Guest Blog written by: Jessica Brown

i’ve battled the predator before.
it was grueling and ugly.
bruised and broken, i limped from the rumble the better for it.

there was a time when i presented myself as something i’m not.
puffed up and holier-than-thou, i thought i had cornered the market on being a ‘good girl.’
because i held my head so high and nose towards the sky, i hardly noticed the thing that tripped me up.

i remember coming home disheveled and confused.
wondering how in the world i had missed it.
laying face down on the carpet of my closet, i prayed for God to strip away the pride in my heart.

because your heart is lifted up,
and you say, ‘i am a god,
i sit in the seat of gods,
in the midst of the seas,’
yet, you are a man, and not a god
though you set your heart as the heat of a god.
ezekiel 28:2

pride goes before the fall, right?
and who, if they aren’t honest, hasn’t battled the beast of pride?

the very next morning, the oddest thing happened.
out of nowhere, i had an allergic reaction to the mascara i had been wearing for years.
much to my surprise, my doctor told me to stop wearing all make-up for two weeks.
i vaguely remembering chuckling and asking for a work-excuse.

when you are used to hiding behind masks and pretending to be something you’re not, you shutter at the thought of nothing to conceal the whole ugliness of you.
but, His ways are for good.
regardless of how uncomfortable the process may be.

during the course of my two weeks sans-makeup, i discovered the beauty of transparency.
the art of daring to bare your soul.
the whole dirty, chaotic mess of life.
and i learned the beauty of dancing freely.

oddly, the most freeing thing we can ever do is renounce the throne of our own miniature kingdom.

for when we sit on the throne and exercise authority over our life,
our finances
our relationships
our successes
our homes
our workplaces
our churches,
we set ourselves up for failure.

there is but One king.
and He alone reigns supreme.

i praise Him for slaying the beast that threatened to destroy me.
and i pray to always remain humble before His throne.

Guest Blog written by: Ethan Pettigrew

When I went on the mission trip to Georgia this summer, I spent time with a lot of kids that had rough home lives.  While there, we told the kids about how much God loved them. Something that I tried to convey to them through my testimony was that our personal salvation doesn’t have anything to do with our parent’s salvation.  If your parents are Christians that doesn’t mean your automatically one too.  This concept is described in today’s reading from Ezekiel.

Chapter 18 is all about our personal responsibilities for our own sins.  The passage begins with a common proverb from the Israelites.  It states, “The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?”  God told Ezekiel that this principle was to be used no longer.  He said that everybody belongs to Him.  God goes on to talk about a family.  He starts with a righteous man.  This man does not sin and is faithful to God.  God says that this man will certainly live.  Next God talks of that man’s son.  This man is violent, sinful and does not fear the Lord.  This man will not live according to the Lord.  Finally God tells of the sinful man’s son.  This man sees the wrong that his father did and decides to not partake in those actions.  He is like his grandfather, righteous and faithful to God.  God says that this man will certainly live as well.

There are two perspectives in which we can read this passage.  They examine the two different father-son dynamics.  I personally find the first set more applicable to myself.  I have grown up in a Christian home with parents that are very involved in our church.  These are great things but when comes down to whether or not I’ll go to heaven after I die they don’t matter.  What does matter is whether or not I followed after Christ and lived for Him.

Then there is the other father-son pair.  Even though this scenario doesn’t apply to me, it is still just as real and true.  If somebody grew up in an atheist home or had parents that persecuted Christians, that doesn’t have anything to do with their salvation.  Somebody raised in that environment could still become a Christian.  God doesn’t care about whether one’s parents are saved because God wants every individual to have a relationship with Him. So when it comes to salvation, it doesn’t matter what background you come from.  Because when the dust settles, all that matters is your personal salvation and that’s all that can get you into heaven.

Guest Blog written by: Charley Goode

I love how in Ezekiel 2 God tells him that he is sending him into a nation of rebels.  These people of Israel have rebelled against the Lord.  He assures Ezekiel to not be afraid of them or their words.  Although troubles will arise, the Lord will be with him.  I think we as Christians all need to hear this sometimes.  I know for me personally, sometimes I’ll try to find the easiest way to share the gospel.  I always seem to look for the less tedious route.  But God assures us, no matter what seems to be before us, God is always with us.  The Lord then assures us by saying even when the people we face refuse to listen to remember that people can be a rebellious house.  Not everyone is going to always be accepting of what we have to say, but that shouldn’t keep us from sharing the gospel.  No matter how tough, or impossible things may look, the power of God is as sweet as honey, just how Ezekiel describes the scroll he ate from God.  I really needed to hear this today as I prepare for college and as I approach situations where the gospel is going to need to be shared but, it’s not always going to be the most comfortable of places.