ApprehendingGrace.com

I was asked recently about my position on the rapture – would it occur at the beginning of the 7 years of tribulation, in the middle, or at the end.

I doubt that my answer satisfied the questioner. “It really doesn’t matter!” was my straight forward response to the question.

Studying prophecy can be fascinating. It can be exciting. (It can also be scary if you lose sight of God’s faithfulness and goodness.) It can be great at reinforcing the validity of God’s Word. Reading about fulfilled prophecy was instrumental in bringing me to Christ. And as a young Christian, I spent a great deal of time reading about and listening to speakers teach about different views on when the rapture would occur. I had an opinion at the time, but in honesty, I just don’t any more. Because it has no impact on how I live out my relationship with Christ.

The Apostle Paul wrote this to the Colossians:

¹⁰And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully ¹²giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. ¹³For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 1:10-14 (NIV)

Paul prayed for the Colossians not so that they would have a correct and perfect understanding of when the rapture would occur. He prayed for them so that they would life a life worthy of the Lord and so that they would please him. He prayed for them so that they would bear good fruit and grow in the fruit of the Spirit and thankfulness. Why are those things important? Because God has done so much for us – rescued us from sin, brought us into the kingdom, redeemed us and forgiven our sins. Because God has done those things, Paul prayed that the Colossians would live a life that honored and reflected them.

Paul urged the Colossians to live out his prayer for them:

⁶So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, ⁷rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.    
Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV)

You see, our life isn’t supposed to be about debating things that have not been fully revealed, it’s to be about living in Christ. It’s to be about demonstrating His life and love to those around us. An occasional evening spent discussing prophecy with friends (note the word discussing, not arguing) can be enjoyable. But if such discussions are the focus of your faith and practice, perhaps it’s time to enjoy the Epistles and spend a little less time in Revelation.

Because the truth is…when the rapture occurs really doesn’t matter. God will keep us in the palm of His hand here on earth until He’s ready to receive us in glory. May we glorify Him through the whole process.

The message of yesterday’s blog was that in order to be obedient to the Lord, we must first hear what he says, and to properly hear him, we have to be listening. We want to be able to say like Peter said “Lord, because you say so, I will do it” (Luke 5:5). When Peter responded, Jesus turned a night of fishing with no catch into a morning of one last dropping of his nets and a boat overflowing with fish.

Ezekiel responded much as Peter did when He heard God’s instructions – instructions that were crazier than those He gave to Daniel. The results were crazier, too. And the whole story, although far removed from our lives, has application to it. God explained to Ezekiel that the prophecy was meant for the people of Israel, but I think we can look at the whole of it and apply it metaphorically to our lives. We can take the principles from it and apply them to each of our lives.

So let’s go to Ezekiel 37 and read about Ezekiel’s experience in a valley filled with dry bones. God grabbed me in the first verse!

The LORD took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the LORD to a valley filled with bones.
Ezekiel 37:1 (NLT)

I have a question for you – Are there dry bones in your life?

One of the commentaries I read about this passage described the scene this way: Ezekiel was taken “to a valley filled with many bleached bones, scattered on the ground, the skeletons of corpses long ago decomposed and devoured by carrion-eating birds and animals.” Are there areas of your life like that? I have some. Some dreams that have been waiting to be fulfilled for a long time. Some areas that I’ve neglected for so long that they are decomposing. Perhaps some relationships or disciplines that in the busyness of life I’ve left scattered on the ground in my haste to do the next thing on my list. The longer I’m away from the discipline, the more it dies and I die with it. It might be your prayer life or Bible reading or the practice of giving thanks or praising God. Are there areas of your life that feel brittle and wasted or wasting away?

“The LORD took hold of me…”

This first phrase got my attention. “The Lord took hold of me.” You are probably more accustomed to reading it in the NIV or King James Version, where it is translated “The hand of the Lord was upon me.” While both translations mean the same thing, the New Living Translation connotatively seems radically different. When I hear or read “The hand of the Lord was upon me” I think of my Father resting His hand on my shoulder and leading me somewhere. The phrase “The Lord took hold of me” implies that I have no choice, that He’s grabbing me by the collar or with both hands and forcibly taking me somewhere. And that’s truer to the meaning of the verse. The word translated “hand” in the NIV means hand, but it means “a hand with power” – which is consistent with the rest of the verse that talks about being carried away by the Spirit, Ruach, of the Lord.

