248 - "God Overrules Every Event" Ezekiel 17-19

When we stand before the Lord, we will give account for our sins.  Our souls will die if we keep on sinning and do not repent.  ;"Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine." Ezekiel 18:4

"The Lord overrules every event for the eternal good of believers. All souls are in the hand of the great Creator: he will deal with them in justice or mercy; nor will any perish for the sins of another, who is not in some sense worthy of death for his own."  Matthew Henry

Our times are in His Hands.  All our days; All our ways.  Consider what you are doing----not to do penance--- for His Finished Work is complete.  

May we see through the filter of Truth what it means to walk in Truth.  Strengthen us in the inner man that we walk by faith not by what we see.  

PHOTO:  Whether we live in Ezekiel's day or the generation in this Dallas photo, God remains the same.  His finished work covers all our sins.  So what will I do with this besetting sin?  Will I wrestle well and lean hard on the One Who holds our souls.

247 "Let The Wind of Your Holy Spirit Blow" Ezekiel 14-16

Ezekiel 14:14 ~ Noah, Daniel and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only deliver themselves,”  Noah could only focus on his family, his sin.  He could not save the whole world.  Same with Daniel and Job.  Only Christ can rescue us and save us from ourselves, from this world.  All three of these men were rescued, delivered, and held by a very Good God while their world crumbled around them and they could do little to save people. 

Noah - A guilty world drowned.  They didn't listen to his words.
Daniel - Raised up only a few in his country.  They didn't buy into his prayers.
Job - Lost 10 children; his reputation; all his friends; his position. 
They couldn't save their communities, their children, their contemporaries. 

Ezekiel knew Daniel well.
Daniel was in his 14th year of captivity when these words were written.
"The holiness of any man can only avail for himself."  John Gill
So let go of your control over your children, your community, your co-workers.

God, You wrote:  "You make the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers.  O God, let the Wind of Your Holy Spirit blow over our unholy lives and make them come alive.  Blow away the chaff that does not matter---those things we take too lightly---those times we live for here not Eternity.  May Your Fire fan the flame of our faith.

PHOTO:  Washington state. 

246 - "What Do I Mourn More Than Distance from God?" Ezekiel 10-13

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God stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. The Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and in visions of God. Ezekiel 8:3.  God beheld his servant, the precious Ezekiel.  Before the elders.  And he brought this glorious friend to Jerusalem in spirit.  That he might show this holy man what sin looked like to Him.  Oh!  That we may see our own sin this day. Make me more aware of what lurks within and without.  

Look at the beautiful words God gave Ezekiel.
God's Gospel promises to give us all a new heart and a new spirit. Ezekiel 11:19.
Matthew Henry says it this way: God puts a new spirit within us, a temper of mind agreeable to the new circumstances into which God, in His Providence, will bring us. 
Undivided hearts.  Unattached hearts.  Unbelievable.

Ezekiel 10:1 - The Temple was filled with the Presence of God.Ezekiel 12:1 - God's Message came to me: "Son of man, you're living with a bunch of rebellious people. They have eyes but don't see a thing, they have ears but don't hear a thing.

God's Message: 'You'll eat your meals shaking in your boots and drink your water in terror because your land is going to be stripped bare as punishment for the brutality rampant in it. ... Then you'll realize that I am God.'" 
  
Time's about up.  ""Your hand has been over your eyes.  It belongs over your mouth." 66 LL.  I stand silenced before a holy God for 4 reasons seen in the Vision that I read about in 66 LL:

1. The idol of Jealousy - desire to feel loved, to enjoy good relationships, to be affirmed, to see yourself as worthy of respect and entitled to a pleasant life.  These desires become your idol of jealousy when they rule your life.

2.  The idol of Appreciation - when you, in the secret place of your heart, want something more than My Pleasure, the power of your flesh is turned loose.

3.  The idol of Self-interest -  when self obsession sinks its way into my conversations.  When you value anything above Me, when self interest rules your life, you feel only your desires for what is available in this world:  good health, warm relationships, fulfilling work and you assume it is my job to satisfy those desires.  

