This last weekend we moved 800 miles northeast from Sachse, Texas to Pekin, Illinois. It is at a time of transition like this that you find yourself comparing one situation to the other. Just like when we first moved to Texas and compared everything to life in Illinois, now we are back in Illinois comparing everything to life in Texas: the new house to the old house, the new beautiful big open backyard to the old private backyard with a pool, today’s 82 degrees in IL to tomorrow’s 108 degrees in Texas, getting reacquainted with family and friends here while really missing our friends who had become family in Texas, a new and unfamiliar youth group here to the familiar and comfortable youth group there, shopping in the large metropolis of Dallas vs shopping in a town of 35,000, traffic in a town of 35,000 vs. driving the high-five in Dallas. The list goes on and on.

Any time we make a major change in life, we are going to find ourselves comparing the old to the new. Look back and consider when you first got married or when you had your first child, when you started a new job or moved to a new community, when you lost a loved one or graduated from school. There are many times in our life when things shift and major changes take place in our life. We made this same change when we turned our lives over to God and allowed Jesus to take residence in our hearts through His Spirit.

In the last three chapters of Ephesians, Paul does a lot of comparing of the old way of life to the new life in Christ. On Friday, we looked at Ephesians 4:14-15, which compares how we used to live with what we are growing to become: 14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.

“Growing” – this word describes my life well. With all of life’s changes comes growth. I’m reminded of an old BeBe and CeCe Winans song. The lyrics go like this: Change, one of the only things in life that still remains the same. How strange that change is here to stay. But let me say, the more life’s rearranged, the more His love remains – Oh His love remains the same.

Yesterday morning, Pastor Lloyd Brock reminded us of the love of God expressed in Isaiah 49:15-16: Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for a child she has borne? Even if that were possible, I would never forget you! See, I have engraved your name on the palms of my hand.

Our name is engraved in the palm of God’s hand and that never changes! I’m so thankful that, when surrounded by change, our God remains the same. I’m thankful that as I sit down in a new environment this morning to share my morning coffee with Jesus, there is no difference in how He meets with me and teaches me. Just as I grew in every way to be more and more like Christ while I lived in Texas, I will continue to grow in every way to be more and more like Him here in Illinois.

Yesterday we were challenged to live a life worthy of our calling. Our natural tendency is to form opinions about other people but God wants us to die to our sinful nature and grow in the Spirit. He wants us to… 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all (Eph. 4:2-5).

Growth – God’s plan for our lives is to grow! The Spirit-filled life described above doesn’t happen overnight. We need to grow in our walk so that day by day the Spirit does a work in our hearts. God has given us special gifts to help us grow, which Paul talks about in the next few verses of Ephesians chapter 4.

However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. 8 That is why the Scriptures say,

14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

Thank you, Jesus, for loving us enough to leave Heaven and come to earth in order to fill the universe with your glorious presence. Thank you for the gift of the many people you send into our lives to teach us and to help us grow. Thank you for our pastors – bless them and give them wisdom to speak the truth in love. Prepare our hearts so that those you have sent into our lives to teach us can equip us to do your work. Bring us to a place of maturity and understanding, growing in every way to be more and more like You! Amen.

God has a plan for my life and He has a plan for your life – He calls us to a specific purpose and to a way of life that is worthy of His creation. Let’s look at Ephesians 4 to see what God is calling us to.

Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all.

It is an honor to belong to our Creator. It is a privilege to be loved by Him. It is a gift to be saved by Him. It is a responsibility to be called by Him. He calls us because He has a purpose for our lives and He equips us with His Spirit so that we can live the kind of life He is calling us to. This is what I hear God saying in this passage:

You have been called by God.

Be humble – do not think too much of yourself.

Be gentle – in actions and in words.

Be patient with each other – Go out of your way to show love and notice the needs of those around you.

Love others enough to allow them to be imperfect, just as you are imperfect. You do NOT have the right to an opinion about someone else – to think it or to speak it.

