For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I am going to be out of town on business for the next few days. I should still be able to get these devotions finished each day, but I may be a little late in getting them posted (or even like this one, a little early).
It is prudent to make plans for potential danger. Only a simpleton ignores possible dangers and moves forward without taking them into account. This does not mean that you should allow those potential dangers to stop you from doing something, merely that you should plan what to do if they actually come to pass.
I am confident in God and my faith will not be shaken. I will sing His praises (I am warning you that you probably want to sing loud enough to drown me out). I will not refrain from doing so, no matter whose presence I am in. I will trust in the Lord to give me triumph over my enemies. God will help me to do mighty things.
If my reading of yesterday’s passage is correct, then the writer is continuing by emphasizing that God does not want us to spend our time seeking to “make right” our past sins. He wants us to spend our time seeking to do His will. As I say this, I realize that I could be interpreted as saying that all that is needed is that we move on from our sins and seek to do God’s will. However, we need to realize that our sins need to be paid for, and that Jesus offered the sacrifice which pays for them. We need to recognize that our sins are greater than anything we could do to offset them. It is only because God offered His own Son as a sacrifice that we are able to now approach Him to discover what His will for us is now.
I will sum up the message I am seeing in this passage today. We must acknowledge that we have sinned and cannot do anything to make right the sins we have committed. We should feel remorse for our sins and a desire to follow a different path going forward, avoiding the mistakes (the sins) of our past. We follow this by accepting the gift of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins (and it is important that we recognize the magnitude of His suffering, endured on our behalf). Once we have done these things we should seek to identify and accomplish what God’s will is for us going forward. What we are not to do is spend time thinking about our past sins and striving to make them right. We cannot do so. The sins of our past can only be made right through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Let us put those sins behind us and seek to “Go, and sin no more.”
God’s sword is being sharpened to strike out against those who sin against Him. Ezekiel prophesied that the omens had been cast and God had directed where the sword of God’s judgement would fall next. However, he issued a warning to those it passed over on this occasion that the sword would be sharpened for them. I have not received a vision from the Lord, nor a message as to where His judgement will fall next. However, I can read the words of Ezekiel where he describes the sins that led to the fall of Jerusalem.
Ezekiel describes the sins of the leaders of Jerusalem, I will let you decide:
- fathers and mothers are despised
- foreigners are forced to pay for protection
- orphans and widows are mistreated
- people despise holy things
- people accuse others falsely
- idol worshipers
- those who do obscene things
The list goes on, and as I look at that list, I see so many of them (and items from the rest of the list) going on in the society around us. Time is running out for our society. God will not forestall His judgement much longer. Even the common people are oppressing the poor and robbing the needy. God is looking for someone, anyone, willing to rebuild the walls of righteouesness in the land. Will we stand in the gaps in the wall? Will we work to rebuild righteousness in this land?
I want to state here that this is not about changing the laws. This is about what people actually do, whether it is legal or not. We cannot bring righteousness back to this country, or any other, by passing laws. We must reach people and convince them to allow the Holy Spirit to transform their hearts. Let us kneel down and pray. Let us beg God to send His Holy Spirit to transform the people around us. Let us demonstrate righteousness to them so that they will desire to live likewise. Oh God, use me to bring glory to Your name, inspire my words and my acts to cause others to come to You.