Ezekiel 12:3“Therefore, son of man pack your belongings for exile and in the daytime, as they watch, set out and go from where you are to another place. Perhaps they will understand…

I remember when my girls were little, my middle daughter got a swing set for her birthday. It was in the middle of December and it was cold and rainy.

My wife asked me to put the swing set together and of course I said okay, what I thought would be easy turned out to be a 4 hour ordeal.

My ears, face and fingers were frozen and numb, I couldn’t feel anything much less turn a wrench, so I improvised and began to cut corners, I was using nuts and bolts in places they didn’t belong, taking from part and using in another.

From the outside appearance it looked great, but when spring rolled around that following year, I was watching my daughter play on her birthday present and all of a sudden, the swing she was on took flight and came off of the swing set.

My daughter wasn’t hurt but my short cuts were made known. Why did the swing come off, because I failed to follow the instructions that came with it.

Ya know our lives have instructions as well, God used the prophet Ezekiel to warn the nation of Israel about the impending exile. God wants everyone to heed His instructions. That is why He gave us the Bible and placed pastors and teachers in our lives. God has also given us His Holy Spirit as a guide to direct us in His instructions.

Challenge for Today: Make it a point to read the instruction manual that God has given us and follow it to a T.