JESUS LOVES ME

 

 

JESUS LOVES ME

 

My Dearest_______________

 

I love you!

I shed my own blood for you…to make you clean.  Please, I don’t call common and unclean that which I called clean!  You are new…so believe it is true!  You are lovely in my eyes. I created you to be just as you are.  Don’t criticize yourself for not being perfect in your own eyes.  This leads only to frustration.

         I want you, trust Me,______________

One step…one day at a time.  Dwell in my power and love…and be free…be yourself.  Don’t allow other people to control you!  I will guide you…If you will let Me.

         Be aware of my presence in everything.  I give your patience…love…joys, and peace.  Look to Me for answers.  I am the Shepherd, and I will lead you.  Follow Me only! Do not forget this.

         Listen, and I will tell you My will.

Please understand I love you__________.  I love you!  Let it flow from you…spill over to all you touch.  Don’t be concerned with yourself…you are My responsibility.  I will change you without you hardly knowing it.  You are to love yourself and others…simply because I love you!  Take your eyes off yourself!  Be confident in My love.  Look only to Me!  I lead…I change…I mold, but not when you are trying; I won’t fight your efforts.  Let Me have the joy of making you like Christ.  Let Me Love You!  Let Me give you happiness!  No one else can!  You see________ you are not your own.  You have been bought with blood…now you belong to Me, and I love you…

Just because you are Mine.  It is none of your business how I deal with you.  Your only comment is to look to Me!  Never to yourself, never to others.  Don’t struggle…don’t fight…and don’t rebel…but trust Me!   I know what is best and I will do it for you.  How I long for you to allow Me to love you freely!  My will is perfect…My love is sufficient…I will supply your needs…for I love you.

Jesus                                                                  Author unknown

Israel's Shedding of Blood

 

Ezekiel 22:23-31

 

December 19, 2023

 

Israel's Shedding of Blood

And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, say to her, You are a land that is not cleansed or rained upon in the day of indignation.  The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst.  Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths so that I am profaned among them.  Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain.  And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken.  The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice.  And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.  Therefore, I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned their way upon their heads, declares the Lord God.”

 

Have you lived in a time of Fear?  If you were alive during COVID-19, you lived in a time of Fear.  Many false prophets, such as Dr. Fauci, told so many lies, like the mask would protect you, that we need to shut down our businesses and stay in our homes.  Then we would be safe, and the answer was to take a Covid shot, then you would never get Covid, and next came the booster shot, and we witnessed many who still got Covid, and many died from the shot, or got very sick, and are still sick.  

What about the little children who were required to wear a mask to school, and also the closing of schools? Yes, we listen to the false prophets and not to God.

And preachers who are supposed to listen to God, listen instead to the government, and doctors who were some of the biggest Fear providers, and did not allow their congelation to do as God had commanded, to assemble, and worship.

 

Many of us who were experiencing this Fear did not listen to the false prophets, and some of us got COVID-19, but we did not die. I got COVID-19, and cannot be sure if it was COVID or other things like blood pressure medicine, that removed the salt from my body, made my sodium drop way below 100.  I was told by my doctor that I had double pneumonia, and he was clear it was not from Covid.  My point, Jan and I did not get the shots, we were sure that after asking the Lord, he said not to do so.  We also did not stay home, nor wear a mask, but where it was required.  We did our best not to look at the Fear that was being sold, and look to the Lord for our direction, as many in the Church did.  And many others outside the Church also did not buy into the lies that were being told.

 

It is my understanding of Scripture that not one person died before the moment that God had numbered their days on planet Earth.  If I’m wrong, I’ll have no doubt someone will correct me.  Fear works, and in that it was so successful for those who want to control the public, it will be used again.

 

Fear is a tool of unbelief, and faith is a tool of God, so choose this day who you will serve. Scripture tells us to fear God, not man.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Dross has to be remove to have the pure thing

 

Ezekiel 22:17-31

 

December 14, 2023

 

And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are dross of silver.  Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.  As one gathers silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace, to blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you.  I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it.  As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the Lord; I have poured out my wrath upon you.”

