When his court astrologers couldn’t tell the king what his dream was, the king decided to kill ALL the court wise men. That included Daniel and his friends. So Daniel went to the king and asked for a little more time, which he was granted. Now, if you knew your neck was on the line to produce information that you couldn’t possibly know, how would you spend that time? Some of us might have tried to escape and gotten out of Babylon before the king knew we were gone. Some of us might have tried to trick the king into giving us clues about his dream by peppering him with questions. Others of us might have tried to get all the magicians and wise men together and come up with a “best guess” at the dream. Still others of us might have just paced the floor all night, dreading how painful our impending death was going to be.
But Daniel didn’t do any of those things. He simply went back to his friends and invited them to join him in prayer. Only God knew the dream. And only God knew what the dream meant. So Daniel and his friends cried out to God. And the God who gave the dream to the king revealed it to Daniel, so he could answer the king. Daniel put the full weight of his dire situation on the shoulders of the Lord. And God came through.
At our staff meeting today, we shared a ton of requests. People in need of healing. People in need of jobs. People in need of comfort and peace in their time of loss. People in need of a miracle. The common denominator for all of them was that we have no control over any of them. We can’t fix them, heal them, or change them. So we did what we knew to do. We cried out to God. Because He’s the One who can!
Today, I invite you to give up your illusion of control in your life. I invite you to come to a place of surrender and rest where you give over to God all of that which is beyond you. Some of us, like Daniel, are in dire places where we are in need of a miracle. And the God of miracles is waiting for us to invite Him in. So stop fretting. Stop wringing your hands. Stop panicking. Start praying. And may the God of Daniel meet with you, just as He met with him. That’s God’s Word for you today.

I have a friend who has a really interesting testimony. He was an agnostic for years. He was a “head” person who believed in what he could see, touch, and feel. That is, until he really NEEDED God. Then he became a lot more open to the idea. For him, it was the health crisis of someone he cared about deeply. Someone he loved was facing death, and there was nothing he or the doctors could do. So in a waiting room of a hospital late one night, he asked God that if He was real, to show him a sign and to heal his loved one. God responded to his crisis with a miracle of revelation of His existence and a miracle of healing. My friend has been a God-fearing Christ-follower ever since.
Crisis. It can change your perspective, can’t it? King Nebuchadnezzar didn’t have much regard for God. That is, until he had a dream that was so vivid and real that he knew it had deep meaning. Then he HAD to hear from God. So much so that he wasn’t going to accept some made-up interpretation from his magicians. They were going to have to tell him what he dreamed as well as what it meant. That created a crisis for the magicians! When they saw that the king was serious, they responded with what the king already knew: No one but God could reveal what someone dreamed and tell its meaning. Exactly.
Crisis opens the door for God to reveal Himself. Almost every miracle that ever happened was a door of crisis where God walked through and said, “Here I am!” Crisis causes us to be open to God, to admit our need for God, and pushes us to seek God, including those of us who question whether He even exists. Crisis reminds us how human and feeble we are. Crisis shows us how little control over life we have. But fortunately, crisis also shows us how merciful and powerful our God really is. There was one part the magicians were very wrong about, though. They said, “No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among people.” They had no idea that God DOES live right here among us. A lesson Daniel was about to teach them.
So if you’re in a crisis or walking with someone else in a crisis, don’t see it as a curse of life. See it as an opportunity for God. Turn to Him in faith and believe that He is right there among you. Even if you’ve never turned to Him before, invite Him in. Your crisis may be God’s way of introducing Himself to you in a way like you never imagined. Your crisis is God’s Door. That’s God’s Word for you today.

“In the world, but not of the world.” Do you remember that teaching of Jesus? Daniel and his friends personified this perfectly in Daniel 1. Having been taken captive to Babylon, Daniel and his friends were recruited to serve as officials in the king’s court. Quite an honor for the Jewish prisoners. Part of their preparation was to make sure they looked fit and healthy by feeding them the king’s food—much of which was forbidden to the Jews. People of lesser character might have “bent the rules” to gain favor and not jeopardize their opportunity. But Daniel and his friends stood their ground and asked to be fed only acceptable vegetables and water, and then to be compared to the others who were being fed the rich food of the king. When the ten days were over, the difference was obvious. They were allowed to keep their required diet, and they were brought into the king’s service.
But notice, too, in the passage that their obedience caught the eye of God as well. Look how God responded to their steadfastness: “God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams.” They gave God their allegiance. God gave them His Special Blessing.
“Obedience opens the door for God’s blessing.” That becomes a theme throughout the Book of Daniel. It won’t always come immediately, and it won’t always come in the way you expect it, but it WILL come. Whenever we compromise our integrity for advancement, it comes back to haunt us. There may be short gains that we enjoy, but those pale in comparison to living in the light of God’s Favor. As long as we live “in the world,” we will be tempted to do things the world’s way. But don’t. Stay true to who you are in Christ and do what HE wants you to do. God hasn’t called us to fit in. He’s called us to STAND OUT. Position yourself for the blessing. That’s God’s Word for you today.

