"The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land, with the uncleanness (impure, idolatrous, immoral practices) of the peoples of the lands (many countries) with their abominations (disgusting things and ethically wicked ways) which have filled it from one end to another with their impurity (sexually, ethically, even religiously profane and defiled practices)...”
Sound familiar?
Do you think that “Drag Queen Story Hour”, human trafficking, rampant drug use and runaway crime in our cities might fit this description?
Ezra continues...
“Now therefore...” (because of those facts...), “Do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; AND NEVER seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.” (Ezra 9:11-12)
I could unpack this for weeks, but I want to focus now on one core concept... “NEVER seek their peace or prosperity”. Solomon ignored this warning and took foreign wives as a way of making peace with potential enemies and strengthening economic ties. That didn’t end well for him or Israel!
Abraham understood this principle some 500 years before Moses gave us the law. After Abram vanquished the kings who defeated the king of Sodom and took Lot captive, the king of Sodom offered Abram the spoils of war. Abram refused, saying that he would not accept so much as a thread or a sandal strap, lest they should say they had made him rich. He refused to accept Sodom’s prosperity offer.
But today, much of the church has come to believe that if we just make peace with the dark side, whether that’s with the heir apparent of the king of Sodom or with the Marxists of the BLM movement, life will be good and prosperous.
The way they’ve made peace is by keeping their mouth shut about eternal realities such as sin and its consequences or Hell and its punishment. They’ve brought the unrepentant and unregenerated into positions of leadership to get butts in seats and grow the church.
And the vexing of society only grows worse.
We are sternly admonished to NEVER make peace with the world. The reason is quite simple... They are carnal (as are many Christians) and as Paul explains in Romans 8:7, “the carnal mind is enmity (hatred, hostile) against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.”
James puts it this way, “friendship with the world, is enmity (hatred) with God.” Paul adds that the natural man “does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
In other words, the carnal person or the old nature cannot make peace with the new man. They can’t even receive spiritual truth. Lost people are going to act lost because they are lost.
They don’t care about your worldview, what you think about abortion, homosexuality, or transgenderism, etc. They don’t care what the Bible says about anything. Here's Richard Levine who thinks he's a woman named Rachel, who Biden appointed as Assistant Secretary for Health. Ironic that we have a sick man pretending to be a woman, in charge of health related issues.
Their carnal nature is at odds with, and hostile to the law of God. They are incapable of coming to peaceful terms with the righteous unless the righteous compromise. Not necessarily by participating with them, but at the very least, by keeping their mouth shut.
As a result and for the sake of “peace and prosperity” much of the church has fallen silent on moral issues. They have become “woke”.
That’s why the carnal nature has to die. As Paul said to the Galatians... “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passion and desires.” And in Romans 6:6, “our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.”
Paul no doubt felt the iron boot of Rome as much as anyone, but he didn’t plot a coup to overthrow the government. He knew that the weapons of his warfare were not carnal, but mighty through God.
So when he was a prisoner, he wisely leveraged his Roman citizenship to appeal to Caesar which was granted by Festus. Paul saw this as an opportunity to preach Christ to the leader of the Roman empire, and he took it.
Paul was no rabble rouser.
He was a statesman with a firm grip on God’s Word and a depth of understanding that gave him stature with Festus and even with King Agrippa.
He knew he was in the last days, a period of 40 years from 30 AD when Jesus was crucified to 70 AD (one generation) before the old structures would be erased from the earth in the destruction of Jerusalem that Jesus warned about in Matthew 24.
He was willing to turn down freedom in the hopes of sharing the gospel with Caesar. He fought the good fight of faith to the very end. And so should we.
We are after all, the light of the world, and it doesn’t take much light to scatter the darkness.
The question becomes, and I’ve heard from several of my readers... how do we fight our own good fight of faith? How do we push back the darkness and resist the devil, in practical ways? What can we do to effect societal change and push back the woke agenda for example?
I have much to say about that, which I hope to continue in my next blog, but this one is getting long and I really am trying to shorten them down. 😊
But there is a solution...
One that I have applied in the marketplace with stunning results. It’s not about a political party. Our war is not with each other. The battle is good vs evil. I’m going to share with you how I’ve learned to win that battle decisively many times in the marketplace and how my friend Peter Daniels has done the same, on a much bigger scale.
As always, I want to thank you for your support and encourage you to pursue God with all your heart. If you'd like to be notified when I post new articles, you can subscribe here (shown near the bottom of the video).
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Thank you so much for your trust and support!
Blessings, Michael
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Well said Mike! Bless you
Thank you my dear brother!
Amen Michael. Well written.
Thank you Regina. Blessings!
Thank you Michael for these blog posts. The temperature is up and we need to know what to do and be equipped for what is coming. Looking forward to future posts.
🙏🏻May peace be with you.
Indeed it is Catherine and about to get even warmer!
Thanks for taking the time to post!
Blessings, Michael
It is a breath of fresh air to see Godly men speak the truth. We need Godly leadership more than ever in this season and the ones to come.
I agree Tiffiny… We do need leadership speaking out and speaking up without fear or favor.
Thank you for taking the time to comment!
Blessings, Michael
That scripture in Ezra really hit the mark. Thank you, Michael Pink!
It sure does. I wondered, how I had missed it all along. It’s a wow for me. It’s also a quote right out of Deuteronomy.
Thanks for commenting Glory Lee!
Blessings, Michael
Good word. Knowing the times. Keep on writing. Shalom.
I will Edith. Thank you!
