The Best Thing About Heaven

“…and the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE.” –Ezekiel 48:35b

Do you ever wonder what heaven will be like? Ezekiel 1, Revelation 21-22, Isaiah 6 all give us a vivid picture of what heaven is like. But this last verse in Ezekiel shows us why heaven will be so great. The Lord is there.The dwelling place of the Lord is in heaven. It is as simple as that.

Often we long for heaven to see loved ones that have passed on, or to be rid of all the evil of this world. We desire to see the end of suffering and war. Our focus often becomes temporal things. But the fact that we can be with the Lord is the best part about heaven. Think about it, our sinfulness taken away, replaced with a glorified body allowing us to dwell with the Lord. Nothing hindering our relationship with Him. I long for that day!

The God of Restoration

“Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again.” –Ezekiel 37:21-22

Israel didn’t have a very good history with kings. First Saul reigned for a while. He started well, but ended his reign in suicide. David reigned after Saul. David was the godliest king that the land would ever know. But David had his failures too. His sin with Bathsheba began a downward spiral to the end of his reign. His son Solomon took over as king, and he started out pretty good as well. Solomon asked the Lord for wisdom, and as a result he became the wisest, wealthiest king the land would know. But Solomon loved many foreign women, and they caused his heart to be turned away from the Lord. He ended poorly.

After Solomon, the kingdom was divided into two parts: the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. Throughout the rest of the monarchy in these kingdoms, they mostly experienced bad kings. There were a few kings that ‘followed in the footsteps of their father David’ and did what was right in the sight of God, but most of them had major flaws. Their sins had torn Israel apart even more.

God is the God of restoration. He makes whole what sin tears apart. And here in Ezekiel 37, the Lord promises that He will bring back the House of Israel from the nations among which they were scattered. Once again, they will have their own land to possess. God will put one king over them. They will be a united kingdom once again, and this kingdom shall never be divided again.

Our lives have been torn apart by sin. We fail in so many ways each day. Our sin breaks our communion with God. Our sin sends us into a depression that we often can’t get out of. Our sense of shame and guilt controls our thoughts and emotions as we shrink back from God and try to hide in the shadows. Our sin—ugly, revolting, disgusting in the eyes of God—divides and controls our life, breaking it to pieces, stopping us from enjoying life as God intended us to have it.

Our God is the God of restoration. He can make whole what sin has smashed into pieces. Do you need the restoration of God? Do you need Him to heal what sin has broken? I love Job 5:17-18: “Behold, happy is the man who God corrects; therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole.”

Place yourself in the hands of the Almighty who is able to bind up and make your life whole. It may hurt for a time, for chastening is never any fun, but God will heal what sin has destroyed in your life. He is the God of restoration. Remember, "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

The True Shepherd

“I will make  them and the places all around My hill a blessing: and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing…Thus they shall know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and they , the house of Israel are my people, says the Lord GOD. You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God, says the Lord GOD.” –Ezekiel 35:26, 30-31

Israel had some good shepherds and some bad shepherds. They had King David, who “shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.” (Psalm 78:72). King David was a good shepherd. He shepherded by godliness and giftedness. But Israel also had some pretty bad shepherds. They had evil kings who made deals with the wicked, Gentile nations. These kings cared only for themselves. They failed to feed God’s flock and they effectively scattered God’s people among the nations.

After pronouncing judgment upon these wicked shepherds, God describes how He would be the True Shepherd for the people.  He would gather them from the nations to which they were scattered. He would feed them. He would care for them. He would rain showers of blessing upon them, and upon all the places around them. Then the people would know that God is with them.

The Lord Jesus is the True Shepherd described in Ezekiel 35. He tells us in John 10 that He is the good shepherd and “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” This claim that Jesus makes attests to His deity. Only God could be described as the Good Shepherd. 

The True Shepherd takes good care of His sheep. He provides their needs, feeds them when they are hungry, protects them when they are in danger, and blesses them beyond measure with His presence. Jesus is always with His sheep. He dwells in us as individuals, and among us as His flock. We are truly blessed with showers of blessing by the True Shepherd.

Are you one of Jesus’ sheep? Do you hear His voice? Does He know you? Do you follow the True Shepherd? 