The Temple represented the place where God dwelt. That’s why it was to be a very special place, unique and ornate. God also said that it was to be a “holy” place. It was to be regarded as sacred and treated with special care and attentiveness. In fact, God tells the people in our passage today that the whole mountain where the temple was built was to be holy. That “holiness” was how people would know that God was there.
This passage also foreshadows the coming of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6 that our bodies are now the temple of God because God’s Spirit lives in us. Think about that for a moment. No longer do people have to go up on a mountain to experience God. WE have brought the mountain down to them! What an incredible privilege! And what a weighty responsibility. That’s why Peter challenges us with the Lord’s words in 1 Peter 1:15-16: “But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
Being holy doesn’t mean we have to live like monks. Nor does it mean that we will live flawless, perfect lives. But it does mean that we should be living GODLY lives. We are the roving temples of God wherever we find ourselves. Our lives are to reflect the character of God. Our speech should echo His kindness and mercy. Our actions should show His compassion and grace. To be “holy” means to be set apart for a divine purpose. All that we do should reflect the God who lives within us. When people encounter us, they should experience the God within us.
Let us commit today to be the walking, talking mountains of God. Let’s ask Him today to bathe us in His Spirit that we might reflect Him in every action, every encounter, and every conversation. Let’s dedicate ourselves today to live “set apart” lives where God shows through. With God’s help, let’s be “holy as He is holy.” That’s God’s Word for you today.

“O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.”
Psalm 139:1 (NLT)

Last Sunday’s message was such a powerful one. Since I was speaking on the topic of “Living the Victorious Life,” I asked a woman to share her testimony with the church. It was SO GOOD. She was making the point for me about the need to live “in community.” God told us from the beginning that it is “not good for man to be alone.” But somehow many of us think we are the exception. Then we wonder why we struggle with loneliness and depression and often find ourselves struggling to live the victorious life God wants us to have.
Her testimony was vulnerable and moving. She shared about the pain that set her up for her struggle with addiction. She shared about the losses and the self-destruction. She also shared about the healing, the forgiveness, and the new life that God gave her. She capped it all off with the part people weren’t expecting. She told how she discovered that to not just GET sober, but to STAY sober, she needed the PEOPLE of God just as much as the POWER of God. She needed a safe place, with safe people, where she could continue to journey with openness, honesty, and people who would lift, encourage, and pray for her. It was an amazing testimony about why God calls us to live in community.
Notice in our passage today that God calls Ezekiel to do the same thing. After letting Ezekiel see and experience how He could breathe new life into dead bones, God tells Ezekiel to share that with the People of God. They’re struggling. They’re hopeless. They are a heap of dry bones who need life breathed into them. So God sends someone who has seen what God can do to tell them that God can do that for them as well. Ezekiel became God’s witness to His Grace and Power.
That’s YOU. If God has transformed you, you have a story to tell. If God has brought you back from death to life, there are dead souls that need to hear. If God has saved you, delivered you, or brought hope into your dark world, I promise you that there are LEGIONS of people who need to know what you’ve found. Be open. Be listening. Be looking wherever you go. You never know when God might call you to share the life-giving power that you have discovered. God needs everyday prophets who can tell a few others how their dry bones can live! That’s God’s Word for you today.

People often say in recovery that “the first step is the hardest.” And that’s probably true. Your life doesn’t change until you come to a place where you can admit that it needs to change. That’s why the first step in the recovery process says, “I admit that I am powerless over my addiction—that my life has become unmanageable.” It takes a broken and humbled person to say that.
Though the first step may be the hardest, I think the second step is the most important. “I’ve come to believe that a power greater than myself can restore my life to sanity.” You see, it’s one thing to admit you’re a mess. It’s another thing altogether to realize that YOU are not enough to fix your mess!
This is really important. Many people, when they hit bottom or crash and burn in their life, make the mistake of believing that THEY are going to fix what they’ve broken. They determine they can “will” their way out of it, or “manifest” a different life. Some decide they’re just going to “try harder.” That kind of thinking simply leads us right back to where we are. It’s believing we have the ability to manage our lives on our own that took us down that destructive path in the first place! Read that last sentence again. Twice.
Take another look at our passage today as God gives Ezekiel the formula for making those dry bones live. Notice how many times the Lord says, “I will.” Not “You will.” Ezekiel can’t breathe life into those bones no matter how hard he tries. Only the Author of Life can make living that which is dead. Trying to fix our lives on our own is the insanity of trying the same wrong thing and expecting different results. We don’t need more “us.” We need the Lord.
There is a Higher Power who stands ready to help you. His name is Jesus. He has come that you might have a full and abundant life. He can do what you cannot do. He can break the chains that enslave you. He can heal the deepest wounds within you. He can breathe into you a New Life, a New Strength, and a New Spirit. If you’re ready to admit your life is a mess, good for you! That’s the hardest part. Just remember the second step is the most important. Your Higher Power stands with open arms, ready to help. That’s God’s Word for you today.