4.  The idol of false hope.  exchanging true hope for false hope when you turn from Me to enjoy the smug satisfaction of superiority.

Do I mourn at the failure of my spouse to love me well or the failure of my ministry to affirm my gifts and calling or the failure of my friends to appreciate me----do I mourn that MORE than I mourn distance from God?

Startling Note: Beth Moore came up to me at a conference and said: God has pulled you by the hair of your head out of your church and moved you on. She really knew very little of the story.

PHOTO:  Between the mountaintops and the valleys where we live every single day.  There.  Present.  Alive.  Known.  Accountable.  Repentant.  Alive.  Grasped.  Surrendered.  Between the mountaintops and valleys.  Every single day.  Present wherever God has yanked you from.

245 - "God Quickens Dead Hearts" Ezekiel 5-9

                              

Ezekiel 5:7 God, the Master, says:   You've been more headstrong and willful than any of the nations around you.  ...  I'm going to do something to you that I've never done before and will never do again: turn families into cannibals—parents eating children, children eating parents! ...  . Then you'll know that I was serious about this that I'm a jealous God and not to be trifled with.  Epidemic disease, unrestrained murder, death—and I will have sent it! I, God, have spoken." 

Ezekiel 6:8  Every place where you've lived, the towns will be torn down and the pagan shrines demolished. Corpses everywhere you look! Then you'll know that I am God. ... This is what God, the Master, says: Clap your hands, stamp your feet, yell out, "No, no, no!" because of all the evil obscenities rife in Israel. They're going to be killed, dying of hunger, dying of disease—death everywhere you look.  Because I am angry, furiously angry. They'll realize that I am God...

Ezekiel 7:2 The end of business as usual for everyone. It's all over. I'll make you pay and you'll realize that I am God.' It is I, God, Who have hit you. 

Ezekiel 8: 1 In the sixth year, in the sixth month and the fifth day, while I was sitting at home meeting with the leaders of Judah, it happened that the hand of my Master, God, gripped me.  HE said: "They can shout all they want, but I'm not listening."

So, am I listening to God where I am this day?  I wonder what is happening in the Unseen World of our United States of America?  The Unseen World of the Brandon household?    If we could really see and listen, we would be filled with such hope and courage.  But, this is frightening.  The people of Ezekiel's day never realized that God was God.  God made them pay.  We must ask every question that comes to mind as we read the horror of what God did to make these people cannibals.  So what is God's response?  I hit them with this terror for not listening to Me.  What will He do to our family and friends this day who choose not to follow Him?  All I know is that we must first look within and pay whatever price to follow Him and tremble before a Holy God and learn so much more to wait in our emptiness for His Plan A.  "Only those who struggle in confusion and wait in hope will be strengthened to struggle well and to wait with confidence."  66 LL.  Isaiah 30:15.

This is what the Sovereign Lord says.  Ezekiel 5:5.
He wants each of us to know that He is God.
And that life is not found in the multitude of opinion, people, things.
Not found in the strength of a man; nor in the power to do spiritually good.

Regeneration is the will of God, not the will of man.

God quickens dead hearts. 

God enlightens dark places.
By His Spirit.  By His Word.
This is what the Sovereign Lord says.

PHOTO: Snapped in Israel, where God wanted them to know that He is God. 

244 - "Stand On Your Two Feet" Ezekiel 1-4

                        

And he said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” Ezekiel 2:1.

This verse God spoke to me when I was at the absolute lowest point of my life.  Not exactly the spot I would go to.  Precisely what God did.  I stood and His Power entered into me and set me on my feet.  Ezek 2:2.  I stood cause I purposed in my heart to go with God in the midst of harrowing circumstances.  It is never about how strong we are.  It is always about how strong HE IS in each of us.  

So, don't be afraid.  Tell that to yourself.  Mean it.  "Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are rebellious..."  Ezek 2:7.  Speak my words to them anyway.  They will not be willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to God.  Ezek 2:7.

Oh Father, may Your Hand be strong upon each of us.  Ezekiel 2:14. 

Make us a watchman for our family and our ministry.