What is God saying when He compares Israel to dross?   “DROSS is the scum or unwanted material that forms on the surface of molten metal.”  And fire is used to remove it from the metal.

And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, say to her, You are a land that is not cleansed or rained upon in the day of indignation.  The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst.  Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths so that I am profaned among them.  Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain.  And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken.  The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice.  And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. Therefore, I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned their way upon their heads, declares the Lord God.”

 

 Israel and her prophets are liars, and looking for personal gain, they have no regard for the people and are responsible for making many widows.  Is that not a close parallel to what is happening in our day?

 

God is not happy with the priests, because they were not teaching God's precepts and commandments.  Is that also a problem with the priest and preacher today, who do not teach the Scriptures, but are doing what 2 Timothy 4:3-4 said they would do?  “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”  We, the Church, have seen many who have gone after teachers that suit their own passions, and truth is what they say it is, with no regard for what Scripture states.

 

Her princes sound a lot like many in the Congress and Senate of the United States of America; they seek only power and wealth, with no regard for the people.  Many have entered office with little wealth, but not many leave office that way.  And we, the people, have allowed this to happen.

 

The prophets had said God had spoken when they knew that God had not, and they would receive a special place in Hell if they did not repent and confess.

 

The people have no regard for the law of man or God and have done all kinds of evil.  And the Church as a whole is silent.

And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.   Have we forgotten that God often uses a total pagan to bring about His will? I do not know anyone's heart, but we sure need to be praying for our next President and remember that we have an election, but God puts whom He desires in office, to bless or to curse.  And often He allows the people to get the one they want.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Israel's Shedding of Blood

 

Ezekiel 22:1-16 

 

December 13, 2023

 

Israel's Shedding of Blood

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then declare to her all her abominations.  You shall say, Thus says the Lord God: A city that sheds blood in her midst, so that her time may come, and that makes idols to defile herself!  You have become guilty by the blood that you have shed, and defiled by the idols that you have made, and you have brought your days near; the appointed time of your years has come. Therefore, I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all the countries.  Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you; your name is defiled; you are full of tumult.

“Behold, the princes of Israel in you, everyone according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood.  Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you.  You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths.  There are men in you who slander to shed blood and people in you who eat on the mountains; they commit lewdness in your midst.  In you, men uncover their fathers' nakedness; in you, they violate women who are unclean in their menstrual impurity.  One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another, in you violates his sister, his father's daughter.  In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and profit and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but me you have forgotten, declares the Lord God.

“Behold, I strike my hand at the dishonest gain that you have made, and at the blood that has been in your midst.  Can your courage endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it.  I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and I will consume your uncleanness out of you.  And you shall be profaned by your own doing in the sight of the nations, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

 

A nation that is asleep, a sinful people who have rejected God, in their desire to live life on their terms.  I am not a Prophet, but a follower of Jesus Christ, and I believe we, the Church, are more like them than we understand.  Were there not Prophets like and priests who saw and understood how Israel was becoming an abomination to God, and they kept silent?  That is what the Church has done.  Overall, we, the Church, have been witness to The Consequences of Roe v. Wade, 63,459,781 Total abortions since 1973. (Taken from National Rights to Life).  One evil woman was used by the devil to steal, kill, and destroy the lives of over 63 million babies, and as a whole, we, the Church, were silent.  We watched our nation get invaded by people who have no regard for our law and who lie when caught. They say as a whole, they are fleeing from persecution. We, the Church, have been silent and allowed our school system to fill our kids with untruths, and have told our children that God made a mistake, and they should be another gender.  And we have allowed some of the evilest people to be our representatives in Washington; they do not care about this nation or its people, they are in it for themselves.  And we keep silent, payday is coming, and the house of God will be the first to be judged.  You will find that in 1 Peter 4:17, “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

God's Judgment on a Rebellous People

 

Ezekiel 21:14-34

 

December 12, 2023

 

 “As for you, son of man, prophesy. Clap your hands and let the sword come down twice, yes, three times, the sword for those to be slain. It is the sword for the great slaughter, which surrounds them,  that their hearts may melt, and many stumble. At all their gates, I have given the glittering sword. Ah, it is made like lightning; it is taken up for slaughter.  Cut sharply to the right; set yourself to the left, wherever your face is directed.  I also will clap my hands, and I will satisfy my fury; I, the Lord, have spoken.”

