This verse has been stuck in my head and in my heart since Sunday:
By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified. – Lev 10:3
Just contemplating the aspects of who God is: How He is all knowing, all powerful, and ever present, able to speak the boundless universe into existence, setting it into a perfectly balanced set of physical laws that would allow life to exist. How He expresses perfect love, perfect wisdom, and endless grace to all of mankind, whether we deserve it or not. How he desires “…all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4).
And yet, God is willing to be involved in the smallest aspects of our lives, all we need do is ask. I read something from Spurgeon’s “Morning and Evening” devotion this morning:
"Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them."—Ezekiel 36:37 (KJV)
In other words, all Israel needed to do was ask God, and He would bless them. What’s so interesting about this statement is that it comes in the midst of a message to the nation about how they had defiled everything they touched. Because of their sin and rebellion they had defiled the land, their cities, their families, even the name of the Lord had been defiled. But God promised that He would one day cleanse them:
“Thus says the Lord God: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it. “Thus says the Lord God: This also I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: to increase their people like a flock. Like the flock for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.” – Ezek 36:33-38
In a way this reflects our own lives: Before we knew God, we defiled everything we touched. Sin ruled our lives, rebellion filled our hearts – but God revealed Himself to us, and when we were reborn by the Spirit we were healed, we were cleansed. And there is an added promise: If we ask, He will increase our flocks!
Refection: Wouldn't this be a truth that, when we absorb it into our heart, causes us to regard our God as holy, and worthy to be glorified?
Lord, thank you for saving me, thank you for cleansing me, and thank you that you are a loving and gracious God, so much so that in spite of my feeble being, if I will simply come to you, you will answer my request.
Pastor Clay
To listen to Sunday’s message, go here.
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