PHOTO: I almost died at this lake. I passed out unexpectedly and could not get up when I awoke. God stood me back on my feet through a phone connection and a dog barking that led people to where I was near the lake. They called an ambulance. God spoke to me. 

243 - "Complain of Evils Felt Not Evils Feared" Lamentations 4-5

                                       

Restore us to Yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored.  Lam 5:21. 
I sit in a funk, despondent in my present circumstances.  And since I am the only one talking to myself tonight, it's hard to know if I have fully repented or keep taking it back?  You see, this is about how others are responding to me---and it shouldn't be.  May we all find a deeper trust, an abandoned surrender.

 "Is any afflicted? Let him pray; and let him in prayer pour out his complaint to God. The people of God do so here; they complain not of evils feared, but of evils felt." Matthew Henry.  And that touches something in me.  May I look at what is happening and then gaze at God's Pardoning Mercy, God's Sanctifying Grace, and God's Kind Hand of Providence.  We owe everything in our lives today to His Mercy.  Under the Mercy.  And we are attached to the Giver of Grace.  Under the Grace.  Identified with the Giver of All.   Restore us this day, O God.

Dear Father, the Giver of Grace.  We need Your touch this day.  May we come to You with our woes and not to any man.  Restore unto me the joy of my salvation in this despondent day.  

PHOTO:  Rock Springs.  The no-filter view from my balcony as I stand in a rough patch and cry out to the Giver of Grace.

242 - “The Worst Is Never The Worst” Lamentations 1-3

  

Lamentations 1:1 - How empty the city, once teeming with people...1:8 - Jerusalem, who outsinned the whole world is an outcast.  1:9 - She played fast and lose with life; she never considered tomorrow.  1:16 She weeps buckets of tears and not one person cares for her soul.  What are her tears for?  What are my tears for this evening as I sit at a Starbucks contemplating my future?  Are they for myself?  If so, I will think no one cares for my soul.  It's just not true because of Lamentations 3. 2:19 - Get up each watch night and pour out your heart face-to-face with the Master.  Lift up your hands.  Lift up your head.

God poured on the trouble and hard times.  He locked me up in deep darkness.   He's got me cornered.  BUT, there's one other thing I am remembering that gives me a grip on hope:  God's loyal love couldn't have run out, His merciful love couldn't have dried up. They're created new every morning.  How great your faithfulness! I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over).  He's all I've got left. God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks. It's a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God. It's a good thing when you're young to stick it out through the hard times. When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions: Wait for hope to appear. Don't run from trouble. Take it full-face. The "worst" is never the worst.  Why? Because the Master won't ever walk out and fail to return. God's got my back.     

PHOTO:  I couldn't sleep the last few weeks of my pregnancy with Britt. Probably out of fright. Whatever. It was the worst---but never the last worst. God was merciful and gave me this baby to hold all my days. I couldn't love him more. He meant the world to me. It was a token of God's love waiting 7 years for this most precious moment to arrive. I never got over it. I never got over Britt. I never got over God.

241 - "Remember the Lord in the Midst of Delight, Disaster, Distress, and Distance" Jeremiah 51-52

                                                                         

 Babylon is like the pinnacle of success.  Such wealth.  Such treasures.  Such exports.  But what makes a city, a community, a family safe and secure?  Is it productivity?  Is it usefulness?  There is no security here for Babylon.  She will fall.  And, once again, Jeremiah does not mince his words.  This prophet lives in a pressure cooker world.  In Jeremiah 51:60, he writes all the disaster that should come upon Babyon.  And he tells Seraiah to see to it that he reads all these words.  Babylon forgot their God.  May we learn from these pages to remember the LORD our God whether we are in the midst of disaster or delight, distance or demise.  And especially in the good times, may we render to God the things of God and remember all the things He has done for us.

How can we ever forget what You have done for us.  You are the Lover of our soul.  Wherever we sit this day---in suffering, in silence, in solace, may we remember You for Nothing Else is worth living for.

PHOTO:  Sitting right here in North Carolina. Thinking about what it means for my life to "remember God."