“Can these bones live?” Have you ever asked that question? I have. And I’ve sat with many others who have. I’ve met with churches that had declined over the years until there were only a few people left—and most of those people were well into their “golden years.” As they look around at the empty pews and vacant classrooms, they ask, “Can these bones live?”
I’ve met with couples whose marriages, which started out as a burning flame, don’t even have a glowing ember left. Hurtful things have been said. Painful things have been done. They not only aren’t sure if they love each other; they’re not convinced they even LIKE each other. As a last-ditch effort, they decided to at least sit and ask the question, “Can these bones live?”
I have friends and family whose lives have been consumed by addiction. They lost their jobs. They lost their marriages. They lost their self-respect and sense of worth. They’ve tried to quit and have failed. Again and again and again. They're looking for hope. They’re looking for something to hang onto. They look at the scrapyard that used to be their lives and ask the question, “Can these bones live?”
When God gave Ezekiel this vision, it was to give him a sense of the depth of hope that he could put in the Lord. God could not only make the sick well, He could also make the dead come to life again. Even the dead, dry, long-forgotten bones of the dead could find life again. The lungs of hope for Israel had run out of breath. They were dead and buried in their sin. But the Lord could breathe new life into them. He was their Living Hope.
Hear the Word of the Lord, my friend. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Did you hear that? Read it again. Jesus is not only the Healer, He is the Resurrector! Your church can live again! Your marriage can live again! YOU can live again! The dry, dead bones of the valley you find yourself in are all the ingredients God needs for a miracle. He can breathe new life into you. He can breathe new love into you. He can breathe new hope into you. Lay your dry, dead bones before the Lord. He alone knows what needs to be done. The One who spoke life into the dust at the beginning can speak life into the dry bones of our lives. “Can these bones live?” Yes, my friend, THEY CAN! That’s God’s Word for you today.

I was recently talking with someone who had been a part of a church where the pastor was pretty harsh and authoritarian. He felt he answered to God alone and no one had the right to question him. It was a very painful experience that left this person hurt and quite disillusioned with churches and church leadership. My guess is that many of you have either experienced painful leadership like that or know someone who has. It’s a fairly common story.
We shepherds don’t always act the way we should. Sometimes it’s because we haven’t dealt with our own dysfunction. Sometimes it’s because we’ve become more concerned about building our kingdom rather than God’s Kingdom. Sometimes it comes from the stresses and frustration of trying to lead a church, which is more like herding cats than shepherding sheep! Sometimes, if we’re honest, our unshepherd-like behavior comes as a reaction to the hurts we have received from churches. “Hurting people hurt people.” And sometimes it’s just because we’re human and having a bad day.
Sadly, people often forget pastors are just people. God has simply given us a different role in the Body of Christ. When we, as God’s shepherds, fail to live up to what we’re supposed to be, it can tarnish people’s perception of all pastors or all churches. It can even leave a bad taste in their mouth about God.
God speaks to this point in our passage today. Part of the problem for His People has been that those He appointed as shepherds have failed miserably at their jobs. God holds them accountable for that. But He also reminds the people that HE is the Shepherd they need to ultimately look to. He is Perfect. He is the one who will love them like no other, lead them with unending patience and kindness, and who will be there for them no matter what. Pastors and church leaders are just vessels. Our Lord is the Real Deal.
Hear my heart today. Go easy on your pastor. Most of us really do love you and are trying our best to lead you as we should. We know that we don’t always get it right. For those of you who have been hurt, I’m so sorry. I pray that you find healing, wholeness, and restoration in your life. I would also encourage you to find a church and a pastor where you feel loved. But please remember that there is only One Perfect Shepherd. So when you get disillusioned here on earth, turn your gaze toward heaven. Because that’s the Shepherd we’re all ultimately looking for. That’s God’s Word for you today.

