Thursday 20 October 2016

Prostitution...

You have forgotten Me and turned your back on Me, so You will be punished for your sinning and prostitution...



In Ezekiel 23, the prophet condemns the immorality of both Samaria of Northern Israel (23:4,5-10) and Jerusalem of Judah (23:4,11-21). In summarizing the history of these Israelite cities, God likens them to two sisters who became harlots at a young age (23:3,19) and continued their practice to an old age (23:43). Instead of being faithful to God, they constantly turned their affections to nations like Egypt (23:3) and embraced all of their idols and false worship.

The people of Samaria also became infatuated with the might and religion of Assyria (23:5-7), and incorporated its immorality into their lives. Meanwhile they never gave up their lust for Egypt (23:8).

God would punish Samaria by delivering her "into the hands of the Assyrians, for whom she lusted" (23:9-10). In other words, God allowed this foreign nation, with whom she was fascinated, to execute judgment upon her for her sin.

At the time Ezekiel spoke these words, the nation of Samaria had already been punished for its sin and destroyed by the Assyrians. The prophet speaks of this as an example lesson to the Israelites in Jerusalem. He then declared that Jerusalem herself had become defiled by a lust for the sin of Egypt (23:19-21), Assyria (23:12) and Babylon (23:14-18). She not only followed in "the same way" of unfaithfulness as her sister Samaria (23:13), she became more corrupt (23:11). Thus God would likewise punish her (23:22-35). As God sent the Assyrians to destroy Samaria in 721 B.C., He sent the Babylonians to level Jerusalem in 586 B.C.

The great lesson of Ezekiel 23 is that we must learn from the mistakes of others. The Israelites in Judah and Jerusalem should have learned from the errors of their brethren in Samaria. Sin and idolatry brought the wrath of God upon Samaria to its extinction as a nation. Why didn't the people of Jerusalem reason that if they did the same things, that they would receive the same punishment? Failure to do so cost them their city, their temple, their lives and their souls.

The Bible abounds in examples of ungodly people being punished -- even those who were once faithful to Him. Let's take warning from these passages and not become infatuated with the sin of this world. Instead, let's serve the God of Heaven with diligence




 

Dress code

The armour of God should be your lifestyle...not a dress code

 

Tuesday 18 October 2016

Working with Difficult People

God used a raven, a bird considered 'unclean' in Jewish culture, to feed the prophet Elijah during a famine.
Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem with funds provided by a heathen king.

The point is: Don't limit God. Sometimes the people we'd normally shun are the very ones He uses to provide what we need, and by shutting them out we forfeit a blessing He has in mind for us.

Be careful; your tendency to be 'picky' can end up hurting you! The truth is, you can't avoid working with difficult people. God planned it that way.

Why? Because He wants you to grow in the midst of negativity without getting sucked into it.

David developed the ability to work with people who were hard to get along with. It doesn't get much harder than working for a boss with an evil spirit! At first David enjoyed King Saul's favor, but after he killed Goliath, Saul sought to kill him. Yet David never changed his strategy. He stayed in Saul's house because he knew his destiny was there. And because of the wisdom he exhibited, he ended up owning the place! God's principles are timeless. David didn't limit himself, and he didn't limit God. He understood that people fall into two categories: 'Vessels of honor and vessels of dishonor.' And God uses both. Getting his eyes off people, and being neither impressed nor depressed by them, afforded David great opportunities because he freed others up to be used by God.

So learn to get along with difficult people; your greatest challenge today may be the person who assists and blesses you tomorrow.