An End Times Lesson from Ezekiel

An End Times Lesson from Ezekiel

In Ezekiel 8 God actually seems to give us a thumbnail view of the end times, the rapture and the tribulation!

In this chapter, Ezekiel is having a vision and God shows him how evil the people and even the priests have become and how they're misleading the people and encouraging them to sin. He showed him people that "everyone thought were godly" but who in reality were quite wicked and misleading the people. Even in the Temple itself, the priests had literally turned their backs on God. Oh they still did all the rituals they were supposed to, but when they weren't doing those things, they were worshiping false gods and doing other detestable things. It reminds me of this verse:

‘they have no shame at all, they do not even know how to blush.’ Jer. 6:15.

Sounds like our society now doesn't it? Not only do people not feel shame about their sins, they promote them and advertise them as entertainment! I don't know how many times that thought goes through my mind each evening when we see the commercials for current programs on TV. It's like each program or movie is based on one or more sins and how great it is. Let's see if I can remember a few of the current ones I've seen the ads for: "sex in the city" or something like that, but then most of them have something to do with one kind or another of illegitimate sex. Then there's one in particular that's all about "revenge" and it's commercial is all about how we all want to get revenge on those that have hurt us. I don't think they miss a single sin. On any day of the week, you can turn on the TV and get your fill of adultery, homosexuality, porn, premarital sex, greed, coveting, gossiping, lying, stealing, murder, hate, revenge, disrespect of parents, teachers, pastors, government officials, etc. There's also plenty of idolatry and paganism available for any who want it, as well as taking God's Name in vain and using vulgar language etc. All dressed up as entertainment. Don't even get me started about false teachers! We all know how bad that situation is now!

People don't repent of sin anymore. Instead they either label it as an Illness or they legalize it and tell us we need to be tolerant of it. People today delight in their sins and the sins of others, instead of repenting of them and praying for mercy. Like Judah in Ezekiel 8, we seem to think that God doesn't see it or us, and/or doesn't care.

After God has shown him all the evil the priests and the people are doing in the land, God says this to him:

Ezekiel 8:17–18 —He said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the house of Judah to do the detestable things they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence and continually provoke me to anger? Look at them putting the branch to their nose! *18 * Therefore I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them.” *

That's the end of chapter 8, and in the next chapter God calls in Angelic guards and look at what He orders them to do:

Ezekiel 9:4 — and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.” *

He makes sure that all those who love Him are marked on their foreheads--very much like He does in Revelation with the 144,000 witnesses. Then, just like in Revelation, He commands that they be protected from harm and orders that His judgment is to go out on the rest of the people in Judah.

Ezekiel 9:5–6 —As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. *6 * Slaughter old men, young men and maidens, women and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple. *

I was thinking that the way the Lord first marked those who belonged to Him and then kept them safe from the destruction is a lot like what will happen at the rapture. We've all been marked/sealed with the Holy Spirit and when the rapture happens, the judgments to come on the earth won't touch us.

Just as this judgment began with the elders in the temple, so after the rapture, the first to realize what happened and what their own fate is now, will be those false teachers that have so polluted God's Word and taught heresy.

Just as the priests of Judah polluted God's temple with their idolatry, so that God's presence then left the temple (Ezekiel 10) for He will not share His glory with idols, so the false teachers of today have polluted His temple--the body of Christ with idolatry and other sin. Therefore the true body of Christ will be removed from this earth just as God removed Himself from the Temple then, and next the judgment begins.

Please don't misunderstand me...I'm not suggesting that this is what God is teaching us from these chapters, or that their main purpose is to point toward the rapture and tribulation to come. I don't think that's true at all. But I do think it's one of the things that we can see in these chapters.

