There is no doubt that it is human nature to be the first to take the credit and the last to take the blame! Any of us want the praise for a job well done, but none of us want the responsibility before it happens. Rare is the person that will take responsibility; many will lay the blame for some failure or some sin at the feet of other people, including those closest to them. Blaming your parents for your own sins has almost become a common strategy of defendants in the American judicial system. While it is common today, it is not unique to our day. The blame game has been around about as long as people have!

People in Ezekiel’s day were so eager to blame somebody else that they blamed their parents. Truthfully, they were blaming God for not being fair. They were not willing to assume responsibility for their own sin; they were willing to assume that God’s judgment on them was because of their fathers. They were desperately in need and under God’s judgment but unwilling to recognize their need. You can’t help a person who doesn’t see his need!

The children of Israel had a proverb in that day that said, “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” In other words, the children were suffering the bitterness of life as a result of decisions the fathers had made. What was God’s answer to all of this? “As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.” He doesn’t take the shifting of blame lightly!

The fact of the matter is, each of us is accountable to God. While there is no doubt that your parents influenced you, that is never an excuse for you to do wrong. Your relationship to God is determined by your choices, not your heredity. Until you come to God and realize that you have a responsibility in choices today, regardless of the influences yesterday, you cannot see a better day. Don’t take your turn in the blame game!

Prayer Requests:
1. Services tonight in Fostoria, MI and Owensboro, KY
2. Services this weekend in North Salem, IN

A story is told of a king who found a young lady on the side of a highway. She was outcast, uncared for, unpitied, and unclean. The king had compassion on her and took care of her. In fact, she became his bride and queen. Now she had royal apparel instead of the rags she used to wear. She wore costly jewels that reflected the grandeur of her new position. Sadly, as the story goes, she rejected the very person who did not reject her. She was foolish and unfaithful and ended up in a worse position than when she was found by the king.

That is a synopsis of the story God gave to Ezekiel in chapter 16. God is the King of the universe. Like the queen, we are the object of His provision, protection, and care. What the queen in the story did, and what we often do, is forgot the one who showed compassion in the first place. God over and again says, “Because thou hast not remembered. . . .”

We are so prone to forget who we were, who God is, and what He has made us now. We live cheaply when we forget how highly God values us and how much He paid for us. We live cheaply when we forget how much we owe Him!

If you will live up to the position you have in Jesus Christ, instead of living down to your own will and way, you will live like royalty. Remember the prized position you have and live like one who was purchased at great cost by a great and generous God!

Prayer Requests:
- Services tonight Fostoria, MI and Owensboro, KY

Are you aware that it is common practice for big spenders and big businesses to contribute to both sides of a major issue? For instance, during a Presidential election, a person or company will give a donation to both the Democratic candidate and the Republican candidate. Talk about covering your bases! While this practice may be frustrating and seem inconsistent to most of us, savvy businessmen make sure that no matter the outcome of the election, they are covered. In other words, they are playing it safe by playing it broadly.

Sadly, we tend to do the same thing with God. We trust in God…and our money…and our plans…and our abilities. We figure that if one thing doesn’t take care of us, one of the other options is bound to work. I am not saying it is virtuous to be unprepared, bankrupt, and unwise, but Proverbs 21:31 reminds us that “the horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD.” When God is all you have, you’ll find that He is all you need.

Leaders in Ezekiel’s day were trying to cover their bases, so to speak. They made idols in their hearts and with their hands which became a stumbling block between them and God. Instead of being holy to God, they had separated themselves from God (verse 7). When they didn’t get what they needed from a god of stone, they had the gall to come ask the God of Heaven for the direction they needed in their lives!

Before you ask God for something, make sure you have a heart that will hear and hands that will obey. How foolish it is to ask God for something with an idol in the way! Any wall I erect between my life and my God is an obstacle between my need and Heaven’s answer. Thankfully it doesn’t have to be that way! God can answer, wants to answer, and will answer if we ask with a clean heart and an open ear to obey.

Prayer Requests:
- Services tonight Fostoria, MI and Owensboro, KY

It is ironic that in a day when preaching seems to be greatly minimized, the world cannot get enough of authoritative speakers. There is an entire “herd” of leadership conferences, podcasts, and popular events in different venues across the country. When you hear what someone with authority has to say, how do you know what he says is good? Is it good merely because it sounds good? Is it good because, in some way, what is said actually works? What makes what you hear profitable?

That’s an age-old question that Ezekiel 13 addresses. In Ezekiel’s day, there were prophets who spoke from themselves (not from God), and therefore what they had to say was not useful. They were profitless prophets! They could have been well-trained, accomplished, dynamic speakers, but what they spoke was from their own spirit and not from God’s. God said they “have seen nothing.” What these false prophets had to say was empty and useless because they were the source!

Be sure to judge what you say and what you hear by the source, not by merely the substance. Sometimes things that are actually empty will sound substantial. The way to judge the quality of the substance is to judge the source. If God has said it, I can believe it. If I can believe it, the help I try to give other people should be the help that God Himself has given to me.

