Dear Lord, Please help me to hear your message to me today through your words and by the presence of your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Out of Dry Bones, Comes New Life!
Ezekiel 37:4-10
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you , and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ “ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them;; they came to life and stood up on their feet- a vast army.
This is another incredible True Story!
God uses Ezekiel to show him what his plans are for Israel. He used Ezekiel to prophecy (speak) to the field of dry bones to come to life. Not just to get up and move around as skeletons, but through speaking, made them come together with tendons and flesh on them, and back into living, breathing people again; enough to make an army!
The interesting thing in this story is that God used Ezekiel to make it happen. Why did he do that? Instead of just doing it for him, he worked through him. He was calling Ezekiel to trust him.
For me this means that God wants to me to trust my life to him. He wants to breathe new life into me. He wants me to let go of my past mistakes, and sins. He also wants me to let go of my fears and anxieties towards the responsibilities and challenges in my life.
Instead of procrastinating, and hiding from life, God wants me to embrace it and be excited about all the blessings, and opportunities that he has given me.
Instead of dreading the day ahead, as I have done in the past, God is helping me to look forward to each day with eagerness.
Pastor Delton always says, “I get to be the Pastor of Point of Grace Church”
My new attitude now is: I get to live! I get to be a follower of Jesus Christ! I also get to be a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, prayer partner, helper, teacher, board member and so much more. And, I get to do it all for God’s Glory. I also, get to enjoy His Glory, by being in his presence. Not doing it in my own strength, but through the strength that he gives me through the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ.
On my own, I’m scared to death, of all these responsibilities and things to worry about. If I let it get to me, it overwhelms me and I become paralyzed by it all. I become depressed and want to hide in my room and not deal with anything.
But God has revived me, he has restored me, I surrender my life to him each day and ask him to go through it with me, helping me to be at peace with him, with myself and with others, and to be strong in facing challenges I don’t like or want to deal with.
Alone, I am like those Dry, Dead Bones- Useless!
With God, “I can do all things through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13
I took a trip to Colorado this summer with my family. We drove high in the mountains and saw some of God’s finest creations. The wildflowers were spectacular and my favorite flowers, the Columbine; were so amazing, with their purple and white pedals. They seemed to grow where the earth had been disturbed by a road or in the rocks. One of the place I saw them was this old mining town, where the rocks from the mountains above had fallen and covered the valley. In the middle of this big pile of rocks was this beautiful cluster of Columbine. They were so bright and beautiful pushing up through all those rocks! They were a blessing from God and made me praise him for putting them there, for all to enjoy.
The flowers’ purpose was to grow and open to the sunshine and to be the best that they could be. It was in their design, their seed or roots. It was their destiny to decorate the hills and valleys of the high country.
The flowers’ new life, depended on the right elements of water, sunshine, and nutrients in the ground. This year the heavy snowfall, cooler summer temperatures, and rain through out the summer season, all helped them to grow everywhere.
Pastor told us that God uses disasters to get rid of the old and make something new. Change, brought on by a catastrophe, an interruption or disturbance in our usual routine, is good in that it helps us to stop and think about everything.
As we come through the different seasons of our lives, we have to let go of some old things, in order to start something new and fresh.
God has a vision, a dream for each of us individually and for all of us together. God does not want us to just exist, he wants us to get in the game and live the life he gave each of us to live. I am called to be the best at whatever he has given me to do.
He wants his church to be the best it can be also. We serve God, by each of us doing our best in serving in the areas he has called us to serve in, and to love and care for each other; not just at church on Sundays, but all through the week.
Out of the rubble, flowers grow with God’s help. Out of crisis, comes new life, with God’s help. New Life brings revival and new opportunities to reach out to those in need of God’s love, mercy and gift of salvation.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Breathe new life into me today. Help me to be all that you want me to be, all that you designed me to be. For your glory!
Amen!
Patrice
