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Ezekiel 3:16-4:17; Jeremiah 27-28:17; Jeremiah 51:59-64<\/strong><\/span> In Ezekiel chapter 3 today God appoints Ezekiel as a watchman for Israel! This might sound pretty good at first\u2026 but there are some serious ramifications for Ezekiel to follow through with what God asks Ezekiel to do. My thoughts based on this chapter \u2013 Are there times in our lives where God asks us to do something that may sound good at first, but then turns out to be harder than we initially thought it would be? With potential some serious ramifications?\u00a0 If so, do you quit? Or do you forge ahead with what God asks of you?\u00a0 Will you stay within God\u2019s will for your life \u2013 even when the going gets tough?\u00a0 If God calls you to be a watch-person, will you be obedient to the call?<\/span><\/p>\n Jeremiah Chapter 27 seems to be a chapter of \u201cobedience\u201d to me. Jeremiah is called once again to be obedient to preach \u2013 and to wear an ox yoke this time!\u00a0 And the people of Judah are called to be obedient to the Babylonian conquest. Let it happen. Be exiled. And eventually you will return. Fight this call to obedience \u2013 and you will die. I know obedience is not a very popular term in our culture today. But, I do think it is still so relevant to our relationship with God. In what area of your life is God calling you to be obedient? Will you be obedient?\u00a0 Below is a portrait by Guy Rowe of Jeremiah\u2019s obedience of wearing a yoke from today\u2019s readings:<\/span><\/p>\n Jeremiah chapter 28 has a good lesson for us in the false prophet Hananiah. I think we need to be careful when we use words like, \u201cGod says\u201d, or \u201cthis is God\u2019s will\u201d, or \u201cI know God will do x, y, and z.\u201d Hananiah was using words like this\u2026 and he may have really thought this to be true\u2026 but he was wrong big-time. And paid a big price. I\u2019m thinking in our lives it might be better to say, \u201cGod-willing, this hopefully will happen\u2026\u201d or \u201cI believe God is leading me this way. I pray I\u2019m right\u201d \u2013 and then be prepared to adjust if we realize it wasn\u2019t quite the right way. I\u2019m sure most of us are seeking God\u2019s will for our lives. We maybe should be cautious on making declarative statements on precisely what God\u2019s will is for our lives?\u00a0 \u00a0Let us instead simply try to follow God\u2019s lead in our life each and every day and trust that his lead will take us where he wants us to go.<\/span><\/p>\n Worship Video: <\/strong>Today\u2019s readings reminded me of Steven Curtis Chapman\u2019s song, \u201cDo Everything:\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \n
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