Like a terrorist, he thought killing Christians was doing God service. He was guilty of the arrests and deaths of many Christians.
Yet, he stood there with a straight face and said, I
am innocent of the blood of all men (Acts 20: 26).
Who could do such a thing?
How could he say such a thing... and be
correct?
Paul is the man.
Jesus is the answer.
Can you say that? ... and be correct?
Being innocent of the blood of any man, reminds
us of the words of the Lord through the prophet Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 33:1
Again the word of the Lord came to me,
saying, 2 “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them:
‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take
a man from their territory and make him their watchman, 3 when he
sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the
people, 4 then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take
warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own
head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood
shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life.
The people are
responsible to, hear and heed.
The watchman is responsible
to, see and sound.
The sword of the Lord
in this context is not for the purpose of death, but discipline.
By our disobedience we
step away from the Lord’s protection, and within reach of the enemy’s sword.
Nevertheless, the Lord is
patient, He honors the will of the people of the land to take a man and
make him their watchman.
When that watchman sees
the sword and sounds the trump, the folks who ignore the trump will fall, but
those who hear and heed, will be saved.
Even from a secular standpoint,
the best thing we the people of our nation can do is hear and heed the
sound of the many trumpets sounding, exposing the swords slicing our unborn, mutilating
our children, slitting our throats and stabbing our backs.
Our nation is
hemorrhaging money so fast we’re about to bleed out.
The interest on our debt
is higher than our National Security budget. This is the point of no return for
every nation that has ever reached this point. No nation has ever recovered
from the place we are today.
That’s why it’s urgent to
hear and heed the trump of waste, fraud and abuse.
If we don’t, our nation
will surely die in our iniquity.
In just a matter of
weeks, DOGE has already saved an estimated $55 billion.
Over $900,000 to a
"Gaza terror charity"
Millions in “Gaza aid” went
straight to Hamas.
$1.5 million to advance DEI
(diversity, equity and inclusion; LGBTQ+).
$20 million to create
Sesame Street in Iraq. (They gave US the big bird while cookie monster gobbled
up the funds).
Worst of all: Many
members of our Congress (both sides) are complicit in the largest money
laundering scheme in history. (They’ve mysteriously become wealthy way above
and beyond their salaries).
The Watchman is sounding.
Trumpets are blowing.
Will we hear and heed the
watchman’s warning for the sake of our nation?
Or will we die, with our
own blood on our hands?
The choice is ours.
6
But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and
the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from
among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will
require at the watchman’s hand.’
The watchman must see and
sound, or the blood of every person in the land will be on their
hands.
We must pray for the
watchmen to see and sound, even if the sound is hard to hear.
But let’s dig deeper. Now God brings it home. He no
longer speaks of a watchman in a secular sense, but about the watchman He has
called.
7 “So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman
for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth
and warn them for Me. 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you
shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked
from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood
I will require at your hand. 9 Nevertheless if you warn the wicked
to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in
his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.
If we should listen to the watchman in a secular
sense, how much more the watchman appointed by God?
A watchman appointed by God must also see and sound,
but only after he has heard a word from the mouth of
God.
Then, he must warn the people. He must speak. Silence
is not an option.
“Silence in the face of evil is itself
evil: God will not hold us guiltless.
Not to speak is to speak.
Not to act is to act.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Their response is not your responsibility.
Either way, they might die in their iniquity, but if
you warn them, you will have delivered your soul (life).
10 “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel:
‘Thus you say, “If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine
away in them, how can we then live?” ’
11 Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no
pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and
live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of
Israel?’
Today we might say it like this:
I know my lifestyle has sin, but it’s not my fault, God
made me this way, therefore I can’t live the Christian life.
But God says, “As I live you can, I don’t want you to
die, but live. Turn, turn from your evil ways to Life and Life more abundantly.
12 “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your
people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in
the day of his transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked, he
shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness; nor
shall the righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day
that he sins.’
13 When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, but he
trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous
works shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has committed,
he shall die.
14 Again, when I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ if
he turns from his sin and does what is lawful and right, 15 if the wicked
restores the pledge, gives back what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes
of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 16
None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered against him; he has
done what is lawful and right; he shall surely live.
17 “Yet the children of your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is
not fair.’ But it is their way which is not fair! 18 When the righteous turns
from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of it. 19 But
when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he
shall live because of it.
The Lord says the same thing repeatedly, back to back,
four times.
When God says something once, it’s important, pay
attention.
When He says something twice, it’s really important,
scoot to the edge of your seat and listen close.
When He says something three times, stand up, draw
close, take notes, it’s vitally important.
Four times, God said this:
Your past, good or bad, righteous or wicked, is meaningless,
what matters is where your heart is, right now.
God is the Great I AM.
The Ever Present One.
The Right Now, God.
Isaiah
1:18
Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says
the Lord,
“Though
your sins are like scarlet,
They
shall be as white as snow;
Though
they are red like crimson,
They
shall be as wool.
That’s great news if you’re like me with not so great a past, full of sins and scars, flaws, weaknesses. Because, if right now, in this moment, with all you’ve got, with all your body, soul and spirit, all you want is to serve and love the Lord, forever.
Then, you shall live (Zoe Life, Eternal
Life).
But if you think you’ve been a Christian so long that
you’re immune to sin. If you trust in your own righteousness. I’m a nice person—nicer
than you. I’m good. I go to church. I’m too old to sin.
Or, if you trust in your own righteousness, I’m
good, I don’t need church, or the Bible, or prayer, me and the Big Guy upstairs
got it all worked out.
That, is called, “doing
what’s right in your own eyes.”
That is idolatry.
That is committing the
chronic iniquity or arrogancy.
Doing that, you will not hear or heed the
watchman or the Voice of the Shepherd. You will be deceived and die in your iniquity.
All the while, God is calling, “turn, turn, turn, to
Me and live, why oh why do you choose death?”
20 Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ O house of
Israel, I will judge every one of you according to his own ways.”
You are called to be a watchman.
Say right out loud if
you dare: I am a watchman. I have those God has given me, to watch
out for, to speak into. I will not be silent. Their blood will not be on my
hands.
Dear family, we must act, we must speak. Christianity
must go beyond just internal belief.
Habakkuk
2:1
I will stand my watch
And set myself on the rampart, (wall)
And watch to see what He will say to me,
And what I will answer when I am corrected.
Hebrews
5:9
And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,
Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, not by power, not by might,
but by Your Spirit, we will stand, we will watch, we will see, we will say, we
will obey, so that of all those You’ve given us to be watchman over, none will
be lost.
Thank You.
We love You, forever.
Amen.
Prayer Requests:
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This was feed for you to read. Now it’s
Seed for you to sow.
Thank you for sharing.
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