Ezekiel 8: 9-10 And He said to me, Go in and behold the wicked abominations that they do here.

 

The Lord drug Ezekiel by the hair and showed him the evil image of jealousy that was blocking the view of the Brazen Altar, a symbol of the Cross of Christ. Then He led him to a wall that covered the Door. In this wall was a small hole and God instructed Ezekiel to dig through the wall and find the Door, which he did. 

 

The Lord then said to Ezekiel, Go in and behold the wicked abominations that they do here.  The wickedness that was going on behind the Door was an abomination to God.  The Door is a symbol of Christ and the Cross, so what was happening behind the Door was being done “in the Name of Jesus.”

 

This is yet another picture of the church today. What is supposed to be a place of worship and praise, bought by the Blood of Jesus, has become everything but that. The House of God is being used for everything under the sun today. The people say, “Come to church and find God.” but when they get inside the doors all they find is more of the world.

 

In addition, as He always does, God is also speaking to the individual believer.  The Apostle Paul tells us that we are the Temple of God in 1 Corinthians 3:16.  Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

 

This leads us to a very convicting question: What is going on inside the Temple? The question is three-fold. It pertains to the Church at large, the local church we each attend, and more importantly, each of us, individually, who are the Temple of God.

 

The Lord God Almighty is again asking His people to examine themselves, repent and turn away from evil. He is calling us to return to our first love, Jesus. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. (Revelation 2:4) 

 

When we leave Jesus out of our daily lives, we are wide open for all types of evil to come in and take up residency in the Temple of God. This causes the individual to fall from faith and into a life of sin. Jesus said in Luke 9:23 If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. Living for Jesus is a daily commitment.   

 

When we hear a watered-down, politically correct version of the Gospel from the pulpit of the church we attend, that church has left its First Love.  As more and more churches fall into this category, the Church as a whole becomes apostate in nature and is no longer an effective ministry of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Rather, it is just another worldly place where people gather on a regular basis.

 

What is going on in the Temple? Your temple? Your church? The Church in America? What is going on behind the Door marked…..JESUS?

 

Only Jesus can……..turn the tide

 

With my First Love,      Doreen

 

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