Want To Be Clean?

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. [Ezekiel 36.25-27]

This prophecy is about Jesus. Jesus, God's Living Word, is the living water that cleanses us. 

“If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” [John 4.10]

What Ezekiel reveals is that Jesus, the Word, cleanses away our idolatry - our own failed way - our sin. We are not clean as long as our idolatry exists. 

If we want to be clean, we MUST get rid of our idols.

Jesus calls all people unto Himself - His cleansing - in the following way:

“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24] 

What Jesus demanded is the same thing God demanded: 

“I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. [Exodus 20.2-6]

As long as our idolatry exists (in that we have not been cleansed by the Word, Jesus), we retain a stony, stubborn heart, and, we are powerless to obey God's regulations.

The problem with a stony, stubborn heart is that it lies undetected within a person.

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? [Jeremiah 17.9]

The only way to know the human heart in all its stony, stubborn, wickedness, is to know God's Word: His-written-Word-revealing-His-Living-Word (Jesus)-confirming-the-written-Word. 

Jesus' Living Water is the only cleansing remedy for all the filth of our idolatry - the well from which springs all our sin. The Apostle Paul said it like this:

For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. [Ephesians 5.25-27]

The promises made in Ezekiel 34 are invalid as long as idolatry exists in God's people,

“I will make a covenant of peace with my people and drive away the dangerous animals from the land. Then they will be able to camp safely in the wildest places and sleep in the woods without fear. I will bless my people and their homes around my holy hill. And in the proper season I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing. The orchards and fields of my people will yield bumper crops, and everyone will live in safety. When I have broken their chains of slavery and rescued them from those who enslaved them, then they will know that I am the LORD. They will no longer be prey for other nations, and wild animals will no longer devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will frighten them. “And I will make their land famous for its crops, so my people will never again suffer from famines or the insults of foreign nations. In this way, they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them. And they will know that they, the people of Israel, are my people, says the Sovereign LORD. You are my flock, the sheep of my pasture. You are my people, and I am your God. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!” [Ezekiel 34.25-31]

There is an unmistakable distinction between God's people (cleansed from idolatry by the Living Water - the Living Word, Jesus) and the rest of the world. At least, there should be...

We must understand that a relationship with God through Jesus Christ is not an abstract idea! Ezekiel 34.25-31 (identifying God's people as remarkably unaffected in a degraded world) and Ephesians 5.25-27 (identifying God's people as glorious, without spot or wrinkle) both attest to the fact that a Christ-follower's life stands out from the rest of the world with clear and obvious distinction.

The caveat however is found early in Ezekiel 34:

Then this message came to me from the LORD: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign LORD: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep? You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve. You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty. So my sheep have been scattered without a shepherd, and they are easy prey for any wild animal. They have wandered through all the mountains and all the hills, across the face of the earth, yet no one has gone to search for them. “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, 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. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I now consider these shepherds my enemies, and I will hold them responsible for what has happened to my flock. I will take away their right to feed the flock, and I will stop them from feeding themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths; the sheep will no longer be their prey. [Ezekiel 34.1-10]

The shepherds, representing religion, ae more interested in shearing the sheep than protecting them. Instead of competently leading God's people away from idolatry, religion leaves God's people unattended and vulnerable, because all religion wants and needs is the milk, wool, and meat of the "sheep" - their money. Religious leaders who "shepherd" God's people in indistinct, abstract religion void of the distinct and miraculous power of God do so because that is what idolatry does! Idolatry, for its own financial gain, distracts God's people, leading them away from relying on God ALONE. Religion accomplishes this distraction by flooding God's people with abstract theologies, doctrines, and denominations thus effectively diluting (and muddying) the pure Living Water of the Word - Jesus Christ. Consequently, idolatry is left intact and God's people are none the wiser.

Until God's people understand that Jesus Christ is the antithesis of idolatry, religion will continue to do its worst - Ezekiel's timelessly relevant words will be lost in abstract religion and the Church will remain powerless and ineffective in the world today:

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. [Ezekiel 36.25-27]

Father, the more I meditate on today's One Year Chronological Bible reading, the more I realize how revelatory Ezekiel's words are for us in our present time. May we get it right in understanding that Jesus is the Living Word, and that, unless we give up our own way, take up our cross, and follow Him, we are hopelessly filthy and idolatrous. May Your Word, and the cleansing it brings, transform us into "the glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish... holy and without fault." So be it.

