March 8, 2025

God doesn’t want anyone to die in sin and is delighted when we turn away from it to live eternally in His presence. If we continue in evil disobedience, were we genuinely saved? Not likely. A sure sign of our salvation is regretfulness when we do something we know is not right in the eyes of God and repent.

How do you know if you are truly converted?

1. You have an aversion to sin. 
2. It’s cringy when you see others sin and convicted of your own sin.
3. You must hate sin.

What are the promises when you turn away from sin?

1. You will save your soul and live eternally.
2. Your sin will not rise up in judgment against you.
3. You will live in righteousness, not for it. 

What happens if you turn towards evil and away from righteousness? The same outcome as an unrepentant sinner. Your former righteousness will not save you. 

But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. Ezekiel 18:24

Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 2 John 1:8-9

Sun in Front of the Clouds

March 7, 2025

Some time ago, I asked God to fill in the gaps in my understanding, and of course, He has been faithful in answering me. One such thing is about the vine and the branches; he is the vine, and we are the branches. 

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. John 15:5-6

It seems simple enough to comprehend, but He added another layer showing its depth. In saying this, Jesus knew the people following him would get the comparison because Ezekiel mentions it in his prophecy to Judah. Ezekiel may have been thinking about how beautiful Jerusalem was when God gave him a word about its destruction and compared it to a useless vine being set on fire. We’ve all experienced a noxious weed with a vine stretching beyond our reach, and Judah and Jerusalem were unfruitful weeds that had turned their back on God. However, Jesus calls us the branches of his vine, and because we belong to him and continue to produce fruit, we can avoid being trimmed off and thrown into the fire. The added layer of understanding: Our fruitful branch will twine around the enemy and choke out his temptations, continue to grow, produce fruit, and expand, making other branches that also produce fruit. The fire will not consume us because we are attached to Jesus. It’s a simple concept with added layers showing how thoughtful our Father is.

God’s word to Jerusalem:

Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned? Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Ezekiel 15:5-6

March 6, 2025

During the time that Ezekiel was captive in Babylon, and before all of Jerusalem was conquered, some elders came from Jerusalem to enquire of Ezekiel and get a word of prophecy from him. It seems they had come to test him to see if his prophecy matched Jeremiah’s.  There was something fishy about them, and Ezekiel knew something was amiss. Then, his instincts were right because God gave him a word and said to tell them that He knew they had idols in their hearts, though they pretended to believe in Him, and because they tried to trip up a prophet, He would answer them according to their multitude of idols. And then God told them this:

Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD. Ezekiel 14:14

Daniel was still alive at this point in the scriptures and must have been well known, even during this time. What’s also notable is that most of us already understand that they cannot bring anyone with them and that each person is responsible for their own salvation. Then God gave them the bad news about His judgments against Judah of sword, famine, beast, and pest, which would match Jeremiah’s prophecy.

Though the world is in a shambles, it is a mess that God uses to bring people back under His care, but the idols they’ve built in their hearts must go! What might be blocking your blessings? I’m not talking about material things but genuine blessings. Search your heart for anything that you’ve allowed that might hurt God. Repent and come back to Him. 

March 5, 2025

When Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judah and Israel, the inhabitants were carried away at different times. Ezekiel lived in Babylon during his visions and when God spoke to him. During this point in his prophecy, Zedekiah was installed as king, which gave the captives hope that he would come to save them because they remembered back to Jeremiah’s prophecy about him coming to Babylon. They thought he would come to conquer Nebuchadnezzar and rescue them. God needed to clarify his word to Ezekiel so the people would understand they were there for the long haul. So God told him to gather his belongings like he was moving, cover his face so he couldn’t see the ground, make it look like he was moving secretly, and dig a hole in the wall to go out that way. God told him to tell them there would be a prince among them, pointing to King Zedekiah. If you remember, in Jeremiah, he tells of Zedekiah being carried off as a captive and then having his eyes plucked out, meaning he couldn’t see where he was going. Ezekiel had to act out his prophecy because the people were too blind to see the truth, so acting it out would help their dull brains understand. 