Many people think the Bible is just a book of rules. They miss the point that the Bible is actually God’s love letter to the human race. God created us. We ran from Him. In His love, He pursued us, purchased us, and offered us an opportunity to be in a loving relationship with Him. But the people who don’t understand that are right about one thing. The Bible does have a lot of rules. And those rules are out of His love for us.
Think about it. What loving parent doesn’t have a laundry list of rules for their children? Rules that are meant for their protection. Like wearing a helmet when you ride a bike. Wearing a seatbelt when you’re riding in a car. No playing in the street. No wandering the streets after dark. No getting in the car with strangers. No running with scissors. And my personal favorite—no BB guns. “You’ll shoot your eye out!”
We have health rules for our kids. Eat your vegetables. Go to bed by a certain time to get enough sleep. Brush your teeth. Take a shower. Use soap. Wash your hair. Limit junk food. Wear sunscreen. Drink water. Go to the doctor. We have rules about how late they can stay out or stay up. We have rules about going to school, doing homework, and the grades we expect them to get. We have rules about going to church, what they can watch on television, and how much screen time they can have on their phones.
Rules rule. Only uncaring parents don’t have rules for their kids. There are rules to protect them from dangers they’re often not even aware of yet. There are rules to help their bodies and minds grow healthy and strong. There are rules to help them chart a path to success and maturity. There are rules to protect them from themselves. The rules are there so that they will LIVE!
That’s what you hear in the voice of God in our passage today. God tells Ezekiel to point out all the ways that His People are disobeying Him and breaking all the guidelines that He gave them along the way. He calls them back to obedience, not to be mean or overbearing. God does it out of LOVE. He wants them safe. He wants them healthy. He wants them to be prosperous and successful. He wants them to LIVE! And the same is true for us. Don’t fight God over His rules. Celebrate them. And be thankful you have a Father who loves you enough to care! That’s God’s Word for you today.

God asked Ezekiel to do some really strange things. Have you noticed that? God used him as a living sign to the people of the things to come. In our passage today, he’s acting out what it means to be an exile. So God has him pack up his stuff, dig a hole through the wall, and walk away without looking back. This wasn’t the first time God had him do stuff like that! How would YOU respond to such a request?
When I read the last part of our passage, it hit me hard. “So I did as I was told.” Ezekiel didn’t argue with God or tell the Lord what a dumb idea it was or how embarrassed he would be to do such a thing. He just DID IT. That’s the kind of single-minded obedience that I want to have with the Lord. Don’t you?
Process this with me for a moment. When God tells you to do something odd or off the wall, how do YOU respond? Such as when He tells you to go and apologize to the person you’re at odds with, even though you’re convinced THEY are in the wrong. Or when God tells you to take a role in the church that you are CONVINCED you will hate. Or when God calls you out of your comfort zone and asks you to go talk to someone, or text someone, or give some money to someone, and you are an introvert who is uncomfortable with such things. We don’t always know WHY God wants us to do the things He asks. But just as with Ezekiel, God has His reasons. He just needs someone who will do it.
When I read the passage today, I thought about how odd Ezekiel must have looked to the people. Some probably thought he was crazy. Some probably thought he was just eccentric and strange. Some probably pointed and laughed. But it didn’t matter to Ezekiel. He didn’t do it for applause or attention or notoriety. He did it so he could stand before God and say what every servant of God wants to ultimately be able to say. “I did as I was told.” That’s God’s Word for you today.

Okay, this is one of those passages where I felt as if God was calling me out. I tend to have selective senses. I hear what I want to hear, and I see what I want to see. When I get locked in on something I’m doing, I become oblivious to what’s going on around me. Wanda can be sitting right next to me, talking loud enough for me to hear across the room, but if I’m preoccupied, it’s just white noise. If I’m looking for someone in particular on a Sunday morning, I can blow right by people without seeing them. They’re like blurred images faded into the background. I have ears, but don’t hear. And I have eyes, but don’t see. Sadly, my selective senses can even be in effect in my relationship with God.
I remember reading an old Peanuts cartoon one time where Lucy was diligently leafing through a Bible. When Charlie Brown asked her what she was doing, she said, “I’m looking for a scripture that can back up one of my preconceived notions.” I remember reading that and thinking, “I do that!” I have to confess that I’ve read the Bible before, not to see what God might want to say to me or to seek out new truth that I need to apply to my life, but to find something to justify myself or use to point a finger at someone else. THEIR sins are much more obvious to me than MY sins!
The same is true when it comes to hearing God speak to me. I remember one time hearing God speak to me and realizing in that moment that He has to work REALLY HARD sometimes to get my attention. I’d much rather simply live under the illusion that I’m okay and doing what God wants me to do than to truly listen for His voice of correction or instruction. That’s called Selective Spiritual Hearing.
When I read our verse today, I found myself praying, “Dear God, please let the selfish scales fall from my eyes that I might see what you want me to see. Please unstop my ears from all of the noise I use to block out your voice. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear. Take away my Selective Senses and give me senses that are tuned in to YOU!” That’s God’s Word for you today.