Someone Has To Say Something

“Listen, you remnant of Judah. The LORD has told you: ‘Do not go to Egypt!’ Don’t forget this warning I have given you today. For you were not being honest when you sent me to pray to the LORD your God for you. You said, ‘Just tell us what the LORD our God says, and we will do it!’ And today I have told you exactly what he said, but you will not obey the LORD your God any better now than you have in the past. So you can be sure that you will die from war, famine, and disease in Egypt, where you insist on going.” [Jeremiah 42.19-22] 

Three years ago today, I wrote the article Really Want To Know? I very much recommend reading that article with the understanding that Jeremiah 42-44 from today's One Year Chronological Bible reading is so absolutely relevant and applicable to us today that it is scary (at least, it should be).

God's people today are just as blind and deaf as God's ancient people. They read the Bible and do not see their own repetitious idolatry problem.

“Again and again I sent my servants, the prophets, to plead with them, ‘Don’t do these horrible things that I hate so much.’ But my people would not listen or turn back from their wicked ways. They kept on burning incense to these gods. [Jeremiah 44.4-5]

Not ironically, the same prophets that God sent again and again to decry idolatry are the same prophets who foretold the coming of Messiah, Jesus. Then, when He came, Jesus demanded no less unadulterated faith and trust in God ALONE than did the prophets who foretold his coming!

For far too long God's people have seen Jesus' hard words as abstract. Perhaps the most glaring example of this is found in people's interpretation of Matthew 16.24:

“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24] 

And, just as they misinterpret Jesus' words in Matthew 16.24, they also misinterpret Matthew 6.33:

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. [Matthew 6.33]

With both of these demands of Jesus, religious people assume god-like authority to explain how and why these demands do not mean what Jesus actually said. As a result, idolatry is a greater problem today than at any other time in history. Trusting anything and everything other than, or in addition to, God has become the norm and not the exception among those who claim to be God's people. They have fallen into the same "reason trap" with which Satan appealed to Adam and Eve, concluding that what they "think" somehow supersedes what God said.

As idolatry had started to become industrialized in the Apostle Paul's day (Acts 19.23-27), it has now become so advanced that is it just the way of life in our day. If we will just "see it," man's industries of finance, insurance, medicine and technology are the most glaring examples of modern-day industrialized idolatry. They exist as the object of man's trust as much or more among God's people than they do among the world.

At some point, someone has to say something! Idolaters have no place in God's heaven!

This is no "new revelation" but rather the realization of what the Bible (God) has been saying all along. Jesus' demand in Matthew 16.24 runs consistently true with God's demand on Mount Sinai:

“I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. [Exodus 20.2-6]

Father, help us to see and to hear and to obey. May we give up our own way of idolatry, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. So be it.

Not Calling Any Names...

We submitted to Egypt and Assyria to get enough food to survive. Our ancestors sinned, but they have died—and we are suffering the punishment they deserved! [Lamentations 5.6-7] 

Lamentations 5.1-7 is a prayer for restoration. Verses 6-7 above reveal why God's people needed to be restored: they trusted in something other than or, in addition to, God - they trusted in Egypt and Assyria. God's people committed spiritual adultery in doing this - it was idolatry.

Once again, today we are faced with what we believe about the Bible. Is it for us today? Or, is it just a historical record with no relevance to modern man? Most of us will religiously say it is for us today, but then hypocritically refuse to live by what it teaches. 

God's people today are effectively in the same position as God's people in Jeremiah's time. We did not necessarily initiate our own worship of idols, but we are very much living in the wake of idolatry that began before our generation but we are doing nothing to get out of it. 

Our idols today are not so much other nations (at least not those of us who live in the USA) but instead are idols made to meet our needs. These idols were made to meet our needs independently of God. These idols do not require any assistance or help from God, and certainly no accountability to God. In fact, most of the promotions for these idols depict, and thereby promote, tell-tale Godless behavior.

God's people today defend their idolatry the same way God's people defended their trust in Egypt and Assyria - it is excused as a matter of survival. Oh, the truth revealed by Lamentations! The names have changed, but the spiritual adultery of idolatry has not.

As much as the Bible has always spoken about idolatry, it has also spoken about Jesus. How? In every reference to the Sabbath! Jesus is the Sabbath Rest promised by God. So, if Jesus is the antithesis to everything the Bible tells us about idolatry, what did He, the Sabbath Rest, have to say about how we live? Here are two things Jesus said that His followers most need to reconcile with:

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. [Matthew 6.33]

“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24] 

If God meets all our needs, we don't need idols of our own making to do so.

If we are followers of Jesus, we cannot hold to anything of our own way (our own making - to meet our own needs - our idols). 

