Why is it that when we are told not to do something that we often find ourselves wanting to do exactly what we were told not to? It is very interesting to me that in our lives (especially our teens and early twenties) we are often given good advice and then say to ourselves, "Oh that sounds nice and all, but I am pretty sure that I know a lot better." If you are having a hard time remembering a time that you may have been incorrect in your thinking, then just try to think of the last time you went shopping and saw a little kid throwing a tantrum. Usually what is taking place is the child desperately trying to convey to the adult what they would like or would like to have happen while the adult is trying to explain to the child that it is not the best decision or purchase to make.

When we see scenarios like this taking place, we often chuckle at how clueless the kid is-that the parent/adult is only watching out for the child's best interest. So that being said, why is it that we do the same thing when it comes to our heavenly father? God gives us a great plan for living to protect us from things that He knows are dangerous for us and we often look at what he has to say and then promptly do what we want instead. But that right there is what it is all about isn't it-what we want.

This week, I came across some verses in Ezekiel chapter 30. I would suggest that you read this chapter in its entirety this week if you get a chance. It talks about Ezekiel being a watchman for his people, and I believe that we to are to be watchmen for our generation. But more to the point the verses that I want to apply this week are as follows: Ezekiel 30:31-33, "My people come to you as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice." (NIV)

Ezekiel was warning the people about the fall of Jerusalem. He was telling them that when all these things came to pass their blood was not on his head because he had warned them and in these final verses he explains to them that they love to hear his words but walk away and do nothing about them. I think that we can take a lot from this into our world. First of all are we taking what God has told us through his word seriously enough to obey what he has laid out for us? Do we dare to believe that there is a good reason the God who created us wants us to do or not do certain things? Next, are we taking what we hear in our church services to heart and remembering them throughout the week so that church is not just a place we go on Sunday because it is tradition, but it is a place that we go and glean valuable information on godly living that we can take and apply to our own personal situations for the glory of God's kingdom?

Final Thought: Is what you are learning and hearing from God going in one ear and out the other with an attitude of knowing better, or are you taking what you hear and then applying it as much as you can into your life knowing and trusting that God has a good reason for what he tells us and asks us to do?