So the first thing I heard the Holy Spirit asking me was “Have you allowed the Lord to take hold of you? Or are you resisting Him? Are you yielding only a little when He wants to take hold of you and take you places you couldn’t go on your own?” Lord, I’m listening…how can I obey?

Have you allowed the Lord to take hold of you? That’s the first thing God is asking you today. He is encouraging us to yield to His power. He is encouraging us to yield to His Spirit’s working. Ezekiel would not have had the experiencing of speaking to the dry bones if he hadn’t allowed the Lord to take hold of him and take him to the valley of dry bones.

One of the things I like about this passage is the interaction between Ezekiel and the Lord. Ezekiel doesn’t have a clue what’s going on. He’s just been forcibly taken and gently placed in a valley filled with bones. Imagine his confusion. Let’s read more about the valley:

¹The LORD took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the LORD to a valley filled with bones. ²He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out.
Ezekiel 37:1-2 (NLT)

Basically the Lord led Ezekiel on a tour through the dry bones. They walked among the dry bones. The bones were all around him.

I think we often avoid those valleys of dry bones in our lives – the valleys of decay and brokenness – because they were created by some kind of devastation. The valley of dry bones is a place of death. Something horrible happened to create that valley. Lord, I don’t want to go back there. Don’t take hold of me and take me there!

But if we listen to the Lord, the panic or depression that can take hold of us in the valley is held at bay as He speaks. When God takes us to the valley of decay and brokenness – it’s not to cause us more pain. It’s to bring us back to life. So let Him take hold of you and lead you to the dry places. Then listen.

It’s interesting that when God spoke, it was in the form of a question.

Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?”
Ezekiel 37:3a (NLT)

God often asks us a question simply to open our mind to possibilities. “Sandy, can this dream live again?” “Sandy, can this relationship be repaired?” “Sandy, can this spiritual discipline that has been long forgotten come back to life?” “Sandy, can our relationship be restored – returned to what it once was?” Maybe that’s where you are – feeling alienated from God. It’s a painful place to be. And maybe you’re feeling like you’re doing everything you can and still you’re far from God. “Can this relationship come alive again?”

“O Sovereign LORD,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.”
Ezekiel 37:b (NLT)

Ezekiel answers God’s question honestly. I don’t know. Only You know, Lord. I have no power to change the situation. But You do. Can this dream come alive again? I don’t know. Can this relationship be repaired? I don’t know. Hidden in Ezekiel’s answer is a question – the same question God asked him – can these bones come alive again?

So God answers his question:

Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, …
Ezekiel 37:4a (NLT)

God says – “You, Ezekiel, you speak to the bones. Speak a prophetic message.” The word “prophecy” means “speak by inspiration of God” – Listen to hear what God has to say, then speak it!

⁴Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, LISTEN to the word of the LORD! ⁵This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! ⁶I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”
Ezekiel 37:4-6 (NLT)

God goes on – “Speak to these bones. Call the dry bones to attention even though they are dead.” What is Ezekiel to say to the bones – “Listen up!” The word translated “listen” also means “obey” – What did Peter say? “Because you say so, I will do it.” (Luke 5:5)

Broken dreams, LISTEN to the word of the Lord. Dead relationship…LISTEN to the word of the Lord.

“Dry bones, listen for the voice of God! The sovereign God says…”

Who says? The Sovereign God – Adonai Jehovah – the self-existing God who controls all things – Listen to what He says!

“The sovereign Lord says “I.am.going.to.put.breath.into.you.and.make.you.live.again!”

Read that passage again. “The sovereign Lord says “I.am.going.to.put.breath.into.you.and.make.you.live.again!”

God says we’re to speak to the dry bones in our lives: “Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again!” Do you believe He can do it?

Well, in case you doubt that it will be a full and beautiful life, let me be more clear God says – “I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you and you will come to life.”

