I Am Ashamed and Blush

Today’s Passage – Ezra 8 – 10; Proverbs 29

(Second Milers also read 1 Corinthians 1 – 4; Memorize – Proverbs 13:3)

“And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.” – (Ezra 9:6)

Just a quick thought from Ezra 9 this morning. Ezra finds out that God’s priests had quickly polluted themselves by not separating from the people of the land. Remember, they had just been granted a fresh start in the land of Israel by God, but now they had sliiden back to their old ways. Upon hearing this news Ezra is distraught, and is ashamed to even face God to talk to Him about it. He says in verse 6 that he was ashamed and blush to lift up his face to God.

My thought this morning is this: Have we lost our “blush” in America today. There is so much wickedness all around us that we have just gotten used to it. It does not bother us anymore. As a nation, we have lost our innocence. We have lost the ability to be ashamed and blush because of the sinfulness of our nation. God has not changed His mind about sin, and neither should we. It ought to cause us great shame, when we are exoposed to the wickedness around us; but instead we joke about it. God does not think it is funny.

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Phil Erickson

Pastor Phil Erickson has been the pastor of Jersey Shore Baptist Church since January of 2002. Having grown up in Ocean County, Pastor Phil has always had a burden for the south Jersey area. After graduating from Bible College in Longview, Texas, he and his family moved to Galloway Township with the vision of digging in and serving the Lord and the people of Atlantic County. Pastor Phil and Cindy Erickson have been married since 1985. They have four children and ten grandchildren. Their oldest son, Phil Jr. and his wife Katelyn are serving the Lord in Egg Harbor Twp., NJ. Their oldest daughter, Melissa, is married to Wesley Clayton who is in the Air Force and is currently stationed in New Mexico. Samantha, their third child, is married to Justin Mears and they are both serving the Lord at the church in Galloway. Hannah, the youngest, is married to Lucas McCollum, and they are also serving here in Galloway. In preparation for ministry, the Lord led him through a variety of educational experiences that have equipped him to serve the Lord and His people. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Georgian Court University, a Bachelor of Biblical Studies in Pastoral Theology from Texas Independent Baptist Seminary (formerly Texas Baptist College), a Master of Religious Education in Bible from West Coast Baptist College, and a Master of Biblical Studies from The Crown College. More recently, he completed a Graduate Certificate in Biblical Counseling and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Veritas Baptist College. He is thankful for these opportunities to study God’s Word more deeply, and counts it a privilege to use whatever knowledge the Lord has given him for the building up of His church. In addition to pastoring, the Lord has given Phil the wonderful privilege of teaching as an adjunct professor at Vision Baptist College in Berlin, NJ and Veritas Baptist College.