“And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.” – Matthew 6:13 (NLT)

This vision of Ezekiel in our passage today has to be one of the saddest images ever. The lifting and removal of the glory of God. The glory of God was what set Israel apart from all the other nations in the world. It was the glory of God that went before them through the wilderness. A cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. It was the glory of God that settled upon the Tabernacle whenever Moses went there to meet with God. That glory represented the Presence of God, the Power of God, and the Favor of God. In Exodus 33, when Moses was afraid that God’s Presence wasn’t going to go before them, He said to the Lord, “If you don’t personally go with us, don’t make us leave this place. How will anyone know that you look favorably on me—on me and on your people—if you don’t go with us? For your presence among us sets your people and me apart from all other people on the earth.” Smart man.
Moses was wise enough to know that Israel without the Presence of God was just another people. They weren’t that strong, they weren’t that rich, and they weren’t that smart. It was God who fed them when there was no food. It was God who provided water when there was nothing to drink. It was God who broke the back of Pharaoh, parted the waters, drowned the Egyptian army, and conquered every foe for them along the way. It was God’s glory that gave them favor and blessing. It was God’s glory that gave them victory. It was God’s glory that made them Special. Without God, they were like the rest of the world. Lost.
Wow, I hope this passage hits you as it hits me. I DESPERATELY need the glory of God in my life! I NEED His Presence. I NEED His Power. I NEED His Favor. I can’t be the husband, the father, the grandfather, the pastor, or man of God I need to be without the overshadowing of the Lord. I need His Anointing in every area of my life. Don’t you? May our prayer today be one of commitment and dedication. “O God, help us to cling to Your Glory! Never let us drift away from Your Presence in our lives. YOU are our all in all!” That’s God’s Word for you today.

Not long ago, I received an anonymous prayer request from someone. They told me that they had become “disconnected” from God and that they desired to be close to Him again. It was a very tender and touching request, and I prayed for that person as I walked that day. As I did, I thought of the verse from James, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.”
God desires intimacy with us. He wants closeness, not distance. He wants a relationship with us that is one of substance and not one that is superficial. And though God is always “right there” in one sense of the word, He can’t be truly close to our hearts and minds unless we open them to Him. That’s why I found the prayer request so touching. This person realized that they had become quite distracted in their life. They wanted the God who was “there” to be “near.”
It’s easy to get distracted, isn’t it? It’s easy to get fixed on our pursuits, our goals, our activities, and our desires and forget that there is a God who desires to journey with us. A God who wants to share a dream with us. A God who wants to do life with us. A God who wants our First Thoughts to be of Him. Sometimes we just get so consumed with other things that God gets left behind.
That’s why I love our passage today. As God is using Ezekiel to communicate His disappointment to the people, He shares with him His true desire. “And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart.” Reflect on that for a moment. God doesn’t want to punish the people. He has no desire for them to have to be in exile or go down the dark path they’re on. His desire is for love. His desire is for reconciliation. His desire is for closeness.
Is that YOUR desire today? I don’t know about you, but I’ve sure had times when my heart has grown thorny and stony. Times when I’ve become disconnected and distracted. I’m so thankful God’s arms are always open to draw us back and draw us near. No matter how far we’ve drifted away, He never stops loving us and wanting us close. If you find yourself disconnected and distracted today, turn back to the Lord. He’ll give you “singleness of heart and put a new spirit in you.” Let the God who is “right there” all the way in. “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” That’s God’s Word for you today.

In our staff meeting yesterday, I asked the team to do some self-assessment and share what they believed to be their greatest leadership asset or quality and their greatest leadership challenge or liability. It’s a harder exercise than you might think. Most of us struggle to “go deep” with ourselves. We know who we WANT to be. We’re probably even in touch with what our INTENTIONS are. But who we ARE—the good, the bad, and the ugly—is not something we like to really reflect on. That’s why I told the team that we must always keep in mind that the hardest person to lead is ourselves.
Take a deep breath and sit with that for a few minutes. How good of a handle do you feel like you have on YOU? Honestly. Most of us find it infinitely easier to see the flaws in other people’s lives than we do our own. THEY have bad attitudes. We just have rough mornings sometimes. THEY are mean. We’re just firm. THEY are selfish and narcissistic. We just have boundaries. You get the point. We tend to see others through the eyes of judgment. We mostly see ourselves through the eyes of grace.
God was sending Ezekiel to deliver a hard message to His People. It was a message of confrontation. But notice what God says to Ezekiel in our passage today: “Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself.” Boom! In other words, God says, “Before you preach it to them, preach it to YOU! Let My Word prick YOUR heart. Let My Spirit move in YOU. Look in the mirror and ask yourself if YOU are living up to all that I am asking of you. Lead YOU before you try to lead them!”
God’s Word to Ezekiel was a powerful reminder to all of us. We need to spend a lot more time examining ourselves than we do picking apart other people. We need to do regular, deep-soul reflection, rather than telling ourselves that we’re “fine.” We need to let the Spirit of God wrestle with US more than we pray for the Spirit of God to deal with others. David said it this way in Psalm 139: “Search me, O Lord, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any wicked thing in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” And I’m going to add that if you’re not finding a “wicked thing” every once in a while, you’re not looking deep enough. Remember, the hardest person for you to lead is YOU. That’s God’s Word for you today.

