Scripture:

Ezekiel 22:30

I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one

Burn Up the Dross

In chapter 21:4, the Lord says He will destroy the righteous and the wicked with the sword, and as you read it, you think, well, that's not fair.   But let's understand some things about this statement, the wickedness of Jerusalem, Judah had gotten so bad, the priests were not teaching the word of God, but practicing witchcraft and the peoples sin so bad that other nations were disgusted by it, pagan nations.   God hates sin, that is what we have to get here, it's not His children, but the SIN, it's the work of sin in their lives that God cannot tolerate.    Here is chapter 22:21 we get a clearer picture of God's heart, He hates sin, but in His grace is looking for anyone who would stand in the gap, who would stand on the side of righteousness, who would interceded who would even build a haven for those who did not want to be part of the wickedness, God was looking for someone who would lead people away from the destruction they had brought on their lives, but found NONE.

Today our God-Shot is that God hates sin, not sinners, and He is looking for people like us to stand in the gap, to draw people out of the world, to draw them back to a place of worship, to be Christ to those who are lost. (2 Corinthians 2:15) To be the aroma of Christ, to represent Him. I love 2 Corinthians 2:15 because to be the aroma, we have to be close to Him; that is, our nearness to Christ, our passion for His mission. Again, that's the God's shot to draw people out of the world, out of sin, into His plan. 

Lord, I pray that you would use us, that you would help us to stand in the gap, to be passionate about what you are passionate about, saving people, reaching the lost, that we would draw the lost out of the world into your Kingdom, that we would be part of your plan to change and transform lives in Jesus' name, Amen!

Scripture:

Ezekiel 18:21-22

21 “But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die. 22 None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live.

I can identify with this verse because there was a time when I was wicked, lost without hope, headed for hell on a fast train.   But because of Christ, my life completely changed; it was His love, His sacrifice that changed my whole life (Romans 5:8).   Because of Him, I have hope; I have life.  This portion is good news; it means that your lost family member has hope, your neighbor who needs to know Christ has hope, your coworker, your longtime friends who need to know Christ, to turn their lives around CAN, and if they do, He will remember their sins no more.   Only God can do that; we should marvel that God desires to give you and me a clean slate.  

When the devil, who is the accuser, tries to remind you of your past, tell him that your God does not remember that, and neither will you live in it, but God has set you free from it, and it is for Freedom that you have been set free.

Listen to the Order:

• Repentance:A person must turn away from all past sins.
• Obedience:A person must follow God's laws and act fairly.
• Forgiveness:God wipes away the record of past wrongs.
• Life:True change brings spiritual life instead of punishment.

Today's God-Shot is a reminder that there is Hope for the lost. 

Your prayers for them matter; keep praying; pray that they would turn (repent), that they would come into relationship (obedience), and that they would receive forgiveness, and that would lead them to life.

Lord, thank you that you rescued me, that in even in the darkness you were able to pull me out, resurrect my life from the pit; you loved me when I was still lost and gave your life for mine that I could live in freedom, that I could live for you,  this is the hope I have for all that are lost, that they would turn, that they would walk with you, that they would receive your forgiveness and that they would have life and it more abundantly, I thank you that salvation is not just reserved for the deserving, but it was for people like me, I am a whosoever, in Jesus name, Amen!

Scripture:

Ezekiel 16:49-50

Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.

Who Is Your Source

One of the things I have seen many times in the church and even at one time in my own life. How, when things get good, we get distant.   We lose our sense of God-Reliance and become self-reliant, thinking that we have everything we need, until we don't, that is.  This was one of the things that caused Sodom to fall, and it is an area that we must guard.   Something to note about Judah: God says to them, I cared for you, I sheltered you, I gave you position, I adorned you with beauty, but all you cared about was the gifts I could give you.  She had the same problem: when life became fat, her loyalty became thin.   Something stands out: Jesus said, "faithful in little, trustworthy in much." (Luke 16:10) .   

Sins of Sodom:

Pride and Arrogance: An inflated sense of self-importance

Material Comfort: Having a "fulness of bread" (overfed) and an abundance of idleness or prosperous ease.

Neglect of the Vulnerable: Refusing to strengthen or help the hands of the poor and the needy.

Detestable Actions: Committing abominations before God, which resulted in divine judgment and destruction.