Any named thing we trust instead of or, in addition to God, is an idol. I'm not calling any names...

Father, I am intentionally refraining from naming idols here in this article today. If these idols are obvious to me, they will be obvious to any other person who reads Your Word with relevance to us in our time. May our hearts be moved to give up our own way (of idolatry), take up our cross, and follow Jesus. So be it.

Not The Problem, But The Symptom Of The Problem

Tenderhearted women have cooked their own children. They have eaten them to survive the siege. [Lamentations 4.10] 

Perhaps no other passage in the entire Bible describes the appalling nature of abortion better than Lamentations 4.10.

Women are tenderhearted by their God-given nature. This does not mean that a woman cannot suppress that beautiful nature (as many do today), but that that nature is there in every woman as part of her creation.

As all of Jeremiah's writings reveal, idolatry is at the root of suppressing mankind's undivided trust in God alone. Idolatry offers all manner of alternatives to God. 

In its ultimate digression, idolatry eventually leads to the unthinkable treatment of children. The Bible consistently speaks of children being offered/burned/sacrificed where idolatry is unchecked. Abortion is not the problem but rather the symptom of the problem of idolatry.

Idolatry is trusting anything other than, or even in addition to, God. At its worst, idolatry terminates innocent human life. As the subject passage above reveals, the digression of Israel into idolatry (not trusting God ALONE) eventually manifested in otherwise tenderhearted women cooking and eating their own children in order to survive.

Abortion is not a mean-hearted act of murder (although it is murder), but rather the desperate attempt of an otherwise tenderhearted woman to survive - but without God. This explains why abortion is so damaging to a woman's life (created by God). Abortion is a man-made solution to a God-less problem. The solution of abortion seems reasonable without God, but it tears at the very soul of the woman who is created by God to be nurturing and tenderhearted.

As stated above, a woman's tenderheartedness can be suppressed. Without God, her instinct to survive selfishly sees her children as expendable. It is no use to appeal to the suppressed tenderheartedness of a woman without tracing that created tenderheartedness to the Creator. Again, abortion is not the problem but rather the symptom of the problem of idolatry - not trusting God the Creator ALONE.

In Genesis 21, a child was conceived as the result of not trusting God ALONE. As the story goes, Hagar, the mother, eventually suppressed her tenderhearted nature leaving her baby under a bush to die. Although she was devastated, she went off to survive without the child. In that wilderness of Beersheba, God came to Hagar:

But God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “Hagar, what’s wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Go to him and comfort him, for I will make a great nation from his descendants.” [Genesis 21.17-18]

God reassured Hagar to not be afraid. God instructed Hagar to not allow the child to die, but to go to him. When God showed up, circumstances changed! 

Then God opened Hagar’s eyes, and she saw a well full of water. She quickly filled her water container and gave the boy a drink. And God was with the boy as he grew up in the wilderness. He became a skillful archer, and he settled in the wilderness of Paran. His mother arranged for him to marry a woman from the land of Egypt. [Genesis 21.19-21] 

The solution to abortion is to help mothers to see God. The solution to abortion is to help mothers see that God is not to be feared, but to be trusted. The solution to abortion is to help mothers trust Creator God, and therefore trust the tenderheartedness He created in them, to preserve the life of their child. 

Only God can open a mother's eyes - and, when He does, she will see that the solution is not abortion, but the solution is to trust God and raise her child.

Father, of course the world will never see the validity of what is said here. However, help Your people to see it. Help Your people understand that not trusting You (idolatry - with all its symptoms, including killing innocent children) is only remedied by trusting You ALONE. Help us give up our own way, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. So be it.

Those Who Hang On To Their Life Do Not Believe God

The LORD had given the following message to Jeremiah while he was still in prison: “Say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will do to this city everything I have threatened. I will send disaster, not prosperity. You will see its destruction, but I will rescue you from those you fear so much. Because you trusted me, I will give you your life as a reward. I will rescue you and keep you safe. I, the LORD, have spoken!’” [Jeremiah 39.15-18] 

What did Ebed-melech the Ethiopian do? Here's the whole story:

Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah had been telling the people. He had been saying, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, famine, or disease, but those who surrender to the Babylonians will live. Their reward will be life. They will live!’ The LORD also says: ‘The city of Jerusalem will certainly be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.’” So these officials went to the king and said, “Sir, this man must die! That kind of talk will undermine the morale of the few fighting men we have left, as well as that of all the people. This man is a traitor!” King Zedekiah agreed. “All right,” he said. “Do as you like. I can’t stop you.” So the officials took Jeremiah from his cell and lowered him by ropes into an empty cistern in the prison yard. It belonged to Malkijah, a member of the royal family. There was no water in the cistern, but there was a thick layer of mud at the bottom, and Jeremiah sank down into it. But Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, an important court official, heard that Jeremiah was in the cistern. At that time the king was holding court at the Benjamin Gate, so Ebed-melech rushed from the palace to speak with him. “My lord the king,” he said, “these men have done a very evil thing in putting Jeremiah the prophet into the cistern. He will soon die of hunger, for almost all the bread in the city is gone.” So the king told Ebed-melech, “Take thirty of my men with you, and pull Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies.” So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to a room in the palace beneath the treasury, where he found some old rags and discarded clothing. He carried these to the cistern and lowered them to Jeremiah on a rope. Ebed-melech called down to Jeremiah, “Put these rags under your armpits to protect you from the ropes.” Then when Jeremiah was ready, they pulled him out. So Jeremiah was returned to the courtyard of the guard—the palace prison—where he remained. [Jeremiah 38.1-13]

Ebed-melech believed Jeremiah was legitimate even though what Jeremiah was saying affected him too. It would have been much easier for Ebed-melech to have joined in with the rest, rejecting Jeremiah's message from God, but he chose not to. 

Why? Because, Jeremiah 39.18 says Ebed-melech trusted God.

Because Ebed-melech trusted God, he recognized the truth of what Jeremiah prophesied. Because Ebed-melech trusted God, he was willing to go against popular opinion to preserve Jeremiah's life and message. Because Ebed-melech trusted God, he was spared from the very destruction he refused to disbelieve.

What the writer of Hebrews records about trusting God is true:

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. [Hebrews 11.6]

To believe that God rewards those who sincerely seek Him is to also believe that God punishes those who do not believe Him. In fact, those who believe God can see the punishment coming upon those who do not believe God. 

Jesus recognized the future of those who refused to believe:

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. [Matthew 16.24-25]

Follow this closely! Those who hang on to their life, do not believe God. 

People today are more interested in saving their own lives than they are to preserve and promote the Word of God. Even though they would never confess to such, their actions prove it over and again day after day. And, just like God's people in Jeremiah's time, God's people of our day trust in themselves and their idols (worldly allies) instead of God. Consequently, when they hear the timelessly relevant Word of God presented by Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others that decries idolatry, they reject it. Oh, they enjoy the "stories" but completely fail to see that those stories are about them!

Ebed-melech put himself in a dangerous position to rescue Jeremiah. He effectively gave up his life to do the right thing - to save Jeremiah - to preserve the Word of the LORD against idolatry. I would like to do the same thing: Jeremiah did not deserve to be in that cistern! If Jeremiah's message of impending doom upon God's idolatrous people was relevant then, it is many times more relevant today. Rejection of God's Word against idolatry is rejection of God, and furthermore, it is rejection of Jesus.

It is hard to believe we can cry out "grace" as if Jesus is our rescuer, if that "grace" we cry out allows us to retain our idols. In hard Biblical fact, that is in every way unprecedented and unsubstantiated.

If we advance Jeremiah's message to our present day, the idols it speaks out against are not "Egypt" or "carved images." Present day idols are man's industries of finance, insurance, medicine and technology (to name the main offenders) that all promote hanging on to our life. They are idols by virtue of the fact that man depends on (trusts) them instead of, or in addition to, God. In light of this, Jeremiah's message is indeed more relevant today than it was the day it was written as idolatry is clearly more advanced and ingrained in society today than ever before. All who doubt this are effectively those who throw Jeremiah into the muddy cistern and, those who believe it (trust God) are those who bring Jeremiah and his message of warning out of the mud!

I believe God's Word (all of it) is relevant to us today. I believe Jeremiah. I trust God.

Father, I want to be a modern-day Ebed-melech. I want to bring Jeremiah back into society where he belongs so his message can be heard. Help me to do just that. So be it.

In Eden, The Garden Of God

You were in Eden, the garden of God. [Ezekiel 28.13a] 

For as long as I can remember, I have concluded somehow that Ezekiel 28 is all about Satan. Today, however, I am having different thoughts...

Ezekiel 28 is "bigger" than Satan. While it describes Satan quite well, it actually goes much further. Ezekiel 28 describes the spirit of pride. In this fact, Ezekiel 28 describes everything that God hates whether it is Satan, a nation, a city, or a single person.

