In an attempt to bring people to the realization God desires a personal relationship with them through Jesus Christ, it’s easy to dismiss a part of the Character of God that is awesome and powerful. You can’t really appreciate how important it is that Jesus died for your sins if you don’t know the judgment of God you’ve been saved from. All you have to do is read some of the prophetic statements of the Old Testament to know the fear of the Lord is no joke. Can you imagine trying to negotiate with God without having Jesus to claim as your Savior. It would get pretty sticky.
Ezekiel 7:9 says “My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; I will repay you according to your ways, and your abominations will be in your midst. Then you shall know that I am the Lord who strikes…violence has risen up into a rod of wickedness; none of the wicked shall remain…let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn, for wrath is on the whole multitude.” Even though this is the Old Testament, you can almost hear Jesus in John 2:16 reprimanding the merchants who were selling their goods in the temple as He turned over their tables and said “take these things away, you will not make My Father’s house a marketplace.”
How about you friend? Has your life been a marketplace where you can be bought and sold for a price; where you’ll listen to anything for a laugh regardless whether it poisons your soul or not? How’s your character? Is it honest, disciplined, loving, and kind or are you envious, boastful, arrogant, rude? As a Christian, how’s your outlook? Is it pessimistic and cynical, sarcastic and judgmental, critical and callous? Or do you bear all things, believe, hope, and endure sorrow and suffering and persecution that comes with living life? 1st Cor. 13:4 describes the heart of God through His love. It describes what love is and what love is not. I encourage you to take a hard look in the mirror and ask yourself these questions and become transparent with the Lord so He can soften your heart and mold it into His likeness.
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