You Never Know What You Got Til Its Gone

"And when this comes to pass--surely it will come--then they will know that a prophet has been among them." -Ezekiel 33:33


Ezekiel has been faithfully proclaiming the word of the Lord. He has had to do some difficult things. He has pronounced judgment upon Egypt and upon God's people for their disobedience. It is amazing that the people haven't turned against him.

In fact, the people gather around and listen to Ezekiel's words, then they spend ample amounts of time talking about it. But the heart of these people is far from the Lord. They listen to the words from God, but they do not do them. They listen to a man, called by God, faithfully proclaim the true words of God and they do not obey. Yet somehow, they seem to have some strange sense of enjoyment from hearing. It is as if they only want to be entertained by God's Word. What they cannot see is that God's Word is against them. They cannot see that the message of judgment is against them. They cannot see their wicked ways.

I often wonder how many people sit in the church pews on Sunday only to be entertained by the Word of God? How many people miss the message entirely because they are content to hear the Word? We live in a culture where entertainment is everything. People pay millions to be entertained. For example, the newest Harry Potter movie cleared $168.5 million in the first weekend alone. I'm afraid that this mentality has permeated and infected the church. Many show up to church willing only to observe and not participate acts of worship. They seem content just following the flow of the culture.

Men and brethren! Let us not only hear the Word, but let us do the Word. Listen to what it says, then obey it! Forsake the notion that you will be entertained by the Word. When the Word is faithfully proclaimed, you will be confronted with its truth. You will see your wickedness and be driven to your knees by the awesome power of the Holy Spirit. Then, and only then, will you see your need for repentance. This is the power of the Word of God.

Someday, when all the judgments that the people were listening to came to pass, they would remember that a man--a prophet--spoke the Words of God faithfully among them. At that time, it will be too late. God will punish the wicked for their sins and reward the righteous for their faith. May we be a people who hears the Word of God and does it.

Protection and Peace

“Thus says the Lord GOD: “When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to my servant Jacob. And they will dwell safely there, build houses, and plant vineyards; yes, they will dwell securely, when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the LORD their God.” –Ezekiel 28:25-26

This portion of verses falls right in the middle of a number of chapters that focus on God’s judgment of the wicked nations. The location of these verses demonstrates what they are saying. Israel shall be gathered together in their own land and they shall exalt the Lord in their midst. Then, they shall safely dwell while the Lord executes judgment on all the nations around them. 

In the Christian life we often feel like this. We look around and see horrible things all around us. Sometimes we even see horrible things in our own lives. Yet, for the believer, there is incredible peace because safety and security does not lie in our circumstances or our ability to keep the events of life stable. Our safety and security lies in the hands of our Savior, our Creator, our God. He holds all things together. He keeps those in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him.

This section of verses ends with this often repeated phrase in Ezekiel: “Then they shall know that I am the LORD their God.” The trials of life and the judgments of the Lord should point us to Him. They should be a reminder to us that He is God and we are not. They should encourage believers in that their faith is in the one true God, the Lord of glory, the Redeemer.

Will You Stand in the Gap?

"So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one." -Ezekiel 22:30


This is perhaps one of the saddest verses in Scripture. God searching for someone to be an advocate for the land of Israel and He finds no one. Therefore, God poured out His indignation against the land and consumed them with the fire of His wrath (v. 31).

My thought is simple this morning (as it is every morning I'm sure!). Will you stand in the gap? Will you fill a role that is needed in the kingdom of God? Surely, the Lord is searching for men and women to 'fill the gap' and share the good news of Calvary's cross with the lost and dying of this world.

"The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." -Matthew 9:37-38

That's Not Fair!...Or Is It?

"Yet the house of Israel says, 'The way of the Lord is not fair.' O house of Israel, is it not My ways which are fair, and your ways which are not fair? "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways," says the Lord GOD. "Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies," says the Lord GOD. "Therefore turn and live!" -Ezekiel 18:29-32

When things don't go our way we often complain against the Lord and tell Him that 'it isn't fair.' We complain because our sense of justice has been violated. We complain because we don't get our way. We complain because the Lord hasn't acted how we want Him to act. Let me ask you a question: Is it not possible that God's sense of justice and fairness is higher than yours?