I also think that His main message in these chapters are just as desperately needed today as they were then:

That those who turn their backs on God and His Word are leaving themselves wide open for judgment, for judgment will come. It might be delayed but eventually all will pay for their sins. When that time comes, it will then be too late for them to "repent" and escape judgment. What I mean is that they can repent, but they will still be judged for it will be late for them to escape that as God won't listen to their cries. (again like it will be at the rapture...those who do instantly realize what happened and repent will still have to go through the trib.) Those who don't repent at all will perish in their sin, just as these people did when the angel slaughtered them. These chapters also teach that God will never abandon those who do belong to Him and have given Him their hearts. They will always be safe in Him.

To me, the message for our world today is the same it's always been: Repent, for the Kingdom of God is near! And His message to those who belong to Him is

Hebrews 10:35–38— So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. *36 * You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. *37 * For in just a very little while, “He who is coming will come and will not delay. *38 * But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.” *

Revelation 3:11 —I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. *

Even so, Come Lord Jesus!!!!

A time such as this

I was thinking about Esther and how Mordecai told her that perhaps she'd come to be where she was then, "for such a time as this." Of course, Mordecai was saying that because he knew that God is sovereign and always in control. But you know, I think every single one of us could have that very same thing said about us right now. I think we were all born "for such a time as this." I think that's true for the very same reason Mordecai did, and while it's true of every individual all through history, it shouldn't make it mean any less to each of us.

What got me thinking about this is how Mordecai had to get his message to Esther. He had to use one of Esther's servants to give her a message. he couldn't tell her directly. We don't know hardly anything about this person, except that he was one of the King's eunuchs assigned to her and that his name was Hathach. Yet this one man was ultimately responsible for bearing important, life changing information between the only two people in the whole empire who held the salvation of the Jewish nation in their hands.

Realizing that, made me consider the many times throughout the bible that we're told nothing but the names of the people through who miracles were worked or great life changing events took place. Events that ultimately, changed the whole world, considering that we still study them today. Then, there's just as many times when we're told of the event, but not even told the name of the person who was the catalyst for it. Such as the boy who gave Jesus his fish and bread, or the little girl who was a servant and told Naaman to see the prophet, or the people who rescued Paul, putting him in a basket and lowering him over the wall in Damascus, or the men who cared so much they removed the roof so they could lower their friend down to be healed by Jesus, or even the man who gave Jesus and his disciples the use of his upper room that last night, and so many others.

If you're like me, you've probably asked the Lord what He can possibly use you for. I think we all ask that at some time or another, and often feel that because of our situation, or our age, or health, or something... that He can't use us at all. In fact, I'd be willing to bet, that every one of those people I just mentioned probably felt the very same way. Yet we know that God did use them, and used them for very, very important matters!

That brings us to today and you and me being alive for such a time as this. We're living in one of the few times of history that are of major interest. Those few times when everything changes. Like the time of Moses which began the age of the Law, and the time when Jesus was here of course and the start of the church, and the others in between and before Moses. There weren't very many, but each one was the end of one era and the beginning of another one. They were all times of great change and great turmoil because of that. For example, when Jesus was here during the last age, the age of the Law, His death and resurrection put an end to that age and began the age we live in now, the age of Grace. Each of these times are times we look back on and often say, "I would have loved to have been alive during that time!" We say that because we see the great things God did then, and don't pay much attention to all the turmoil, trials and hardships that were also happening at that time.

Today, right now, we are living in one of those times. But because we're living in it, we wouldn't think of "wishing" to live now. We're much to overcome by all the trials and hardships going on. So much so, just like the people who lived during the other transition times, that we can often miss the great things that God is doing. But people who will read of our time will one day say the same thing we have about those other times...that it must have been a fascinating time to live through!

Jesus will be coming for us soon. Regardless of the exact timing of the rapture, we are still in a time of transition between ages. We are living not only or not "just" during the end times, but in the last days of the end times! Compared to when Jesus was here before, I guess you could say it's about the time when our Lord died and rose again for us. Those were the last days of the Age of the Law and the church was born and the Age of Grace began a short time later. So we're very close to the time for the rapture to happen.