Be united and live in peace for there is only one body and one Spirit and one future to which we are called. We serve the same Lord, have been given the same faith, have experienced the same baptism.

So why do we allow ourselves to get irritated with each other? Why do we form opinions about our sisters in Christ? Why do we choose to be a friend to one brother in Christ and turn our nose up to another? This is not God’s plan. He has given us a higher calling.

Help me today, dear Lord, to be worthy of the life to which you have called me. Fill me with your Spirit and give me new eyes to see the world around me. Fill me with your Spirit and give me a new heart to love those You love. Lord, today I take myself off the throne of opinions and allow you to be GOD – to be over all and in all and living through all! Amen.

I love the third chapter of Ephesians. It goes on to talk about God’s plan of salvation for the Gentiles, God’s plan for the Church and God’s plan for our lives. Dear God, help us to empty out all of the messages the evil one is screaming to us and hear only Your voice right now as we read from Paul’s letter to the Church in Ephesus. Amen.

And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus (Eph. 3:6). Did you hear that? We are part of the body of Christ just as the Jews are – God’s holy people whom He chose and whom He loves. In the same way, He chooses us and loves us. We belong to the One who loved us enough to die on the cross for us. Salvation is available for ALL of us. Paul goes on to explain why.

God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display His wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was his eternal plan, which He carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord (Eph. 3:10-11). There are things going on in the spiritual realm that we do not fully understand, but what we do know is that our God is supreme and mightier than any other power out there. Let’s look back at Ephesians 1:21 – Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else – not only in this world but also in the world to come.

Now here is one of my favorite verses because it is what I experience each morning as I pour my morning coffee and sit down to spend time with God. Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come BOLDLY and CONFIDENTLY into God’s presence (Eph. 3:12). Those words mean so much to me. What a privilege that we are invited into the presence of the most holy God! Paul had the same reaction. Please soak in the incredible description of what happens as we spend time in God’s presence.

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and earth. I pray that from His glorious, UNLIMITED resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God (Eph. 3:14-19).

What happens when I spend time in God’s presence? He empowers me with inner strength through His Spirit. He makes His home in my heart as I trust in Him. My roots grow down into God’s love and keep me strong. He gives me the power to understand just how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is – that’s the same love that is keeping me strong when I’m connected to the vine and my roots are growing. It has no limits! His resources are glorious and unlimited!!! (Take a minute to reread this paragraph and accept it as truth in your life.)

Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish INFINITELY more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen (Eph. 3:20-21).

May you experience the love of Christ today as He makes you complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from Him. May you understand that God is able and loves you enough to do “immeasurably more” or to “accomplish infinitely more” than you could possibly ask or think. He loves you enough – He chose you and made you a part of His body so that you could enjoy the “promise of blessings” for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

When the enemy tries to discourage you today, speak these truths out loud. Remind Him who you belong to and how much He loves you!

When we walk in God’s plan for our life…How timely for where God has had me over the last year and a half! Over and over again in my quiet times with God, connecting with Him over a cup of my morning coffee, God has brought the topic back around to His plan. He has taught me so much about how to trust Him and rest in Him, letting go of everything and holding tightly to Him.

In the same way that God has a plan for each of us individually, God has a plan for the Church – a plan for us as the body of Christ. That is what stood out to me this morning as I read through Ephesians.

God has brought all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself (Eph.1:22-23). I love these verses! We, as His body, are the expression of Christ to the world around us. He uses us to reflect Himself to the lost and dying world – this is His plan.

And let’s not miss a key truth here – we are under the authority of Christ, He is the head of the body and therefore He is in charge. It’s not about me, it’s about Him. It’s not about who I am but about whom I am reflecting.

As a reflection of Him, Christ brings us together in unity with each other. He breaks down the walls that separate us and helps us to see past our differences and love each other thoroughly! His plan for us as the body of Christ is to live at peace with one another. There are NO exceptions!

For Christ Himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from Him, and peace to the Jews who were near. Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us (Eph. 2:14-18).