Prayer Requests:
1. Day of Champions Youth Event tomorrow
2. Services this weekend in Bowling Green, KY; Fostoria, MI; and Owensboro, KY

We live in a confusing time of too many voices and too much information. The bad part is that much of the information is not really true! Just because a man has an audience and an avenue to spread his message doesn’t make his message true. Isn’t it hard many times to decipher up from down, right from left, and wrong from right? To whom should you listen?

It seems that anyone can have a “voice” today, no matter how qualified he is or how accurate his information. While that may be true, you can rest assured knowing that God has given you everything you need in order to know what you need to know. If you are a child of God, He has given you His Holy Spirit and His Word to inform and enlighten you. If God wants you to know something, He will provide a way for you to know.

The people in Ezekiel’s day likewise had what they needed to know from God. God spoke in Ezekiel’s day through prophets, but false prophets also had a “voice” and used their platform to spread doubt and feed rebellion. God warned His people through Ezekiel, and His warning is helpful for us today.

First, we ought to hear no less than what God says. The children of Israel were “a rebellious house” that could not see and could not hear. Why was this the case? They were not mentally deficient; they were spiritual defiant. A person without a heart to understand never will understand. God is not looking for brilliant people; He is looking for obedient people.

Second, we ought to speak no more than what God reveals. Ezekiel faced false prophets who caused the people doubt God’s Word. In our day, I can’t help but think about all the ones who have set dates for the Lord’s return. Not only is “date setting” unbiblical, but it also increases the doubt of skeptics and weakens the faith of believers who listen. People who speak when God has not spoken have neither authority nor credibility.

In a world full of voices in print, on air, and online, we ought to hear no less than what God says and speak no more than what God reveals. If you and I will heed God’s warning in Ezekiel 12, we can know what God wants us to know, and we can help others know the same.

Prayer Requests:
1. Services tonight in New Buffalo, MI and Louisville, KY
2. Day of Champions Youth Event this weekend (5.5.12)

Ah, human nature-how amusing it is! We often find our worth or security in a place or position. Some people find their worth and security when they have a low position in a prestigious place. For instance, a guy may flunk out of his first semester at Harvard, but you can bet your boots Harvard will make it on his résumé! Why is this? He might have had a low position, but he had a low position in a very prestigious place.

Other people get their worth by having a high position in a meaningless place. You might be the president of some obscure association, but you are only the top dog in an unknown or insignificant place! Both examples seem hollow, but they are illustrative of how you and I naturally think. Some Israelites disdained their Jewish brethren who had been taken captive because they still occupied Jerusalem.

I love God’s response to the captives who were downtrodden, dismissed, and displaced. He says, “Although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.” They weren’t in God’s Promised Land anymore, but God was still with them. God was “there,” no matter where “there” was!

Are you confident in your place or position? Or are you confident in the God who has given you a place in His family? Even Solomon, who built the great temple to God, did not build a kingdom to himself. He realized that the God of Heaven would not be confined by a building or a location on earth. If God is not your confidence, you have the wrong place and the wrong position!

There are places that are very special and dear to my life. The Bill Rice Ranch is one of those places. I can think of very important, life-changing decisions I have made on the Ranch, even down to the specific spot. I thank God for those places at the Ranch, but no place should ever replace the God who makes it significant. God alone can provide the security you cannot find in a place or the merits of your own position. I am not great, and in the grand scheme of things, neither is any position I might attain. There is no special place unless God is there. If God is there, He is the One who gives the worth and power we need in our lives.

Prayer Requests:
1. Services tonight in New Buffalo, MI and Louisville, KY
2. Day of Champions Youth Event this weekend (5.5.12)

Have you ever found yourself driving someone else’s car? I don’t mean you were actually behind the wheel in the driver’s seat; I mean the other driver was making you nervous or impatient by the way he was driving. The other night on the way to church, I noticed a fellow driver who made me nervous and frustrated at the same time! He was completely distracted, reaching for things on the floorboard and overhead. He was looking everywhere and at everything except the road! Consequently, his car was weaving in and out of both lanes while speeding up and slowing down for no logical reason. The worst part was, he was doing all of this while camped out in the left lane of the interstate that is supposed to be for passing!

I must confess that I am very impatient with other drivers like the one I’ve just described. However, sometimes I am that driver! Any good driver will tell you that your car will follow your hands, but your hands follow your eyes. Driving is not “static.” That is, you are not sitting still. When you are driving on the interstate, where you are at the moment is not as important as where your eyes are leading you.

God reminds us in Ezekiel chapter 8 that you can only face one direction at a time. The wrong direction comes naturally to us. Going the right direction is only by design. You will never go the right way by accident! Going the right direction is an act of your will as you surrender to God. You will go the way you decide to go!

Friend, God knows which way you are heading, even when you do not. Sometimes you might think you are going in the right direction (like the men in Ezekiel’s vision), but you are facing the wrong direction. God both knows and cares what direction you are going. Who or what has your attention today? Where are your “eyes” pointing? You cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24), and you cannot face two directions at the same time. Where you stand today is important, but where you are focused is where you will end up tomorrow!