Back to the point now of being born for such a time as this. While we may not know how the Lord can use us personally, we can be assured that He is using us. This is one reason it's so very important for us to hold up and stand firm during trials, because we'll never know what small act or word we may say could be one that could change lives or even history. If you think about each of the people I mentioned, Naaman's little servant girl, the boy with the fish and bread, etc. (and I'm sure if we reflect on it a bit, we can come up with many more), I seriously doubt if any of them had a clue that what they did or said would be all that important. Or, even if important to the immediate people involved, I'm sure they never dreamed it would or even could, go beyond that.

We need to know from God's Word that we're each very important to Him, and loved greatly by Him, and that He not only can use us, but that He will use us! Instead of looking at our circumstances, age, health, gender, or whatever, we need to look up in faith that the God of all creation has a plan, and His plan includes using us. For He tells us straight out in His Word that He's planned things for us to do since before this world was created. He knew exactly who would give Jesus that fish and bread, etc, and He knows exactly what word or deed of ours will be responsible for changing lifes. He knows this because He caused each one of us to be born for such a time as this!

If you still need more confirmation about this, think of Esther during her time. When Mordecai told her that, she was sure that she couldn't do anything at all! After all, she was "just a woman" and was shut away in the harem without access to information or other people. The law was against her because no one was ever allowed to just show up in front of the King. Even her race and religion were against her. The officials of that time were against her because they were only going to do things that would ingratiate them to the King, they certainly didn't want to risk anything for her or anyone else. Even the King was against her in his general attitude toward women, for he saw them as nothing more then property and certainly didn't consider that they had any brains. What could she possibly do, besides perhaps pray? We all know what she did and how it turned out. She changed her world even though everything seemed to be against her. All because God was for her, and had a plan for her for such a time as that.

Just as God was for Esther, and each of the others we've spoken about, just as He had a plan for each of them in spite of their circumstances, so He has plans for us. Just as He placed them in specific times in history, so He has placed us during this time. Our time is the end of one age and the start of another. A time of great turmoil and change, but also a time that will work out for God's great glory and He chose us to be born for such a time as this!

Hell On Earth

As I read Isaiah again, I'm continually reminded of so much, including how very few people will live through the tribulation. And that again just goes to show that the pre wrath and post trib positions are false. There won't be that many people left, besides that fact that to be joyful about looking forward to a rapture at that point is ludicrous! Listen to Isaiah:

Isaiah 13:12 —I will make man scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir. *

Isaiah 24:5–6 —The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. *Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left. *

Isaiah 34:2–3 —The LORD is angry with all nations; his wrath is upon all their armies. He will totally destroy them, he will give them over to slaughter. *Their slain will be thrown out, their dead bodies will send up a stench; the mountains will be soaked with their blood. *

Other verses in Isaiah and other books also paint this same picture, and if that's not enough, Jesus himself tells us that no one would survive without divine intervention:

Matthew 24:22 —If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. *

It is going to be hell on earth during those 7 years, not just the last 3 and a half. I'd say the only difference between the first half and the second half of the tribulation is that we can just barely imagine, barely! what the very beginning of the tribulation will be like. And that's not even really accurate because there's most likely going to be a gap between the rapture and the start of the tribulation, and it's that "gap" really, that we can imagine what it will be like. That and the first few months of the tribulation our minds can grasp, but after that....no. If you study, what every book in the bible says about that period of time, you can't help but come away from it knowing that it's going to be like nothing mankind has ever even thought of in their worst nightmares!

I think the reason so many think that only the last half is going to be really bad is because so many authors and teachers stress the point that the judgments get worse as they go along and that as far as the Jews and Christians being martyred goes, that becomes a lot worse in the 2nd half of the trib. That's all quite true, but instead of realizing that the entire tribulation is going to be quite literally like hell on earth, instead we tend to think of it as starting slow and easy so that it's not much different then now. That's not true though.

