True love does no harm to others; emotions and smiles without truth is not looking at their eternal destiny, and so is actually hateful. 

New Heart, New Spirit, New Birth

Ezekiel 36:23, 26-27, 31  
23 And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes.  26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.  31 Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations.

God saves us for His name, His glory, above all - then for our good.  When someone says otherwise on this order, they are opposed to Him who gives a new heart and His own Spirit to those who are reborn as His children.  By His presence in us we can obey, pleasing and glorifying the One who reminds us of where we came from and where we are called to go.  If we are His truly and not by religious acts, then our resume from sin will make us willing slaves of righteousness.   By this new birth we have a new heart and a new spirit, with the Law written on our hearts and His Spirit in us to enable us to understand and obey. 

God's Shepherd Saves and Leads

Ezekiel 34:16, 23, 31  
16 “I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment.  23 I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd.  31 You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God,” says the Lord God.

Jesus is the good shepherd; He saves the lost sheep who are broken, hungry, and sick from their own wanderings in sinful rebellion against God.  He feeds us and cares for us because He is our Lord God and Father - Lord as in authority and control over us, and Father who loves and cares for us so much as to give up His only Son for us.  The shepherd of mercy and grace seeks out the lost sheep to gather us to Himself. 

False Shepherds are Wolves in Suits

Ezekiel 34:2-3 
2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, “Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?  3 You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock.’”

There are many today who still claim to be shepherds, leading large ministries but with deceptive, false, and self seeking agendas.  Instead of humbly feeding the people, they ask for more from them and only give empty hope of health, wealth, and miracles.  The problem is that these go against God and His word, and leave the sheep to wander in hunger for truth with empty hopes.  They need Jesus Christ, walking by faith, solid teaching, and sacrificial examples.  False shepherds are merely wolves in suits. 

1 Peter 5:2-4.  2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. 

Heart's Pursuit

Ezekiel 33:31 
So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain.

Ezekiel 34:2.  “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, “Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

Our fallen nature does not change; many still hear God's word from those He chose to speak, whether from a pulpit or along the way in teaching while making disciples.  They hear, talk of how much they love the person who spoke - but then go back to doing what they want, not why God calls us to.  And also there are those speaking who claim to speak from God, but again seek only gain for themselves.  These things should not be so!  We must pursue the things go God by heeding His word, and be servants, not master.  We should gain our souls and not the whole world.  

Our Righteousness Counts Against Us

Ezekiel 33:12 
“Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness; nor shall the righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he sins.’”

This is echoed in Romans 3, where it is clear that we all have sinned against God and nobody is righteous to Him.  What we point out as righteousness amidst obvious sins can never earn our place in heaven; our hearts have sin in their motives (hate is murder, lust is adultery, and so on), so we all come short.  But the good news is that when we turn from sin (repentance) to Him in Jesus Christ by believing and receiving Him, we will not fall but live forgiven when God judges us all.  Jesus is the only way, for He is the truth and life.  Then we have His righteousness counted for us instead of our marred righteousness against us.  

Abundant Life in Obedience by Faith

1 Thessalonians 4:1-2 
1 Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; 2 for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

Hebrews 11:6   But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Pleasing God, giving Him the glory and honor due only to Him, not ourselves or others, this is what we should live for.  His word tells us how; we need only seek out each thing and by His Spirit's enabling read and study to walk it out in life.  This is becoming like Jesus, our goal to imitate as it is written in 1 Corinthians 11:1, "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ." 

34th Second Birthday in the Light!

Acts 26:18 
to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’

As Wesley penned so long ago, on this day in 1980 in a Christian Servicemen's Center just off the San Antonio Riverwalk, God's good news of Christ's atoning death for me leapt from Scripture through my mind and into my heart!  The light of knowing God's glory in Jesus gazing at me from eternity flooded my soul as I was instantly reborn, and His word filled my understanding and moved my heart and soul to follow for 34 years now.  I press toward that goal as Paul wrote.

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,

Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;

Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—

I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;

My chains fell off, my heart was free,

I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

2 Corinthians 4:6   For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:23-25   23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, ... Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you. 

His Pleasure in in Our Life, Not Death

Ezekiel 33:9-11  
9 Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.  10 “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: ‘Thus you say, “If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then live?” ’ 11 Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’

God has set a Day to judge everyone in the world - by His perfect standards.  We who have been made right, justified and reconciled in Christ alone, we are given the task of warning others to pull them from the coming fire as Jude wrote.  God sent Jesus Christ to deliver us, not wanting to see us die in sin but turn and live.  Why should we die when the Father's love in His Son offers life through eternal forgiveness?  

Know He is the Sovereign Lord

Ezekiel 30:19.
"Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt, Then they shall know that I am the Lord."

Why do we wait for God to judge our rebellious sin before we admit He is The Lord - our Lord?  When we are faced with ultimate judgement for eternity, realizing what is coming, the we accept and confess that Jesus is Lord.  But in smaller matters of sin we take longer to deal with them - do we not remember He is our Lord?  Tragedies like 9/11 brought mortality and awareness to many who seemed to talk much of God, but why has that so quickly faded?  Remembering tragedy or sin that puts eyes on God should be in our minds now and every day.  

Trust in His Righteousness Alone

Ezekiel 29:16.  
No longer shall it be the confidence of the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity when they turned to follow them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God.

