Ezekiel 11
v.12
And you will know that I am the Lord, for you have not followed my decrees or kept my laws but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you.ā
Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today.
v.16
āTherefore say: āThis is what the Sovereign Lord says: Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.ā
In exile the Lord would continue to be an ever-present sanctuary for his people, making provisions for them no matter where they were scattered. This is the same ever-present God who today meets the needs of those who trust him, regardless of their circumstances.
v.18
āThey will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols.
v.19
I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.
Abandoning all idols precedes receiving a heart of flesh from the Lord.
11/29/2022 God is exposing my idolatry for entertainment in YouTube. Itās a recurring theme that I stowed away last school year from all the busyness but this seems to be a time of pruning where this thing must truly die for me to bear fruit. Why are tears scarce in this season? Thereās no doubt the idols Iāve tolerated in my heart have sown in the sinful nature to which brings only death, not life.
v.20
Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
v.21
But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.ā
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. see Galatians 6:7-8.