Some things to pray about and some Scripture - Ezekiel 9 (Protestant/evangelical caucus)

1/10/15 | Faith Presses On

[Faith Presses On]

This thread includes things to pray about and some Scripture. Anyone may also bring up for prayer anything else on their hearts. Some things to pray about:

- Wheaton College has been attacked for upholding the Bible, God's Word to us and the foundation of the Christian faith. Those attacking it are really attacking it just because it is God's Word, which they want to see erased from the world, as if that could ever be.

- The United States continues its abandonment of the Christian faith, and grows in hostility to God's Word. Young people, and the country as a whole, are increasingly self-focused and self-guided, which means, as the world puts it, they and the country are increasingly "narcissistic."

- Individual Christian sheep and their families are being targeted by governments and other secular humanist groups for sharing their faith and standing by God's Word. Just a couple of these are Pastor James McConnell of Ireland, charged with a hate crime for saying Islam is evil, and Pastor Roger Holly, a government employee fired for baptizing someone on his lunch hour. In Norway, the five children Marius and Ruth Bodnariu were taken from them because of their Christian beliefs.

- The Freedom from Religion Foundation recently applied pressure to major hotels to try to get them to remove Bibles provided by the Gideons in their hotel rooms. Those denying God say that the Bibles are forced upon them as they are a "captive audience," but clearly since they could simply ignore a Bible their motivation is actually to keep others from seeing Bibles and possibly reading them.

- The new and old media are largely controlled by secular humanists who for the most part aren't troubled by building their power through lies and manipulating the public. Their ultimate goal, whatever they may say, is again to erase God's Word and all knowledge of it from the world, if that were possible. They are seeking to brand those who believe in God's Word as the evil ones.

- Knowledge of God and His ways is increasingly being replaced by ignorance and confusion, as people are encouraged to decide and judge for themselves what truth is in any situation, using their own self as the standard. Many people need to be taught again from the beginning about who God is and His ways.

- The church in America is tempted by all the material comforts available to us, and is also increasingly pressured to go along with the unbelieving world not only to maintain the material comforts, but just to provide for the survival of oneself and one's family.

- May we keep in mind and point others to the truth that the "fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." (Proverbs 1:7, 9:10, Psalm 111:10)

It's been revealed in the past few years, most prominently through the work of Rabbi Jonathan Kahn, that the Lord warned us through 9/11 that America faces judgment, just as other nations, including, most of all, ancient Israel did. Ezekiel 9 is instructive on this as it is a picture of God's judgment which Jesus saves us from.

Ezekiel 9

1 He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.

2 And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar.

3 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side;

4 And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.

5 And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:

6 Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.

7 And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.

8 And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord God! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem?

9 Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The Lord hath forsaken the earth, and the Lord seeth not.

10 And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head.

11 And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me.

[metmom]

We are heading for a bad time at breakneck speed.

[Faith Presses On]

We certainly are.

[unlearner]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Ezekiel and its relevance for us today.

Not many cry over the abominations of our day.

Glad to know there are at least a few.

God takes notice of that just as much as the abominations.

Our citizens have turned a blind eye and deaf ear to the horrific torture and murder of innocent babies in this nation. This has been well documented and yet most of our representatives did not lift a finger to put a stop to it. And the populace flipped the channel to watch the latest pop singer or sports celebrity.

Same thing with homosexual marriage. A woman jailed for not cooperating with this farce. A couple having to pay tens of thousands of dollars for not assenting to it. Children being adopted by these couples. Even the poster boys of gay men adopting a child have been exposed for torturing and raping the child, and yet the proponents of this never back down or admit their error.

God knows who is guilty, who is indifferent, and those who mourn.

He is going to repay.