WHITEWASHED?

Whitewashed?Many people who read the scriptures forget that "It is how God speaks to us every time we read it." When it becomes convicting they attempt to read into it and interpret it by saying "God is talking to those people then" or, "You have to understand the history behind what is being said." I don't know about you, but the way I know God is speaking to me is that I am challenged and convicted by the Word. God is asking me "Pete, don't you get it? Is this you?"Last night we were reading Ezekial 13 and in versus 10-16 God spoke to all of us through these passages. Here is 10-12 and ou can read 13-16 on your own;"Because they lead my people astray, saying "peace", when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash, therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth. Whent he wall collapses, will people not ask you, Where is the whitewash you covered it with?"This is so much more than what we read 'If' we ask God to show us what this means for us today. God is displaying His mercy, grace and love to each of us when we recognize that this scripture is a warning for us not to be like them. First I recall what Jesus said in Matt. 10 "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." Peace? What is peace? We do live in the last days, and the world is pulling at us all each and everyday. In our quest to find peace we fill our lives with everything we can in order to fill a peace that only Jesus can give.So what about the 'Wall?' The wall is merely who we are suppose to be in Christ. Our 'Wall' is to be our testimony, our lives, our claim of being a Christian. But what have we done with this wall? Have we not 'Whitewashed' it with Christian tee shirts, bumper stickers, icthusus, music, positions at church, etc...? You see God's Word causes me to ask myself "Am I really a Christian, and will my wall stand regardless of what comes my way?" We will all face times of hardship, struggles, and tests in our walk with Christ. When these things present themselves then we will see whether we have just put a coat of 'Whitewash' on, or if we are a wall (a true Christian)standing firm in these situations. We are no different from the Israelites then. Do we have idols in our lives today? People do not like ot look at this but, "An idol is anything we put before God, anything we won't give up for God, or anything we love more than God." If we have idols in our lives then it is best to remove them as soon as possible. If not then we are bellieving a lie and are merely 'Whitewashed' people. Our wall will not stand, and according to this chapter in the end we will be destroyed (I know this doesn't seem pleasant to most, but I did not write the scripture.) Kyle Idleman wrote a book recenlty, Not a Fan, that we took QTM through page by page, and chapter by chapter. Kyle puts it out there and challenges his readers to come face to face with truth "We are either fan's or follower's." I higly recommend each and everyone of you to read it. Oddly enough Ezekial is exposing the same thing to each of us today. We are either a strong wall of Christ in us, or a 'Whitewashed' want to be with and unpleasant eternal in our future. For me, I am going to be the 'Real Deal' fro all to see, in the good time, and the bad. My wall will always stand no matter what~