July Quotes

When something does not go your way, remember faithful prayer accomplishes far more than your frustrated protests.

-James McDonald

It is easier to serve God without a vision, easier to work for God without a call because then you are not bothered by what God requires, common sense is your guide, veneered over with Christian sentiment. You will be more prosperous and successful, more leisure hearted, if you never realize the call of God. But if once you receive a commission from Jesus Christ, the memory of what God wants will always come like a goad, you will no longer be able to work for Him on the common-sense basis. 

-Oswald Chambers

What comes into our minds when we think about God, is the most important thing about us.

-A.W.Tozer

Christians are like the several flowers in a garden that have each of them the dew of Heaven, which, being shaken with the wind, they let fall at each other's roots, whereby they are jointly nourished, and become nourishers of each other.

-John Bunyan 

The world provides no cheerleaders on the pathway to godliness. 

-Kevin DeYoung

A sound theology must be a theology where grace is central to it. 

-R. C. Sproul

Ministry is simply the footprints we leave behind as we run toward Jesus.

-Unknown

The Bible is not only a book of divine revelation; it is also a book of literary grandeur, sublime influence, human interest, amazing accuracy, perfect unity, and everlasting challenge. 

-J. Edwin Orr

Until we discover God’s purpose, there will always be a hole in our soul. And if we let God’s vision die, part of us will die as well.

-Georgia Shaffer

The truth is that the more intimately you know someone, the more clearly you’ll see their flaws. That’s just the way it is. This is why marriages fail, why children are abandoned, why friendships don’t last. You might think you love someone until you see the way they act when they’re out of money or under pressure or hungry, for goodness’ sake. Love is something different. Love is choosing to serve someone and be with someone in spite of their filthy heart. Love is patient and kind, love is deliberate. Love is hard. Love is pain and sacrifice, it’s seeing the darkness in another person and defying the impulse to jump ship.
-Unknown

Ezekiel: You Shall Know....

...that I am the LORD when...

"the slain shall fall in your midst" (Ez.6:7)

"some among the nations...escape the sword, and when you are scattered through the countries" (Ez.6:8)

"all the evil abominations of the house of Israel...shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence" (Ez.6:11

"my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. I will punish you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst" (Ez.7:9)

"the inhabited cities shall be laid waste, and the land shall become a desolation" (Ez.12:20)

"my hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel" (Ez.13:9)

"I break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bar. When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it" (Ez.13:14)

"I...deliver my people out of your [false prophets] hand" (Ez.13:23)

"I...establish my covenant with you...that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done" (Ez.16:63)

"I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish" (Ez.17:24)

"I...purge out the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me. I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they shall not enter the land of Israel" (Ez.20:38)

"I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that I swore to give to your fathers" (Ez.20:42)

"I deal with you for my name's sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel" (Ez.20:44)

"your [Ezekiel's] mouth will be opened to the fugitive and you shall speak and be longer mute. So you will be a sign to them" (Ez.24:27)

"I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and manifest my holiness in them...they shall dwell securely in it, and they shall build houses and plant vineyards...when I execute judgments upon all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt" (Ez.28:25-26)

"I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them" (Ez.34:27)

"like the flock for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be fillee with flocks of people" (Ez.36:38)

"I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land." (Ez.37:14)

"the name of the city from that time on shall be 'The LORD Is There'." (Ez.48:35)

I am the LORD. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; I will not spare; I will not relent; according to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the LORD GOD.

Ezekiel 24:14

I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

Ezekiel 34:16

Three Visions of Heaven

This past week, I read through the story of Micaiah the prophet. He's not a well-known prophet, but his story is an interesting and courageous one. Micaiah prophecies during the reign of king Ahab--one of the most wicked kings of his time. This whole story is found in 2 Chronicles 18, and I won't detail it all, but his words in a few verses reminded me of two other instances in Scripture.

Standing before king Jehoshaphat and king Ahab, Micaiah states that he can only speak the words God gives him. Like Elijah, Micaiah's words will stand against those of the 400 false prophets. He's asked if these two kings will be able to conquer Ramoth Gilead back from the Arameans, and unlike the 400 false prophets, he says that Ahab would be killed and the people scattered. Ahab is obviously not pleased with this report. Micaiah then again brings to the kings' attention that it is the word of the Lord that he has spoken:

And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left. (2 Chronicles 18:18, ESV)

Standing before those who would soon persecute him for his message, Micaiah boldly proclaims the Lord's message to Ahab, and refuses to cave in to the pressure of delivering a message that was pleasing to the king, like the other 400 prophets had done.

Another prophet records something similar to Micaiah's vision. Isaiah, the prophet, lived during the
time of king Uzziah. Uzziah began as a godly king, but soon grew strong in power and wealth leading to his downfall and the curse of leprosy. Isaiah was called to preach and teach a wayward people during this time, and many times faced persecution as he spoke the words of God. However, the Lord gave him a glimpse of His glory which is recorded in Isaiah 6:

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" (Isaiah 6:1-3, ESV)

This is perhaps the most descriptive of the three, but like Micaiah's vision, Isaiah sees the angels surrounding the throne of God while the Lord is seated as the rightful reigning King.

The third Bible account describing a vision like these two takes place in the New Testament. A prophet in his own time and place, Stephen is well-known as the first martyr of the Christian church. Acts 6-8 recounts his sermon and story. While standing before the high priest, elders, and other Jews, Stephen boldly preaches against their wickedness, convicting their hearts while recounting the history of the Israelites. His audience, however, is not receptive, and stones him to death. Some of his last words include the vision into heaven:

But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:55-56, ESV)

As I read Micaiah's vision and his words, I couldn't help but compare the similarities of it to Isaiah's and Stephen's visions. These three men all stood before kings and declared the Word of God to rebellious and hard-hearted people. They were persecuted, forsaken of men, and faced internal and external pressures to conform to the lifestyles around them. Yet they stood firm and did not back down. All three record visions of God/Jesus seated on His throne. Isaiah and Stephen specifically mention His vast glory, and Micaiah and Isaiah describe the angels that surround the throne. Isaiah's and Micaiah's are the ultimate glory of God, but Stephen's is the fulfilled glory in Christ as the risen, reigning King. While we don't know exactly what happened to Isaiah and Micaiah in the end, it is very likely that they died at the hands of their own people. Stephen did.

And so it seems, that to provide encouragement and strength during their difficult life times, God opened heaven to them and showed them His glory and His realm--reminding them that they would reign there with Him soon.