The birth pangs we're seeing now are like "mini previews", and I do mean "miniature" in every way. Compare the worst natural disaster you can think of with a world wide earthquake that's so severe it's off the scale and kills billions. That's the difference. The difference between the first half and the second half of the trib, ONLY in the way the Jew's will be treated, is that during the first half they'll be treated generally the same as the Christians- tortured and killed. During the second half though, what happens to them will make the holocaust look mild!

To start with there are going to be at least 3 major earthquakes during the tribulation and two of them will be world wide....world wide! One of the world wide earthquakes will be during the first quarter of the first half of the tribulation and another toward the end. The bible says that during these two earthquakes there will also be many volcano's erupting and that ash and debris will fill the sky. We can only attempt to imagine what will happen with the oceans...tidal waves... talk about horror! And friends, God has set the first earthquake to happen during the first quarter of the first half of the tribulation.

There are 182 weeks in 3 and a half years. If you divide them by 4 that's 45.5 weeks. As you can see then, this first earthquake will happen before the first year of the tribulation has gone by. And that's just one of the many horrors that's coming, and coming soon. It's just one of the things that our neighbors are going to go through if they're not saved beforehand. If we can't work ourselves up to being bold enough to speak up to them about Christ and His salvation because we know they will spend eternity in hell, surely knowing that they will be going through this should cause us to run over and start pleading with them to give their lives to Christ!

On the other hand, if you believe God is the kind of God who would put His Church through this - for any reason, then I guess it just doesn't matter since they'd go through it anyway. Sorry, but it's just ludicrous to me that anyone could believe such a thing, or that if they did suspect it might be true, wouldn't then grab their bibles and not take their noses out of it until they'd studied the entire book from Genesis to Revelation with God's help to determine what God really says about it.

That right there shows another reason why these kind of false teachings are being taught. Because even if people do pick up their bibles, they're just studying the "proof verses" they're given or at most the main books they think it's talked about in, like Revelation, Daniel and Isaiah. The problem is that they can't get the whole picture until they know the whole bible. God had a reason for every word He gave us and if we don't know it all, then we can't know His plans for us, the Jew's or anything else. No Christian should just accept what I say, what their pastor says, or what any famous author/teacher/pastor says. They should instead commit to obeying God and knowing His Word and finding out for themselves what's true.

Someone gave me a prophetic word/prophesied over me.

I saw a lot of this for awhile at a church I used to attend. There was one group of people that were always "prophesying" over others. It always looked like a circus to me when they did this and always disrupted the service. What was disconcerting to me about it was that it really seemed like these folks loved the Lord and tried to live their faith, but then they'd break out prophesying, and seemed to be able to turn it on at will, whenever they wanted to. I was a fairly new Christian at the time, so didn't know God's Word any where near as well as I know it now, but something just seemed very wrong with it all. These same folks were also very much into "healing" and didn't seem to think there was any reason that anyone should ever be sick. It seemed like a personal affront to them if someone wasn't healed instantly, yet no one ever was.

At first I'd listen to their prophesies very carefully and they were often quite specific. They'd tell people things like: "God is going to see to it that you come into a lot of money very soon so you can start a TV station that will honor Him and bring many into the Kingdom". That one really floored me and I waited expectantly to see it happen. Of course it never did and it's been over 15 years now.

They seemed to know the pastor well and often prophesied over him or his wife. I remember once they told her that God was going to give her her own ministry and how great it was going to be. I knew that the pastors wife was already busier then any two women usually were, so I wondered how He was going to make any more time for her to do something else. That one was difficult to determine if it came true or not. As far as they were concerned it did, but I wasn't so sure. She did later start a women's ministry, or rather she got it going for others anyway. But she'd done that many times in the past and I knew she'd continue to do it in the future, so it wasn't anything new and it certainly wasn't what their entire prophecy had seemed to indicate. That particular ministry fizzled out after a short time anyway.

