Praise God we don't have to be identified with our sin but we can be identified with Christ Jesus!

Israel had become a useless vine.  It seems that all hope is lost for the people of God - and yet, this points us to the True Vine - the Lord Jesus Christ, the True Israel.

It is just remarkable how applicable Ezekiel's message to the false prophets of his day is to our world and culture today.  We don't need a white-washed gospel or a counterfeit truth, we need Jesus.

Israel, God's chosen people to be a witness among the nations, had to be reminded themselves that the Lord is God.

In Ezekiel 10 & 11, through the dramatic vision of the glory of the Lord, we are reminded of God's power and sovereignty - and His grace.

Ezekiel's focus now moves to the temple - to the heart of Israel's idolatrous worship. When sin and judgment is before us, Jesus becomes all the more beautiful.

The Reverend Ted Wenger brings the Gospel message through Jesus' teaching from the Sermon on the Mount.

We too often think that God's wrath against sin was an Old Testament reality and He's just not as interested in righteousness anymore from His people.  That's a deep misunderstanding of God and the righteousness which is provided in Christ Jesus.

John Owen once wrote, "Be killing sin or it will be killing you."  We might change that just a bit for Ezekiel 6, "Be killing idols or they will be killing you."

Ezekiel has one more sign-act in this section - a barber shop scene - but not one full of humor.  A sign of judgment and of terror.  And yet, even in the midst, there's a ray of hope - but that ray of hope shines bright in the midst of judgment.