Welcome to March!
It’s not just a new month but also a new year on the blog since this is the first post this year, and I am so pleased to be sharing.
My church has just come out of 50 days of prayer and fasting and this post is centered around the prayer point for the last day in February “Erasing Evil Marks”. I was pretty much hooked from the first bible passage.
And the Lord said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity.
Ezekiel 9:4-5
It is quite a heavy passage for the first post of the year but I kept feeling the urge to share, especially considering the time we are in. We are in the end times and it’s important that we take a stand.
A mark is a symbol of indication or a label to identify or classify something. Marks on a person’s body can tell you what country or tribe that person belongs to. Marks can also tell you a person’s interests or beliefs. While God has a mark to identify those who are His, the devil also has a mark of identification. (Revelations 13:18).
Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” – 2 Timothy 2:19
In the book of Ezekiel, the Lord said that this Man (Ezekiel 9:3) should go through the city and put a mark on those who were displeased with all the wicked things going on in the city. This made me question, do we bear on our bodies the mark of Jesus? Do we stand against what displeases God and stand for what glorifies him? That is basically the prerequisite to bearing the mark of Jesus. Can we confidently say like Paul in Galatians 6:17 – I bear in my body the mark of Jesus Chris?
Anyone with the mark of the beast is destined for destruction. May we not be among those who are destined for destruction and may the salvation of God reach those that are still lost.
And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Revelations 14:9-11
Getting a tattoo can be painful but for those that have had tattoos, it can be satisfying when you see the end result of the tattoo and are pleased. In the same way, bearing the mark of Jesus can come with tribulations but there is always a great reward as we see in Ezekiel 9:5 and Matthew 5:11-12 which says:
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
– Jesus
If, on the other hand, you are not pleased with the tattoo, it can be even more of a challenge to remove it. You can use as much makeup to cover the mark but it doesn’t change the fact that it is and will always be there. However, there is no mark that is too difficult to be washed away by the blood of Jesus. Hallelujah!!
I wish you a blessed and glorious month. March forward with righteous boldness.
SHALOM
demiladeayo 