 

We who have been so blessed should have a hard time grasping God doing this to Israel, His chosen people.  Let it be a wake-up call to the Church: our Father in Heaven will not put up with rebellion, even from His chosen, much less from His Church.

 

The word of the Lord came to me again: “As for you, son of man, mark two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come. Both of them shall come from the same land. And make a signpost; make it at the head of the way to a city.  Mark a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the Ammonites and to Judah, into Jerusalem, the fortified. For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination. He shakes the arrows; he consults the teraphim; he looks at the liver. Into his right hand comes the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth with murder, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build siege towers. But to them, it will seem like a false divination. They have sworn solemn oaths, but he brings their guilt to remembrance, that they may be taken.

 

The king of Babylon is using his 'idols', or 'household god(s for divination, but it is God who is pulling the string; he is God's instrument for the destruction of both Israel and Judah.  

 

“Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you have made your guilt to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear, because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand.  And you, O profane wicked one, prince of Israel, whose day has come, the time of your final punishment, thus says the Lord God: Remove the turban and take off the crown. Things shall not remain as they are. Exalt that which is low, and bring low that which is exalted.  A ruin, ruin, ruin, I will make it. This also shall not be, until he comes, the one to whom judgment belongs, and I will give it to him.

“And you, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God concerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach; say, A sword, a sword is drawn for the slaughter. It is polished to consume and to flash like lightning—while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies for you—to place you on the necks of the profane wicked, whose day has come, the time of their final punishment.  Return it to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you.  And I will pour out my indignation upon you; I will blow upon you with the fire of my wrath, and I will deliver you into the hands of brutish men, skillful to destroy.  You shall be fuel for the fire. Your blood shall be in the midst of the land. You shall be no more remembered, for I, the Lord, have spoken.”

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

The Lord Has Drawn His Sword

 

 

Ezekiel 21:1-13

 

December 11, 2023

 

The Lord Has Drawn His Sword

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel and say to the land of Israel, Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am against you and will draw my sword from its sheath and will cut off from you both righteous and wicked.  Because I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked, therefore my sword shall be drawn from its sheath against all flesh from south to north.  And all flesh shall know that I am the Lord. I have drawn my sword from its sheath; it shall not be sheathed again.

“As for you, son of man, groan; with breaking heart and bitter grief, groan before their eyes. ⁷ And when they say to you, ‘Why do you groan?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that it is coming. Every heart will melt, and all hands will be feeble; every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming, and it will be fulfilled,’” declares the Lord God.  And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord, say: 'A sword, a sword is sharpened and also polished, sharpened for slaughter, polished to flash like lightning!

(Or shall we rejoice? You have despised the rod, my son, with everything of wood.) So the sword is given to be polished, that it may be grasped in the hand. It is sharpened and polished to be given into the hand of the slayer.  Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people. It is against all the princes of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with my people. Strike therefore upon your thigh.  For it will not be a testing—what could it do if you despise the rod?” declares the Lord God.

This is much different than the Psalm of David, where he talks about the rod and staff, he is following after God, He is seeking God, and he desires God to be his provider and protector.  The contrast between Israel and David is very clear, with David seeking after God, looking to God, and worshiping God, and Israel in total rebellion, seeking after the little gods of their neighbors. 

As I read this, one must wonder, when will we who have said no to God as a nation, the church have been silent as we allow the theory of God and State separation.  We, the Church, were quiet when they said keep God out of the government, out of our public schools, and even out of many businesses.  When will God bring judgment against our Nation? Are we seeing the beginning with the present animation?

