The end will come! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Ezekiel 7:2-4,

"The end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land! The end is now upon you, and I will unleash my anger against you. I will judge you according to your conduct and repay you for all your detestable practices. I will not look on you with pity; I will not spare you. I will surely repay you for your conduct and for the detestable practices among you."

Here the Lord proclaims the end to Jerusalem. Later, in another generation, a remnant will return to rebuild the city in preparation for the eventual arrival of the Son of God, born as a baby in Bethlehem. But for the present hour, the end has come for Jerusalem.

No more patience on the Lord's part, no more forbearance while waiting for a repentance of the city - a repentance that is not coming. Hence, God's judgment.

I am reminded that another announcement, just like this one will one day be given. It will be a much broader circumstance when the Lord brings this present age to a close and announces an end to his invitation to us all to join his family. At that time all will face God's judgment, save those who placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

May we all find our way into his family. Woe to the man who rejects God's offer today and finds himself at the end with nothing to save himself from God's wrath.

How thankful I am he has provided a way for us today through his Son, Jesus Christ.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

God's love, God's judgment - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Ezekiel 5:13,

"Then my anger will cease and my wrath against them will subside, and I will be avenged. And when I have spent my wrath on them, they will know that I the Lord have spoken in my zeal."

The Lord speaks of his anger and wrath through which he will destroy Jerusalem for her many sins. He says his anger and wrath will not subside until the city is destroyed in his zeal.

The Lord's comment about his zeal in his destruction of Jerusalem is something not mentioned often. Our Lord can be very zealous in his judgment of mankind. Zeal is defined by Merriam-Webster as "a strong feeling of interest and enthusiasm that makes someone very eager or determined to do something, eagerness and ardent interest in pursuit of something, a fervor."

The passion of God's love for us is not the only passion he harbors. The Lord also has a passion for his sense of righteousness and justice in regard to us. Sometimes we don't hear so much about this passion of God for justice, but just as wonderful as his love is, so also just as frightful his judgment can be. Reading chapter 5 of Ezekiel brings to light just how horrific God's judgment can be.

Realizing that we all will face God some day following this life, and knowing that we can be forgiven all our sins by embracing Jesus Christ in faith makes the decision to accept God's invitation to join his family a compelling choice!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

On eating the unclean - understanding God - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Ezekiel 4:12-15,

"'Eat the food as you would a loaf of barley bread; bake it in the sight of the people, using human excrement for fuel.' The Lord said, 'In this way the people of Israel will eat defiled food among the nations where I will drive them.' Then I [Ezekiel] said, 'Not so, Sovereign Lord! I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead or torn by wild animals. No impure meat has ever entered my mouth.' 'Very well,' he [the Lord] said, 'I will let you bake your bread over cow dung instead of human excrement.'"

As one of the Lord's prophets, Ezekiel was given assignments by the Lord to communicate to the people - sometimes in some surprising ways. In this passage Ezekiel was to eat a prescribed bread, the ingredients of which was given by the Lord, baked over human excrement to make it "unclean." The point of which was to communicate to the inhabitants of Jerusalem that they were going to be placed in a position of having to eat rationed unclean food. This would be a part of their judgment from God for their rebellion against him.

What I find fascinating, is that out of the bizarre things the Lord was having Ezekiel do to communicate to the Jews of their upcoming judgment (e.g. lie on his left side for 390 days to communicate the number of years of rebellion of the norther ten tribes and 40 for the people of Judah, etc.), the Lord was going to have Ezekiel eat unclean food (unclean because of the baking fuel) - and when Ezekiel protested to the Lord, the Lord actually relented!

The Lord told Ezekiel to do something that was abhorrent to Ezekiel, and when he complained, the Lord changed his mind! Ezekiel had never eaten 'impure meat". When Ezekiel voiced his concern, the Lord allowed him to do it in a way that did not impinge upon the conscience of his life and practice with the Lord. Here the Lord accommodated Ezekiel.

This account does not comport well with the theology of some, which is why we all need to check our theology at the door as we enter into the sacred pages of Scripture. We just may find something that challenges our conceived notions of the things of God!