You know, there’s life and then there’s life. There’s life and then there’s life abundant. Life abundant isn’t just life made alive, it is life adorned – with flesh and muscles and skin! It’s life with the breath of God inside us. It is knowing that He is the Lord. That’s God’s promise.

Let’s step back for a second. Who again was he making this promise to? The decimated Israelites who were nothing more than dead, dry, brittle bones because of their own disobedience! So you know what? I may have messed up big time and that’s why my dreams are unfulfilled or that’s why my relationship with God has gone stale or that’s why my relationship with my husband is distant or cold. But God…But God…offers grace and through that grace and His sovereign power, he offers life.

Scripture says that faith comes by hearing. In this passage, life comes by hearing – listening to the word of God and speaking it as He instructs. Faith and life are inseparable. They cannot be divorced from one another! God says “listen, speak and live…”

Let’s see what Ezekiel does:

So I spoke this message, just as he told me.
Ezekiel 37:7a (NLT)

Like Peter, Ezekiel is saying “Because you said so, I will do it!”

^7bSuddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons. ⁸Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones. Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath in them.
Ezekiel 37:7b-8 (NLT)

And an amazing thing happened! God was true to His word! He caused the bones of each body to come together and attach themselves as complete skeletons.

Mr. T on the old television show The A Team? “I love it when a good plan comes together!” I love it when God is true to His Word.

As Ezekiel watched, God did what He said He would do….almost. He got all the way through putting skin on the bodies, but still they had no breath. What God did was amazing, miraculous. But it wasn’t finished. So He gave Ezekiel another task:

⁹Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to the winds, son of man.
Ezekiel 37:9a (NLT)

Remember, we said that the word “prophecy” means “speak by inspiration of God” – Listen to hear what God has to say, then speak it!

⁹Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to the winds, son of man. Speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again.’”

¹⁰So I spoke the message as he commanded me, and breath came into their bodies. They all came to life and stood up on their feet—a great army.
Ezekiel 37:9-10 (NLT)

God gives Ezekiel a second assignment required to finish the task.

Too often we watch and are so amazed at what God has done that we are satisfied with a partial fulfillment of God’s promise. We’re satisfied with a partial healing or a partial restoration. “Then skin formed over them but they still had no breath in them.” Don’t settle for half of what God has promised. Yes, half of what He promised is amazing, but it’s only half. It’s not the glass that’s half full, it’s our life that’s half full. Don’t settle.

Speak again. Call on the Lord. Don’t settle for half healing. 

I’ve been watching our plants grow. They grow fast and I love it. Then they bud. Then they produce fruit. I mean, the process is amazing. But if we stop watering and nurturing at any point in the process, the plant dies. Words of prophecy are the watering and nurturing that our bones, our souls, need. So, we listen for His voice…and we speak as He commands.

Let’s finish the passage.

¹¹Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones represent the people of Israel. They are saying, ‘We have become old, dry bones—all hope is gone. Our nation is finished.’ ¹²Therefore, prophesy to them and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again. Then I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³When this happens, O my people, you will know that I am the LORD. ¹⁴I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live again and return home to your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done what I said. Yes, the LORD has spoken!’”
11zekiel 37:11-14 (NLT)

That brings us back to our first question: Are there dry bones in your life? Let God “take hold of you,” have control, “carry you away by the Spirit.” Don’t give God just a little control, let Him carry you away. Yes, even to the place of the dry bones – because sometimes we have to visit those dark places to let God heal them. If we don’t give Him all the pieces, He can’t make us whole.

There is a line in the Christafari song in yesterday’s blog that I didn’t really hear until I listened to the song for about the tenth time. It’s during the extended “reggae speak” portion and they say “With God’s all seeing eyes you will see clearly that your day to day life it is just prophecy; to be fulfilled by God Almighty.”

Your life – the life God wants you to lead – is waiting for you to prophecy it so God Almighty can fulfill it.

“Speak a prophetic message to these bones” God told Ezekiel. Speak a prophetic message to the broken, dead bones, so that they might live! Listen up, broken dead bones – The Sovereign Lord wants to impart life to you.

