God Can Be Trusted

Ezekiel 36:22-31 Thus says the Lord God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations. Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations.

There is an age old philosophical question that asks: At the basic level, are people basically good or bad? This worldview question is centered on two contingencies of (1) what is the definition of good? And (2) who or what am I comparing people to? But, we learn from both the Word of God and observing our world that people in sinful flesh this side of heaven, in general, cannot be trusted. Our Wednesday night small group bible study is nearing the end of our overview of the Old Testament through the church-wide Bible Fluency curriculum and we’ve come to the books of Ezekiel and Daniel. By this weeks study, we learn that God can be trusted to judge Sin; God can be trusted to punish Sin righteously because He alone is completely holy; God can be trusted to show His grace: God can be trusted to establish His kingdom; God can be trusted to fulfill His promises; In God We Trust.  

Daniel 7:13-14 “I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.”

Our story in history is a part of His story. Our responsibility is to respond to His ability. God is good.

In Christ, Brian