“𝙔𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙄𝙨𝙧𝙖𝙚𝙡 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙨, '𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩.' 𝙊 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙄𝙨𝙧𝙖𝙚𝙡, 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩? 𝙄𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩?” Ezekiel 18:29
We live in a time when this conversation is taking place on a grand scale. It started in the Garden of Eden, with the serpent saying something like, “Really? God said that? No, that’s not right! Here’s the truth: God is trying to keep you from realizing your full potential. Eat the fruit!”
Today it seems that the loudest voices and most often-quoted authorities around us (some of them even in Christian pulpits) have taken up the serpent’s chorus: “What God said in the Bible is just plain wrong; we know better, now. God’s Word is too limiting; it keeps you from becoming who you were really meant to be!”
God’s simple reply is in this verse from Ezekiel: “Really? Think for just a minute about what you just said! Is it my ways that are not just? Isn’t it really your own ways that are unjust?”
God Himself is the one who defines right and wrong, just and unjust, good and evil. We are free to disagree with Him, of course. But if we disagree with God on these basic truths, there are inescapable consequences. Everything falls apart, because “God upholds the universe with His Word of power.”
A few verses later He asks another question and follows it with a gracious invitation: “𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙞𝙚, 𝙊 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙄𝙨𝙧𝙖𝙚𝙡? 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙤 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚, 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙂𝙤𝙙; 𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚." (Ezekiel 18:31-32)
Here is a call to repentance: Return to the truth of God before it’s too late. He will meet you with forgiveness, and put things right again. He offered it to Israel in Ezekiel’s day, and He makes the same offer to our nation and our world today.
𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨. 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘊𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘶. 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘯. 𝘛𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘪𝘯 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴’ 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦. 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘯.
Pastor Dan Giles