Palm Sunday marks Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It was a time of great celebration. I was fascinated to learn this week that there was almost a mingling of Jewish festival celebrations and a foreshadowing of heavenly celebrations in that single event. In Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, we see elements of the Passover celebration, the Festival of Tabernacles, and heavenly worship.

First a brief review of Passover and the Festival of Tabernacles.

Passover
In the Old Testament, the Jews were enslaved by the Egyptians, and God sent Moses to deliver them. Moses repeatedly went to the Pharaoh with a message from God: “Let my people go so that they might worship me.” Well, we know that Pharaoh had a hard heart – he didn’t care about God or what god wanted. So God sent the ten plagues to try to convince Pharaoh to change his mind. There were plagues of frogs, gnats, boils and all manner of other unpleasant (and deadly) plagues. The first nine didn’t go very far toward softening Pharaoh’s heart.

The tenth one, however, was the most significant. It was a plague of death to the firstborn of every person and animal. While the Israelites experienced most of the plagues along with the Egyptians, they were protected from this one. God gave them very specific instructions to kill a lamb that was without spot or blemish and they were to take some of blood from that lamb and put it at the top and sides of their door. When the death angel saw the blood of the lamb on the door, he would pass over that house and no death would come to it. From that time on, the Jews celebrated the festival called Passover. It was a time when they remembered that the angel of the death passed over their home, saving them from death and bring deliverance from the Egyptians.

Festival of Tabernacles
The Festival of Tabernacles is in the fall and it remembers the time when God lead the Israelites through the desert to the Promised Land. It celebrates His provision for them –food, clothing, shelter and good health. This festival is the biggest celebration of the year. Here’s how the festival begins:

the first day you are to take choice fruit from the trees, and palm fronds, leafy branches and poplars, and rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. 
Leviticus 23:40 (NLT)

Two Festivals Intermingle in the Celebration as Jesus Enters Jerusalem

So, again, we have these two festivals that the Jews celebrate.

• Passover, representing the time when the blood of a lamb was put on the doorposts of the Jewish households and the angel of death would pass over that household.
• Festival of Tabernacles celebrated by the waving of palm branches with great rejoicing for seven days. It commemorates God’s provision for the Jews as they wandered in the wilderness, and ultimately bringing them victory after victory as they came into the Promised land.

The symbolism of two events come together in the story of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The Gospel of John gives this account:

¹²The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. ¹³They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

    “Hosanna!”
    “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
    “Blessed is the King of Israel!”
John 12:12-13 (NIV)

People were in town to celebrate Passover – what they would experience was Jesus being that Passover lamb – as He was crucified and bled from the crown of thorns on His head and the nail through His feet and two more nails through His hands. Just as the Israelites had to apply the blood of the lamb to their doorposts to be passed over by the death angel, so we have to apply the blood of the lamb of God to the doorposts of our heart to pass from death to life. We have to say “Yes, Lord – You did that for me – Save me – I will follow You!”

But before the actual observance of Passover, Jesus came into town riding on a humble donkey. It is unmistakable that the crowd recognized Him as the Messiah they were waiting for – the One who would save and deliver them. Yet He didn’t come into town riding a horse or chariot. He came in riding a donkey. He was sending a message that they didn’t yet understand. He was sending the message that He was the Messiah who came to serve, not conquer. He came to be the lamb of God who would be slain so that the death angel could pass over all who would apply his blood to their hearts and souls.

They didn’t understand that yet. But their celebration makes it clear that they recognized Him as their Messiah.

“Hosanna to the Son of David!” They shouted. “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

“Hosanna” means “save us now!”

“Son of David” is a phrase that had come to mean the Anointed Messiah – the One who would deliver them.

 So they cut palm fronds and waved them. And threw down their coats and the palm branches before Jesus as he rode into town. They were honoring Him as they would celebrate and honor a king.

What I found fascinating is that cutting palm fronds and celebrating with them is exactly what they did every fall when they celebrated the Festival of Tabernacles. They celebrated God’s provision and their deliverance through the desert to the Promised Land with palm fronds. Now God was providing their ultimate deliverer and they instinctively used palm fronds to celebrate!

