Even this morning we hear on the news, more dispute over the land we've know as the Holy Land. You know the place: that narrow strip of land about the size of the US state of New Hampshire that runs parallel and adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea in the Middle East.

The prophet Ezekiel was well aware of the judgment of God on the Israelites for their continued disobedience. There's plenty of evidence in Scripture for us to know the exile of the Jews from their homeland was God's doing. If so, it should not come as a surprise to us that their promised restoration is the work of the Almighty as well.

Today, I direct your attention to verses 18 through 22. Here we learn the change of attitude that marks those who are products of God's grace. They 1) remove false idols , 2) are of undivided heart with a 3( new spirit and 4) teachable heart. They will 5) listen to God and 6) obey His word. Ezekiel summarizes their "revival" in verse 20, 7)They will be my people, and I will be their God -truly, "One nation, under God."

Yesterday, one day after the national US election, John Kerry graciously conceded the election to President George Bush. Since then, everyone's been talking about trying to be a single-minded agreeable nation. Ezekiel said the Jews will do it when they occupy the land of promise, but can the political barriers that divided a nation one day be torn down the next? Can man reach peace and agreement without the seven changes that God makes in the heart of his repentant people?I think not and I'm not so sure we should even try.

Think about it: aren't there at least two sides to every argument? That being agreed upon, can more than one side of an issue be correct? Most Americans would likely say one side needs to surrender their opinion to be of one mind. For several days, we've seen the the seeming divisions within our country displayed on a map of the US marked by red and blue states. Here's what the color really means:

The North believes the South votes one way - geographically. The South believes the North votes for whoever is of one party. The East believes it should make the laws that everyone else should follow and the West doesn't think they're a color, but see themselves as setting the trend for the rest of the country to follow regardless of the law.

How can a people of such diverse culture, race and opinion ever become a single-minded people God will bless? According to Scripture, it's only through obedience and submission to God's word. Anything less is an agreement not to discuss divisive issues.

1 Developed from Read the Bible Thru ( Ez. 10:1-11:25 Hb. 6:1-20 Ps. 105:16-38 Pr. 27:1-2 )
2. Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society

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