Israel trusted in the power and perceived safety of a nation, Egypt, instead of waiting on God in His timing to work in them.  We know The Lord God more as we trust Him, and do not lean on a country's protection for safety or to meet our needs.  No institution of man can sustain or protect, as they are not our God.  Neither nationalism nor church membership are substitutes for God; He alone is worthy of trust and worship, for He alone gets glory. 

Devilish Pride

Ezekiel 28:13-17  
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created.  15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.  17 ‘Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you.

The devil was once a beautiful angelic cherub, similar to those with flaming swords guarding the way back to Eden when sin caused us to be kept from living forever sinful.  He became proud and disobedient to God, and put looks over wisdom, and his eternal fate is a warning to us who sinned as he, sinful in our pride and intellect (still thinking we know good from evil apart from God).  The only beauty we have is in Christ, made in God's image anew, by His wisdom and grace. 

Christians Do Not Work to Become gods

Ezekiel 28:2, 3, 8-9  
2 “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, “Thus says the Lord God: “Because your heart is lifted up, And you say, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods, In the midst of the seas,’ Yet you are a man, and not a god, Though you set your heart as the heart of a god  3 (Behold, you are wiser than Daniel!  There is no secret that can be hidden from you!  8 They shall throw you down into the Pit, And you shall die the death of the slain In the midst of the seas. 9 “Will you still say before him who slays you, ‘I am a god’?  But you shall be a man, and not a god, In the hand of him who slays you.

People follow the Deceiver in working to become gods - Mormons even teach this heresy and dare to say they are not opposed to God.  Such claim to have superior wisdom to understand that others do not, even saying they know better than God who made all things!   Like Tyre, these will all go to the Pit, the lake of fire, in the end.  God's hand is never shortened against the proud and arrogant who pretend to sit on His throne.  Judgment comes to all who do not reconcile to God in Christ, who alone is worthy to be called God. 

Stand in the Gap with Testimony of Christ

Ezekiel 22:29-30.  
29 The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger. 30 So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.

Romans 8:34.   Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

We all have gone our own way, and are born into a land of crime and harm to others.  No man can stand between us and God to turn away the anger justly deserved... But God Himself can, and came as a man to do just that.  Jesus Christ did all to stand in the gap sin makes between us and our Creator (Isa.59:2), and makes intercession for us to guarantee those who are His are forgiven and made holy to God's eyes and estimation. 

Sadness at the Judgement

Ezekiel 21:7  
And it shall be when they say to you, ‘Why are you sighing?’ that you shall answer, ‘Because of the news; when it comes, every heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming and shall be brought to pass,’ says the Lord God.”

Luke 21:26-27  26 men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

When the end finally comes and those who laugh now at God and sin see what is happening - then their hearts will faint from dread at their error in disbelief, and they will fall to their knees.  Everything will be shaken, fallen, burned up...then made new.  Better to face God now than then. 

Our Wicked Ways Offend God

Ezekiel 20:43-44 
43 And there you shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled; and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils that you have committed. 44 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have dealt with you for My name's sake, not according to your wicked ways nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel,” says the Lord God.’ ”

When we come to see our sin for all it's disgusting qualities, and how it offends a holy God, then we begin to hate ourselves, what we have done and become.  But when we know Him and how He deals with us by unearned goodness (grace) and mercy when we deserve punishment - then we understand our Father's infinite love for us.   And we know it is for His glory. 

Turn and Live!

Ezekiel 18:30-32.  
30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,” says the Lord God. “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God. “Therefore turn and live!”

Turn from sin and live in Him!  We all face the judgment seat of God in Christ when we die, and we only die once (Hebrews 9:27-28).  So God does not have fun watching us suffer, die, and face judgment and punishment, but yearns for us to turn from sin to Him and live forever.  If we do not, sin will be our ruin.  But we need a new heart and spirit to be able to turn and to be changed inside to keep away from the sin that separates us from God and robs us of a future with Him.  

Sinners Die, God Weeps, So Turn to Him

Ezekiel 18:20-23  
20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.  21 “But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.  23 Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord God, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?

God holds us individually accountable to Himself for our sin, and there is no one who is perfect, so all of us do sin.  But if we turn from sin to God in Jesus Christ (repentance), we will live - forever.  God is not out to send us to Hell; in fact, we earn Hell by rejecting God and doing right.  He greatly desires that we turn and live, not wanting any of us to die without being reconciled to Himself through Jesus.  

Humbled to Hear

Ezekiel 17:24 
And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the Lord, have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish; I, the Lord, have spoken and have done it.”

God takes the weak, lowly in man's eyes, and the humble in heart, and He plants where He wills.  He lifts us up when we do not try to do so ourselves, choosing those who choose to rely on Him, and brings fruit forth as He lifts up the seemingly dry trees.  Those who look grand and tower over others will be brought down, however.  Do we lift up Jesus Christ and His work, or us and ours? 

Shame Covered by God's Atonement

Ezekiel 16:62-63
62 “And I will establish My covenant with you. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, 63 that you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth anymore because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all you have done,” says the Lord God.”

When God makes a new covenant by means of the blood of Christ for us and we enter our part in that covenant, we are as His bride who can never have that covenant broken by divorce as people do.  He takes away our shame of sin because Jesus completely and utterly paid the price in our place.  This is what the New Testament is - the reconciliation with God for our rebellious disobedience against His law by Christ paying the debt in our place.  No more shame or punishment.  He promised this to His people long ago, brought it to reality in Christ, and offers to the all children of Abraham now, who are every nation on this earth.