Prayer Requests:
1. Services tonight in Plainwell, MI; Madison, OH; and Ripley, TN
2. Deaf Rally tomorrow in Millville, NJ
3. Ranch evangelists preaching this weekend in New Buffalo, MI; Louisville, KY; and Stillwater, OK

Isn’t it amazing how universal idols are? Men have worshipped idols in every era of history and in every corner of the world. Why do people worship idols? To provide what men cannot. Ironically, who makes these idols? Men do! The very men who cannot provide for themselves make the idols they depend upon to provide. This doesn’t work!

One recurring theme in Ezekiel is God’s working in the lives of His people in order that they would know “that I am the LORD.” In chapter seven, the Lord points to the fact that instead of being a source of safety and satisfaction, the things upon which they trusted would be a stumbling block between them and God.

What are you trusting in to do what only God can do? All of us want safety and satisfaction; yet many times we search for safety in sources that have nothing to do with the God who provides safety. We can spend our entire day futilely trying to find satisfaction in every avenue except for the God who gives satisfaction. Safety and satisfaction are not found in a “thing”; they are found in a Person.

The truth is, no god that you can make is worthy of the name. No matter if it is a god of stone, a god of silver, or a god of money, it cannot and will not satisfy and protect! Nothing you can make can deliver like the God that made you. I don’t know what your need may be today. Perhaps you need security. Perhaps you need safety. Perhaps you seek satisfaction. Whatever your need, remember that God is the only One who can deliver.

Prayer Requests:
1. Services tonight in Plainwell, MI; Madison, OH; King George, VA; and Ripley, TN
2. Deaf Rally this weekend in Millville, NJ

Recently, my family and I spent the night in San Antonio, Texas, while on our way home from a month of travel. The next morning, we took an hour or two to tour the Alamo. Through pictures, videos, models, and text, the museum at the Alamo tried their very best to tell the story of the Alamo so that people living over a hundred years after the battle could understand what actually happened.

History is somewhat boring to many people, but the truth is, everyone loves a good story. Something that helped clarify the battle in my mind (and doubtless other visitors) was one of the models they had of the battle. In the museum, they had a representation of the fort, the opposing armies, cannons, etc. That model was demonstrating the historical facts of the Alamo.

In a similar way, your life should demonstrate God’s truth. Sometimes the truth God wants to convey through a person requires more than words. Often it would be easier to just give our words instead of giving our lives! Ezekiel 4 contains models and illustrations that God wanted Ezekiel to show the children of Israel. Ezekiel made a small model of a battle that would take place to “be a sign to the house of Israel.”

Can people see abstract truths of the Bible illustrated in your real life? Take love, for instance. What is love? Is it merely a feeling or some distant hope, or is it something people can see demonstrated in your life?

How about forgiveness? Is God’s forgiveness of a sinner impossible for your lost family to conceive of because they have never seen forgiveness demonstrated in your life?

How about holiness? Do people have any concept of how holy God is by seeing the difference it has made in your life?

Although I had never seen God, as a young boy, I did see a father who loved me. I didn’t know anything about the judgment of God, but I was well-acquainted with my dad’s correction when I did wrong. When the Bible spoke of God as a Father who will judge sin but who loves sinners, I understood because God’s truth had been demonstrated to me. His truth should be proclaimed, but it should also be demonstrated. Sometimes it takes the entire canvas of your life to portray God’s truth!

Prayer Requests:
- Services this weekend in Plainwell, MI; Madison, OH; and King George, VA

We are living in a day where broad-mindedness is considered to be a great virtue. Ironically, being broad-minded today means being close-minded to the truth. Often “broad-minded” is defined by those who are very close-minded to God and the truth! Is it possible to be open-minded and hard-headed at the same time? Yes! Actually, it is imperative that you are!

The only way to be open-minded to the truth is to be hard-headed against anything that strays from the truth as defined by God. Ezekiel had to be hard-headed with God’s difficult message to a bunch of hard-hearted people. He was to be hard-headed in his pursuit of the truth, and open-hearted to what God had to say. One side demands the other. You can only be open-minded to God’s truth when you are hard-headed about God’s truth.

When you have an open mind toward God, and a heart for the people He loves, it is reasonable to be a little hard-headed for God, too. Don’t let having a broad mind equal having an empty head and heart. To lock God’s truth in, all falsehood must be locked out. It really is true that “if you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything.”

The only truly open mind is a mind open to the truth. The only way to be open-minded to the truth is to define it by absolute authority and be hard-headed against anything that strays from God’s standard.

Prayer Requests:
1. Ohio Regional Conference on Marriage & the Home this weekend (4.20-21)
2. WB Ladies Spring Getaway this weekend (4.21)
3. Services this weekend in Plainwell, MI; West Carrollton, OH; Madison, OH; White House, TN; King George, VA; and Burlington, MA