In another passage, the Lord asked Peter to eat unclean food in a vision, Acts 10:9-16. "'Surely not, Lord!' Peter replied. 'I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.'" Although Peter was not told to physically eat anything, as it was all in a vision, nevertheless, it was abhorrent to Peter and he expressed his complaint. The Lord did not relent in Peter's vision as he did with Ezekiel, as it was the adjustment of Peter's outlook to accept that which he had heretofore rejected that was the purpose of the vision. Peter, as well as the other Jews that made up the early church, was now to accept "unclean" Gentiles into the fellowship. As this inclusion of Gentiles had been the Lord's redemptive plan all along, Peter and all the believing Jews that made up the early church would have to make the adjustment. No accommodation here.

Where things may seem inconsistent in Scripture, when we understand what the Lord is doing, it all falls together in a way we may not initially understand.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

The consequence of sin, the consequence of the cross - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Lamentations 5:15-16,

"Joy is gone from our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning. The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned!"

Here is the inevitable result of sin. Although sin may appear alluring, desirable, and even intoxicating, it not only loses its luster, but turns to bitterness in our souls. Through sin we can loose what we might have had. Through sin what enticed us turns against us. Through sin life looses its fullness, satisfaction and even its purpose for us. Through sin honor turns to dishonor, respect turns to disrespect, admiration turns to disgust. Through sin our integrity is lost.

Those of us who are honest with ourselves know and admit we have sinned. All have sinned, everybody. As a result, all of us deserve God's condemnation and judgment, just as the inhabitants of Jerusalem experienced. We may not feel the immediate consequences of our sin, but we all certainly will when we all stand before God's throne of judgment following this life, except...

Except for those of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith. God determined before the creation of the world that all of us who would embrace him in faith would be "holy and blameless in his sight.", Ephesians 1:4, in spite of our sin! Those who have placed their trust in Jesus Christ are blessed "in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." Ephesians 1:3, in spite of our sin! We have had our sins payed for by the death of Jesus Christ on that miserable cross and have been forgiven of them all - all this, in spite of our sin!

Although we have all sinned, those who respond to his invitation have had God lavish the riches of his grace upon all who have trusted in him, as he has predestined us for adoption as his sons and daughters, Ephesians 1:5.

What an opportunity!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

God's wrath, God's love - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my heart and mind in Lamentations 4:10-11,

"With their own hands compassionate women have cooked their own
children, who became their food when my people were destroyed. The
Lord has given full vent to his wrath; he has poured out his fierce
anger. He kindled a fire in Zion that consumed her foundations."

This shocking observation made by Jeremiah at the destruction of
Jerusalem points to the horrific nature of God's own wrath.

Through Jeremiah and other prophets, God warned Israel that if they
failed to turn from their rebellion against him, they would suffer his
wrath. And... suffer they did, horrifically!

I am often reminded of the observation of the writer of Hebrews, "It
is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Hebrews
10:31. The people of Jerusalem discovered just how dreadful it was.

It didn't have to be that way. They didn't have to turn their backs on
God - but they did. They could have returned back to God - but they
did not. Time and time again the Lord pleaded with them to turn back
to him and they refused.

I have heard it said on more than one occasion, "I just can't believe
a god of love could cast people into Hell. That "god" of theirs that
they speak of is no "god" at all. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
has made clear he is both loving and just. He loves people but he will
not tolerate sin. All sin must and will be paid for.

The wonderful news is that Jesus Christ has already paid for all the
sins of all mankind for all ages. We can have his payment credited to
our account with God if we would but embrace him in faith. "This is
how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into
the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we
loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning
sacrifice for our sins." 1 John 4:9-10. That sacrifice was the payment
we can have to our credit in God's courtroom as we stand before him
following this life. If we fail to avail ourselves of Jesus Christ's
payment for our sins, we will be cast into that lake of fire.

God is not to be trifled with. His love is boundless, beyond our
ability to fathom. And, at the same time, his justice is horrific.

Save yourself from God's wrath by embracing Jesus Christ in faith -
God's own Son he sent in his incomprehensible love for us. Don't be
like the Jews of Jeremiah's day. Heed the warning.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send
me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are
receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just
respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Homosexuality and the Bible - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Leviticus 18:22,

"Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable."

