Sunday a passage from Ezekiel was read which was very sobering.  The Lord told the prophet that his wife was going to die, but that he was not to mourn for her though she was the "desire of thine eyes."  (Ezekiel 24:15-18)  He was to be an example of the great trouble that was soon to come upon God's people, Judah, because of their sins; a judgment with which would come no comfort or sympathy from God nor from anyone else.
 
Today I was drawn to Jeremiah 16.  In this chapter the Lord tells the prophet "Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons and daughters in this place.  For thus saith the Lord concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning the mothers that bare them, and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land; They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; ...." (16:2-4a)
 
The holy scriptures are given to us for our learning (Romans 15:4) so that we might avoid the judgment our forefathers have suffered, be blessed in the affairs of our life, and, thereby, glorify our Lord in all that we are and do.  So God is very good in this passage to give us the reason for His judgment, for His great displeasure.  Here is the sin of God's people that will result in His ultimate judgment "every time:"
 
     "Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and  have forsaken me, and have not kept my law; AND YE HAVE DONE WORSE THAN YOUR FATHERS; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me:" (16:11-12)
 
Many are making plans, raising families, working out careers, etc. with little, if any, regard for the desire, i.e., the will, of their heavenly Father.  They are focused on the "now," their own pleasures, rather than the Lord's glory and their own eternal blessing.  They seem unwilling to even consider that He has a desire and pertinent leading for how they are to live out the life He has given them.  Their own will is so strong, so important to them, they don't even consider that their will may be in conflict with His.  In fact, many deny that He even has a will for anything other than the "moral" issues of life.
 
God is longsuffering, but He is also faithful to defend His own honor, to exalt His own glory.  He will not be mocked. (Galatians 6:7).  When man, any man, turns from the Lord's gracious leading to his own carnal devices and sets a course for his own life that is in conflict with the Lord's will for him, there is a point when God reaches the end of His "patience."  It is at this point that God's sure judgment begins. (Hebrews 10:26)  And when this holy judgment begins, He is bound by His own holiness to finish His purifying work.  And when His loving longsuffering is ended, He shows no mercy.  It seems to me that many we love, yea, the whole world is nearing this point.

Friends, the psychologized Self-centered doctrines, worship and manner of living that has swept both the professing and the real Church in these last days is an offence to God.  For men to say that their sovereign Lord does not demand submission, that He does not even have a specific will for certain significant portions of their lives is sinful.  It is, in effect, casting aside God and walking after the imaginations of man's own heart, leaning on man's own understanding, doing what is right in man's own eyes.  In short, it is rebelling against the direct and specific warnings and instructions of God's holy Word, His commands.  Men have become so Self-centered that they do not seem to realize that all of these "strayings" from the revealed Truth are simply different forms of "covetousness, which is idolatry." (Colossians 3:5)  "But, I don't serve other gods," you say?  When you serve your own Self-interests, your own "covetousness,"  rather than sincerely, that is to say, truly, committing ALL your ways to the Lord and submitting ALL of your life to His will, you are most certainly serving another god.  You are serving your SELF.
 
Big problems come from little compromises.  Most men seem to have little regard for those of us who hold to and defend the FACT that the Lord has a will for each and every one of His children's lives, their whole life.  But their disregard of and/or disrespect for such holy doctrine is only the "tip of the iceberg" of the true sin.  I say this with great compassion and love, but I must say it: the true sin ("your" true sin?) is prideful rebellion against the sovereign King of Kings and His rule over His creatures.  God is not pleased.

Friends, give your ALL to the Lord today and every day.  If He is truly your Lord, let Him "lord" [guide, direct] your life; let Him truly be your "all in all." (1 Corinthians 15:28)  Only He knows what is truly best for you.  Only He knows what tomorrow holds for you.  If you will submit to His lordship over your life, He will lead and guide you in as specific a way as you require.  He is your Lord.  He is your Shepherd.  He is your Captain.  He is your Advocate, your Comforter.  He is your friend.  He will not fail you.
 
"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."  Jeremiah 33:3
 
"And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left."  Isaiah 30:21