I have once more gone to “Got Question”:

Psalm 23 is a beautiful poem that uses the image of God as a shepherd. David, who penned this psalm, had been a shepherd himself and understood the parallel between the task of a shepherd caring for his sheep and of God caring for His people. Sheep are totally dependent on the shepherd for food, water, leadership, and guidance as they move from place to place, just as we are dependent upon God for all that we need. Sheep depend on the shepherd for protection from a wide range of predators and dangers, just as we look to God as our Protector and Defender. In the New Testament, Jesus reveals Himself to be the Good Shepherd of His people (John 10:11, 14), fulfilling the Old Testament prophecy that God would come to shepherd His people (Ezekiel 34:7–16, 23).

 

From the Back Porch, 

 

Bob Rice

Two Plans for Your Life (Choose Wisely)

 Two Plans for Your Life (Choose Wisely)

 

 

Dear reader, this I do know: God has a plan for your life, and so does the Evil One.  You will find in John 10:10, Jesus laying out the plan of both.  “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”  The problem is that many people have their own plans, and it is part of the plan that the devil has designed to lead them away from the truth.   Jesus has made it clear in John 14:6 that He is the truth, not some truth, but the Truth. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

 

Jesus has made clear that He is the Word who is being referred to in John 1-1-3.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”  Reader, in these three verses, one has to come up with the understanding that Jesus, the Creator, has the only plan that brings peace and joy into our lives.  A man I met twice, Major Ian Thomas, often said the following: “I can’t, you never said I could, you can, and you promised you would.”

 

Reader, I hope you understood that God does not need your money, but He desires His children to honor Him by doing what He has requested of them.  As a dad, you expect your boys to do as you ask of them.  In Malachi 3:8-10, “Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions.  You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.  Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” 

 

You are not the first person to buy into the lie that you could not afford to give away 10% of your income.  I’m not the one who gave you the challenge to put God to the test. He made clear in verse 10 the offer.  

 

Dear Reader, I am praying for you and asking the Lord to give me the ability to share a clear word that will bring a new beginning in your life, and if married, to your marriage.

 

You are greatly loved,  and my prayer is that Christmas is about the Greatest Gift ever given by God, His only Son.

 

From our Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

“Remember that my life is a breath

 

 

 

 

Job 7: 7-10

 

February 9, 2020

 

 

“Remember that my life is a breath; my eye will never again see good. The eye of him who sees me will behold me no more; while your eyes are on me, I shall be gone.   As the cloud fades and vanishes, so he who goes down to Sheol does not come up; he returns no more to his house, nor does his place know him anymore.”

 

We would all be wise to remember our life is as a breath to the Lord. In Psalm 39:5, we see this breath used in this way: “You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you.  Everyone is but a breath,  even those who seem secure.”  But job was very misguided in saying his eyes would never again see good.  He was doing what many of us do, talking about the futures as if he understood what was going to happen.

 

The grave is often referred to as Sheol, and that is what Job is talking about, not hell or eternal judgment.  I do find it of interest, especially in this culture where everyone believes they are so important that they must have a cellphone with them at all times and check it first thing in the morning.  

 

Job 7:11-21

 

Once again, who am I to judge Job? Most of my life, I’ve messed up and made decisions that brought troubles into my life, but that's not the kind of man Job is, and he has no understanding of why he has lost favor with God.  In great pain and sorrow, he is venting to his friends, but is he or is Job really talking to God?  Job tells us that no matter where he goes, he cannot find rest for his body or soul.  Job's hope is that in death he find peace, for he has lost all hope in life.  

 

When we get to 17-21, it becomes apparent Job is not talking to his three friends but God.  I loathe my life; “I would not live forever.  Leave me alone, for my days are a breath.  What is man, that you make so much of him, and that you set your heart on him, visit him every morning, and test him every moment?  How long will you not look away from me, nor leave me alone till I swallow my spit?  If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind?  Why have you made me your mark?  Why have I become a burden to you?  Why do you not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity?  For now, I shall lie in the earth; you will seek me, but I shall not be.”

