Ezekiel 42

ScriptureEzekiel 42:20bIt had a wall around it, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to separate the holy from the common.Observation - What does it say?If you’re anything like me, my brain has a terrible time trying to picture the descriptions in these chapters. Here’s a video that might help…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Bv8E-i3kgAUnderstanding - What does it mean?There is this theme throughout scripture of God’s people being in the world, but separate from it. Not just a separation from sin, but as stated here, separated from what’s common. I felt challenged reading this that God has not saved me, or any of us, so we could go on living an average, common life. We have been set apart for specific purposes.Ephesians 2:10  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.Just like the temple we read about in Ezekiel, we were created by God to be holy – set apart for his specific purposes. But as great as those things are that God has in store for us to accomplish, they aren’t automatic. We have been given free-will and if we aren’t careful to guard ourselves from the common stuff, we can miss out on those things.Life ApplicationI feel the need to ‘build a wall’ in the sense that I create boundaries; boundaries that would keep me from wasting my time on common things that distract me from living on purpose. Paul said that, “everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial.” It’s not just about avoiding sin, but it’s about choosing what you want most over what you want right now.God, forgive me for allowing the common, un-beneficial things to take the place of what’s most important. Help us to live on purpose and to be better about creating boundaries around those things. Amen.- Levi Thompson To check out the discussion or to join in click here.