Personal Responsibility

Ezekiel 18

1 The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying,
2 What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?
3 As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
5 But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right,
6 And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour’s wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman,
7 And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment;
8 He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man,
9 Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord God.
10 If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things,
11 And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour’s wife,
12 Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination,
13 Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.
14 Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father’s sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like,
15 That hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbour’s wife,
16 Neither hath oppressed any, hath not withholden the pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment,
17 That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.
18 As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity.
19 Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live.
20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
24 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.
25 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?
26 When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.
27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
29 Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?
30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.

“What a just, patient, and equitable God we serve!” – Ell

Press On!

Ezekiel 37:15-23

When God chose Israel to represent His kingdom in the earth, He had plans for them from the beginning of their establishment, until eternity. People of every nation could witness the power of God, and learn of His goodness through the very lives of the children of Israel. They were to walk in truth, and obedience, while turning away from all things contrary to His holy way. Throughout the years, the Jews have had their share of ups and downs in their doings, but God never gave up on them. When they went against the standards of godliness, to go after idols, God allowed trouble to shake them back into reality. No matter how often the people strayed, God continued to show them everlasting mercy, and grace. Even today, the Jews are scattered, and disorganized, but God will soon gather them all together, and make them one nation in the land, upon the mountain of Israel. Our text continues, “and one king shall be king to them all” (vs. 22).

If God can love a wayward people such as the children of Israel, who have disobeyed Him for thousands of years, don’t you think He cares enough to not give up on you? Stop being so hard on yourself, fix your collar, and walk in integrity. God loves you, and desires that you stand firm in His Word, and don’t allow your shortcomings to keep you from fulfilling your purpose. If God will soon bless Israel, who has been historically disobedient, God will forgive you of all your errors, and strengthen you to press toward a prosperous end.

Keep your chin up… it’s easier to see Heaven that way,

Ell

Jesus teaches us to love one another

Matthew 5:21-32

What kind of world would this be, if God behaved like you and me? Such a frightening thought should motivate men to love more and hate less. Humans are very interesting beings; similar to the Creator, we too are three-part beings; spirit, soul, body. While God is holy and all things good, men were born in sin, and shaped in iniquity. Every man or woman who ever lived was guilty of committing sin, whether knowingly or unknowingly. We are fragile and finite beings who were created in God’s image and after His likeness, but also given the ability to choose between right and wrong, good and evil. God is love, and the scriptures tell of His great love on every page, but many unwisely choose to deviate from God’s command to love, and entertain acts of sin and evil.

Our text reveals where Jesus continued teaching His sermon on the mount, and the topics of discussion included transcending the law of Moses, restitution and prayer, civil suits, adultry, divorce, and remarriage. In all His teachings, Jesus’ goal was to help His listeners gain a better understanding of how to operate in God’s love in all situations. In my opinion, the best way for a believer to avoid falling into states of extreme anger, hate, violence, or any other act outside of God’s approval is to daily align their character with the fruit of the Spirit. You can’t have one attribute, without the others, so saying you have love, but also have an uncontrollable temper, voids your claim to be full of God’s Spirit. Christians are to also go over and beyond to avoid conflict and dissention amongst the brethren. We are to love, and not hate. Even before bringing an offering or sacrifice to God, He prefers that you deal with your disagreements with your brother or sister, then bring your gift after conflicts are resolved. One of the biggest problems plaguing the church today is, church folk’s behavior seems identical, if not worse, than people of the world. Men and women adorned in their finest suits and dresses, treat each other opposite of how Christ taught them to. Jesus said to love our enemies, but Christians ignore their enemies while hating their own people. What if God behaved like us, and either turned His face from us when we disrespected Him, or zapped us into oblivion if we refused to obey Him. Even when we do wrong, God still loves us the same, but why do we turn against our own people when we don’t agree on things all the time?

We are the light of the world, and the world needs us to shine, so that they can see the right path to take. When we refuse to love one another, we purposely dim our light, which could cause problems not only amongst ourselves, but those who are lost could become discouraged as well. Everything we do, positively or negatively, will have an effect on someone’s life, so strive to live in love daily, so that you’ll fulfill Christ’s command to love, and store treasures in Heaven that can never be corrupted.

Walk in love,

Ell

Clean feet, clean hands

John 13:2-7

Footwashing occurs frequently in the Old and New Testaments. Generally, there were two known situations where footwashing was observed: domestic settings for hygiene and comfort, and domestic settings devoted to hospitality. In the Torah, priests were required to wash their hands and feet before entering the holy place of the tabernacle to offer sacrifices on the altar. Moses received these commands in Exodus 30:17-21. The hands and feet would be washed regularly because of their relatively higher exposure to being contaminated. In the Old Testament it is common to associate footwashing with the priestly admission into the tabernacle and temple as well. Footwashing also prepared you for a variety of activities, like a meal for example, and was used for personal hygiene and comfort, as mentioned earlier. One of the primary forms of footwashing was as a sign of welcome.

In our text, we find where Jesus had finished supper, and began to wash the disciple’s feet. This act wasn’t a knock against tradition, instead, Jesus felt the need to teach another example of humility to His unwise disciples, after they held an ill-timed discussion concerning which of them should be accounted the greatest in the Kingdom. How could they think on such things during the final hours of Jesus’ time on the earth? While all their attention should have been focused on the sufferings Jesus was about to endure, the disciples chose to care more about their status in the kingdom, than on the unbearable persecution Christ was soon to face.

Even today, many churches still practice the footwashing tradition, and I’m in full support of it, but it hasn’t removed that same evil spirit that causes men to fight over power and position. It is still being manifested in churches across the globe, despite how clean the members feet may be. In Matthew 18, Jesus had rebuked this same spirit by setting a little child in the midst of the disciples, and said they had to become as little children, and not seek to hold authority over one another. Years after this teaching, the disciples still didn’t learn their lesson. Before He left the scene, Jesus had a desire to do away with this spirit for worldly honor and recognition, because this behavior could have become detrimental to the foundation of the church.

As the body of Christ, we too must get rid of the spirit of self-exaltation, and the desire to have rule and authority over all other Christians, because refusing to do so can severely damage our mission and purpose to win the lost. Our reflection of godliness is marred when we give in to satan, and his unholy ways, so love one another, as Christ loves us. Whether you participate in footwashing, or some other outward act of humility, make sure that after all you do, you heart changes too.

Walk in love,

Ell