It’s not okay for me to have an attitude toward my sister in Christ, she comes to the Father through the same Holy Spirit I do. Because of what Christ has done for both of us, it’s not okay for me to reject my brother in Christ. Jesus died so that the wall of hostility separating us could be broken, so why do we so often try to build the wall back up? So that Christ died for nothing?!!

Together, we are His house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus Himself. We are carefully joined together in Him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through Him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by His Spirit (Eph. 2:20-22).

Together the body of believers is the dwelling where God lives by His Spirit. He expresses Himself fully through the Church as we reflect Him to the unsaved. As we draw hear to Him and as we worship Him together with one voice and united hearts, we get to know Him. As we stay connected to the vine, we work in harmony with the branches around us to produce more fruit than we could ever produce on our own. THIS is God’s plan.

May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace (1:2). Friday we looked at how God’s grace plans for our future. We were made for a reason and we were saved for a reason. God equips us for that plan by giving us many gifts – gifts that change us into the person He planned for us to be all along. Let’s look at the gifts mentioned by Paul in the first two chapters of Ephesians.

Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you (Eph. 1:15-16a). Faith and love – these two gifts are often mentioned together. When we walk in God’s plan for our life, we naturally begin to love those around us more and more. Perhaps you noticed these are both fruits of the Spirit. We just finished Vacation Bible School last week and discussed in great detail the fruits of the Spirit. When we are connected to the vine (John 15), the Spirit does a work in our lives and we begin to produce fruit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23).

I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God (Eph. 1:16b-17). I see a few gifts from God in this sentence. First of all, let’s look at prayer. Have you considered recently how blessed we are to have a God who wants to hear from us and who wants to give us what we ask for? The gift He wants us to ask for so that He can give it to us generously (James 1:5) is spiritual wisdom and insight. He has a plan for our lives and desires to equip us with the wisdom we need to walk in that plan.

There is one more gift I see here – growth. God’s plan includes the blessing of growing in our relationship with Him, growing in our faith, and growing in our knowledge of God. This growth occurs when we know God personally and experience Him daily. It is so much more than an intellectual knowledge of our Creator – When we walk in God’s plan for our life, it is a relationship where God walks with us each step of the way.

I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called – his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance (Eph. 1:18). The gift of hope is one of my favorites. Let’s look at what the next chapter says about this hope God gives us:

Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders…You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. BUT NOW you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ (Eph.2:11-13). Thank God that He brings us from a state of hopelessness to a confident hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. When we walk in God’s plan for our life, we don’t see aimless wandering but we see that God has a plan for our life – one full of hope for the future (Jer. 29:11).

I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe in him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right and in the heavenly realms (Eph. 1:19-20). When we walk in God’s plan for our life, there is power. The same power that raised Jesus to life is available to us today. You probably already knew this but did you catch in verse 19 that He also wants to give us understanding of the incredible greatness of God’s power. I think that is a gift from God I have only scratched the surface of. Lord, give me a greater understanding of just how powerful you are so that I can walk in your plan with confident hope knowing that this power is available to me.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us all along (Eph 2:8-10). When we walk in God’s plan for our life, we walk humbly knowing that we deserve none of the lavish gifts He bestows. It is by grace that He loves us; it is by grace that He saves us; it is by grace that He walks with us in a specific plan for our life.

When we walk in God’s plan for our life, the Spirit produces faith and love along with all the fruits that are naturally produced from His presence.
When we walk in God’s plan for our life, we pray to Him, asking for spiritual wisdom and insight, and we grow in our knowledge of who God is and what His plan for our life is.
When we walk in God’s plan for our life, we experience a confident hope in our future.
When we walk in God’s plan for our life, we pray for an understanding of the incredible greatness of God’s power available for us who believe in Him.
When we walk in God’s plan for our life, we see ourselves through the eyes of God – a Masterpiece He has created for a purpose and saved for a purpose.

