There is a mixture in the house of our God, not in our God, but his people.
Mixing Godly with ungodly. Causing what should be hot to be lukewarm. Much like the days of Ezra, with the people including the priest has taken foreign wives.
In this introducing foreign ideas and concepts about worship and whom to worship.
This is the matter that grieves the heart of God. The delusion of all that is good and pure. Where his people can no longer tell truth from popular opinion. Our thoughts and feelings are just that, ours.
If we are submitted to Christ, we die to ourselves.
Not living for us, but instead of living for Him. Our lives counted counterfeit; our desire set aside. All expectation placed in Him. As we do that, God begins to meet our needs, He knows our hearts, even though we no longer live for self.
He, in love, begins meeting our desires because He loves us.
He invests in us as we invest in Him. It is balanced. Just like a child, if you give him the prize before he does what he’s told, he will play with it instead of doing his assigned task. Yet if you wait, then after it is done giving the prize, after he has completed his job and be rewarded according to his deeds. This solidifies the dependency on the giver and the faithfulness of the child.
