Ezekiel 43-44 - God's Glory

The temple is to be made perfectly, according to God's design, and the LORD will fill it with His glory. The people will see and be reminded that even as God is perfect, we are not. Yet, God calls those who are not perfect and sanctifies us. He calls us who were not holy; sanctified through the blood of the everlasting covenant, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

According to the Book of Ezekiel, the regulations and laws of the temple must all be followed. Those laws include:  “A priest must not defile himself by going near a dead person; however, if the dead person was his father or mother, son or daughter, brother or unmarried sister, then he may defile himself." (Ezek 44:25 NIV)

All I can say about that is: the position of priest has drastically changed since the advent of Jesus the Christ. Through Jesus the Christ, we are now all members of a royal priesthood. "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." (1 Peter 2:8-10)  Who then, if not the priests or pastors (shepherds) would pray with the dying or hold them as they breathe their last earthly breath as they enter through the gateway of death into eternal life?

We declare the marvelous praises of Him who has called out darkness into His light and we are with our brothers and sisters in Christ (for in Christ, all are our brothers and sisters) even as they enter into God's glory most fully.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Jeremiah 22 - Have Compassion And Do Justice

Have compassion and do justice... and, you will live. You will live in peace. 

 

Sadly, the King of Judah lacks compassion. He does not do justice. He is too busy building up himself a kingdom. He is busy amassing wealth for himself. Because of his self-serving life, the king has led the people in a wrong way. He has led them to destruction. They are about to be kicked out of the kingdom.

 

Sadly, we have many kings today. So many of us thing we should all be able to live like kings. We have built up for ourselves tiny castles which we must protect and build up no matter what it costs us or others. You have probably heard the saying a "man's home is his castle." Think about how much you have put into that home and why. Think about how much the labor that has gone into making it the envy of your neighbor's eye may have cost you in relationships with family and friends. Think about how it may be costing you your relationship with the LORD. Think about how the time spent in making that home your own little castle has directed you away from living and enjoying a more fuller life that God intends for you to have. You want you own kingdom and refrain from entering the Kingdom of God. I am not saying that we should not have nice, comfortable homes. I am simply saying, how much is it really costing you? (See Luke 14:28) In the end, the compulsive desire and attempts to acquire great luxury will lead us down the path of destruction.

 

In the end, on that final day, the house will be gone. All acquisitions will go to someone else or maybe to the dump. On that final day, we will stand at the gate of the Kingdom and we will either be welcomed or sent away. Will we follow in the path of Jesus, living lives according to God's will, and ultimately enter through that gate that He has opened for us?

 

The choice to do justice or injustice is ours. The choice to live life to its fullest or spend our lives envying others and striving to have all that they have and more is ours. Heaven is not something just for the afterlife. It can be lived and experienced now. Even as we pray, "Thy kingdom come," it has come. We can live in God's presence even now. As I have often asked before, why would you desire to live in God's kingdom after you pass through the gateway that is death, if living in His Kingdom, His presence, isn't good enough for you today?

 

Even as our Lord Jesus had compassion on us, may God help us to have compassion on others and do justice that we might live in His presence together.

 

God's Peace - Pr. J