Once we were dead, but God, in His great mercy, loved us enough to give us life when He raised Jesus from the dead. Once we were dried bones, condemned by our own sin. Now we are God’s masterpiece – created anew in Christ Jesus. Why? So we can do the good things he planned for us long ago (Eph. 2:10).

That’s where we left off yesterday and that is where God brought me back today. Let’s take a break from the exiled Israelites in Babylon and take a deeper look into the letter Paul wrote to the Church in Ephesus. We’ve spent weeks talking about God’s plan for His People – the punishment for their sins, their exile and their future redemption. Now let’s focus in on the plan God had for Paul and the plan He has for us. So we can do the good things he planned for us long ago (Eph. 2:10). God has a plan for our life. He saved us for a reason, for a purpose. What were we made for and what were we saved for?

Ephesians 1:1 – This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. Paul greets the holy people in Ephesus, those who were faithful followers of Christ Jesus, by pointing out that He has been sent by God to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ. He was CHOSEN by God and is now an apostle because it is the WILL OF GOD – God’s specific plan for his life. Just as God had a plan for Paul’s life, He has a plan for my life and for yours.

May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace (1:2). This is a common greeting for the apostle Paul but he goes on in his letter to elaborate on the grace and the peace that God gives us – the grace that plans for our future and the peace that He gives as we walk in His plan.

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us to be holy and without fault in his eyes (1:3-4). What were we made for and what were we saved for – to be holy and without fault in his eyes. How is it possible to be without fault in God’s eyes? The answer can be found in the previous sentence – because we are united with Christ.

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure (1:5). Read that again and let it wash over you fresh and new this morning. This is what he WANTED to do, and it gave him great pleasure. What were we made for and what were we saved for – to be adopted into his own family through Jesus Christ because He WANTS to be our Father, because it brings Him great pleasure to call us His own.

The plan God has for my life and yours is all a part of the plan He had for His Son. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. And now you Gentiles who have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him (Eph. 1:6-14).

What were we made for and what were we saved for – to be filled with His Spirit, to receive the inheritance that is ours through Christ Jesus and to praise and glorify God! Precious Father, fill us with Your Spirit today! May every word we speak and every decision we make glorify you, for you are worthy of all of our praise! Help us to fully understand today what we were made for and what we were saved for.

The Lord took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley with bones. He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out (Ez.37:1-2).

Can you picture this – a valley covered in old dry bones? It makes me think of the scene towards the beginning of The Lion King movie where the young Simba and Nala run through what they call “the elephant graveyard.” God was using this imagery to represent the people of Israel. By now Jerusalem had been destroyed and all of God’s people had been scattered. The Jews feared they would never be a nation again – that the people of Israel would slowly fade away and die.

Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones represent the people of Israel. They are saying, ‘We have become old, dry bones – all hope is gone. Our nation is finished.’ Therefore, prophesy to them and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O my people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again. Then I will bring you back to the land of Israel. When this happens, O my people, you will know that I am the Lord. I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live again and return home to your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done what I said. Yes, the Lord has spoken!’” – Ezek. 37:11-14

As angry as God was with the unfaithfulness of His children, He still heard their cries and wanted to give them hope. He spoke to his people through the prophet Ezekiel concerning the dry bones: “Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life.” – Ezek. 37:4-7

Then as Ezekiel watched, that is exactly what happened to the valley of dry bones – They all came to life and stood up on their feet – a great army. Praise God! The people knew with confidence that God COULD extend grace to them, forgive them and breathe life back into their nation. The question was whether or not He WOULD. They needed to hear that He was not completely abandoning them in their sin but that there was indeed hope for their future (Jer. 29:11).

And that is the God we serve! There are times when God allows us to experience the full consequences of our sins. We reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7-8). But the God we serve is also a loving God who does not give up on us – He breathes new life into us through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil – the commander of the powers of the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this, it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. – Ephesians 2:1-5,8-10

Let’s praise God along with the psalmist David (Ps. 16:9-11):
No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice.
My body rests in safety.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead
Or allow your holy one to rot in the grave.
You will show me the joy of your presence and
The pleasures of living with you forever.

