Ezekiel 40:4 – “And He (God) said to me, Son of man, SEE with your eyes, and HEAR with your ears, and SET your heart upon ALL that I show you…”

As I prayed, read, and pondered the Word of God today, a question filled my consciousness.   “What does God want?”   As I mused on that thought, the question arose, “Is God focused on what we do?”   We are, but what is God concerned about?  What does He really want?

As I entertained those thoughts, Ezekiel 40:4 leaped off the page at me.  That passage opened my understanding as to “What God wants.”   It is actually simple.   He wants US.   He wants all of us.  He wants our whole being.   He wants our consciousness, our awareness, our hearts!  He wants that part of us; that is who we are.

We focus on the appearance embodied in our actions.  Those could reflect the heart or could be facades (masks) hiding the truth.  Pretense, hoping to earn favor with God.

God wants the heart.    He wants our total surrender.  True repentance is not remorse over acts but remorse over who we are or who we are not.   Only as we repent of being a wrong person can we receive total forgiveness and transformation.   Then, the inside flows to the outside, and the Kingdom of God in us touches those around us.

What does God want?  He wants us, all of us!   I surrender all.  Lord, let Your Kingdom be revealed in me!

Lord help us to pursue Your purposes with our entire being!

Ezekiel 33:1-2 – “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.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, a recurring theme consumed me.  It was mainly in Ezekiel 33 & 34.   It was about the hour in which we now live, the condition of the church and the world, and God’s expectations.

The impression on my heart was about “Watchmen.”  It was about responsibility and duty.  It was about surrender and service.  It was about Christian living!    A question I heard in my heart was, “Who Are The Watchmen?”   Before I could say ‘shepherds,’ I heard it was ‘Everyone!’   The emphaticness stunned me.   I heard in my heart that this is for every believer, especially the shepherds.

People do not automatically turn to God and go to heaven.  Deception easily controls when there is no gospel presentation or addressing the need for correction and discipline.

Today’s church has, too often, become more about size (in terms of numbers, programs, and notoriety) than about transformation.  Shepherds are becoming superstars rather than servants and surgeons.  Preaching is often more motivational and self-advancement than radical encounters with Christ.  It is sometimes more of a fraternity than a hospital and boot camp.

We are talking about eternity!  Nothing is more important than our eternal destiny!  In Ezekiel 34, God told of a paradigm shift in the church.  He is about to restructure the structure and dismantle the hierarchies.  God repeatedly said, “I Will.”

A new move is coming.   A new breed is born and formed.  A radical shift is upon us.  One God and one shepherd (Jesus).  One focus: the gospel.   One covenant and one body.   No more man, but all God!   We are there.   Will we join in?  Another question is “Where Are The Watchmen?”

Lord help us to see the Last Day’s move and move into it!

Joshua 14:10-12 – “So now, look, the Lord has preserved my life, just as he promised, these past forty-five years since the Lord spoke these words to Moses, while Israel traveled through the wilderness.  See, I am eighty-five years old today!  ¹¹ Today, I am still as strong as when Moses sent me out.  I can fight and go about my daily activities with the same energy I had then.  ¹² Now, assign me this hill country that the Lord promised me at that time!  No doubt you heard then that the Anakites live there in large, fortified cities.  But assuming the Lord is with me, I will conquer them, as the Lord promised.”  

Today is a new day, new in kind, not just a new day in a series of days.   There has never been a day like today, and it will never be again.   It has opportunities, discoveries, revelations, treasures, and challenges unique to today.  We can seize the moment, discover the treasures, and soar like eagles because we live in His love and have His Promise!  Unexpected discoveries that lead to powerful victories are waiting to be discovered and embraced by those who seek them.

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, the thought of ‘Possessing the Promise(s)’ came to mind.

I love the story in Joshua 14:6-15 about Caleb.   I was drawn to something I had not considered.   Caleb received the Promise at age 40.  He endured the 40 years of wilderness training, testing, and trial.   Now, at age 85, he says, “Enough delay, give me THIS mountain (Promise).”   He got the Promise at 40, and 45 years later, he got the Promise.   He began taking possession at 85. 

I received a promise from God at about 40 years of age.  It has seemed impossible and almost a whimsical fantasy, but this story gives me renewed hope and expectation.  The Promise is God’s Promise, and God never fails.   If we press in, He provides!

Joshua told Israel in Joshua 18:3, “Don’t put off possessing the promise.”  In Joshua 21:45, we read, “Not one Promise failed to come to pass.”   In Titus 1:15-16, we are reminded that profession is not possession, and confession is not completion.   Between the profession, confession, and completion, there is a wilderness.

• Profession is recognition of the promise.  
• Confession is the attaching of ourselves to it. 

Once we have received the Promises, we must, step by step, inch by inch, day by day, live and focus on the provision of the promise.   God’s delay is not denial nor a sign you missed it.   The wilderness is our life university, and if we, like Caleb, never lose sight of the promise and never give up our confession, we will, one day, take possession of the promise of our confession.

