Smiling with God...

Then the word of the Lord came to me, “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and up wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all?” Ezekiel 14:2-3 Pretty bold move to ask what God thinks after putting idols in your heart before the Lord. That is kind of crazy. It makes no sense that they do that. It’s like they are trying to do the religious tour. I can see why God would be mad. I wouldn’t want to be inquired of if they are listening to lies. The leaders of Israel are making big mistakes here in these verses. God through out this book of Ezekiel has shown that he wants their total hearts, and when there is something else in it like an idol. It makes it impossible for God to work in there. Not a good move for the leaders, not a good move for anyone who wants advice from God. To make matters worse, it’s not like they do not understand that it is wrong, it is like they choose not to do the right thing. So much to learn from...

He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, ‘The Lord does not see us; the Lord has forsake the land.’” Ezekiel 8:12 In the darkness we do a lot of things that are not honorable. Under the covers, behind closed doors, hidden in the corner is where our true nature comes out. Being in the darkness it is comfortable, it is quiet, it is welcoming to those who want to keep things hidden. But the thing is we cannot run from God. God can see in the darkness. Nothing is hidden from Him. That is good. But really is the darkness bad? At night if you see stars, you need darkness. For sleep, you need darkness. Darkness at times is peaceful, but it is what you do in the darkness is what is important. Being in the darkness is not sinful, the purpose and things you do in the darkness determines if it is sinful or not. You know I like being in the dark. For me it is fun and it is rel...

“Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground” Psalms 143:10 David is a great person to learn from. Here in his song to God he tells of how he cries out for mercy and how his desire is to really server the Lord. Here he says for God to teach him to do his will. It is a powerful thing to say. Being open to be teachable to God. If there is anything that is important that is to be open to God and what He wants to do. Despite his hard life David dedicated his life to God and had an open teachable heart. It is something to be inspired about. Now how can this apply to me. No matter what goes on in life I am inspired by David because no matter what happened he stuck to God and tired to live his best for him. I aspire to have this kind of resilience to hold on to God and no matter what. It’s not that I don’t know what is about me but sometimes I struggle to be this type of man. It is not easy. It is easier when you have things against ...

“It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.” 3 John 7-8 It was good that Gaius whom John was writing to in this letter showed great love for the missionary brothers here. It’s not easy to be someone who is spreading the word for of God and get any kind of support. There was this missionary couple I witnessed at a church who testified on their constant struggle to reach this certain group in Thailand, and every time they came back to see Christian bothers and sisters they felt refreshed. They felt loved and energized. Much like here how Gaius is supporting the brothers. I also like how John said, that we all work together for the truth. No matter where you are in the mission field, we are all on a mission to forward God’s love to all. So no matter where I am in the mission field, if I am on the front lines or if I am on the working lines, it i...

Jeremiah said. “The word of the Lord came to me, Hannamel son of Sallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, because as the nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.’ Then, just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy the field at Anthoth in the territory of Benjamin. since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, but it for yourself.’ I knew that this was the word of the Lord; so I bought the field...” Jeremiah 32:6-9 Now I guess it was custom for a family member to offer the land to be purchased by another family member first before offering it to the public. Which is a thrifty thing to do. Keeping things all in the family. But that’s not the lesson here. The lesson that can be learned is that it is important to be able to hear God and follow through. To add on to that, you have to be ready. Here is the example that Jeremiah not only was listening to God, he had the resour...

“Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters, find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage... In crease in numbers there... Also, seek the welfare of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers you too will prosper.” Jeremiah 29:5-7 This is not exactly the message I would want to hear if I was exiled in a city I did not want to be in. But this is the message that Jeremiah delivers to the Israelites. If I were them I would want to hear the message of freedom not one of settling. It must have been frustrating to see hear this from God. But, God through Jeremiah encourages them through these times. Here God wants them to do their best even if they do not like the situation they are in. Then to make matters worse for them God ask the Israelites to pray for the city they are exiled too. The Israelites must have puked after hearing this. That’s like asking ...

“Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from HIm in shame at His coming.” 1 John 2:28 According to some commentaries John was addressing the Gnostics here and was rebuking their teaching. Basically John was doing some full on apologetics here. But what also is interesting and what you see here is how much John incurs that your faith must be totally fused with your life. In order for that to happen you must be in the mindset that everything is spiritual. But also John so far specifies on how much of your fellowship with God is linked to your obedience to Him. That is where the rubber meets the road. Faith and life must be tied together. Now the concept of this is not difficult to understand, it is the action. John here shows me that it is very important to have your faith and your deeds to be one in the same. Christ was a living example of what our lives should be shaped like. Now granted, we can never attain perf...