Today our God-Shot is to not fall into the patterns of Judah and Sodom, in that in the day of our blessings, when God helps us, strengthens us, lifts us, that we don't let pride cause our falling away.   Mind your distance... 

Guard your heart above all else, praise Him in the little things, develop a dependence on the Lord in the little times so that when things become big you don't lose sight of who brought you there.

Lord, help us to always stay small in our own eyes; let our bigness always be that which you have said about us, keep pride from our hearts, and let us not lose sight of our dependence on you, we need you when we think we have everything, and we need you when we have nothing, remind us of this, that we may not forget in the days of blessing, in Jesus' name, Amen!

Scripture

Ezekiel 14:4-5

4 “Therefore speak to them, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols, 5 that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols.” ’

What is Between You and Him?

In chapter 13, God addresses false prophets, and He tells Ezekiel how they have kept the righteous from peace and the wicked from turning away from their sin. It is always God's desire for you and me to rid our lives of the things that come between us and Him.   

Here in verses 4-5 of chapter 14, we see God addressing a barrier that is between His children and Him, while we think of idols as statues and wooden dolls, they are actually anything that we allow to take the place of God in our lives, where we seek security, attention, anything really that has the bull share of our time, the things we are invested more than God.   I will let you examine what that is in your life.   Notice that even though He asks Ezekiel a rhetorical question, ""Should I let myself be inquired of at all by them?"  He does answer them, God always wants to speak into our lives- why?  The answer is in verse 5:  "That I may seize their hearts."   

Let that simmer in your spirit today.

Today's God-Shot is this question:   What has your heart? Is there anything in your life that has clouded your heart, that has the majority of your attention, caused maybe even you to be in a dry season with the Lord, to not hear Him as you once did, God is not stopped speaking into your life, this verse is evident, that even when you are disobedient, distant, far from Him, He is speaking, seeking to seize your heart, to get your commitment.

So, what is between you and Him today?

Lord, I pray that you would reveal to us anything that has hindered our ears from hearing you, our hearts from being near to you and that you would help us remove those things, today we give our hearts back to you, we put away the distractions, the things we have made idols in our lives and we get our hearts and our focus right, help us to not only hear you, but be obedient to your direction, in Jesus' name, Amen!

Scripture:

Ezekiel 10:19

"While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them. They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the Lord's house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them"

Today, as  I walked through chapters 9-11 of Ezekiel, we see the judgment of God poured out on the people who, of their own choosing, had turned from Him in complete rebellion and wickedness, yet even in this time there was a remnant of people who did not, and those were spared the judgment.   But here in verse 19 of chapter 10 we see this movement of God that should wrench our hearts: it is God leaving the temple, His Glory leaving Jerusalem; the word here used (Hebrew  ‘ă·mōḏ ) it means to stand, to linger. God paused and lingered. It suggests that His sorrow was over what He had to do: to depart from Jerusalem, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God would follow them, His presence would go with them into the place of their exile, He would be with them.   

Let that simmer in your heart today: that God loves you so much that even in your rebellion He had been pursuing you, seeking to restore you, establish you, set you back in the place you belong.   That is the story of the Prodigal Son: God is always waiting for His children to turn back to Him, to have an ah-ha moment, a moment of self-reflection where they decide that there is no better place than in their father's house.

Today our God-Shot is just that, like Paul reminds us in Romans 8:28-29 that nothing can separate us from the Love of God.   Though that sad day, the presence of God left the temple in Jerusalem, He would go with them into the place of exile, to be with them in their difficulties, their suffering.    This should impact your hearts today: even when you get yourself into a mess, completely reject God with your lifestyle, your actions, and find yourself in a pit, God is seeking you out, looking to restore you, to redeem you from the pit, to return you to a place of His presence.  Like the loving father in the Prodigal Son's story, He is waiting for us to come home, so that He can restore us, give us a place at His table.   

Lord, thank you that in my darkest days you did not abandon me, that you pursued me while I was far from you, that you redeemed me from the pit, that you are still doing that today for your lost sons/daughters. I pray that those who are in their own personal pits that they come to their sense, surrender their lives, and come to know the God I serve, who is compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in love, who seeks and saves what is lost, whose love endures, that they would know the salvation I know, in Jesus' name, Amen!