One of the things that’s hard in doing God’s work is when people respond negatively. A lot of people have shared with me that they’ve worked hard for many years at their churches and never really felt appreciated for it. People have talked about how they gave their all to a task or a committee or a position, only to be criticized or ridiculed for it. Like many pastors, I’ve poured my heart out in messages on Sundays before, only to have someone pull me aside in the lobby to show me a typo in the bulletin or complain about some petty issue. It’s easy to ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?”
If it’s for praise and applause, good luck with that. If it’s so people will think you’re wonderful, you might want to consult a psychologist. We’re dealing with PEOPLE. And people can be difficult, stubborn, narcissistic, and rude. This is true no matter who you are or how good you are at what you do. You can be the BEST representative of God and still have people throw it back in your face. You know how I know this? They did it to Jesus. He was PERFECT. And they ended up crucifying Him!
That’s why I love how God prepared Ezekiel in our passage today. As He sends him forth to do His work, God reminds Ezekiel of who he is going to be dealing with. People. And those people, in God’s words, are “hard-hearted and stubborn.” Ezekiel needed to know that his responsibility was simply to be obedient to God’s instructions. Then God said, “The people of Israel won’t listen to you any more than they listen to me!” In other words, don’t take it to heart, Ezekiel. It’s not about you.
That’s my encouragement to you today. Do your job, follow your calling, and be obedient to what God has assigned you to do. But don’t let people get under your skin. People will be PEOPLE. Some will be mean. Some will be rude. Some will criticize and pick apart every little thing you do. But all of that is about THEM, not about you. Make sure whatever it is you’re doing, you’re doing it for God. No matter how bad you have it, keep one thought in mind. Jesus had it worse. That’s God’s Word for you today.

As God calls Ezekiel to do His work, He warns him about who his greatest enemy will be: Fear. He tells Ezekiel not to be afraid of what people are going to say. He encourages him not to be afraid of their threats. He prepares him for the fact that he is likely going to be rejected, but he’s not to be afraid of that either. God promises to be with him and to see him through. Success will be simply completing the task as God has assigned it, not how the people respond. The only thing that can stop him is fear.
Fear robs so many of us of the calling of God. We’re afraid we’ll fail. We’re afraid that people won’t like us. We’re afraid we’re not smart enough, educated enough, or experienced enough. We’re afraid of rejection. We’re afraid of criticism. We’re afraid people won’t like how we do it. There is something strong in our human nature that wants assurance that we’ll be affirmed, liked, and experience profound results. The fear of NOT receiving those keeps most of us from stepping up and stepping out.
Do a study sometime of how many times the phrase, “Don’t be afraid,” or the positive spin on that, “Be courageous,” is used in scripture. Abraham would have never left his home if he let fear control him. Moses and the people would never have left Egypt. Joshua and the people would never have gone into the promised land. Joseph, David, Daniel, Gideon, Peter, Paul, and every other character in Scripture would have stayed home if they let the Fear Bandit rob them. And history would have been very different.
God is calling many of us to roles, tasks, and assignments, and we’re balking because of fear. I want to challenge us today to obey the voice of God rather than the voice of fear. Let’s stop hiding behind the “There’s somebody better,” or “I’m not qualified,” or “I don’t know if I have the time,” excuses that fear is drumming up for us. What God may be calling us to might not be easy. It might not go as we want it to. And yes, not everyone will like us. But if God is nudging us, He has a reason. Let’s not let fear steal one more blessing from our lives. That’s God’s Word for you today.

One of the discoveries I’ve made in leadership along the way is that it’s really hard for many people to speak the truth. Especially if they think that someone is going to be mad or hurt. I’ve sat in meetings where everyone knows what the problem is or WHO the problem is, but no one wants to say it. I’ve had people come to me with “concerns” and dance around the issue until I’ve had to stop them and say, “Can you please just tell me what your concern is?” Have you ever experienced that? One of my favorite Bible verses is Proverbs 24:26, which says, “An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.” Yes, it is!
Please hear my heart on this. I’m not saying we are to be rude, intentionally offensive, or insensitive. But I do believe we are called to “speak the truth in love.” People who speak the truth help us grow. People who speak the truth keep us from making big mistakes. People who speak the truth sometimes help us hear what God is trying to tell us, but we are not hearing. In the end, people who speak the truth are respected a whole lot more than people who simply tell us what they think we want to hear.
Truth-telling was the command that God gave Ezekiel as he sent him out to be His Spokesperson. God was going to say some hard things through Ezekiel. They wouldn’t be things that the people wanted to hear, but it would definitely be things they NEEDED to hear! God told Ezekiel on the front end that people can be tough, and they may not heed a word he says. But Ezekiel’s responsibility wasn’t to make the people obey. His job wasn’t to get the people to agree or to commit to change. His job was simply to speak the truth as God gave it to him. After that, it was between the people and God.
O people, speak the truth — to your spouse, to your team, to your family, to your church, or to your friends. If God gives you insight and understanding, speak it. Say it with love. Say it with humility. Say it with concern and conviction. They don’t have to accept it. They don’t have to believe it. They don’t have to act on it. None of that is up to you. But your job as a messenger of God who loves them is to say it. Oh yes, and one more thing. If someone speaks the truth to you, do yourself a favor and LISTEN. It may be God trying to get your attention. That’s God’s Word for you today.

