Greetings to you and yours,
Today’s Holy Nougat is a bit troubling for me, as it speaks to me – a woman of God, and others like me – in very clear words of warning and challenge.
“And as for my sheep, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet, and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.” Ezekiel 34:19 ASV
No one wants to hear that that which we are practicing is wrong. More so when everybody’s ‘doing that’ and we can’t seem to get a break. It seemed, from the previous verses, that it was normative for the priests (shepherds) to provide comfort for themselves at the expense of God’s people. And I hear myself thinking (and possibly a few skeptics saying), “The more things change, the more they remain the same.” And to some degree, that is true. And with that, comes the other aspect of the truth – God’s caution, God’s ‘writ’ against corrupt shepherds has also remained unchanging. We are still called to preach/share the undiluted Good News to a hurting, broken, dying world; desperate for a word of salvation and comfort.
It sometimes becomes dicey, for inasmuch as God’s Word remains true throughout the ages, sometimes interpretations shift and the ebb and flow of life may condition us to frame the message to suit the audience and our needs, rather than deliver a Word of challenge to the powerful and comfort to the broken. To be sure then, that we are delivering the Truth in context and in season means that we MUST be wholly and totally attuned to our Lord and Saviour. And having received the Word and confirmed that it is from God, we deliver without fear or favour, as received.
That’s our task. But each of us who calls on the name of Jesus as Lord and Saviour is also called to share the Good News in the highways and byways of our influence. And that’s where you non-preachers come in. For each of us needs to ensure that that which we offer to this hurting, broken world is not corrupted news, which negatively impacts God’s people and fails to bring glory to God. In our walk, in our talk, in our thoughts.
So, what then is our agenda today – we examine our actions and motives to ensure that we have not fed God’s sheep foul food, and we seek forgiveness and conviction of those who have. And lastly, we invite God to empower us to offer the Good news to another for the glory of God.
Good morning to you
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In and for Christ’s love
