“…for we have forsaken your commandments, which you commanded…” Ezra 9:10,11
You’ve probably played it many times just as I have. Whether growing up or much later with a kid, the matching game. You have many cards with bright colorful images upon them and you place them all face down. When it’s your turn, you flip two up to see if they match. If they do, congratulations, you’ve made a match and you get to keep the two cards. The game continues until all the cards all gone. But do you recall the feeling when you thought you had a sure match lined up to only flip over two cards and realized they didn’t match? No matter how hard you want those two images to align, they just won't match. They either match or they don’t. Today in Ezra chapter 9 we see the good prophet Ezra having a similar moment. As he brings a remnant back into Jerusalem from Babylonian exile, he is given a harsh bit of information. He finds out that the people had not been following God’s Word concerning intermarriage with the surrounding pagan peoples. Instead of following God’s Word and only marrying within the body of believers in Almighty God, they went after those that believed in false gods, worshiped idols, and practiced abominations. And when Ezra heard of it, he tore his clothes in anguish, pulled out some of his hair to display his great pain, and sat in prayer and fasting for hours before crying out to God for mercy. Why the great show of despair from Ezra? Well, he saw that that there had been a great mismatch. You see, the good prophet Ezra knew the Word of God well. In fact, he is described in Ezra 7:6 as being "skilled" in the Word of God. Ezra knew the Words of God and exactly what they said. And when Ezra looked around at how the people were living, it was clear that the two did not match up. Folks, when you hear or study the Word God and it does not match the way you are living, you have a matching problem. In fact, the goal of a faithful follower of Jesus Christ is one big matching game. That is, allowing God’s Holy Spirit to work in your life through continued sanctification to make you daily more like Jesus Christ. To allow God to continue to shape you daily to think like, love like, and act like, His precious Son Jesus Christ. As you flip over the cards of your life today and compare them to God’s Word, what do you see? Do you see a life that is living with and embracing sin casually? That is not a match with God’s Word. Do you see a life that is lived in pride, seeking out what gives it the most pleasure? That is not a match with God’s Word. Sex, money, power, materialism, selfishness, and the things of this world will all call to you, promising you true satisfaction. They will tell you that they “sort of” align with God’s Word. They will tell you they “kinda” match up because God wants you to be happy and have fun. All lies the world whispers into the ears of those that choose to listen. When the tire hits the pavement, a life either matches up with God’s Word or it doesn’t. No matter how much you want that card with an apple on it to match up with the card that has a monkey on it, it just won’t match. Get into God Words today and don’t just read it but study it. Ponder it in your heart. Meditate on it. And as you do, carefully examine your life to see if it matches. If it doesn’t, repent of that behavior and match it up with God’s Word. And if you have never called upon Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, well, that’s the biggest mismatch of all. Admit your sin and ask Jesus to save you from it today. He is ready and able to save all that call upon His name. And as you do, you will be matched up with His soul saving work on the Cross and be ushered into Heaven because of it. Thank you Lord, that you allow us the privilege of being matched up with Jesus. Please allow all that need you today to make the biggest match of their life.
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” James 1:22
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