We are no different; there are so many signs before our eyes telling us where the world is going, but we cannot see them because our brains are so dulled by our unbelief, environmental issues, possible food contamination, and pharmaceuticals. All these factors can lead our minds only to be able to see what is right before us but not to understand the truth about what is happening in general. Has someone cast a spell and made the worldwide population fall asleep? The awakening will be rude! Stay connected to the Father; He will protect you in His mighty hands. He is our hope for brighter days.

And the prince that is among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the twilight, and shall go forth: they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby: he shall cover his face, that he see not the ground with his eyes. Ezekiel 12:12

March 4, 2025

We must remember that God's words are to help save us from disaster, not to bring depression, but to encourage us to be righteous. I am overjoyed to find Jesus in Ezekiel 9. He was counted with the angels sent to destroy Jerusalem, but he was there to mark the foreheads of the righteous so they wouldn't be slain. He was clothed in linen and carried an inkhorn as the writers did during Ezekiel's time; he was commissioned to write the names to be saved from destruction in the Book of Life during the cleansing of Jerusalem. Much like the blood over the doorpost in Egypt, we are marked on the forehead for salvation in Jesus. One of those saved during that time was Jeremiah. "Baruch and Ebed-Melech were secured, and, it is likely, others of Jeremiah's friends, for his sake." Matthew Henry. It makes so much more sense why Jeremiah was so sad and crying all the time; his heart broke for the sinners who were being destroyed or left for starvation. These words give us hope that during tribulation in the last days, if we are here, God will have mercy on us and not be slain by His wrath. That doesn't mean we will not die by other means, but it won't be because of God's fury. 

And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: Ezekiel 9:4-5

March 3, 2025

I searched everywhere for words of encouragement in Ezekiel 7, but there are none. God had given the children of Israel multiple warnings from the prophets, and now Ezekiel is prophesying destruction. The only warning this time was to prepare for the wrath! I hoped to candy coat it like the false prophets, but when it’s God’s word, I dare not write anything but the truth. So, I will share my heart with you; if you don’t want God’s discipline to affect you and everyone else, pray for our country, and if there is anything wicked in you, repent and ask forgiveness. Though we are not Israel, we are a Christian nation, so God expects more from us than nations that worship idols and false deities. We’ve allowed into our country unbelievers, and it seems that their presence has had a substantial impact on us because they brought with them the demons associated with their cultish religion. However, we can’t always blame someone else for disobedience, so we need to look within and ensure there is nothing detestable in us, and maybe He will relent from giving us what we deserve in the form of His wrath. Pray before it’s too late and God sends His wrath upon us as He did Israel and Judah. 

There is good news: we have Jesus! If we are caught in the crossfire of God’s destruction, we can count on Jesus standing up from his throne and welcoming us into heaven. I’m okay with that; how about you? 

An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come. Ezekiel 7:6

March 2, 2025

The Lord God will hold his children accountable if they stray from Him to worship fake idols or so-called deities. The timeline for Ezekiel's next prophecy is thought to be after he had finished the 430 days of demonstration of God's plan. God gave him another prophecy concerning Israel and Judah about the worship of idols, the high places, and altars they rebuilt after Josiah had destroyed them. God vowed to cut down their idols once again and scatter the people's carcasses at the base of their altars.  We are the temple of the Holy Spirit of God, so when we introduce anything that replaces God in our hearts and minds, we can expect consequences. He is a jealous God! I know we have Jesus, and he covers our sins, but how do you think he feels about us worshipping another god? I can assure you that he will come into your temple with a whip to break down the altars to such gods. Do you want that to happen? If not, it may be a good idea to rid yourself of those idols and repent. Consider that an idol is something or someone you give a higher importance than God. Search your heart, and if you don't see it, ask God to show it to you. If you are sincere about wanting a cleansing of the filth of an idol, He will make it obvious so you see where you went wrong so you can ask forgiveness. God gives us grace and is very merciful, especially if we are sincere. 

Then shall ye know that I am the LORD, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols. Ezekiel 6:13

And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. John 2:15-16