Wed the 21st

Ezekiel  ⁴ The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says.' ⁵ And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them. ⁶ 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. ⁷ You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. ⁸ 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."

 

Anyone who has folded their hands in prayer, or bent a knee to the Lord has head a call that is similar to this call of Ezekiel. Each of us are called out to carry the Word of God to the masses. We too are sent out among obstinate, and stubborn people, but look at what God tells Ezekiel, whether they listen or fail to listen….they will know that a prophet has been among them. It reminds me of when Christ walked among us on this world. He brought the truth to all who would listen, yet if they failed to listen, it was no fault of His. Just as God points out to Ezekiel, we have briers, and thorns around us, scorpions live among us…..it sounds like a pretty tough place to live! Have you ever been in a situation where you had a choice to make? You could keep your cool and keep plowing forward, or you could lose your head, and become frantic. This is the choice we are faced with today. We know what is at stake for the world, we have a unyielding desire to shout it to everyone we see. But when a fire breaks out in a crowded room, do you yell fire, or do you calmly start moving people to the door, saving those that will go, and moving on past those who will not listen? If we lose our heads we will not save as many, and more people will not listen. We are in a room that is catching on fire, so how will you respond? God gives us the answer in this scripture. Do not give in to fear! Do not be afraid, do not be terrified (terrified is a pretty strong word, God knows how intimidating the enemy can be) We must remain calm, and save who we can, we must remember that it is not up to us to save everyone, we do what we can, we speak the truth, and spread the word, and those that will listen will listen, and those that will not, well it is their choice, we must move on, and continue our mission. Are we to think that we will be more successful than Christ? Of course not! Christ gave His life, He hung on a cross to prove His point, and further the truth, and still there were those that would not listen, why would you expect better results. In this scripture we are reminded first and foremost, it is up to us to save ourselves, to not allow ourselves to become rebellious, we are to sustain ourselves on the Word of God, and save those that will listen. If you stop for those that will not move away from the fire, you risk becoming consumed by the very fire that you are trying to save people from! Keep your cool, do not be afraid, do not be terrified, the Lord is with you!

 

 

God Bless,

Brian