Day 228, or August 16. Actions are better than words. Our thoughts today come from Ezekiel
chapter 11 verse 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.
And now the big picture surrounding this verse. Ezekiel's sermons must have been totally
breathtaking. Not only did he speak powerfully on behalf of God, but he also used some amazing
visions and illustrations, which even today many have difficulty understanding in full.
In amongst all his apocalyptic language there is still the confirmation that God wants to
restore his people, but he reminds them that he wants them to do more than just believe
the right things. He wants them to do the right things too.
And now today's action step. One of the most common criticisms of the church today
is that it includes too many hypocrites. My response to that is always to say, please
come and join us, because there is always room for one more. I am not being sarcastic
for the sake of it, but I do believe there is as much hypocrisy outside the church as
there is inside it. Having said that, Ezekiel writes what God is saying to his people, and
it seems he is addressing those who know what to do, but choose not to. I remember a well-known
footballer making harsh comments about a fellow footballer following a particularly hard tackle.
When challenged by the interviewer in the studio where the discussion was taking place
about his own less-than-pure history on the football pitch, he simply said, well, that's
different. James totally refutes this when he tells us in his letter, remember, it is
a sin to know what you ought to do and then not to do it. James 4 verse 17. When you are
next tempted to make excuses for yourself as a special case, just think how you would
react to someone else doing the same. Wouldn't the word hypocrite spring to mind? So how
should your behaviour appear? It must be godly do-haviour rather than scholarly believe-haviour.
.