"But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" Ephesians 2:4-7.

"But God ..." These two words are easy to gloss over in reading the text, but we must not overlook how vitally important they are. If we read verses 1-3, which precede these verses, we can easily see that we were in a precarious position were it not for God's intervention.

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There is far more going on than meets the eye. There are angelic forces doing battle with evil demonic leaders of world governments, which may give us some insight into current conflicts and governmental actions. It all may sound like far-fetched fantasy, but the biblical evidence is hard to ignore.

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"I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed." Daniel 7:13-14.

You likely are familiar with the famous "I Have A Dream" speech, by Martin Luther King. His dream was a well-crafted, conscious effort, but what about the dreams that come to our unconscious mind at night?

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"The king reflected and said, 'Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?' While the word was in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, 'King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.' Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled" Daniel 4:30-33).

Whether we have the means to build a luxury castle or only a sand castle, we can believe too much in our own abilities. I enjoy woodworking, but I sometimes struggle with the satisfaction I find in what I make.

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"As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams" Daniel 1:17.

During one of the darkest times in their country's history, the impeccable character of four young men shone brightly. Following the siege of Jerusalem, they were deported to a life of exile in Babylon. Selected from the most intelligent, best-looking youth, the plan was to subject them to a cultural immersion program that would rid them of their Hebrew heritage.

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"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:17-20.

Who doesn't like new stuff? There's nothing quite like the smell of a new car, the feel of new clothes, or the thrill of a new electronic device or appliance.

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"we ... are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:12-18.

A wedding tradition is that the bride wears a veil until the bride and groom kiss after the official pronouncement. The veil obscures the bride's face during the ceremony, but its lifting near the end of the ceremony represents the new relationship between husband and wife. 

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"He said to me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?' And I answered, 'O Lord God, You know' ... Then He said to me, 'Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.'" Ezekiel 37:3,11.

We might say that He is the God of rhetorical questions. His questions are asked for our benefit, because He already knows the answer. He asks that He might draw us in to reason together with Him.

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"Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from 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 be careful to observe My ordinances. You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God" Ezekiel 36:25-28.

It was an inside job. The window had been left unlocked by someone at the Midweek service, and they later returned to steal a new piece of sound equipment. Only someone with inside information would know where the equipment was, and be able to efficiently access and steal it as they did.

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"And the word of the LORD came to me saying" Ezekiel 25:1.

Were Ezekiel alive and on the scene today, we might be skeptical of his claim. Many would-be prophets have stood up throughout the ages with "a word from the LORD," and proven to be anything but genuine. Far too many have financially and materially profited from "the word."

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"'As I live,' declares the Lord GOD, 'surely with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I shall be king over you. I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out'" Ezekiel 20:33-34.

The hand of a parent is powerful and life-changing.

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"'Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,' declares the Lord GOD, 'rather than that he should turn from his ways and live?' ... 'For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,' declares the Lord GOD. 'Therefore, repent and live'" Ezekiel 18:23,32.
 

The skewed view many have of our heavenly Father should be squared with the truth of these verses in Ezekiel. He too often is mistaken as an angry, vengeful God, ready to mete out vindictive wrath at the slightest misstep.

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"Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, "Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own inspiration, 'Listen to the word of the LORD! 'Thus says the Lord GOD, 'Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing ... Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because you have spoken falsehood and seen a lie, therefore behold, I am against you,' declares the Lord GOD.'" Ezekiel 13:1-3,8.

My efforts at counterfeiting might have worked. I discovered the potential when I found pictures of U.S. paper currency on the Internet, and then printed a very convincing copy of a one thousand dollar bill on my color laser printer. With the right kind of paper, no ethics, and no fear of the law, I possibly could have funded a "missionary trip" to Hawaii or a Caribbean island.

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"And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God" Ezekiel 11:19-20.

I remember the first heart transplant. It took place on my birthday during my teen years. A man with a badly diseased heart was given a fresh, healthy one.

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"you will know that I am the LORD ... Then they will know that I am the LORD ... Then you will know that I am the LORD ... thus they will know that I am the LORD ... And they will know that I am the LORD ... So they will know that I am the LORD ... and may know that I am the LORD Ezekiel 6:7,10,13,14; 7:27; 12:15,16.

What does it take to really get your attention? Bold newspaper headlines? An outrageous and absurd TV commercial? Bizarre behavior by someone? 

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"'Now you, son of man, listen to what I am speaking to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.' Then I looked, and behold, a hand was extended to me; and lo, a scroll was in it ... Then He said to me, 'Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.' So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. He said to me, 'Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you.' Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth." (Ezekiel 3:1-3)

Truth can be bittersweet. Insight into God's plan and word is an incredible privilege, but with privilege comes responsibility. Understanding and insight involves response and action.

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"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing" 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Although there is probably no better-known Bible passage than 1 Corinthians 13, familiarity with it does not automatically translate into practice. This "more excellent way" (1 Corinthians 12:31) is so desperately needed in the world today, because the increase of wickedness is rapidly cooling off the fire of genuine love (Matthew 24:12).

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"we endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ ... I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some ... I do all things for the sake of the gospel ... I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved" 1 Corinthians 9:12,22,23;10:33.

When we look at these verses together, we learn much about the passion and purpose of the apostle Paul. It is obvious that he was gospel-driven and evangelism-driven. No hardship was to great to deter him from gospel work, and no obstacle was insurmountable in bringing that gospel to those who were without Christ.

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"take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak" 1 Corinthians 8:9.

"Gray areas" are troubling. The Bible is crystal-clear about things like murder and adultery, but what about occasional use of alcohol? What about PG-13 and R-rated movies? What about certain video games?

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"But you, are you seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them" Jeremiah 45:5.

The question posed in Jeremiah 45:5 focuses on a man named Baruch. Baruch was a scribe, a secretary, to Jeremiah the prophet, and perhaps hitched his star, so to speak, to this prominent prophet. But, the life and work of a prophet was anything but easy and popular. The alarming messages Baruch recorded no doubt gave him cause to regret association with Jeremiah, and even to fear for his own life and safety. It seems he may have sought to distance himself from the prophet, and even from Yahweh as well.

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