The Celebration with Palm Fronds Continues
What I also found fascinating is that this celebration was a precursor of things to come. This was the earthly celebration that preceded the heavenly one. Jesus knew this celebration would be short lived and He would soon die on the cross. He knew that in just a few days He would become the Passover lamb whose blood protected all who took shelter behind it.

Christ became that perfect sacrifice so that we might have eternal life. We look forward to next Easter when we’ll celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. In the book of revelation, John the Apostle was taken up to heaven. This is part of what he saw:

⁶Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders…⁸And…the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb….⁹And they sang a new song:
    “You are worthy to take the scroll
    and to open its seals,
    because you were slain,
    and with your blood you purchased men for God
    from every tribe and language and people and nation.
Rev 5:6-9 (NIV)

Hallelujah! Even in heaven, Christ bears the look of the Lamb who was slain and they are worshipping Him because He was slain and His blood, shed on the cross, made salvation possible for men and women from every tribe and language and people and nation. If you know Christ, if you have applied His blood to the doorposts of your heart, you will be among those people who worship Christ in heaven.

And let me show you one more thing. A few chapters later in Revelation John writes this:

⁹After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰And they cried out in a loud voice:

    “Salvation belongs to our God,
    who sits on the throne,
    and to the Lamb.”
Rev 11:9-10 (NIV)

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, the people waved palm fronds and laid them at His feet. They shouted “Hosanna” – “Save us Now!” There is a day coming when saints from every nation, tribe, people and language will stand before the throne of God – stand in front of the Lamb who was slain but is alive. And we will wear white robes, which symbolizes that our sins have been washed away, and we will be holding palm branches in our hands. And we will sing in a loud voice “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.” Hallelujah!

The celebration of the crowd as Jesus entered Jerusalem is a dim reflection of the celebration we will be a part of in heaven. What a glorious time that will be, friends. We will worship like we have never worshiped before. With palm fronds from earth, we will worship in heaven. With full understanding that Christ Jesus is the fulfillment of every Old Testament promise and practice. With the experience of a new life that lasts forever.

This is Holy Week and I encourage you to reflect and celebrate the week. Celebrate Christ’s rule and reign today – that is, the ruling and reigning of Christ in and through your life. And celebrate knowing that there is a day to come when we will celebrate Christ together in heaven.

Hosanna! Save us now, Lord!
Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord

And blessed are those who call on His Name. I hope you’re one of them.

Special thanks to Real Life Blog for the image. Check it out here.

by guest blogger Phil Hovatter

Reading an entire book of the Bible in one sitting can give you a better perspective of it than dividing it up over more than one day. This morning I had the opportunity and great pleasure of reading the Old Testament book of Ezra in one big gulp.

Ezra was an Israelite priest held in captivity in Babylon.  In fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy, the Jews were being released to go back to their homeland. Support for their return and the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem came from no fewer than three Persian (modern-day Iranian) emperors — Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes. These guys didn’t just support the rebuilding effort with lip service, they also returned temple furnishings stolen by Nebuchadnezzar when he trashed Jerusalem 70 years earlier, and kicked in thousands of pounds of gold and silver, along with herds of animals to be sacrificed at the newly rebuilt temple.

Persian kings supporting the rebuilding of the Jewish temple? When God fulfills a prophecy, He really fulfills a prophecy! Not only did Jeremiah prophesy the return of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity 70 years before it occurred, Isaiah prophesied the exact name of the emperor who would issue their release — 160 years before it happened. Isaiah 44:28 —[I am the LORD,] who says of Cyrus, “He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, ‘Let it be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundations be laid.’”

I get two things from this.

• First, our help can come from some very unexpected places. Who would expect such lavish support for the Jews to come from Persian emperors?
• Second, if God says it (even 160 or 2,000 years in advance), it’s a done deal!

