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Day 8 Ezekiel 8 Ezekiel 8:1 And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me. 2 Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the color of amber. 3 And he put forth the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looks toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy. 4 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain. 5 Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry. 6 He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, see thou what they do? Even the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? But turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations. 7 And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall. 8 Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had dug in the wall, behold a door. 9 And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. 10 So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about. 11 And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up. 12 Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? For they say, The LORD sees us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth. 13 He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do. 14 Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD’S house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. 15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. 16 And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD’S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. 17 Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. 18 Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them. Does it seem like God doesn’t hear you? When was the last time you received God’s blessings on your life? God took Ezekiel in a vision to Jerusalem and showed him what the people of Israel did, and how they thought God did not see what they did, and how what they did was abominable to him. What are you doing in your life that would cause God to keep his blessings from you, or not hear you when you pray? Compromise is a way of life. It is everywhere. In government the name of God is a foul word. You need to include every religion on earth in what you do, but heaven forbid if you name the name of God. It is in the shows you watch on television. Every commandment is broken in one hour of television viewing. It is in our schools. Our children are taught it is okay to embrace false teachings, leaving God out of the classroom. It is in the home. Children are confused by the double standard of the world and God. How can you embrace this way of life, and go to church, worshipping God for one hour and expect him to hear you or even pay attention to you, to bless you and show favor to you? God told Ezekiel, he saw everything the people did and it was abominable to him. Do you call yourself a Christian and act like the world? Has compromise become a way of life? If so, guess who is happy with you? Satan, that’s who. Is it such a hard thing to not only call yourself a Christian, but to set aside and cast out the things of this world that compromise your faith in God? David told God to examine his life to see if there was any wickedness in him. Psalm 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (KJV) Can you say the same thing to God? In what ways are you compromising your faith in God? What do you do that would be abominable to God? Examine your life, before you ask God to examine it, and get rid of anything that hinders God’s blessings in your life. Then you will feel God’s hand on your life, and see his blessings. Let’s pray: Father, search out everything in my life, and show me those areas of compromise that are abominable to you. Give me a heart that seeks after you and will not compromise with the world. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 27 December 2017 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay