Ezekiel 3 (selected)
4 He then said to me: "Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak My words to them. 5 You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and difficult language, but to the house of Israel- 6 ...Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. 7 But the house of Israel is not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to Me, for the whole house of Israel is hardened and obstinate. 8 But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. 9 I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house."
10 And He said to me, "Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you. 11 Go now to your countrymen in exile and speak to them. Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says,' whether they listen or fail to listen."
Ezekiel 5 (selected)
11 Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your vile images and detestable practices, I Myself will withdraw My favor; I will not look on you with pity or spare you. 12 A third of your people will die of the plague or perish by famine inside you; a third will fall by the sword outside your walls; and a third I will scatter to the winds and pursue with drawn sword.
13 "Then My anger will cease and My wrath against them will subside, and I will be avenged. And when I have spent My wrath upon them, they will know that I the LORD have spoken in My zeal.
14 "I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by. 15 You will be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and an object of horror to the nations around you when I inflict punishment on you in anger and in wrath and with stinging rebuke. I the LORD have spoken. 16 When I shoot at you with my deadly and destructive arrows of famine, I will shoot to destroy you. I will bring more and more famine upon you and cut off your supply of food. 17 I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I the LORD have spoken."
I studied the book of Ezekiel 3 years ago in depth and read through it again just before Christmas this past year. Now my pastor is preaching a series for the next several months on Ezekiel. Why?
There is some serious stuff here from the prophet who obeyed the weird and strange things that God asked him to do. He portrays a 'type of Christ' for us. But there is a common thread through the entire book that I have observed - that I refer to as:
The Golden Thread of Ezekiel ... in the book over and over you will find the words:
"and then they will know that I am the LORD."
Ezekiel 6 (selected)
7 Your people will fall slain among you, and you will know that I am the LORD.
9... They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices. 10 And they will know that I am the LORD; I did not threaten in vain to bring this calamity on them.
12 ... So will I spend My wrath upon them. 13 And they will know that I am the LORD, when their people lie slain among their idols around their altars, on every high hill and on all the mountaintops, under every spreading tree and every leafy oak—places where they offered fragrant incense to all their idols. 14 And I will stretch out My hand against them and make the land a desolate waste from the desert to Diblah —wherever they live. Then they will know that I am the LORD.' " [all Scripture emphasis added]
Do you ever just sit back and watch God? I mean really WATCH what He is doing in our midst? The past few weeks I have watched Him rescue the life of an unborn child - yet the same person who God stopped from taking that life [once] - has made a choice to attempt that same thing again. Now her life hangs in a place of life or death. People continue to make choices in favor of of self motivation what is best for 'me' without any regard for hurting or even 'killing' others. And there will always be consequences that come with those choices. It is really one life choice over another and God says - it ought not to be so.
Abortion in our country has become a genocide. Does God just sit back and watch it all and shake His head at the problem? Do you ever wonder how long it will be before the 'wrath of God' falls upon us [our nation and others] who have played 'terminator' with an unborn life? Genocide = one plus one plus one+ X10 + X 100 = Millions and Millions of lives lost - ended.
Our God is serious about the choices we make. He is a loving God who waits patiently for [our] repentance - but He is also a God of Justice - One who rights all wrongs! He even chose to allow His own Son to suffer death so that others [you and I] might live. Yet we slap Him in the face with the genocide of human life - babies - human beings - who are living breathing and have hearts beating inside their tiny bodies.
How long will His patience last? There will come a time when God says, "Enough is enough".
When will we 'take to heart the words God has spoken'?
This is not something I chose to write about today - but God did. I don't like talking about it any more than you like reading about it. But we can't ignore it any longer. God is serious and He is waiting for a wake up call - waiting for repentance - waiting for a turning TO HIM - rather than against Him. I know you'd rather read about the love of God and all the wonderful faithful things He does - so do I. But... this is also part of WHO GOD IS and we must reverence His holiness as well. How many MORE babies will be aborted before ... 'And [then] they will know that I am the LORD' - takes root.
Will any of you JOIN ME in PRAYER for our nation- to repent and turn from our wicked ways - over the killing of innocent babies through abortion? Some may say - "What good is that? I'm only one person." Yet one plus one plus one + X10 + X100 = the faithful prayers of God's people. God responds to the prayers of His people!
Mark 10:13-15 (KJV)
13 And they brought young children to Him, that He should touch them: and His disciples rebuked those that brought them.
14 But when Jesus saw it, He was much displeased, and said unto them, 'Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.'
