God expects all people to follow him. He expects all
people to repent of their sins and obey him. God loves all people. He does not
want anyone to go to hell.
God uses men and women to warn other men and women. It
is our duty to warn others about where their sins are sending them. It is our
duty to preach righteousness.
In Ezekiel 3:18-21,
God tells Ezekiel that it is his duty to preach and teach the wicked and the
past righteous. He is to bring the wicked to God. And he is to bring the
ex-righteous back to God. God says that if Ezekiel will preach to them, it does
not matter what they do, Ezekiel has saved his own soul by his obedience to
God. God also warns Ezekiel that if he does not teach and preach these people,
that he will lose his own soul. Ezekiel does not have a choice. To save his
soul, he must teach others.
So, not only did God use Ezekiel to warn others, but
God warned Ezekiel. We are also to warn others of their sins. We are told to
warn the ex-righteous (James 5:19-20). We are also told to warn the wicked (Matthew
28:19-20). Take your warning seriously. Study your Bible. Learn all of it, and
then obey it. Then, warn others. And if any of this is hard to understand, ask
an adult to help you.
With Joy, Draw Water
By Mark McWhorter
Isaiah 12:3
reads, “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” This
chapter in Isaiah discusses the coming of the New Testament kingdom through
Jesus Christ. Christ is the Holy One of verse six. He is in the midst of the
spiritual nation of Israel.
Jesus taught that people should drink of his waters. We
are in a spiritual desert before we become Christians. We drink of the waters
from his fountain and become a Christian. Then we must continue to drink of
those waters if we intend to continue to live the lives he desires for us. Only
by drinking of his spiritual waters can we live right. And only by drinking of
those waters can we teach others what they need to do.
There are still some places in the world where people
can only get water from wells. They may have to let buckets down into the well
and then pull the full bucket back up. They may have to turn a crank that
brings water up. Whatever they need to do to get the water, they joyfully do.
Without that water they will die of thirst.
If we truly want to live right, we need to study from
God’s Word, the Bible. This is where we obtain the information about those
waters. Sometimes it is not easy to study. But we should be happy to draw that
water out. Without that spiritual water, we will die of spiritual thirst. That
water will save us.
Unfortunately, many people do not like to study the
Bible. They say they want to follow God, but they will not joyfully draw out
the water. They sit and do nothing. Yet, they expect to be saved. We would
think someone was silly and foolish if he sat next to a physical well of water
and never did anything to get the water.
Study your Bible. Learn from it. Then obey it. And if
any of this is hard to understand, ask an adult to help you draw out the water
from the wells.
