The halfbaked Bard

Eze:20:8 ....... The vile images you are obsessed with.  The King of kings talks to the prophet as a friend. He tells him the whole story. He gives him the big picture. What His own children did to Him the wverloving father. He entered into a covenant with the people of Israel just like that. And they have squandered His love without any remorse.  Prostitution. Adultery. Idolatory. Children being sacrificed. Forgetting God. What else and what not. The whole history of the nation. And the whole weeping heart of God. Who longs for His children to come back.  What am I obsessed with? What am I so pre occupied with that I forget God in the process?  He has entered into this covenant of peace, mercy and grace without even me asking. Just out of His shear will He chose to do this for me. But I have squandered every single iota of His act of love. I have been obsessed with the vile images which are nothing but useless.  The everlasting God on one side. The ...

Ezekiel 18 Father for his deeds. Son for his deeds. And grandson for his.  Each is answerable for his own way of living. God will not ask a father why his son chose to live like the way he did. Neither a son will have to answer God why his father chose to live like that. Good or bad.  Each will have to answer just one question. Is your name in the book?  Living a righteous life according to the old Testament prophet is your choice. Whether your ancestry is good or bad doesn't matter. Whether your father or son was good or bad doesn't matter. All that matters is this. Whether YOU are reinstated and restored by God.  The beauty is that God is a God of chances. If there is repentance and returning to God's ways. God forgives. And God includes you into His fold. He doesn't label you and doom you for eternity. No, He looks at the heart and the moment He sees a desire to return. A desire to repent He opens up the flood gates of heaven saying, this son of mine w...

Eze:14:14 Even if Noah, Daniel and Job were there, their tighteoisness would save no one but themselves, says the Sovereign Lord.  The Lord is specific. Each one is accountable for his own deeds, his own faith.  No one can save another, even their own sons or daughters by his faith, by his righteous deeds. No.  No substitution. No proxy.  Only one substitution works in the Kingdom of God. God Himself has imputed freely His righteousness to us. That happened because He willingly substituted Himself to receive the punishment of our sin. Only if I believe will it practicalise for me. Yes, that once again cannot be substituted for anyone else.  Rom:10:9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe on your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  Though the choice is mine, it has been made available by grace. Grace has been lavished upon me, where I was stuck with no choice but to continue in sin and proceed to he...

Idols in hearts - Eze:14:3 Very plainly God reveals to Ezekiel the problem of Israel's leaders - they have idols in their hearts.  Giving something else the priority or the place that God deserves in your life, that is one thing that God detests.  Look at the time you spent with God vs any other thing - that shows what you have placed in your heart - people, family, job, habits, addictions, social media.  What or who do you think of when you have 'time'? A heart that is wholly devoted to God will be inclined to think about God and His ways always, will find time to talk to Him, will find ways to come back to His word, will trust Him even though you walk through the valley of shadow of death, will cling on to Him no matter what.  An idol is anything that captures our hearts,  anything that becomes more important than God - Sharla Fritz Image credit: https://spokanevbc.org/how-to-enjoy-life-without-making-idols/

Eze:13:12 And when the wall falls, the people will cry out, ' What happened to your whitewash?' The wall is already flimsy. But you are trying to reinforce by covering it with whitewash. A heavy rain storm or a greate hailstone will demolish it.  What have you whitewashed your wall with?  Discipline, orderliness, strictness are all good.  Following the good way of the world is exemplary.  But without love or compassion Will it ever stand?  Oh! Bard will it ever hold steady without faith?  In the living God?  Yes, you have put your trust in the saving faith But in day to day life do you trust Him?  Where is the love of the everlasting Father Which you have vowed to reflect in your life?  The compassion in the eyes of your master Is long gone in your eyes.  Your eyes are moist with tears Of self pity and self centred prayers Your hope even is focussed on your redemption.  Repent of all the whitewashes That you think you ha...

Ps:119:145 I pray with all my heart, answer me, O Lord.  Oh! What are you doing? What can you do but pray? In times of deepest trouble, what do you do apart from crying out to Him? What can you do apart from praying wholeheartedly?  With all my heart, without ceasing - I will cry out to you. Please answer me Oh! Lord. Please don't be silent to me.  I trust in you, Oh! Lord. I cling on to you. That is why I always cry, to you. I know I don't have anywhere else to go. I don't know what else to do but hold fast to you.  Even my trust is small. I believe, help my unbelief is what I can pray. With all my infirmities I pray. Deliver me. Increase my faith. Enable me to cling to you.  Enable me to pray to you when I don't feel like praying. When I don't have words even to mumble. When tears only stream through my eyes. I know the spirit within me yearns for you and Your Spirit groans for me interceding for me and prays for me the right words. And there are o...

Eze:11:19 And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony and stubborn heart and give them a tender and responsive heart.  Singleness of heart means a heart that is focussed on one single thing. And that single thing is God Himself. God will give us the privilege to be focussed only on Him, though we have failed Him multiple times.  And from stony stubborn heart, He will transform our hearts to a tender and responsive heart. A heart that is unresponsive to God will be transformed to a heart which responds to God. A heart that is stubborn not to follow God and His ways will be transformed to a heart that is inclined to the pure ways of God.  And the beauty of it is, you need not cultivate it. God will do it.  Image credit:  https://www.history.com/news/what-is-the-origin-of-the-heart-symbol