Hiding my face - Ezekiel 39

The phrase "hiding my face" immediately conjures up two things in my mind. Either I am terribly embarrassed by something and want to hide from the public eye, or I am deliberately trying to stay away from another person. 

As we read Ezekiel 39 this phrase occurs 3 times (verses - 23,24,29) and it seems to me that God has moved from a place of deliberately hiding from his people, to allowing himself to be found (note verse 29). As the Lord chooses to forget the unfaithfulness of his people, we see a shift in his desire to be 'found' by them. I get a picture of God moving from a place of  'embarassment' to a willingness to be seen in public with his people again.

 ²⁵ “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will now restore the fortunes of Jacob and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name. ²⁶ They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid. ²⁷ When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of many nations. ²⁸ Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. ²⁹ I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

Not sure if any of this makes sense? Hopefully we see a glimpse of this in the events of Holy Week as Jesus moves fully into the public arena, willing to die on the cross in full view of the entire city. God is not hiding any more. God is present with us 100%.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

No Shame

Being a Christian is not easy at times. There are many people that think we are crazy to believe in God and especially to believe in the person of Jesus. It is even hard to try and fully explain why we believe and what we believe, because people seem to have their arguments all neatly packaged.

Despite all of this, it is still a great privilege for me to be called a "Christ-ian" - or "little Christ." I really enjoyed this verse from 1 Peter 4 over the weekend - it reminded me not to feel ashamed of what I believe it.

"But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name." - 1 Peter 4:16 (NLT)

Romans 1:16 - For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

There is NO shame in following Jesus.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Disgrace

"Remember, Lord, what has happened to us;
 look, and see our disgrace." - Lamentations 5:1

There is something tragic about one person calling another person a 'disgrace.' That word DISGRACE speaks so much shame over a another person. When Jeremiah was pleading with God to remember what had happened to them and for the Lord to notice their disgrace, he could have been saying, "Hey, God see how much SHAME is upon us!"

Lent reminds me that even when I am ashamed of myself, for whatever reason, Jesus has offered me the chance of redemption. Jesus doesn't see me as others do. 

“Shame corrodes the very part of us that believes we are capable of change.” - Brené Brown

Living in Grace
D3LM3