“You are my flock, the sheep of my pasture. You are my people and I am your God. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken” (Ez. 34:31).

I find great comfort in the imagery that God is my shepherd, caring for me and watching over me each day. God uses the comparison of the sheep and their Shepherd over and over again in the Bible and Jesus used the same description more than once. Of course, we could be a little insulted by being called sheep because they are so dumb and yet we find ourselves agreeing with the fact that alone we are lost and unprotected and most definitely in need of a Shepherd.

In Ezekiel, the Lord expressed anger with the leaders of Israel who were supposed to be “shepherding” the flock – “you abandoned my flock and left them to be attacked by every wild animal. And though you were my shepherds, you didn’t search for my sheep when they were lost. You took care of yourselves and left the sheep to starve” (Ez.34:8).

Jesus expressed this same frustration with the leaders of Israel during His time on earth: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep” (John 10:11-15).

This is what the Good Shepherd has to say about how He will care for his sheep after their time of exile in Babylon: “I myself will search and find my sheep. I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day. I will bring them back home to their own land of Israel from among the peoples and nations. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel and by the rivers and in all the places where people live. Yes, I will give them good pastureland on the high hills of Israel. There they will lie down in pleasant places and feed in the lush pastures of the hills. I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign Lord. I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak” (Ez.34:11-16).

Oh, how our Heavenly Father loves all of His sheep. He takes care of His flock, caring about each and every lamb. He doesn’t give up on the lost but actively draws them to Himself and heals them from their time away from the flock. This is what Jesus had to say about our Good Shepherd:

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way, your Father in heaven in not willing that any of these little ones should be lost” (Matt. 18:12-14).

What?!! He cares more about the one who has wandered off into sin than for the one who has remained with the flock. We should be hurt by that, shouldn’t we? Oh, the sin of self-righteousness that trips us up over and over again. The prophet Isaiah clears this one right up for us: “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).

Let’s join the psalmist David in this prayer:
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters,
He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name sake.
Even though I walk through the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
For you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Ps.23).

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance – 2 Peter 3:9.

This same message is evident in the book of Ezekiel. Even as God is prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem as a punishment to His people for their sins, He speaks of His desire that all should come to repentance – than none should perish. He appointed Ezekiel as a “watchman” to tell those who were sinning to repent and to warn those who were not sinning to continue in their righteousness (Ez.33:7-9). The same message of God’s desire to save the lost and to bless His people is presented in chapters 18 and 33 of Ezekiel.

“As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live…

“The righteous behavior of righteous people will not save them if they turn to sin, nor will the wicked behavior of wicked people destroy them if they repent and turn from their sins. When I tell righteous people that they will live, but then they sin, expecting their past righteousness to save them, then none of their righteous acts will be remembered. I will destroy them for their sins. And suppose I tell some wicked people that they will surely die, but then they turn from their sins and do what is just and right…then they will surely live and not die. None of their past sins will be brought up again, for they have done what is just and right, and they will surely live” (Ez.33:11-16).

I love that our God never gives up on us – that He is always willing to forgive, always desiring for His children to come to repentance. Often we give up on the chance that our friend or loved one will ever turn from their sinful lifestyle but God never gives up. Just like Ezekiel, He has appointed us all as watchmen. He wants us to help bring back the lost sheep and watch over those who are not lost to help them stay in the flock. He is a loving God who wishes to extend grace to His people.

But our God is also a jealous God and a just God. We have a choice to either sin or not sin and we will be judged by our choices. “Do you think that I like to see wicked people die, says the Sovereign Lord. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live. However, if righteous people turn from their righteous behavior and start doing sinful things and act like other sinners, should they be allowed to live? No, of course not! All their righteous acts will be forgotten, and they will die for their sins” (Ez. 18:23-24).