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Lord Will Restore Israel

 

Ezekiel 20:33-49

 

December 9, 2023

 

The Lord Will Restore Israel

“As I live, declares the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out I will be king over you.  I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out.  And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face.  As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord God.  I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. I will purge out the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me. I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

My first thoughts were God bring His people out of Babylon, and in 1948 bring them back from many nations to once more be at home in the land He had given them long ago.  But in that I’m a learner and not a scholar, I turn to my Holman Study Bible, and I totally missed the meaning.  It was God taking His wrath out on a sinful Israel.  His goal was to make them desire Him as their king.  For His people to quit running to the false gods of this world.

“As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: Go serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols.

 “For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, declares the Lord God, there all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land. There I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred offerings.  As a pleasing aroma, I will accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations.  And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that I swore to give to your fathers. ⁴³ And there you shall remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed.  And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name's sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”

His holy mountain refers to Jerusalem.​ God desires Israel to turn back to Him, to turn from evil and seek Him, to know that He is God.  Have you ever wondered if that is also true today with nations like the United States of America?

And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face toward the southland; preach against the south, and prophesy against the forest land in the Negeb.  Say to the forest of the Negeb, Hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every green tree in you and every dry tree. The blazing flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from south to north shall be scorched by it.  All flesh shall see that I, the Lord, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.” ⁴⁹ Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! They are saying of me, ‘Is he not a maker of parables?’”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

God values His Name

                                                            Ezekiel 20:14-26

 

December 7, 2023

 

“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them.  But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out.  Moreover, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land that I had given them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands, because they rejected my rules and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols.  Nevertheless, my eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or make a full end of them in the wilderness.

 

It seems to this writer that many who go by the name or title of Christian in the USA are walking in the wilderness. Too much that has been given is expected.  So, the question is: Do you care that your family members, friends, and neighbors are going to be in a place of darkness and isolation for eternity?

 

“And I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their rules, nor defile yourselves with their idols.  I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules, and keep my Sabbaths holy that they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’¹ But the children rebelled against me. They did not walk in my statutes and were not careful to obey my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; they profaned my Sabbaths.

 

Have you examined yourself? I have too often, my time on planet Earth is short, and I desire to see Jesus.  I’ve heard many say they are looking forward to seeing Mom or Dad, and that is nice, but for me, I long to see the one who took my punishment and forgave my sin of trying to get my needs met outside of Him.  Yes, I want to see Jesus.

 

“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness.  But I withheld my hand and acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out.  Moreover, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries, because they had not obeyed my rules but had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes were set on their fathers' idols.  Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life, and I defiled them through their very gifts in their offering up all their firstborn, that I might devastate them. I did it that they might know that I am the Lord.

 

Church member and I’m addressing the one who, like me, for 27 years had my name on a Baptist church role, but it was not written in the Book of Life.  I am so thankful for my barber, Bob Keese, who asked me to attend a Bible study on Wednesday at noon at the Holiday Inn.  It was there that I was introduced to four other men, who knew the Jesus I had only informed about.  It took six months, but I came to the reality that I had missed the mark, and I needed to confess, which meant I needed to agree with the teaching of the Scripture, and that I had to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Blaise Pascal said, and I quote: “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.”

 

 I was in Victoria, Texas, at a hotel, opened the Bible to Romans 10:9-10, and read these words, and that night I got life in the full, I often allow my flesh to rule and had many bought lessons, some that disgraced the name of my Lord.  But that night, this written word was acted on by a sinner that God not only calls his child, but a saint.  “Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart, one believes and is justified, and with the mouth, one confesses and is saved.”

