Ezekiel 47:1-2 – “Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple.  I noticed that water was flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east).  The water was flowing down from under the right side of the temple, from south of the altar.  ² He led me out by way of the north gate and brought me around the outside of the outer gate that faces toward the east; I noticed that the water was trickling out from the south side.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, God (His person, presence, power, protection, and provision) was the focus of my heart.  Ezekiel 47 has long been a source of intrigue for me.   The water that flowed from the temple formed a river with progressively deeper depths.  The different depths were determined after exact measurements of distances.  It was ankle-deep, knee-deep, waist-deep, and then he had to swim.  It was uncrossable.

In my mind, the visual was how we treat the things of God and our relationship with the divine.    Salvation, in its infancy, is the ankle-deep waters.   We are essentially maintaining control.   We reach knee-deep waters as we move deeper into God through prayer and reading the Word.   Saved and learning more of God’s Truth and Grace, but still able to stand in our own strength.

We reach knee-deep waters as we move deeper into God through prayer and reading the Word.   Then, we move deeper into the Word, dying to self and surrendering more fully to God’s desires and purposes.   We reach waist-deep waters; we are still able to maintain a sense of control, but we recognize our need for God’s help.

Then we become consumed with God, saturated in the Holy Spirit, which is to sink or swim in an uncrossable river.   That’s where God desires to take us.  In that place, we become like the three Hebrew children (Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah), whose commitment and confidence in God plunged them into the river of God, also known as Ezekiel’s river.   In that place, they could face certain death with no fear or uncertainty.  The result was that they didn’t bend, bow, or burn.

Notice how they are described in Daniel 3:27 – “…physically unharmed by the fire.  The hair of their head was not singed, nor were their trousers damaged.  Not even the smell of the fire was to be found on them.”    That last part seems to be God’s emphasis on the extent of His protection for the saturated believers!

In that condition, we can become living examples of Romans 12 Gift Ministries, loving without hypocrisy and blessing those who persecute us.   We can lay aside everything that hinders our spiritual development and thereby become beacons of hope to the world and the church.

Tragically, there exists in today’s church some who are at ease with living with one foot in the world and one in the kingdom.  (Not possible, but for illustrative purposes, I say that.)    Romans 13:13-14 – “Let us live decently as in the daytime (full exposure), not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in discord and jealousy.  14 Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provisions for the flesh to arouse its desires.”

If we are saturated with God and filled (crammed full) with the Holy Spirit, the world and carnal desires lose their grip and appeal.   We develop eyes for another world and see the truly valuable.  We live lives that are unlivable in the natural world but normal in the Spirit.   We become filled with God, and His kingdom is manifested in us daily.

We can live as slaves to the flesh or as overcomers in the kingdom.   My prayer for you is Romans 15:13 – “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Victory is yours; receive it. 

Ezekiel 33:1-6  – “The Lord’s message came to me: ² “Son of man, speak to your people, and say to them, ‘Suppose I bring a sword against the land, and the people of the land take one man from their borders and make him their watchman.  ³ He sees the sword coming against the land, blows the trumpet, and warns the people, ⁴ but there is one who hears the sound of the trumpet yet does not heed the warning.  Then the sword comes and sweeps him away.  He will be responsible for his own death.  ⁵ He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, so he is responsible for himself.  If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved his life.  ⁶ But suppose the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people.  Then the sword comes and takes one of their lives.  He is swept away for his iniquity, but I will hold the watchman accountable for that person’s death.”

The idea of responsibility and love gripped my heart as I prayed, read, and pondered the Word of God today.   In Ezekiel 33, we have the responsibility of “The Watchmen” to give a warning.   The Holy Spirit challenged my heart by warning me of danger.  We tend to consider things none of our business and sit silently, adopting the worldview of ‘live and let live.’

I heard, “Is that love?”   If we see danger (sin endangers eternity), any danger, and fail to warn, is that love?    How much do we truly love?  Love, genuine love, is unwilling to see danger consume its target without attempting to rescue it from that destruction.

How much do we love God?   Let me offer a test or measure (that will possibly receive an adverse reaction) to reveal our true valuation of God.   If we want to know how much God means in our lives and how important He truly is, examine the place you give His Word.   God means as much or as little to us as His Word means to us!

Jesus said, “If you love me, you WILL keep my commandments (Word).” You WILL!   God’s importance and value to us are equivalent to the importance of His Word.  Superficial relationships produce inconsistent living.   If we ABIDE in Him and His Word ABIDES in us, we live victoriously.

How does the Word ABIDE in us?   By reading, studying, and embracing it!  

• If we do not love the Word of God, how can we love God, who is the Word?  
• If we do not obey the Word, how can we claim to love God?
• If we love others (Which is evidence of loving God), how can we not do everything in our power to warn and reach them with the truth?

Love is demonstrated, not just declared.  Love is a verb (action word), not a noun.   We, the redeemed, have a divine responsibility to the LORD, the wayward believers, and the lost to sound the alarm and endeavor to rescue the endangered and perishing.

How much do we love?  I’ll be contemplating that for days.  It’s a recurring theme as I read and pray each day.  I keep hearing, “How much do you love?”   I keep hearing, “Do you love Me?” Then I hear, “Show Me!”   Heaven is too great a gift to jeopardize it by disobedience or the lack of love.

How Much Do We Love?

Ezekiel 22:30  – “(God said) I looked (searched and longed) for a man (person) from among them who would repair the wall (of righteousness and holiness) and stand in the gap (intercede) before Me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found none!”

A surprising challenge came to mind as I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today.   It was about investment, involvement, boldness, and willingness to be misbranded by the church and the world.

God challenged Ezekiel in Ezekiel 22, asking a probing question.  “Are you willing to pronounce judgment and confront sin, declaring guilt and warning of judgment?”   Do that today, and those inside and outside the church will label you a phobe of some kind and a purveyor of hate and intolerance.

Today, everything seems to be acceptable to many.   People can engage in all types of immoral and ungodly practices and yet hold positions in the church.   Drag Queens can read to children publicly.   Gender confusion is blamed on God, and if we speak against it, we are labeled as phobic and excessively intolerant.   Our silence or so-called tolerance is destroying lives.

That’s not love; it is abuse.   Love warns and corrects with the objective of restoration and wholeness.   Hate cowardly sits in silence and tries to convince itself that by ignoring sin, it is loving others.

Romans 1:24-32 needs to be read publicly.   Romans 5:1-5 reveals the healing process.   We need to turn to our Mercy Seat (Romans 3:25), Jesus.    There is no other name whereby we can be saved.   Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes… The righteousness by faith will live.” (Rom. 1:16-17).

The challenge to my heart was, “Will I let the fear of man and the likely misbranding of who I am and what I’m doing drive me to silence, or will I proclaim God’s Word, hoping to see people set free from delusion and perversion?”

Am I fully invested in the truth?  Do I have the courage and commitment to be bold and warn and sacrifice myself in the trenches of intercession for a lost, deluded, and dying world?   GOD is not confused, nor is He silent.   He desires to save us.   How much do we love Him?  That is reflected in how much we love others.   Love seeks the best good, and the best is not achieved by ignoring the destructiveness of sin.

Lord, help me to have a purified heart and a longing to see people free from the delusion and destructiveness of sin.  Help me boldly declare the gospel, knowing that Your Grace will set people free through repentance and faith!   Help me be willing to be an outcast in the eyes of the world and even the church, loving You and others enough to warn of evil.  Love covers a multitude of sins.   That does not mean excuse or give a place to operate, but beings the light of God’s truth and love to the heart.

My challenge may also be yours.   Are you willing to help?   How much do we love?

Father, I pray that you will help us to become fully invested in Your Truth!  

Acts 28:24  – “Some were convinced by what he said, but others refused to believe.“

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, I was challenged and convicted.  When I read about Paul’s trials and the stubbornness of the Jews in Acts, I was reminded of the saying, “Don’t confuse me with the facts; my mind is made up.”

The miracles, the transformation, and the scholarly presentation of scriptural evidence failed to persuade the Jews to turn to Jesus.   In Acts 28:24, some who heard Paul in Rome fit that description.  “Some were convinced by what he said, but others REFUSED to believe.”   That is revelatory and an intentional description by the Holy Spirit.  It was not that they did not see the evidence, but rather that they refused to believe it.

Paul referenced Isaiah and said the same thing Ezekiel said to the Jews, “You hear, but the truth does not penetrate and overcome your tradition and bias.  You see the miraculous but discount it, preventing the evidence from dismantling your religious or personal bias and preference.”

Tragically, some have heard gospel preaching all their lives, and it is nothing more than another story to them.   Some have seen and even been the recipient of the miraculous and have either remained unconvinced or refused to give up control of their hearts.

Jesus asked, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the Earth?”   Not just faith for miracles but faith that surrenders the whole heart to Him.

The Church in the Book of Acts had human issues, but overall, its focus was Jesus, not self.   Their gatherings were celebrations of who He is and what He had and was doing, anticipating what He would do.   They didn’t gather to be entertained.  Their gatherings were not fluff-filled.  Their mission was to fulfill the Great Commission and destroy the works of the devil.

Even when we don’t want to, we find ourselves gravitating to selfish motivations.  If we are convinced that Jesus did what He did, is who the Bible declares Him to be, and that only as He is LORD can we truly please God, we die to self.   We decrease, and He increases.   Our world becomes Christocentric, and from that condition and position, we find fulfillment in serving rather than being served.

The challenge is to become convinced and surrender rather than becoming stubborn and refusing to believe.  Without Him, there is nothing!   My cry is, “LORD, consume me with Your passion and compassion.  Help me see there is no me outside of You.”

We always have a choice in life.   To fully embrace Him, we have to choose not to choose not to be blind to the truth.  We cannot serve two masters.   If the self is the center of our world, Jesus cannot be.   If Jesus is the center of our world, self cannot be.   If He is first, all we need is provided.  It may not be without difficulty, but victory is within reach, ALWAYS!

Let’s make up our minds to follow Jesus!