Hebrews 1:14 is comforting because there we realize that God’s assigned angels have a charge to help us Possess our Promise!   Never give up, give in, or give out (become exhausted in delay).  God cannot, does not, and will not lie or fail.

Don’t put off Possessing the Promise!

Let us determine that we will ‘Possess the Promises’ no matter how long it takes!

Psalm 115:16 –  “The heavens are the heavens of Yahweh, but the earth He has given to the sons of men.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, a single word kept echoing in my heart and mind – “Character.”

Psalm 115:16 fascinates me.  “The heavens are the heavens of Yahweh, but the earth He has given to the sons of men.”  Some make that an environmental mandate, focusing on issues such as global warming and climate change.   I suggest being good stewards of the planet is wise and necessary, but something larger is at stake.  

In the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam the Garden and used the word “subdue” in His instructions regarding the planet and its creatures.   People are our focus, not just the terrestrial ball upon which we live.

But that is not my thought today.  Psalm 119 always challenges me.

Psalm 119:9-11 The question was about young men staying pure.  The young are driven by passion and raging hormones.  The Word (precepts) of God is an anchor.

Psalm 119:27 – “Make me understand the way of Your precepts so that I will muse on Your wondrous deeds.”   The way?   In this context, the way refers to character.  God’s and what is produced in us.  The precepts (Word) of God produce in us the character of God.

In verse 33, we realize that character becomes our anchor.   In verses 57-59, we see the incredible power and value of that character-producing word, which transforms us.

Psalm 119:105 – “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” The Revelation of God’s character and nature transforms us with illuminated truth.  Verse 130 says, “The unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.”   We can never be the manifestation of Jesus without being transformed by His word.

Romans 13 calls upon us to awaken not just because time is short and it is the Last Days, but because it is our last days (brevity of life).   The world needs God, but will never receive Him unless we become transformed by the character of God.  

The Word is not to be studied for information but for transformation.  Not for revelation but application.  The precepts of God will always challenge the flesh.  Character is not a status reached; it is an experience encountered.  It is an anchor that will not fail.

Psalm 119:89 – “FOREVER, O Yahweh, Your Word stands firm in heaven.” Notice it says Forever!

Father, help us to embrace and be transformed by Your Character!

1 Thessalonians 5:14-22 –  ^“And we urge you, brothers and sisters, admonish the undisciplined, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient toward all.  ¹⁵ See that no one pays back evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.  ¹⁶ Always rejoice, ¹⁷ constantly pray, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks.  For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  ¹⁹ Do not extinguish the Spirit.  ²⁰ Do not treat prophecies with contempt.  ²¹ But examine all things; hold fast to what is good.  ²² Stay away from every form of evil.”

Deuteronomy 16 and beyond reveal that we should keep in the forefront of our minds that God does not acknowledge blemished sacrifices.   We never come before Him empty-handed.  Not that we attempt to bribe or earn anything, but that when we come before Him, we give our best to Him: our best prayer, best song, best attitude.  We give Him ourselves.

That attitude and lifestyle are then manifested in Paul’s teaching in 1 Thessalonians 5:14-22.  I call that Lifestyle Christianity.  Verse 14 is powerful, misunderstood, and neglected today.   Paul urged them to do these 4 things.  The urging is strong, indicating it is so essential that it is a matter of life and death.

1 Thessalonians 5:14 – “Admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”

• Admonish (noutheteo) – direct face-to-face confrontation and exhortation to change.   

The word ‘uruly’ includes idleness and laziness.   It indicates the adaptation of ungodly lifestyles.  We are urged to show the biblical and practical principles of responsibility and godliness. 

• Encourage (paramutheo) – display of emotional empathy for those who are losing hope.  

It even includes the feeble-minded.   Those who are in no condition to press on.  Discouraged and deceived.  Lift them up by word and deed in a demonstrated life.  Show them the biblical life!

• Help (antcheo) – lift up.  This could be physical, emotional, or spiritual.  

It is to be a helping hand and meet the revealed need that is in your power to fulfill.

• Patience with everyone demonstrates Christlikeness.

Simply, we do not ignore, justify, or reward idleness, laziness, or corruption.  We face to face it with the truth in love. We demonstrate perseverance to encourage and lend a hand in lifting up the fallen and needy, in a Christlike manner, with a spirit of patience, remembering our own forgiveness.

How is that given power?   Note verses 16-22.    

• We are to rejoice always, perpetually, and faithfully pray.  
• We are to have a continuous attitude of gratitude.   
• We are to be open and yielded to the guidance and correction of the Holy Spirit.  
• We are to expect God to speak and examine our hearts and motives.  
• We are to reject evil and even the appearance of evil.  
• We must not let the flesh have any place to operate.  
• We are to give God our best!

If our first look is upward (to God) and our second outward (to others), then we can look inward with peace and honesty and receive God’s sanctification, provision, and preservation.   Lifestyle Christianity is our call, and it has great rewards.

May the LORD enable us to begin living the Life of Jesus here on Earth!