While the subject passage above has been heralded as proof that Ezekiel 28 was about Satan, it must be understood that Adam and Eve were also in the garden of Eden! It was pride that Satan appealed to in Adam and Eve that led to their idolatry of "self" - their pride - their sin.

Every sin of pride for all eternity was in Eden, the garden of God: Satan's pride, Adam's and Eve's pride, and yes, our pride.

Pride is never far removed from "the finer things." Where wealth and commerce exist, pride lurks nearby. But, there is an important caveat... wealth and commerce are very much blessings from God:

Your clothing was adorned with every precious stone—red carnelian, pale-green peridot,  white moonstone, blue-green beryl, onyx, green jasper, blue lapis lazuli, turquoise, and  emerald—all beautifully crafted for you and set in the finest gold. They were given to you on the day you were created. I ordained and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian. You had access to the holy mountain of God and walked among the stones of fire. [Ezekiel 28.13b-14]

Wealth and commerce are not bad. However, when pride becomes involved, wealth and commerce lead to materialism. The strange thing about materialism is that is does not require wealth and commerce to survive. Just the thought of wealth and commerce can lead a person to materialism without a cent to show for it. In fact, materialism and the pride associated with it are quite often found profoundly in the poorest of people. Yes, the spirit of pride existed in Eden, the garden of God and it exists today!

Materialism is idolatry. Materialism proudly denies God's ownership and lordship over everything taking those positions for itself. In pride, man makes for himself remedies - idols - to do for himself what God said He would do for man. However, man's remedies for himself do not hold him accountable to God - thus, man 'worships' these idols and not God. There is a reason the 2nd Commandment follows the 1st Commandment!

For all the years I felt like Ezekiel 28 seemed out of place in the Bible, now, I see just how appropriately placed it is! The spirit of pride is at the center of idolatry - the same idolatry that is the underlying reason for all of Ezekiel's writing.

So, of course Ezekiel 28 describes Satan. But, it also describes Adam and Eve. It also describes us as we give ourselves over to idolatry/materialism. In this way, we were all in Eden, the garden of God.

Father, what I have seen today amazes me. It has always been there, but just today have I seen it. As I understand Ezekiel 28 to describe me in my materialism/idolatry, may it further confirm my need to give up my own way, take up my cross, and follow Jesus. So be it.

Do You Trust Me?

“I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me? [Jeremiah 32.27] 

Do we take out loans at interest, or trust God to miraculously provide for us?

“I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me? [Jeremiah 32.27]

Do we insure every belonging and facet of life, or do we trust God to miraculously protect us?

“I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me? [Jeremiah 32.27] 

Do we take every medicine that comes along promising better or longer life, or do we trust God to miraculously preserve our health?

“I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me? [Jeremiah 32.27]

Do we allow technology to tell us what we need, or trust God to miraculously keep us free from its cycle of unending obsolescence?

“I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me? [Jeremiah 32.27]

QUESTION: But, doesn't God use the industries of finance, insurance, medicine and technology to meet man's needs?

ANSWER: Why should God have to use the man-made industries of finance, insurance, medicine and technology if He would make the following statement and question:

“I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me? [Jeremiah 32.27]

If our miracle-working jealous God is limited by nothing, why would He ever choose to use man's alternative methods of providing for His people - methods that man could (and eventually would) depend on without Him (instead of Him)?

THINK! Would my wife (with whom I am in full marriage covenant with - she is totally mine, and I am totally hers) ever give me the phone number of a prostitute (let alone set up a rendezvous) for that prostitute to have sex with me in exchange for money? Would my wife invite that prostitute over to our own house? She will not do it, and she will make no provision for me to do it!

"Preposterous," you say??? But that is exactly what God's covenant people do when they insist that God uses the man-made ways of the world to meet their needs - needs He said He alone would provide as part of His covenant relationship with His people!

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. [Matthew 6.33]

“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24] 

God, Who claims, "I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me?" is asking His people right now, "Do you trust Me for everything you need?" 

Father, we are without excuse for our idolatry and refusal to trust You alone for our every need (whether we can figure it out or not). Our sin of idolatry is greater than at any other time in history. Few consider Jesus' words quoted above with any gravity but instead intentionally and conveniently view them through abstract glasses. We are grossly idolatrous and clueless to the fact that our idolatry is the source of so much sin in our lives that we are powerless to overcome. Father, please forgive me for my spiritual prostitution and every attempt to justify it with religion and abstract faith. May I be found giving up my own way, taking up my cross, and following Jesus... I don't need the world's approval. I don't need religion's approval. I need Your approval. I trust You. So be it.