today's meditation (Ez.13) Exposing Sins

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Ezekiel 13:1-23)  Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own inspiration, ‘Listen to the word of the Lord! 3 This is what the Lord God says: “Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing! 4 Israel, your prophets have been like jackals among ruins. 5 You have not gone up into the breaches, nor did you build up a stone wall around the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the day of the Lord. 6 They see deceit and lying divination, those who are saying, ‘The Lord declares,’ when the Lord has not sent them; yet they wait for the fulfillment of their word! 7 Did you not see a false vision and tell a lying divination when you said, ‘The Lord declares,’ but it is not I who have spoken?”’”

8 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “Because you have spoken deceit and have seen a lie, therefore behold, I am against you,” declares the Lord God. 9 “So My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will have no place in the council of My people, nor will they be written down in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel, so that you may know that I am the Lord God. 10 It is definitely because they have misled My people by saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace. And when anyone builds a wall, behold, they plaster it over with whitewash; 11 so tell those who plaster it over with whitewash, that it will fall. A flooding rain will come, and you, hailstones, will fall, and a violent wind will break out. 12 Behold, when the wall has fallen, will you not be asked, ‘Where is the plaster with which you plastered it?’” 13 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “I will make a violent wind break out in My wrath. There will also be in My anger a flooding rain and hailstones to consume it in wrath. 14 So I will tear down the wall which you plastered over with whitewash and hurl it down to the ground, so that its foundation is exposed; and when it falls, you will perish in its midst. And you will know that I am the Lord. 15 So I will expend My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it over with whitewash; and I will say to you, ‘The wall is gone and those who plastered it are gone, 16 along with the prophets of Israel who prophesy to Jerusalem, and who see a vision of peace for her when there is no peace,’ declares the Lord God.

17 “Now you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who are talking like prophets from their own imagination. Prophesy against them  18 and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Woe to the women who sew magic bands on all wrists and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature to capture souls! Will you capture the souls of My people, but keep the souls of others alive for yourselves? 19 For handfuls of barley and pieces of bread, you have profaned Me to My people, to put to death some who should not die, and to keep others alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies.”’”

20 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am against your magic bands by which you capture souls there as birds, and I will tear them from your arms; and I will let them go, those souls whom you capture as birds. 21 I will also tear off your veils and save My people from your hands, and they will no longer be in your hands as prey; and you will know that I am the Lord. 22 Because you disheartened the righteous with falsehood when I did not cause him pain, but you have encouraged the wicked not to turn from his wicked way to keep him alive, 23 therefore you women will no longer see deceitful visions or practice divination, and I will save My people from your hands. So you will know that I am the Lord.”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

As it says in verse 14, God was going to tear down the wall so that the foundation of sin would be exposed.  And in verse 21, God was going to tear off the veils to expose the sins of others which tempted the people and took them further away from God.  Our own sins and being part of other people's sins is only destructive and dividing.  Having our sins forgiven by the Lord Jesus Christ reconciles us with Him, allowing Him to build us up on a firm foundation.  So it is to our benefit to search our hearts and confess our sins, as we strive to mature in the Lord.

today's meditation (Is.24) Finding Peace and Joy

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Isaiah 24:1-23) 

1 Behold, the Lord lays the earth waste, devastates it, twists its surface, and scatters its inhabitants. 2 And the people will be like the priest, the servant like his master, the female servant like her mistress, the buyer like the seller, the lender like the borrower, the creditor like the debtor. 3 The earth will be completely laid waste and completely plundered, for the Lord has spoken this word. 4 The earth dries up and crumbles away, the mainland dries out and crumbles away, the exalted of the people of the earth dwindle. 5 The earth is also defiled by its inhabitants, for they violated laws, altered statutes, and broke the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who live on it suffer for their guilt. Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth decrease in number, and few people are left.

7   The new wine mourns,
     The vine decays,
     All the joyful-hearted sigh.
8   The joy of tambourines ceases,
     The noise of revelers stops,
     The joy of the harp ceases.
9   They do not drink wine with song;
     Intoxicating drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10 The city of chaos is broken down;
     Every house is shut up so that no one may enter.
11 There is an outcry in the streets concerning the wine;
     All joy turns to gloom.
     The joy of the earth is banished.
12 Desolation is left in the city 
     And the gate is battered to ruins.
13 For so it will be in the midst of the earth among the peoples,
     As the shaking of an olive tree,
     As the gleanings when the grape harvest is over.
14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy;
     They cry out from the west concerning the majesty of the Lord.
15 Therefore glorify the Lord in the east,
     The name of the Lord, the God of Israel,
     In the coastlands of the sea.
16 From the ends of the earth we hear songs: “Glory to the Righteous One,”
     But I say, “I am finished! I am finished! Woe to me!
     The treacherous deal treacherously,
     And the treacherous deal very treacherously.”
17 Terror and pit and snare 
     Confront you, you inhabitant of the earth.
18 Then it will be that the one who flees the sound of terror will fall into the pit,
     And the one who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the snare;
     For the windows above are opened, and the foundations of the earth shake.
19 The earth is broken apart,
     The earth is split through,
     The earth is shaken violently.
20 The earth trembles like a heavy drinker 
     And sways like a hut,
     For its wrongdoing is heavy upon it,
     And it will fall, never to rise again.
21 So it will happen on that day,
     That the Lord will punish the rebellious angels of heaven on high,
     And the kings of the earth on earth.
22 They will be gathered together 
     Like prisoners in the dungeon,
     And will be confined in prison;
     And after many days they will be punished.
23 Then the moon will be ashamed and the sun be put to shame,
     For the Lord of armies will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
     And His glory will be before His elders.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

The earth's curse is sin, which happened when Adam and Eve disobeyed God.  From that point forward, al people are born into sin, and are separated from God.  Although He created all of us with a purpose to have a personal relationship with Him, the only way we can reconcile this is to do it His way.  When verse 5 mentions that people have broken the everlasting covenant, this is referring to the 'unpardonable sin" - which is rejecting the salvation that the Lord Jesus offers to all of us.  

Those who become believers now (and those asleep in Christ) will be caught up to heaven before the Tribulation begins.  During the Tribulation, there will be a few who turn to the Lord.  And so at the end of those seven years, which is when "the harvest" is ready, all unbelievers will be removed from the earth, and only believers will enter the Millennium.  It is then that there will be peace and joy everywhere because Jesus will reign here on earth as King.

Meanwhile, no matter what is going on around us, when we ask Jesus into our hearts, we are reconciled with God.  His forgiveness removes our guilt and we can live in His freedom of grace.  And as we allow Him to reign over our lives, He gives us peace and joy.