God's Word Sink into My Heart First

I have been reading through the book of Ezekiel lately. Just a few chapters a day. So many verses have spoken to me as Ezekiel is a great book to read for today. It is a grand story of how God used a man to warn the Israelites of the coming judgment because of their sin and unfaithfulness.

This phrase jumped off the page:

"Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself. Then go to your people in exile and say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says!'..." (Ezekiel 3:10-11). 

This is what God spoke to me through these verses:

1. Let all My Words: This is my responsibility. God has given me His Word. It is my job to let all of them become a part of me. I am not to pick and choose which of His Words I let become a part of me. ALL of His Word is important. 
2. Sink deep into your own heart first: It is imperative that I allow God's work to sink deep into my own heart first, before I speak to others, before I teach, before anything that I do. FIRST. First thing in the morning, receive the word that God has for me and make it a part of who I am. 
3. Listen to them carefully: This has not always been easy. It is easy to read God's Word each morning and once I made having a quiet time a part of my life; a habit, I got really good at reading and studying. However, I didn't always listen. I would often get up from my quiet time and go about my day as if I had not spent any time with the LORD. A year and a half ago I started writing what God was speaking to me on an index card and carrying it with me throughout the day. Thus, I am learning to listen carefully. 
4. Then go to your people in exile: Once I have let all of God's Words sink deep into my own heart first and listened to them carefully, then and ONLY then am I to go to my people. My people who are held captive by sin, by fear, by temptation, by the evil one. 
5. Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: We, as God's children, have a responsibility to share what He speaks to us to others. God tells Ezekiel in 3:16-21 that if we are given a message of warning and we fail to deliver and people die in their sins, then we are responsible. On the other hand if we are given a message of warning and deliver it to the people and they choose to not obey, then they are at fault. 

Let me reiterate this truth: We, as God's children, must be spending daily time in His Word. If we are not then we are tempted to paraphrase and modify His Word or take liberties that are not ours to take. 

Let God's Word sink into your heart first. Listen to them carefully. Then go...