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Israel's Continuing Rebellion

 

Ezekiel 20:1-13

 

December 6, 2023

 

Israel's Continuing Rebellion

In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and sat before me.  And the word of the Lord came to me:  “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God, Is it to inquire of me that you come? As I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.  Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Let them know the abominations of their fathers, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: On the day when I chose Israel, I swore to the offspring of the house of Jacob, making myself known to them in the land of Egypt; I swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God.  On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands.   And I said to them, ‘Cast away the detestable things your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.’  But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. None of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.

 

Our Lord is very detailed in the messages He leaves for us to understand the relationship. He is Father, Lord, mighty God, and we are His children.  He will not put up with our putting other things before Him or trying to get our needs met outside of Him.  

Or are we, the Church are more like them than we want to admit?  And as the Church, we do not need to seek God through anyone but His Son, our Lord Jesus who intercede for us with the Father.  In Egypt the people were slaves, and God used Moses to speak to them, and God did mighty works to bring them to believe in Him, and to put the blood on their doorpost so the angel would pass over them and the firstborn.  But once they left Egypt, they were willing to go back to being slaves of man and not submitting to God’s authority over them.  Are we the Church that much different than them?  Do we not worship many things more than God?  How about knowing all the names of movie stars, but not knowing that Ezekiel is found in the Old Testament?  What about sports, how much do you know about them, compared to how much you know about God’s promise and instruction on living a victorious life?

 

“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.  But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt.  So, I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness.  I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live.  Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them.  But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned.

 

We, the Church are instructed to assemble ourselves, for worship, fellowship, and to encourage one another, and yet many since Covid, have not done so.  We have been told to honor God’s commands and it is our self-righteousness that makes us believe we are in step with our Lord.  If you go by the title of Christian but do not obey God’s commands, are you not a stumbling block that leads others to sin?

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A Lament for the Princes of Israel

 

Ezekiel 19:1-14

 

December 5, 2023

 

A Lament for the Princes of Israel

And you, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, and say: What was your mother? A lioness!  Among lions she crouched; in the midst of young lions, she reared her cubs.  And she brought up one of her cubs; he became a young lion, and he learned to catch prey; he devoured men.  The nations heard about him; he was caught in their pit, and they brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt.  When she saw that she waited in vain, that her hope was lost, she took another of her cubs and made him a young lion.  He prowled among the lions; he became a young lion, and he learned to catch prey; he devoured men, and seized their widows. He laid waste their cities, and the land was appalled and all who were in it at the sound of his roaring.  Then the nations set against him from provinces on every side; they spread their net over him; he was taken in their pit. With hooks, they put him in a cage and brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into custody, that his voice should no more be heard on the mountains of Israel.

Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard planted by the water, fruitful and full of branches by reason of abundant water. Its strong stems became rulers' scepters; it towered aloft among the thick boughs; it was seen in its height with the mass of its branches. But the vine was plucked up in fury, cast down to the ground; the east wind dried up its fruit; they were stripped off and withered.  As for its strong stem, fire consumed it.  Now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.  And fire has gone out from the stem of its shoots, has consumed its fruit, so that there remains in it no strong stem, no scepter for ruling.

This is a lamentation and has become a lamentation.

 

The first question I had was the word Lament: and I went to “Got Question.”

To lament is to express deep regret, grief, or sorrow. We can lament through words or actions. Lamenting is a common theme in the Bible. In fact, there is an Old Testament book named Lamentations.

The Bible records several reasons why people lament. We lament when we grieve over the loss of someone or something dear to us (Luke 8:52). Grief is a common human experience, and Jesus entered into that grief with us when He was on the earth. When Lazarus died, his sisters Mary and Martha grieved, and their friends lamented over this loss (John 11:17–37). Jesus’ heart was touched to such an extent that He wept with them (John 11:35).

 

Something has happened to the princes of Israel.   They were carried off to Egypt and later to Babylon.  Mankind often laments over the loss of a job, the loss of a parent or child, and when they feel helpless.  Many a night lying in a hospital bed, I cried out to God, for I was helpless.

 

But does God lament over our sinfulness and our trying to get our needs met outside of Christ?  The answer may surprise some, but yes, we have many places in the Scripture where He does so.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice