Can God Find Your Lost Soul?

You feel like you have wandered from God and have gone too far.  You feel like you cannot find your way to or come back, but you can take comfort that God may be searching for you.

"For this is what the sovereign Lord says; I myself will search for my sheep and look after them." Ezekiel 34:11.

FOR THIS IS WHAT
This verse starts with an affirmation, a concrete statement.   It is one you should pay attention to because if God says it you can count on it.

THE SOVEREIGN LORD
Here God uses a double title: Sovereign and Lord.  God is sovereign in that He is the king of all and final authority, in all things, there is no higher person or office.   He is Lord as the one who has ultimate command and is the absolute ruler.

I MYSELF
It is God alone who searches for you- who better?  God does not need another to find his sheep, and God is not willing for another to look for his sheep.  Salvation is from God and even though we have the gospel, and the church is charged with spreading the gospel, it is God who finds His sheep.   He may use the church or others to accomplish His will in finding them but salvation comes from God alone.

SEARCH
To search is looking with dedication, and to look intently without giving up.  It is not a quick scan but it is the diligent looking where you overlook nothing and investigate every place.  It takes time and effort.

God is not searching because he doesn't know where you are; He is searching as in using all avenues and resources to bring you to Him.

MY SHEEP
The word, my, is a word of ownership. This verse was written for God's people, Israel, in ages past but the reference speaks to anyone who responds to the Lord's call today.   God calls those who come to him, "mine."

LOOK AFTER THEM
Sheep are very needy and no other creature is as dependent on human care as sheep are.  A shepherd cares diligently watching and protecting the sheep morning and night.  In the same way, God longs to care for his sheep.

Like the shepherd who looks for his sheep over the hills and valleys God has looked from far away and has seen us and our need.  He sees that we are struggling with weakness, pain, and sin.  Out of love, He sent his son to take our sins on himself and bear their punishment,  His death as our substitute satisfied the judgment of God and his resurrection proves that he has power to give us abundant life here and eternal life.

We must not be the sheep who run from the shepherd.  God calls us to him but we must come.

If you want to learn more about coming to God see my other blog about salvation.

(c)Adron Dozat 5/23/15

What To Do When You Want to Go On Living But Can't. Ezekiel 37:3

This short post gives inspiration and encouragement from the example of a man who had deep despair but who himself found comfort.

***

Sometimes we feel like we just can't go on.  We feel like we are useless failures or worse.

"He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?' I said, 'O Sovereign Lord, you alone know.'"
Ezekiel 37:2-3, NIV.

Ezekiel and the valley of dried bones

DRIED BONES
Ezekiel encountered God and was challenged with a question. "Can these bones live?"  At times when we ask the same question. We say my "life is ruined beyond hope."  It may be after a loss of a job, or a bereavement, or a major life crisis. Perhaps we made some horrendous decisions and will pay the price for years.  We feel we have ruined everything.  In short, we feel we are the dried bones, nothing more.

FOCUS
Ezekiel gives us direction with the words. "O Sovereign Lord..."  We focus on the wrong things.  Though we need to be realistic, we must focus not on those grim facts but shift our focus on Him who is the "Sovereign Lord."

Why of all the names the prophet could have used for God did he say Sovereign Lord and not Almighty God or one of his other titles?  When we are looking at the dried-up bones in our lives it is best to remember that God is sovereign, He is the king of all things, even death; and remember that He is the Lord, it is a double emphasis of God as a ruler with authority and power.

GOD
Then Ezekiel said, "You alone know."  There may not be human answers for the problems we face, but trust God, he knows the why.  Ezekiel was humble and we should come to God with humility, acknowledging our ignorance and weakness.   God knows why we are going through a time of dry bones.  He knows what it leads to and what will be the outcome.

YES
The bones were "very" dry, they had no life remaining in them: there was no spark, no possibility that they could have regenerated by natural processes.  They were dead, dead, dead.  Can these bones live?  It would seem impossible, but God's answer "Yes!" In Ezekiel 37 God puts flesh on the bones and resurrects an army.  God is doing that same thing today in the lives of those who come to him. Their dead lives are given new life, and like Jesus said, they are "born again."

Maybe your times of dead bones are the times that are making you ready for a new life. Jesus offers a new life if we come to him.

© Adron 3/21/12

What is God Looking For? Ezekiel 22:30

What is God looking for?

We are all looking for something but what about God, what is God looking for? Could we ever know just what God wants? Yes, and God used an ancient prophet to tell us exactly what He wanted.

"I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it but I found none." Ezekiel 22:30. NIV.

GOD IS SEARCHING

"I looked for a man..." God is gazing upon humanity and he is trying to find something. It is incredible that the All-Knowing God would search as if in spite of His omniscience He is still hopeful of finding a certain man; As if God is hoping he is wrong, and that he somehow overlooked this special man.

A MAN

You would think God is looking for someone who is a PhD., or a philosopher, or a Nobel Prize laureate, or a great humanitarian, or one who is the head of a university, a government, or a charity. God is not looking for any such celebrity; He is looking for “a man.” This definition is unexceptional, common, and mundane as if just a man; any of us could be that one!

THE GAP

The walls were the city's defenses, but these walls were broken down and weakened, they were a danger and not a security. The man the Lord sought then and seeks now is one who will build up the walls, to protect and defend the people of God's affection. We as a church and a world need a man to build up the walls of prayer around our communities.

What does it mean to stand "in the gap?" It is a term that comes from ancient warfare, it meant to fill in part of the defenses with your own self thereby becoming part of the wall against defeat and disaster.

There is a gap today between lost humanity and God's wrath. We need one who stands before God in the priestly function of intercessory prayer. We need to be people who pray for our nation and our brothers. We need to confess our own sins and the sins of those of our community. We need to plead with our God for mercy on our houses and our neighborhoods.

OUR WORLD IS SEARCHING
Our world today is looking for solutions through movements, government, institutions and even guns, but God is looking and waiting for one to stand in the gap, the gap between us and his judgment. In the ancient time of Ezekiel he found none, may it not be the case today. May you and I be such people that God seeks, who stand before him in prayer for those around us.

To learn how to know God in a personal way see my other blog, CLICK HERE.

(c) Adron 2/22/11

What Can Cure A Heart of Stone? Ezekiel 36:26, NIV

What can fix a heart of stone?

What can cure a heart of stone?
Ezekiel 36:26

We try with programs, books, counseling, and other things, but none give lasting change some even add to our frustration and bitterness. Is real change possible?

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." Ezekiel 36:26, NIV.

HARD HEART
What made our hearts so hard, unloving, and callous? Maybe you have had tragic experiences, made terrible choices, or feel guilty. Possibly to survive, you've hardened yourself. Whatever caused it, your response has caused your heart to become like a "stone." Change is possible, but not with education, drugs, or therapy- to change a heart takes the Creator of the heart.

GOD IS WILLING
This verse is like a promise and shows God is willing to give you a new heart of flesh. Twice God says in this verse, "I will." He wants to take out the "heart of stone" and remove it altogether.

FREE
This verse says nothing about the payment. God is saying, "I will give…." God is a giver; He is giving this to us freely. We must receive the gift.

The word "you" is used four times, and "your" is used once. This promise is directed toward mankind, he is reaching out with love and generosity, and He is calling "you."

RECEIVE
He is offering so much; a total change with a "new heart," "a new spirit," a "heart of flesh." Stone is cold and unyielding and dead, but God offers is alive and feeling and passionate.

When you come to Jesus and give him your heart, he will change your heart of stone to one of flesh. When you come to Him, you will be "a new creation; the old will pass away, and the new will come." (2 Corinthians 5:17) The blood of Jesus washes away the sins that have calcified our hearts. Give him your heart today and receive a living heart of flesh from him.

(c) Adron 1/29/10

P.S. Do you like the photo of the clouds and my typography?  It is for sale on SOCIETY6.