The Simple Life

Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations. For any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel, who separates himself from me, taking his idols into his heart and putting the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to a prophet to consult me through him, I the Lord will answer him myself. And I will set my face against that man; I will make him a sign and a byword and cut him off from the midst of my people, and you shall know that I am the Lord. And if the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, I, the Lord, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. And they shall bear their punishment—the punishment of the prophet and the punishment of the inquirer shall be alike…. Ezekiel 14:6-10 (ESV)   The consequences for ignorance are real. For now, th...

My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord God. Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, 'Peace,' when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash…. Ezekiel 13:9-10 (ESV)   Evil doers often redefine concepts, such as peace, to control the masses. Declaring that life is wonderful when it is not mentally paralyzes people and causes confusion. When one struggles with an addiction, they need to admit the addiction to begin the healing process. A declaration that the addiction is not an addiction is the single greatest hindrance to the healing process.   We seem addicted to ourselves and live as if there is no God. All will see that there is no peace without God. We need to admit, indivi...

Then this message came to me from the LORD: "Son of man, prophesy against the false prophets of Israel who are inventing their own prophecies. Say to them, 'Listen to the word of the LORD. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: What sorrow awaits the false prophets who are following their own imaginations and have seen nothing at all!'” Ezekiel 13:1-3 (NLT)   It is not right to substitute the word of Dave for the Word of the Lord. I am Dave; God is God. There is a huge difference. When I elevate my thoughts and ideas to the level of God's, I am on dangerous ground.   The significance of words comes from the one who utters them. God has no opinions and does not say random words. I have opinions and can easily utter random words.   We must guard against substituting our logic for the revealed will of God and realize that whatever God says, whether or not we understand it or agree with it, is right. To be healthy, we must have a way to check what we say, for we easily and ...

But I will let a few of them escape from the sword, from famine and pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the nations where they go, and they may know that I am the Lord. Ezekiel 12:16 (ESV)   The importance of knowing that God is God cannot be understated.   We were made to know, trust, and obey God. We will never find significance and security apart from Him. As Godlessness increases, the struggle for significance and security will increase, and the byproducts of those who feel insignificant and insecure will abound.   It is easy to get lost in the moment and forget what we should remember, and remember what we should forget. Joshua was told to pile stones as a lasting reminder of God's intervention on their behalf. The rainbow was given to remind us that God will never wipe out the earth with a flood again.   We must recall the good, the bad, and the ugly to the next generation so they might have a better opportunity to increase the good a...

Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are a rebellious house. Ezekiel 12:2 (ESV)   Why do I ignore what is obvious? If I hear something that should apply to me, I do not always apply it. I can easily apply truth to other people's lives, but for some reason, I do not need to apply it to my own. I seem to have ears that do not hear and eyes that do not see.   It would be weird if my eyes saw what others saw, yet never saw what I needed to see. It would be equally weird to hear what others hear, but never hear what is said to me. Christians seem "gifted" at hearing and seeing for others, yet they are challenged by a hearing-and-seeing deficiency.   As a schoolteacher, I was given the privilege of teaching hearing-impaired students. My teaching ability was not as significant as my deep voice, as some of the children could hear my tones clearly. Perhaps we need to pay attention...

But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God. Ezekiel 11:21 (ESV)   When disaster strikes, is it due to God punishing us or the logical conclusion of our Godless lives? When I beat my head on a rock, do I experience pain because God is capable of stopping me and does not, or because He allows the natural byproduct of my decisions to be manifest?   Whose problem is it if I exclude God from my life and He remains distant from me? Does God punish me, or do I punish myself by excluding Him? Does it matter?   An entitled generation accepts no responsibility for the consequences that are tied to their own decisions or behavior. The entitled expect food, comfort, purpose, pleasure, power, and affirmation, regardless of personal decisions and/or effort.   The entitled value false affirmation over no affirmation, and they are easily offended by anyone who challenges...