Ez. 14-15
God stated several times in chapter 14 that His people had “taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces.” (Ez 14:3a). In thinking about what that means, I look at what God desires of us.
First, God desires our full surrender and devotion. There is a reason that we talk about inviting Jesus into our hearts. It speaks toward making Him your one desire, submitting all that you are to Him, and truly internalizing Him in your life. It is what we think of when Jesus says, “Abide in me, and I in you” (Jn 15:4). When we take God into our hearts, we put Him above all else. God’s people had put their idols in the place of God.
Second, He desires our full focus and attention. Everywhere in the Bible we get the message, in different ways, to keep our eyes fixed on God. We look to Him for all we need, and keep our paths straight by keeping Him as our focal point. When they “set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces”, God’s people were putting their focus and attention on their idols. Once again, they put their idols in the place of God.
So, after giving what was rightly God’s to things of no value, these people went to Ezekiel seeking God’s word. I should say pretending to seek God’s word. But God is not a help dispensary that we can go to only when we want or need something. We cannot go to Him with our hearts and eyes fixed on something else and expect to receive what we are looking for. We find what we seek, so if we are not seeking God, He will not be there. God did say that He would answer such men. But He would answer by opposing them and cutting them off. Not exactly what they were looking for. It is only when we truly seek God, humbly laying down all that consumes us, that we receive His faithful lovingkindness.
2 Tim. 1
I’m pretty sure Paul’s writing would fail any SEO analysis. The man wrote the world’s longest sentences!! But I digress…
I hear Paul telling Timothy to be bold in his faith here. Paul trained Timothy, his protégé, to preach and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ. But following in Paul’s footsteps was no doubt a daunting task. Paul was in prison and there was stiff (to say the least) opposition to both him and the message he preached all over the place. I love how Paul sought to put wind in Timothy’s sails here.
First he cheered Timothy on with a “you’ve got this” style pep talk. To paraphrase, Paul told him, “I know your faith is sincere and that God’s Spirit of power, love, and self-control is in you. Fan that gift into flame that overcomes any fear, shame, and opposition!”.
He then bolstered that encouragement with his own confidence. Paul knew that God appointed him to a specific mission. He was to pass down the gospel message, to teach it to all who would hear, and to encourage those who believed to put the truth of the gospel into action in their lives. Because he was so confident in both his calling and message, he was able to boldly persist in the face of opposition that would have caused others to turn away or to water down their approach. Sadly, we see both of those things happen routinely in the Church today. Paul told Timothy, “I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.” (2 Tim 1:12b).
Paul’s encouragement to Timothy is our encouragement, too. So let us fan God’s Spirit in us into flame and boldly live out the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ that has been entrusted to us. Let us not be ashamed to know or to speak that truth, no matter what the consequences may be. As God’s truth becomes less and less popular in our culture, we need to embrace this all the more so that we are not drawn away to our destruction.