I noticed that when these people did give a prophesy, it was always something spectacularly good for the person and often involved the person getting money which of course they always said was to be used for something that would bring glory to God. But then according to the things they'd say, anything could bring glory to Him, including just paying your bills. Which is true I suppose, but it just didn't sit right with me.

These folks also spoke in tongues and often preceded their prophecy by speaking in tongues or would prophecy in tongues first and then they'd interpret it for us. What I thought was strange was that no one else could ever interpret anything one of them said in tongues, only the person who spoke it could. Nor was there ever anyone who could or would stand up in agreement or disagreement with anything they prophesied.

There were others besides this core group of course. Over the years there always seemed to be a few folks that were really into this kind of thing.

Of course I asked the Lord about it and He had me study all the times a prophet spoke in the NT and then the OT. What I found interesting was that the vast majority of times, the prophecy wasn't nice, it wasn't something anyone would necessarily want to hear. Like when the prophet told (and demonstrated) how Paul was going to be arrested and put in chains; another common thing for the prophets to prophesy was to tell the person or persons that they were sinning and not doing God's Will. I just couldn't find anywhere where a prophet had spoke words anything like what these folks did regularly.

Having been saved out of the New Age and Occult garbage, I was very aware of psychics and what they did.Just as the article above pointed out, that's exactly what these people reminded me of. Thankfully I've never heard of seen of any of them giving prophetic "readings" around here though. I'm afraid I've have to speak a few words to them if so.

But then the Lord shocked me by giving me what I later came to understand were sometimes called either "words of knowledge" or "words of wisdom". Well, at least that's the closest thing I could come to for what He told me. Don't worry. He never told me things like "so and so's going to come into a lot of money" But what He would do regularly is ask me to pray for people, sometimes people I didn't even know. So I would, even when I wasn't sure what to pray about for them. Then, one day, He revealed things that He specifically wanted me to pray about for a person. I was acquainted with the person, but not well. Still, I was pretty shocked by what He'd put in my mind to pray about. I was being discipled by one of the elders at my church at the time, so I did ask them about it without telling them who I was praying for or what the Lord had told me to pray about. I just asked if that was "normal" for God They told me it was, and warned me to never tell anyone what the Lord had told me, unless He specifically told me to or gave me permission. I was very grateful for their warning and kept everything He told me close to my heart, and prayed as He directed. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to when the Lord would give me information to pray about. Sometimes I'd have to pray not knowing anything at all about "why" I'd been told to pray. Other times I'd be praying as usual, only to be interrupted and given information to pray about something else for them. After a few months, I discovered, much to my surprise, that it was much easier for me to pray for someone I didn't know, then for those I did know. When I knew someone well, I tended to make assumptions about what they needed prayer for and discovered that I was more often wrong then right, because the Lord would interrupt me and tell me what they needed prayer for.

Anyway, after more then a year, the Lord finally gave me confirmation that showed me for absolute sure that I'd been hearing from Him and been doing His Will. At first various people that I'd been praying for would come up to me and say things in conversation that would confirm that I'd been praying for the right things. It was always a shocker to everyone, even me, even though I'd been praying for them about it. For instance a woman who I had always thought had a wonderful marriage and family, and who'd never given any indication that anything was wrong, announced that she had filed for divorce several months before but was now reconciled with her husband. After that happened any number of times, I felt amazed that the Lord had allowed me to be a part of all of it. Then after yet more years went by, He went further. A woman registered on FH and sent me a PM before she ever posted. She told me this horror story of all that had happened to her, ending with that they'd been going to take their own life. They felt so alone especially because they didn't even know anyone who they could ask to pray for them. For some reason though, at that moment, they'd suddenly felt the Lord all around them, loving them! It was an amazing testimony! It gave me goosebumps too because some of the particulars they'd told about, were the very same things I'd been praying about for a person I didn't know and had been praying for for over a year. I even knew what night that had happened on because I'd been awakened during the night to pray for them! So I wrote back and asked them if they knew what night it had happened. The replied and confirmed what I already knew in my heart, it was that very same night and the very same time that the Lord had woke me up!