So what has God said about you and your situation? Maybe He’s said something specifically about you and future. If so, continue to pray into it and seek the Lord for its fulfillment. Even if He hasn’t said anything specific to you, the Bible is chock full of great promises for those who pursue God  (and some not-so-great ones for those who choose not to pursue God). Search the Scriptures and look for what God is saying to you today. And look for the fulfillment of those promises…even from unlikely sources!

If you’re reading along with us using the Resting at the River’s Edge Reading plans, you’re in the book of Ezekiel. I told Phil a few days ago that I was reading Ezekiel and his response was “Wheels within wheels? I’m sure some day we’ll see Zeke in heaven and say ‘Dude, you got the call and you did the best you could with it, but seeing it – this is something else!’”

In other words, if you can make sense of what Ezekiel saw, you’re doing better than everyone else who has ever tried! I can’t imagine the challenge Ezekiel had in describing what is clearly other-worldly. But one day we will see the unbelievable beings he saw and we will stand (or fall) amazed. What can we take away from a book with such mind-blowing “characters?”

I can’t begin to get my mind around the pictures described by Ezekiel, but I can still gain from reading the book. Here’s just two lessons I take from the first dozen chapters of Ezekiel.

God is…More Than
I struggled with a subtitle here and settled for this generic one – God is More Than. Let me tease it out a bit:

• God is more creative than I can possibly imagine. My mind can’t bring the beings Ezekiel is describing into a cohesive picture, yet God created them from nothing. Imagine the degree of creativity required to create such things! I like it that the God I serve isn’t limited in His creativity. (Note to self: Quit trying to suggest to God how to solve your problems when you’re praying – leave the solutions to His creativity – don’t put limits on His answers to your prayers by asking in a way that causes you to receive less than God’s creativity wants to give you!)
• God is more concerned with details than I sometimes remember. The amount of detail that Ezekiel includes about the beings is commendable – but beyond Ezekiel’s detailed writing is a God who included such detail in His creations. Eyes and wings and wheels and motors and hands and faces and much more. I am certain that no part of the beings occurred by happenstance –there is significance to each element. I don’t understand that significance yet, but I know the God who does. He is patient and kind and He is love. He is trustworthy. So I leave the details to Him for now. He’ll explain them to me when I need to know. For now I can be content to marvel at His ability to create such things.
• God is not from around here – and that’s a good thing. Reading about the whirling wheels and the cherubim who interacted with them (or perhaps were a part of them) makes it clear to me that God didn’t grow up in my neighborhood. There is no amount of influence that could make someone from earth imagine what God has created. The creations are clearly other-worldly, as is the God who created them. It can become easy to think of God as a super-human. He is not. He is from a realm that He can give us insight into but while in this body, we cannot truly know.
• God is the ultimate Commander in Chief. He commands the creatures that are beyond description. He speaks and they respond. There is no hesitation in them. (Another note to self: Learn from the creatures – obey without hesitation!) Imagine the power and authority required to command such creatures!
• God is…more than – More than I can imagine, more than I can understand, more than I can describe. And as such, he is more deserving of my praise than I am able to give. Lord, help me to give you more praise!

God Hates Sin
You don’t have to have read very far in Ezekiel (I’m actually a few days behind in my reading according to our reading plan), to understand how grievous sin is to God. As I read chapters six, seven, eight and beyond, my heart was pierced as I understood what an affront sin is to God. I was also struck by the perspective of the seventy elders who were burning incense to idols in the temple. They say:

“The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.”
Ezekiel 8:12b

Wrong, my friends! The Lord sees, and He is grieved by our sin. Beyond that, however, He will judge sin. Period. Let’s not be like the seventy elders and delude ourselves into believing that God does not see and will not judge. As the Apostle Peter reminded the early Christians:

⁸But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. ⁹The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:8-9

The Lord sees, but is being patient, giving us and everyone else time to repent before He must come and judge. Peter goes on, reminding the Christians (and us today) that the Lord will come. He follows with an exhortation of how we are to live. I’ll let him write the ending to this blog:

¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

¹¹Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives ¹²as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. ¹³But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

¹⁴So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. ¹⁵Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. ¹⁶He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

¹⁷Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. ¹⁸But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
1 Peter 3:10-18

Amen!