You’re right on point Michael.. Looking forward to your next blog!
Hi Noel… Thanks for posting again!
I appreciate the interaction.
Blessings, Michael
Yes sir we battle against powers and principalities of the air.
You are correct sir… Thus Paul’s admonition to not fight with carnal means.
right on point Mr. Pink. The body of Christ needs to wake up. Keep it coming. Blessings to you.
Thank you Grace! Blessings, Michael
This was very clear and incredibly on the point. Thank you Michael.
Thank you LaVonne!
Thank you, Michael, for investing your time and writing from your heart about things that are not always a happy subject but that is so needed in our time. It is an encouragement to the body of Christ for a strong Christian to “speak truth to power”. I’m proud of you! Zechariah 8:16 “These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts;”
Thank you Judy!!! That passage in Zechariah 8:16 REALLY ENCOURAGED me! You are an incredible blessing!
Good word.
We share like kind convictions. Regarding the carnal unspiritual pollution spewed from perhaps the majority of pulpits across the land and around the world.
But God has His people. And the gates of hell Will Not prevail against it-us. The called out ones.
Thankful for your persevering exhortations. Encouraging us with insightful observations. Enlightening us with practical empowering transforming solutions.
Decades of pulpit’s blindly compromising convictions for cash has hardened hearts with generationally seared consciences.
Their secular mantra of materialism as the measure of spirituality is pagan religion controlling, mesmerizing its followers with the false hope of glory.
Thankfully the Lord has you and others He has faithfully placed in the Kingdom family.
Boldly proclaiming that we are to grow, mature in being transformed into His image and likeness.
This being the measure of spirituality of the true controlling personal relationship of Christ in us the hope of glory.
Acts 3:6
You shall known them by their fruit.
Good seed bearing like kind fruit.
Bad seed bearing like kind fruit.
Galatians 5
Not their gifts. 1 Corinthians 13
Michael, thank you for continuing with compassionate clarity your fruitful writing.
Watering the good seed in the good soil of our hearts. Nourishing our hearts with truthful conviction. Producing like kind fruit.
Praying peace, provision, strength for you and Judy.
May your “tribe” increase.
Blessings.
PS: I went long here. Not necessarily saying anything you, others don’t already know.
Again, thankful for your platform that allows us to participate in the conversation.
My purpose is to encourage you. And Judy. Not to gain attention by seeing my comments published. Or not.
Edited. Or not.
Blessings.
Peace.
Hi Don… Thank you for taking the time to add to the conversation and encourage.
Very much appreciated!
Blessings, Michael
Wow Bro. Michael;
How indeed do we stand firm in our faith in the market place? By holding fast to the indwelling CHRIST for starters. I was at an old carillon ( church bell) customer yesterday and saw a huge rainbow flag hanging in a hall. I wanted to say something but didn’t and thought to myself “FATHER, forgive them for they know not what they do. I am beyond grateful for your blogging and look forward to our community growing in faith and grasping the vision which will be revealed. We’re not here at this time by accident. Our LORD has plans for us. Happy Resurrection Day folks.
Thank you for commenting Ken… We have to know when to “hold ’em” and when to “fold ’em”. I’m sure Jesus didn’t speak up at every egregious thing He saw. Knowing when to speak up and then what to say is what I am going to be speaking about in the days ahead.
Thank you Michael for this. It is a great help and encouragement to hear you unpacking scripture. I absolutely agree with you 100% but I would like your opinion on homosexuals who have tried to change but have not succeeded and as a result they can’t find their own identity.
The reason I ask this is because we live in a fallen world and as such many of us start off in life at a disadvantage due perhaps to intergenerational and/or. In utero trauma. I know I tried for years to free myself from my worldly inheritance but in vain. And even when I came to know Jesus, I couldn’t let go enough to allow Jesus to cause me to be healed.
You might have read my interim testimony how, after Rick and Wally prayed for healing and deliverance, the shackles if my past have loosened just enough for me to cooperate with my beloved Saviour and friend. It was sheer torment to know that I couldn’t get out of fight/flight and display the fruit of the spirit.
I’ll be interested in your response. What helped me through the darkness was that I knew that Jesus knew me intimately and understood me, unlike the world. . God bless you.
It’s about to get hot!! Holy Fire of God from Heaven! Sometimes I think we’re afraid of the high places in our environment. Take a look at Gideon in Judges chapters 6-8. He did what God told him to do in the night and thought he was safe. I’m fascinated by a lot of places in especially 1 Kings that the “high places” were not taken down or removed, which suggests that something was, but not the main thing. Let’s not make the same mistake, but in order to do so, we have to be in unity. Let the Holy Spirit’s fire consume us so that we stay red-hot for the Messiah, and everything that doesn’t please Him or the built-up wood burns, but our lives remain. 1 Peter 1:7-9; 1 Cor 3:10-15. I want to build with material that, when tried by fire, reveals a wise masterbuilder.
The verse of Ezra reminds me of the time of Noah, only eight family members were not mingled with what was going on around them. Their genetics were intact, and their lives preserved by God. Noah’s sacrifice pleased God so much that He not only renewed the covenant, but also made a promise with a visible sign, better known as the rainbow. If you’ve ever seen one upside down, it looks like God is smiling ;-).
The most supernatural thing we can do is to love people, if you don’t know where to start, pray for an unsaved family member and ask the Lord to send someone to them. If they’re all saved, look for one in your neighborhood or at your work.
Let’s build holy altars for our God, and keep the fire burning, personally and corporately.