Of course I immediately, for the first time, asked the Lord for permission to share that there had in fact been someone praying for them, and He gave it. I still remember writing that reply to them. I had tears streaming down my face. I told them the whole story of how the Lord had asked me to pray for them and how I had been doing so and for how long; and how He'd awakened me that particular night at that time, telling me to pray and pray hard! So I prayed and I kept praying until I felt completely at peace and knew I could stop. Needless to say, they too were astounded at just how much God loved them.

It still astounds me too, as I too had a time in my life when I thought no one cared about me enough to pray for me and I desperately needed prayer. I have no doubt in my mind though, that God made sure I was covered in prayer then, just as He did for this person. I know He does it for all of His children, because He loves us so.

So now you can see that while I don't for a moment believe any of those other people were speaking for God, I do believe that God speaks to us and even gives us insight and wisdom we need to do His Will. It's not something to be used to show off and look important to others, and not to interrupt a service with. Nor is it to tell people that "everything's going to be ok, that they'll get the money they need, their relationships will be repaired, etc. No. It's only to do His Will and help His children and to build up the body of Christ. So please, beware of those who have "words of knowledge or wisdom" for you, or who prophesize over you. Test them against the Word of God, and if it's not there, then the Word isn't from God.

2 Cor 13:1; 1 Cor 14:26–28; 1 Cor 14:29–30; 1 Cor 14:32–33;

Part 2:

I think most of these folks are well meaning people who love the Lord and want to do great things for Him, want to please Him, but have wound up being misled as to how to serve Him. I know for example that a great many churches tell people to "practice" speaking in tongues, to literally fake it and that then one day it will just "happen" for them. I was told that by any number of churches even, and I'm not pentecostal. It's the same with words of knowledge and wisdom. People are told to just say whatever comes into their minds and "believe it's from God". They're not taught discernment or accountability. Since that's what they're told, and what they hear from others all the time, they assume that's the correct way it's done.

The most dangerous thing I've seen in many churches is people "practicing" hearing from or trying to receive messages from the Holy Spirit. It's similar to getting words of knowledge or wisdom and yet different. It's hard to explain. It's yet another way that Satan has deceived the elect because in this case instead of just saying whatever comes into their heads, like so many do with the words of knowledge and wisdom, they actually begin to hear from demons. Without realizing it, they're doing exactly the same thing the new agers do when they hear from their so called "spirit guides". These people become more and more deceived as time goes by and often don't realize it for many years. They think they're having a special experience and as you know, we humans just love supernatural experiences and tend to cling to them. Plus of course it makes them feel "special" too, all of which makes it even harder for them to repent. Since these people really do love the Lord, they have a really hard time believing that they've been fooled by Satan for all that time. That too makes it hard for them to truly repent, because to repent we must first agree with God that what we've been doing is a sin. Somehow, to us, when we sin in these ways, it seems worse to us then if we'd lied or done some kind of "regular" sin. I guess that's part of the problem, that we tend to categorize sins that way and forget that what matters is that we repent, not what the sin was.

I've noticed though that when someone who was involved with that does truly repent, they seem to become even more on fire for God and really study His Word more then ever as they don't ever want to get caught in one of Satan's schemes again. Because of that, they grow quickly and the more they grow the more they study... it's like a circle and it effects everyone around them. I can easily see the Lord using them to do great things in their lives and the lives of all who know them after they truly repent though, as they seem to be the type that feels His Word is like a fire within them that they have to release, only now they realize that His Word isn't something put or heard in their minds, but is in their Bibles. Its amazing what God can do with us when we repent and do things His way!

Jeremiah 20:9 —But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. *


Job 32:18–20 —For I am full of words, and the spirit within me compels me; *inside I am like bottled-up wine, like new wineskins ready to burst. *I must speak and find relief; I must open my lips and reply. *

Are You A Bruised Reed?

