"Then you shall know that I am the Lord." (Ezekiel 7:4c)
When I read the whole chapter, viz., the context of our text, and similar declarations of the Word of God throughout Scripture, I experience a healthy, "fear of the Lord."
April 15 & 16 was Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance. The origin was in 1953 and was to be held on April 19, in honor of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising on that date in 1943 (just a couple of months before I was born). Over the years variations on the dates and observances have changed for various reasons, but it is a crucial observance, and it is indeed a "Remembrance." It is not just a remembrance of the past atrocities against Jews, but a remembrance of those who have perished in our life time and are still perishing at the hands of Anti-Christ forces in the earth. We cannot control, "Never Again," but we can control what we do. There is a very real philosophical sense that "remembrance" is not just of the past. The same murderous spirit of the 1930s and '40s is still in the earth.
"Then you shall know that I am the Lord." This occurs several places in Scriptures, and testifies to the fulfilled prophecies and declarations of the Living Triune God. The exact words of our text occurs at least 27 times just in Ezekiel. The history of the Jews as well as the Gentile nations attests to the reality of our text as well as a fundamental truth of human existence, "God is not mocked." Jesus forgave sin and destroyed the power of the Enemy, "in His Cross." Jesus did not, however, destroy the consequences of sin. As someone once said, "I cannot sow my wild oats and pray for a crop failure." This "theology" is a serious and "deadly" flaw in Christendom, and is increasing in its deception in this generation.
"Then you shall know that I am the Lord," when the consequences about which Jesus warns us is fulfilled. And, "Then you shall know that I am the Lord," when Jesus brings us, "up out of a horrible pit," when Jesus demonstrates over and over that He is our Shepherd, and because Jesus is our Shepherd, "[We] have no lack." And Jesus tells us, "In My Father's house.., I go to prepare a place for you." In that day, my friend, perhaps as we can never know in this present age, "Then you shall know that I am the Lord."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I think I "know" that now, but not as I will. Thank You. Amen.
When I read the whole chapter, viz., the context of our text, and similar declarations of the Word of God throughout Scripture, I experience a healthy, "fear of the Lord."
April 15 & 16 was Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance. The origin was in 1953 and was to be held on April 19, in honor of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising on that date in 1943 (just a couple of months before I was born). Over the years variations on the dates and observances have changed for various reasons, but it is a crucial observance, and it is indeed a "Remembrance." It is not just a remembrance of the past atrocities against Jews, but a remembrance of those who have perished in our life time and are still perishing at the hands of Anti-Christ forces in the earth. We cannot control, "Never Again," but we can control what we do. There is a very real philosophical sense that "remembrance" is not just of the past. The same murderous spirit of the 1930s and '40s is still in the earth.
"Then you shall know that I am the Lord." This occurs several places in Scriptures, and testifies to the fulfilled prophecies and declarations of the Living Triune God. The exact words of our text occurs at least 27 times just in Ezekiel. The history of the Jews as well as the Gentile nations attests to the reality of our text as well as a fundamental truth of human existence, "God is not mocked." Jesus forgave sin and destroyed the power of the Enemy, "in His Cross." Jesus did not, however, destroy the consequences of sin. As someone once said, "I cannot sow my wild oats and pray for a crop failure." This "theology" is a serious and "deadly" flaw in Christendom, and is increasing in its deception in this generation.
"Then you shall know that I am the Lord," when the consequences about which Jesus warns us is fulfilled. And, "Then you shall know that I am the Lord," when Jesus brings us, "up out of a horrible pit," when Jesus demonstrates over and over that He is our Shepherd, and because Jesus is our Shepherd, "[We] have no lack." And Jesus tells us, "In My Father's house.., I go to prepare a place for you." In that day, my friend, perhaps as we can never know in this present age, "Then you shall know that I am the Lord."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I think I "know" that now, but not as I will. Thank You. Amen.
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MARCH OF REMEMBRANCE, PITTSBURGH: April 19 at 15:00hrs. We will meet at the corner of Forbes and Murray in Squirrel Hill. See us on FaceBook.
MARCH OF REMEMBRANCE, PITTSBURGH: April 19 at 15:00hrs. We will meet at the corner of Forbes and Murray in Squirrel Hill. See us on FaceBook.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