Yesterday, we talked about how we need the strength of God to do the work of God. But how do we receive that strength? Our passage today answers that question. It comes by the empowerment of God’s Spirit. Ezekiel had a powerful vision from God that caused him to fall face down in humble worship. In that moment of understanding and surrender, God spoke to Ezekiel. And the Lord filled him with His Spirit to accomplish the work that was ahead of him.
We have access to that same Spirit of God! In the Old Testament, God’s Spirit settled upon one person at a time to do the work of God. On the Day of Pentecost, after Jesus ascended to heaven, God’s Spirit was made available to all followers of Christ. The Holy Spirit was the Key to how those disciples and early followers were able to thrive in the midst of horrible persecution.
In Acts 4, Peter and John were arrested for preaching the gospel. They were told to stop, or what happened to Jesus might happen to them. When they were released, they went back to the other followers and told them what had happened. When they realized the serious opposition they were up against, they fell on their faces before God. They knew it was going to take strength they didn’t have to accomplish what God was calling them to do. This was their prayer and God’s response: “’Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.”
Today, if you’re feeling overwhelmed by all that’s ahead of you, follow the lead of Ezekiel and the Disciples. Hit your knees before God and cry out for His Presence and His Power. Ask Him to fill you to overflowing with His Holy Spirit. The day before you may be bigger than you, but it is not bigger than the Spirit of God. What you can’t do on your own, God CAN do through you. Pray with me, “Fill us, O Spirit of God!” That’s God’s Word for you today.

“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” – Matthew 6:12 (NIV)

“The work of God requires the strength of God.” You might want to commit that statement to memory. It’ll save you a lot of frustration, failure, and heartache. I know it sounds like a simple truth, but it’s truly quite profound. And it’s one that we frequently forget.
Take another look at our passage today. Ezekiel, probably in his very first year of being a priest, has these visions of God. That can be a pretty overwhelming event for a new guy. God is giving him a glimpse of what’s coming. He’s giving him a look at the incredible future he has ahead of him. It would have been very easy for Ezekiel to get caught up in it all and say, “God picked ME!!” He wouldn’t have been wrong about that, but he could have easily missed the point. It wasn’t about who got picked. It was about The One doing the picking!
Let me point out a couple of things. First of all, Ezekiel’s name. It means “God strengthens.” Camp on that a second. Ezekiel’s name didn’t mean, “This guy’s a Strong Man.” It was a name pointing to God. As it should. Second, take a look at the last line of our passage. “And he felt the hand of the LORD take hold of him.” This reflects where Ezekiel’s strength, insight, and success come from. They come from the Lord. Just like Joseph, Moses, David, Gideon, and every other person before him whom God used, Ezekiel’s ability to accomplish God's work will have to come from God's strength.
It’s the same for us. Sometimes God gives us visions of what He wants to do through us. Sometimes God calls us to certain places, to certain people, and to certain ministries to serve Him. Sometimes God opens doors and opportunities that absolutely blow our minds. But we always have to keep in mind that God doesn’t call us to these things because of who WE are. He calls us because of who HE is. These people, these ministries, these opportunities don’t need us. They need Him. The day we forget that, we’re dead in the water. That’s God’s Word for you today.

Several years ago, I visited a man in the hospital. He was the father of a man who was a friend of mine who had started attending our church. When I told my friend that I was going to stop by and see him, he was both happy and concerned. He said, “I’ll be honest, Steve. I’m not sure how he’ll respond to a pastor visiting him. He’s a pretty rough old cuss.” Convinced of my ability to be irresistibly charming, I decided to go ahead and visit the man. It was awkward to say the least.
The man looked surprised when I came into the room. He didn’t know who I was, and my guess was he hadn’t had any visitors at all. When I told him I was a friend of his son, he simply nodded. When I told him I was a pastor, he frowned. I told him I’d heard that he had heart surgery and wanted to check in and see how he was doing. His responses were short, harsh, and to the point. When I got ready to leave, I asked him if it would be okay if I prayed for him. He shook his head and gave me a very stern “No!” I smiled, said goodbye, and walked out.
As I headed to my car, I realized I suddenly understood my friend a lot better. My friend struggled with his drinking. He’d made a lot of poor choices in his life, and his marriage was in trouble. He didn’t know how to be a good husband. He didn’t know how to be a good father. He struggled with his own self-esteem. And all of these were the result of his father. His father’s sins were being paid for in his life. Sin doesn’t just hurt the person who sins. It has implications and an impact on the next generation.
Jeremiah points this out in our passage today. It was the generations who had gone before him that abandoned God and went their own way, serving other gods. But it was now Jeremiah and his generation who were suffering the results of that sin. And the cascading effects were devastating.
My guess is that some of you can relate to this. You’ve come from families where you are still dealing with the scar tissue of their sins and failures. You’ve battled addictions, attitudes, habits, destructive behaviors, and relational problems because of the way their sins have affected you. But you’re not alone, and you’re not hopeless. God worked in Jeremiah’s generation, even in the midst of the chaos and pain. Yes, they were impacted, but because they came back to God, they found healing and restoration. The same is true with my friend. Yes, he struggled. But he also surrendered his life to Christ and found much of the peace that his father never knew. Don’t make the wayward ways of previous generations YOUR ways. Let Christ help you break the chains and break the cycle. Let the Lord do a healing work in you. It’ll be the greatest gift you could ever give to those who come after you. Do it for you. And do it for THEM. That’s God’s Word for you today.