I’ve heard some people say with horror in their voice, “Whatever you do, don’t pray for God to do His Will in your life or something horrible will happen to you!”  And they really believe it!  I was totally shocked as I thought that they would know more about the Lord then I did since they’d been saved so much longer.  Sadly though, they didn’t understand Him at all.  This is our Lord and Savior we’re talking about.  Do you really think He would do something horrible to you? He is the one who gave His life for us.  He’s the one who told us that if we were weary or burdened to come to Him because He would give us rest! (Matthew 11:28–30)

In describing Him, Isaiah says, —He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. *A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; (Isaiah 42:2–3) This isn’t speaking of a literal reed that He might have seen laying in the street, or a lamp about to go out.  Isaiah is speaking of people here.  He’s speaking of people who are heart broken, scared, and who’s spirits are fragile and weak because they’ve been betrayed and hurt. He’s speaking about a person who trembles with fear when they hear a raised voice. We’re told that Jesus won’t alarm or hurt these people, but instead will nurture and restore them to strength and health. Not only that, but it assures us that He will do so softly, gently, tenderly, with love.

Does this sound like the kind of God who would do something horrible to you?  But you may say this is true, but what about the Father?  Jesus tells Philip in John 14 that if we have seen Him, then we’ve seen the Father. What He’s actually saying is that if we know Him, then we really know the Father too because He and the Father are one.  The Father doesn’t act any differently than He does.  Remember how often Jesus tells us that everything He says and does are because the Father has told Him to? Jesus was showing us what the Father is like.  Therefore if Jesus wouldn’t break a bruised reed, neither will the Father.

This is our God who came to bind up the broken hearted, to set prisoners free.  Let’s read the rest of the verse from Matthew 11:28–30 I spoke of earlier —“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. *Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. *For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” *  How often are we told and shown how He searches for the lost to help them, how He binds up our wounds, and heals us, how He carries us close to His heart?  Recall the times He’s wept over people’s suffering and helped and comforted them; the times that instead of thinking of His own needs, He spent His time caring for the needs of others. Recall the bruised reed of the woman who was brought before Him, condemned.  Did He do something awful to her?  No, He set her free physically and spiritually too by forgiving her sins and telling her to go and sin no more.  He didn’t come and tell us to love others, even our enemies and not do it Himself.  All He commands of us, He also showed us by His life how to do.  This is our God my friends, and His plans for us are plans to prosper us, not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future!  (Jeremiah 29:11)

But what about all the verses that talk about Him destroying His enemies and things like that?  That is easy to understand if you think for just a moment about it.  We aren’t His enemies any longer, we’re His children!  Yes, He will destroy His enemies one day soon, but for His children He says there is no condemnation for us and that He will save us and keep us from that time of wrath.  Romans tells us that because we’ve been justified by His blood, we will certainly be saved from God’s wrath through Jesus.  The wrath of God will be coming against all godlessness, and we have been declared righteous, so have no need to worry about that. In 1 Thessalonians we’re told outright again that Jesus rescues us from the coming wrath and that we were appointed to receive salvation, not His wrath.

I pray that all of this has shown us that our God is a God a love and that as His children we need never fear Him or fear what He will do.  Yes, He will stretch us beyond our comfort zones at times to encourage our growth, but no more then a good parent does with their children when encouraging them to do something the parent knows they’re capable of even though the child is concerned they’ll fail, and the good parent never harms the child or pushes them so hard as to make them fearful!  Of course, earthly parents aren’t perfect and we do make mistakes; but God is perfect and He never makes mistakes or misjudges anything or anyone.  We really can trust Him!  Having said we need never fear Him, I should also say that by that I’m not saying we shouldn’t feel a reverential awe of Him and a desire to please Him, which is what the “fear of the Lord” is referring to when it says that the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge”.

So let us praise God with Psalm 103, rejoicing in the God who loves us and doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve!  May His Will always be done in my life!  Thank You Lord!