I would say that it is not only possible, it is probable. God had dealt justly with Israel. He had blessed their obedience in the past, and now He is going to punish their disobedience. He had told them that if they followed Him they would be blessed and would live, but if they followed other gods, they would be punished and die. That is completely fair according to God's standards.

But Israel didn't like this. Israel wanted to live according to their standards, do whatever they wanted, seek whatever gods they wanted. Therefore, the Lord was going to punish them. But the Lord didn't punish them without giving them another opportunity to make things right. God issued another call to repentance. He gave them another chance. He offered them life through turning from their sin to God. He offered them a new heart and a new spirit. 

Do you, like Israel, believe that God is not fair? Do you think that He should act according to your standards? O, sinner, repent from your evil way, cast aside your sin and live! God will give you a new heart and a new spirit. God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. 

God's sense of justice is so much more perfect than ours. He acts according to His standard. He judges rightly. But He is also a merciful God. He rewards those who turn to Him with life. Turn to the Lord and live!

Sinful People, Everlasting Covenant

And I will establish My covenant with you. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, that you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth anymore because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all you have done," says the Lord GOD.' " -Ezekiel 16:62-63

Ezekiel just finished describing how the people of Israel had been cared for by the Lord and how they played the harlot with other nations and other gods. The Israelites were so wicked, in fact, that God said even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were to walk through the land, they would be the only ones spared because of their righteousness. 

Picture Abraham interceding for Sodom. He asked God to spare the city for just ten righteous people. God said that He would spare the city if there were ten righteous people. There weren't, and only Lot escaped with his daughters. Here in Ezekiel, there is really no difference. God says that there is no one righteous, they have all played the harlot and done detestable, abominable things before God.

Yet God also says that He will establish with them an everlasting covenant and provide atonement for their wickedness. This is God's grace. Israel had done nothing to deserve God's favor. They had done everything to deserve His wrath. But God, in His mercy and grace, will establish an everlasting covenant with Israel. Truly, God is not done with Israel. He never will be, for He has given them this everlasting covenant.

"Then you shall know that I am the Lord" This phrase keeps popping up all over the book of Ezekiel. Though Israel had forgotten who the Lord was and what He had done for them, He would work among them so that they would know that He is the Lord. He is the covenant God, the Almighty, the All-Gracious, the All-Merciful God. This sinful people would know that God loves them.

Falling Flat

“Then the hand of the LORD was upon me there, and He said to me, “Arise, go out into the plain, and there I shall talk with you.” So I arose and went out into the plain, and behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, like the glory of which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face. Then the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet…” –Ezekiel 3:22-24a

How do you respond when you encounter the Lord? Do you scoff at Him? Do you run away? Do you get angry with God? Do you tell Him all your problems? Do you pay attention to what He has to say to you? Do you stand in amazement of who He is? Or, like Ezekiel, do you fall on your face before Him?

Ezekiel knew what it meant to be in the presence of the Lord. He probably knew what the Israelites said in Deuteronomy 5:26: “For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?” Ezekiel knew that where he was standing was one of the most privileged places he could ever be. He was standing before the glory of the Lord God. He responded correctly by falling on his face before God.

As believers, we are encouraged, even commanded to come boldly before the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb. 4). But there still needs to be a realization of who it is we are actually going before for help. When we enter the presence of the Lord through prayer, we are bringing ourselves before the Almighty God, the Lord of hosts, the living God. We stand before the all-knowing, all-powerful, all-present God who sent His Son to provide the only way of salvation for us. So when we enter the presence of the Lord, we stand on holy ground.

The proper response would be for us to fall on our faces before Him. We must realize that we are nothing in His sight and without Him, we can do nothing. Ezekiel demonstrates for us the principle we find in James 4:10: “Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” Ezekiel didn’t stand before God and plead his case. He didn’t try and defend himself, or say anything at all. He merely fell before the Lord, humbled to be in the presence of the Almighty. When Ezekiel showed his humble attitude, the Lord lifted him up and set him on his feet.

So I ask again, how do you respond to an encounter with the living God? May I suggest you humbly fall flat on your face before Him and let Him lift you up.