Ezekiel 36:23-25
23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
What a wonderful promise, LORD! You will SHINE! You will SHINE through me! You will sanctify Your great name. You will show Your character to others through Your dealings with me. Your righteousness and truth, mercy, goodness, longsuffering, forgiveness, etc. is being
shown to the world, and although I have dishonored You time and again with my rotten attitudes and lack of faith, You are sanctifying Your NAME. You are showing WHO You are each time You "spank" me and each time You forgive me and call me to keep "followin' on" in Your footsteps! These are Your words to me, O LORD:
"I shall be SANCTIFIED IN YOU"…I shall be (CONSECRATED…DEDICATED), set apart in your life as something very, very, very special! I will become your LOVE, and all other "loves" will fall away. I will be glorified and "sanctified in you" as you become truly SATISFIED in
me! As I abide in you, and you abide in me, you shall bring forth the fruits of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance more and more. My Holy Spirit will slowly change you life, and you will become HOLY as I am HOLY. I shall be SANCTIFIED in you before their eyes!"
24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
This You have done, O LORD! You have elected me from the foundation of the world. (Eph. 1:4-5) You have gathered me along with all Your other saints out of all the countries in the world, and You are taking us to a "land that floweth with milk and honey"…the "land of
the living",forever! Amen!
25Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
You ARE in the process of doing this, O LORD-"sprinkling clean water" upon me. Sometimes it feels more like "DROWNING"-the trials are so great. Yet I want to say like the great saints of old,
"Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin".
(Ps. 51:2)
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: WASH me, and I shall be whiter than snow." (Ps. 51:7)
Help (me), O God of (my) salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver (me) and PURGE AWAY (MY) SINS, FOR THY NAME'S SAKE." (Ps.
79:9)
LORD, wash "…not my feet only, but also my hands and my head." (Jn. 13:9)
Yes, You are weaning my heart away from idols – "creature comforts" and "creature loves". Many trials You have sent my way for my good – the death of baby Timothy, the stress with an ADHD son, the financial disasters, the shunning and slander form once-time best friends and
the loneliness with no church, the very ill health and all that entails, the husband with a broken back there for awhile, the loss of earthly possessions if we are never to return to our bus in Mexico, the hurts of a son turning his back on You, and many other private hurts as well. In the times of greatest trial, You have been to me a "LITTLE SANCTUARY" (Ez. 11:16) – a place of peace. I have always been able to "pour out my heart" and KNOW that you hear and understand and LOVE
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