240 - "And The Word Came Again and Again" Jeremiah 49-50

                                                     

It's a very intentional thing. The Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. And it came. And it came. And he shared it, even with his friends, like the King of Babylon---the one who had befriended him. Jeremiah 50:1. And it wasn't the popular message of the day. It was the Truth that could set them free Jeremiah 49:14, 34. And the comfort of a God of Hope moved them to a good place in the midst of their suffering.

"Might often prevails against right among men, yet that might shall be controlled by the Almighty, who judges aright; and those will find themselves mistaken, who, like the Ammonites, think every thing they  own on which they can lay their hands is theirs. The Lord will call men to account for every instance of dishonesty, especially to the destitute."  Matthew Henry

And the Word of the Lord comes to us this day.  What will we do with it?

Father, it's one thing to share Truth with those who are ready to receive it.  But, to share boldly like Jeremiah did to those whose hearts were hardened is quite overwhelming.  Father, make us bold on the inside.  The iron clad grip of the Holy Spirit controlling our moments.

PHOTO:  The clouds roll. The sun beats.  The prey roams.  The Lord moves.  Help me hear.  Help me see.  Help me live differently.

239 - "Seek Not Great Things For Yourself" Jeremiah 45-48

                                                                  

Scripture interprets Scripture.
"Do you seek great things for yourself?  Seek them not." Jeremiah 45:5

"No one is more influential in your life than you are because no one talks to you as much as you do."

Talk to yourself the Scriptures.

 I love this quote by Paul David Tripp.  Are we counseling ourselves in Truth?  According to the Word of God? 

"Johanan, the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done." Jer 41:11.  There is more evil in these chapters than we see in a lifetime.  So what do we do with this kind of trouble?  How did they live in the midst of this stress and uncertainty and horror?

And what did they tell themselves?  "Whom shall I fear?"  "I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the Goodness of God in the land of the living."  Jeremiah offers a word as they wrestle to remember what God has done. 

And Jeremiah's mantra is recorded for me and for you this very day:  Seek not great things for yourself.

Oh God, we all have problems, and will have more as we walk uphill all the way home.  Would you reveal to each of us what we are really telling ourselves?  Would you let us see straight, the plumbline of our souls.  Come, Lord Jesus!

Jeremiah prophecies to Baruch, to Bev, to Holly, to Jenny, to Drew, to Marc, to Nancy, to David, to Reid, to Kelly, to all those people suffering who serve Him faithfully. To all those people who still trust Him in the darkest difficult most trying of days. This prophecy is for you not just for Baruch who sunk when under the scrutiny of the King. Baruch was doing what was right and good and true---this scholar wrote and read the rolls of Jeremiah to the whole city. The king didn't like it. Sentenced Baruch to prison. Baruch didn't like that. So, here is God's word through Jeremiah to Baruch and to all of us, once again. 

God's response: Seek not great things for yourself.  Jer 45:5. All those great things we expected. The sweet solid relationships with people whom we adore that is not happening right now. The beautiful ministries where we so want to be used that doesn't feel like that isn't happening either. The connections; the careers; the friendships; the finances; the dreams; the dilemmas. Here is our support---Jeremiah 45:5---seek not great things for yourself. God takes notice of what is happening. Be content for life is more than food. And those thickly flying arrows adding grief to Baruch's sorrow, to your sorrow. Loading the troubles upon troubles. Baruch thought he would be "known" by reading the scroll not "banished." And he wanted to be excused not enrolled in prison based on good behavior like Joseph. Why? Jeremiah even sympathized and listened to Baruch but couldn't see beneath the reasonable request of Baruch.  Jeremiah didn't know what to say to comfort Baruch.  Couldn't see like God could. It seemed to be a reasonable request to save him from jail time after he did a task so noble. Beneath it all, Baruch was flailing in his faith because what he really wanted was the honor that came from this world. In His mercy, God showed him Himself. God, in His Providence, is showing us who we really are way down deep and what our trust and honor is placed in. So, re-set your mind. There is no continuing city here. And, if our lives are continued, it is solely for the opportunity to glorify God in this world and get ready for that better city.  So, if you are reading this, this prophecy is for you.