Thank you to those who are willing to pray! Please check out www.40daysforlife.com
Looking UPward and Choosing JOY,
Stephanie
[In Flight]
9 comments:
Dear sister, this is something I already stand praying about for a long time and as one who committed the tragic act of abortion once over 17 years ago out of fear rather than turning to my faith and I know the forgiveness, healing and wholeness that can come only in surrender to CHRIST and I also know the horrible murdering act of abortion and all that our nation is doing to participate in this in so many ways.
It's tragic and I stand praying for a long time now for our NATION to repent for the Bible is clear that "blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD". We had better turn to GOD before HIS wrath does hit!!!
I often say that it's disturbing to see politicians and others who always say, "God bless America" but then America is NOT blessing GOD! They say this as a slogan at the end of campaign speeches but then sign legislation to send US funds oversees for abortions!!!! How in the world can these people expect God to keep blessing the nation when the nation has turned away from GOD in so many ways??!!!!
I could go on but I share a lot of my thoughts as a Christian and my testimony on my Speak on it with LisaS blog. If you have time please stop by there.
God bless you and KEEP WRITING!!! and we all must KEEP PRAYING!!! and keep STANDING FOR WHAT IS RIGHT IN GOD!!!
Love you.
I linked to your message on my Speak on it with Lisa blog just now.
Bless you sis!
I have been asking the Lord over and over for President Obama to take a long, good, HARD, LOOK at his own children and grasp the gift God has given Him. That he has signed off through abortions being legal and turning his head.
Lord, humble this man that he may turn from his wicked ways, and be found seeking YOU. May our nation turn from our wicked ways and be FOUND SEEKING YOU.
Love,
Yolanda
You are right, God is a Holy God, and there will come a time when the time has run out. Yes, there are heavy consequences to abortion, and I have paid them, and there is the love and mercy of God for those who repent. You are right, we need to pray and pray and pray...and speak out the truth..thanks for this message...Love, Pam
Oh my sisters you are such a blessing and encouragement to me! When I wrote this post today - I FELT LIKE EZEKIEL!!! It drained me like a straw - to the bottom of the glass! I was drained and empty!
But the LORD filled me back up right afer I wrote it. I went downstairs and dug into His Word again and over and over He showed me that we must stand firm and be bold when He calls us to be that.
Lisa - you have been such a blessing to me and this comment of yours is full of grace and truth and notes the redeeming God who loves us. Thanks for the link - we are bound together in prayer with this. Thanks for putting yourself out there and for being the advocate that you are for His kingdom purposes! You are so right -
"blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD".
Yolanda:
Oh yes, the prayers for our new president must be for his salvation to Jesus Christ [first] and then pray that he would walk in faith to trust God to return our nation to a place of blessing by turning from our wicked ways - starting at the top of the chain of command.
Pam:
Thanks for visiting here today and for your unhindered prayers because of God's grace to you. You said: "there is the love and mercy of God for those who repent." That is the goal - it boils down to complete RESTORATION of each one personally - and in turn nationally - and then worldwide.
In all of this - the 'calamity' is coming. It's not a question of 'if' - it's a question of 'when'.
Yet in knowing all of that - I truly believe that God is calling the world back to a "holiness movement" and we ARE beginning to see that. You ladies are proof of that!! Look at the redemptive work that God has done in each of us - even in just the last few years! We all have testimonies of God's redeeming HEALING GRACE!!!
Looking UPward and Choosing JOY,
Stephanie
[In Flight]
I found you through my friend,LisaShaw's blog. Your post was so powerful and full of truth.
I am standing with you in pray for our nation,our children.
In His Grace,
Tammy
Hi Stephanie,
Thanks for sharing that with us! That was a very powerful post on Ezekiel.
We are praying!!
Hey. If you get the opportunity, would you
mind praying for the prayer requests that are
on our main page?
May the Lord bless you and your family!!
Mark, Lynn, Brooke & Carley Seay
www.LighthousePrayerLine.org
ps - please consider "following" our blog -or- atleast grab one of our free, linking, blue buttons. (see top sidebar at www.LighthousePrayerLine.org).
Tammy - thanks for stopping by to read this post. Thank you for standing together for our nation and our children! It is time to unite - in faith!
Mark and Lynn:
How was the wedding?? I've got you plugged in for prayer on my prayer walk blog site! You're covered!
Stephaine, very powerful. Thank you for sharing this post! Blessings!
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