This law, given by God, is found in a chapter that outlines a number of laws given by God regarding sinful behavior. Among them are incest, bestiality, child sacrifice, and here, homosexuality. God not only commands us from engaging in homosexual behavior in his law here, but unlike many of the other laws in this chapter, he goes beyond to tell us he finds this behavior "detestable" - his own perspective on it.

The law was given by God to demonstrate our own sinful condition. While many of the laws provided by God may not be challenging for some of us to keep, (as with many in this chapter), our efforts at keeping all of God's law becomes a real problem. Consider Deuteronomy 6:5, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." I'd like to think I do that, and in spite of the fact that I do love the Lord tremendously, I'm afraid I just don't pass muster here. The law defines for us why none of us have a right standing with God and are subject to the eternal judgment of God, what is described as a "fiery lake of burning sulfur in Revelation 21:8.

The whole exercise of God giving the law was to show us our need for his mercy and his salvation: salvation from his own judgment. In Romans 3:20 we read, "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin." We just can't keep the law and as such we must throw ourselves at the mercy of God. Thankfully, we discover God's mercy in Jesus Christ, "When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life."

How wonderful God's mercy in Jesus Christ is! How wonderful he paid the penalty for all our sins!

However, we do not want to be confused over exactly what it is that God both finds within in us and the things we have done that have created the need we have for his salvation. Among the many manifestations of the sinful condition is homosexuality. Certainly, it is not the only sin that can be committed, but in our culture today, when so many attempt to convince us all that homosexuality is acceptable, there is One who will never accept it. All the effort at attempting to redefine homosexuality as a legitimate lifestyle is lost on the Creator and Designer of all human life. He finds homosexuality as detestable.

Homosexuality is a degradation that God gives people over to when they have rejected him, as his judgment of them in this life, "They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error." Romans 1:25-27.

Homosexuality is specifically stated as a behavior that separates anyone from the kingdom of God, "Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."1 Corinthians 6:9-10.

The wonderful news in this last passage is that none of these sins, including homosexuality, is beyond the reach of God's wonderful mercy found in the payment of Jesus Christ for our sins. As the passage goes on to say in verse 11, "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

God loves us all, including homosexuals. We all can find forgiveness of our sins. However, when our culture begins to celebrate a false legitimacy for homosexuality, it is simply deceiving itself and keeping many who need to repent of their sins from turning to God's forgiveness.

God's word, the Bible, condemns homosexuality as sin. God finds it detestable. Don't let anyone fool you otherwise.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

God judges his chosen people - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Jeremiah 52:3,

"It was because of the Lord's anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his presence."

Here we read of the end of the line for Israel, God's own chosen people, at the hands of the Babylonians. The Babylonians destroyed Judah. But, as this verse clearly states, it was the Lord who decreed the destruction of Jerusalem and the people of Judah. The kingdom that was begun when Joshua brought the nation across the Jordan to take possession of the promised land was now at an end. The kingdom that suffered, due to their own rebellion against God, during the period of the judges was now at an end. The kingdom that was built up by Saul, David and Solomon was now at an end.

It would be another seventy years following this that the fledgling remnant of Jews who survived in Babylon would be allowed to return to the land. All of this destruction, all of this ruin, all of this misery, caused by their own hands. As God's chosen covenant people, they turned their backs on God in rebellion to him and found the end of his patience and the beginning of his judgment.

God had his purposes for Israel. They were to be his voice in the world, they were to be the people that would prepare the way for God's Son to enter into the human race to be a sin offering. They were to be God's chosen people to through which God would carry out his plan of redemption. However, they failed to remain faithful to God and discovered just how frightful it can be to fall into the hands of God's judgment.

The history of Israel does not end here, however. The remnant will return to the land and the nation will begin again to become the people through whom God would send his Son into the world. His motivation to do so was his incomprehensible love of all mankind. Israel would rise again and become the instrument through which God worked to bring about his plan of redemption.

There is a lot to be considered here in regard to the consequences of turning our backs on God. There is also much to be considered relative to God's amazing love that would work beyond his judgment of Israel and raise them up again to provide a way for all of us to join his own family.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com