The Simple Life

Now the end is upon you, and I will send my anger upon you; I will judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations. And my eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity, but I will punish you for your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the Lord. Ezekiel 7:3-4 (ESV)   I have not counted how many times in Ezekiel we are told "then you will know that I am the Lord God" or something similar. The key to a purposeful life and death is knowing God. Without Him, life is worthless, and death is hopeless.   If I am disappointed with God, I do not know Him. If I am angry with God, I do not know Him. If I am disobedient to God, I do not know Him. If I am hopeless, I do not know God. If I am anxious, I do not know God.   Knowing God is the most important aspect of life and death. Therefore, it is the one thing Satan will attempt to hinder the most. For now, the choice is mine. https://www.podbean.com/relate365...

"Yet I will leave some of you alive. When you have among the nations some who escape the sword, and when you are scattered through the countries, then those of you who escape will remember me among the nations where they are carried captive, how I have been broken over their whoring heart that has departed from me and over their eyes that go whoring after their idols. And they will be loathsome in their own sight for the evils that they have committed, for all their abominations. And they shall know that I am the Lord. I have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them." Ezekiel 6:8-10 (ESV)   Over and over again, the prophet is told that those who refuse to acknowledge God will one day know they are wrong. Knowing I am wrong is the wisest thing I can know, if I am indeed wrong. Having a process in place that allows me to evaluate what I believe is critical, because I do not believe wrong on purpose.   All belief systems must start and end with God, or they are false. ...

"Thus shall my anger spend itself, and I will vent my fury upon them and satisfy myself. And they shall know that I am the Lord—that I have spoken in my jealousy—when I spend my fury upon them. Moreover, I will make you a desolation and an object of reproach among the nations all around you and in the sight of all who pass by." Ezekiel  5:13-14  (ESV)   From the onset of history, God wanted man to acknowledge the truth. There is a God, and we are not Him. He has a plan. He is the Alpha and Omega. My sin has separated me from Him.   Those who refuse to acknowledge Him today will be forced to acknowledge Him in the end.   I inevitably acknowledge and worship God, and if I refuse to do so today and am forced to do so tomorrow, I have wasted what could have been today.   I will live life as an investment or indulgence. As an investor, I have a future and a hope. As an indulger, I have no future and no hope. For now, the choice is mine. https://www.podbean.com/r...

Therefore, as I live, declares the Lord God, surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will withdraw. My eye will not spare, and I will have no pity. Ezekiel 5:11 (ESV)   There is nothing more tragic in all the universe than God withdrawing from someone or something. The Bible makes it clear that God is the creator and sustainer of all life. Therefore, all that He created is sustained only by Him and for Him. When He withdraws, for whatever reason, there is no reason or way to have life.   Therefore, those who try to live without the giver and sustainer of life cannot find purpose, fulfillment, significance, or security. Without God, there is no light, and the darkness that overtakes the human soul becomes unbearable, yielding anxiety, depression, and despair.   Adding darkness to darkness is not the cure for darkness, and no matter how used to it we become, we can never really escape the hope...

But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God.' He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house. Ezekiel 3:27 (ESV)   There is a strong theme at the beginning of this book that centers on God being God and Ezekiel needing to listen to Him. Once again, Ezekiel is reminded of the source of his authority. He is to declare that God is speaking, and by that, silence those who oppose God's truth.   There is no other name in the universe that has more power and authority than God. If God has said something, all others who speak on the subject must be in line with what He has said, or they will be wrong. We need to be careful when using His name, and why, early in history, we are warned against using it in vain.   All my words come from my limited understanding of all things. All God's words come from His perfect and limitless understanding of all things. That...

But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul." And the hand of the Lord was upon me there. And he said to me, "Arise, go out into the valley, and there I will speak with you." Ezekiel  3:21-22  (ESV)   It is always right to do right. It is always right to listen to God regardless of the response of those around you. Our goal must be to love God and love people, not to change God and change people. God cannot change, and people must choose to change.   This is a difficult message in an age that is evaluated on numbers, money, power, and comfort. As we read Hebrews chapter 11, we see those who were obviously successful on this earth in anyone's eyes, and we see those who were tortured, cut in half, and persecuted, who were equally successful.   The judge of success is God alone, and we might be surprised one day at those whom God has rewarded. https://www....