On May 9, 1864, during the Civil War, Major General John Sedgwick was inspecting the Union Army troops at the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse in Virginia. As he rode among them, he was trying to give encouragement and calm their fears. Seeing that many of the men were hiding from the Confederate sharpshooters, he scolded them, saying, “What are you dodging for? They couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance!” Moments later, a Confederate sharpshooter using a long-range Whitworth rifle shot him right under the left eye, killing him instantly. I don’t know about an elephant, but I guess they sure could hit a big-headed man!
Proverbs 16:18 tells us that “pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.” It’s a truth that we’ve seen played out over and over again in almost every area of life. But why? Why is pride so dangerous? There are probably many reasons, but let’s focus on just one today: Pride makes us careless. And carelessness leaves us vulnerable.
Superior teams get beat in sporting events because they don’t take their opponents seriously. Marriages fail because couples take each other for granted and don’t continue to cultivate the love they have for each other. Christians fall because they believe they’re beyond temptation, above being deceived by the Enemy, or don’t really need to spend time in God’s Word, prayer, or in the community of faith. In 1 Corinthians 10:12, Paul said, “If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.” When we stop being careful and start becoming careless, we open ourselves up to all kinds of trouble. Trouble that sometimes has disastrous results.
Take another look at our passage today. “Not a king in all the earth—no one in all the world—would have believed that an enemy could march through the gates of Jerusalem. Yet it happened…” Pride led the people of God to become careless about their faith and their obedience to God. That carelessness opened the gates for the Enemy.
Please hear my heart today. Be careful. Things that matter, like our walk with God, our marriages, our parenting, our ministries, need to be protected, cultivated, and nurtured. They are too important to leave exposed or unattended. The people of God during Jeremiah’s day never believed Jerusalem could be sacked. But it was. And General Sedgwick could’ve learned an important lesson from his men who were taking cover. The Enemy is a better shot than we know. Be careful. That’s God’s Word for you today.

We’re in a sermon series right now on the Lord’s Prayer called “Praying Jesus’ Way.” This past Sunday, I preached on the verse, “Give us today our daily bread.” I talked about how Jesus teaches us that God wants us to ask Him for help. It’s one way that He demonstrates His Love for us. It’s also His way of teaching us to be dependent upon Him. I talked about how growing up in our faith is the exact opposite of growing up in our earthly families. In our families, we raise our kids to become increasingly independent so they can live without us. With God, He wants us to grow increasingly dependent so that we’re wise enough to seek Him in all things.
Jeremiah gives us a great example of how God hears and answers our prayers. He was thrown into a cistern for speaking God’s truth. As you can imagine, he felt abandoned, helpless, and alone. But instead of just curling up in a fetal position in a corner and dying, look at what he did. “I shouted your name, LORD, when I was in the well. ‘Please listen to me, LORD,’ I shouted. ‘Help me! Save me!’” Did it do any good? Absolutely. “I shouted, and you heard me. You came near to me when I prayed to you. ‘Do not be afraid,’ you said. Lord, you have given me help. You have paid the price to keep me alive.” Jeremiah was overwhelmed by his circumstances, but he made a powerful discovery. God was only a prayer away.
Some of us may be able to relate to Jeremiah right now. We’re in a hole that we can’t seem to get out of. We’re in a pit of despair, and it feels like the walls are closing in. Maybe, like Jeremiah, we’ve been mistreated, unfairly judged, or even punished for things we never did. My guess is that some of us feel hopeless, lost, and all alone. But that’s the furthest thing from the truth. God is NEAR.
For some of us, God’s just waiting for us to come to a place like Jeremiah, where we cry out to Him. Sometimes God allows us to come to the end of our rope so that we’ll finally take hold of HIM. Do you really believe that the God who sent His Son to die for you did so to abandon you now? He SEES you. He CARES for you. But sometimes God can’t take hold because we won’t let go. Turn to Him today. Cry out to Him today. Shout those words that Jeremiah shouted: “Help me! Save me!” I’m not going to presume to know what God wants to do in your situation, but I do know that sometimes God is waiting on us. James says, “You receive not because you ask not.” God is still just a prayer away. That’s God’s Word for you today.