Ezekiel 37
The Valley of Dry Bones 1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know." 4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath [a] enter you, and you will come to life. 6 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.' "
7 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. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 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 from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.' " 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
11 Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.' "
One Nation Under One King 15 The word of the LORD came to me: 16 "Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, 'Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.' Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, 'Ephraim's stick, belonging to Joseph and all the house of Israel associated with him.' 17 Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand. 18 "When your countrymen ask you, 'Won't you tell us what you mean by this?' 19 say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph—which is in Ephraim's hand—and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah's stick, making them a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.' 20 Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on 21 and say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. 23 They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, [b] and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
24 " 'My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. 25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. 27 My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I the LORD make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.' "
Lamentations 3:19-29
(New International Version)New International Version (NIV)Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
19 I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.
20 I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.
21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;
26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.
28 Let him sit alone in silence, for the LORD has laid it on him.
29 Let him bury his face in the dust— there may yet be hope.
November 14, 2007
Losing A Friend
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READ: Lamentations 3:19-29
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. —Lamentations 3:22 About this cover When London’s red double-decker Routemaster buses were withdrawn from regular service in December 2005, many people felt they had lost a friend. The Routemasters had provided reliable service for 51 years, and they were popular with Londoners and tourists alike because of their easy jump-on, jump-off rear access. A few of the old buses still run on two Heritage tourist routes, but in the rest of the sprawling city, they’re gone.
Many changes in our lives represent loss, whether as small as the cherished memory of a bus or as large as a destroyed family home, a thwarted dream of success, or the death of a person we’ve deeply loved. In every loss we long for a touch of healing and hope.
The book of Lamentations has been called “the funeral of a city.” In it, Jeremiah mourned the captivity of his people and the destruction of Jerusalem. Yet in the midst of sorrow, there is a celebration of God’s faithfulness: “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I hope in Him!’” (Lam. 3:22-24).
When our hearts hurt because of loss, we can find hope in our Lord, who never changes. —David C. McCasland
Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side;Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;Leave to thy God to order and provide;In every change He faithful will remain. —von Schlegel
When the sunshine of God’s love meets the showers of our sorrow, the rainbow of promise appears.
November 14, 2007
Discovering Divine DesignLISTEN: READ:
As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me . . . —Genesis 24:27 About this cover We should be so one with God that we don’t need to ask continually for guidance. Sanctification means that we are made the children of God. A child’s life is normally obedient, until he chooses disobedience. But as soon as he chooses to disobey, an inherent inner conflict is produced. On the spiritual level, inner conflict is the warning of the Spirit of God. When He warns us in this way, we must stop at once and be renewed in the spirit of our mind to discern God’s will (see Romans 12:2 ). If we are born again by the Spirit of God, our devotion to Him is hindered, or even stopped, by continually asking Him to guide us here and there. ". . . the Lord led me . . ." and on looking back we see the presence of an amazing design. If we are born of God we will see His guiding hand and give Him the credit.
We can all see God in exceptional things, but it requires the growth of spiritual discipline to see God in every detail. Never believe that the so-called random events of life are anything less than God’s appointed order. Be ready to discover His divine designs anywhere and everywhere.
Beware of being obsessed with consistency to your own convictions instead of being devoted to God. If you are a saint and say, "I will never do this or that," in all probability this will be exactly what God will require of you. There was never a more inconsistent being on this earth than our Lord, but He was never inconsistent with His Father. The important consistency in a saint is not to a principle but to the divine life. It is the divine life that continually makes more and more discoveries about the divine mind. It is easier to be an excessive fanatic than it is to be consistently faithful, because God causes an amazing humbling of our religious conceit when we are faithful to Him.
Handling the Overwhelming - #5438 Wednesday, November 14, 2007
When five-year-old Jeremy started school, it was more than he bargained for. It was the second morning of his kindergarten experience. Mom got Jeremy up and started helping him get ready. Then came his question, "Do I have to go back?" Oops! He wasn't counting on an encore. His rationale, "Well, I already went yesterday." His mother told us, "I didn't have the heart to tell him there's twelve more years of this!" Well, he went off to day two, of year one, of twelve more years!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Handling the Overwhelming."
I think Jeremy was feeling overwhelmed, and he sure would have sunk if his mother had tried to explain the educational marathon he has ahead. He has no idea. But Jeremy's going to make it. Hey, look, you did. I did. Not by thinking about twelve years, but by doing that school thing one day at a time.
You've probably gotten over the idea of school being overwhelming, but little Jeremy could never guess that life is a series of challenges that seem overwhelming. School's the least of it. Maybe you're facing one of those right now and it looks huge; a bombardment of responsibilities and it's too much; stressful deadlines, trying to raise your child, trying to make your marriage work, facing a long medical marathon, digging out of that financial pit, or even trying to live your life for Jesus Christ.
Our word for today from the Word of God is from Deuteronomy 7:17. I think it will help. To God's ancient people He says, "You may say to yourselves, these nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out? But do not be afraid." They're facing, as they entered the Promised Land, huge walled cities and barbaric tribes - overwhelming obstacles, overwhelming challenges. Verse 22 says, "Do not be terrified by them for the Lord your God is among you, and He's a great and awesome God. The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little." What hope-giving words! God will win this one with you and for you, but not in one great victory. Jeremy won't be able to get his education cared for in one day, or in one week. It's going to be little by little. And that's God's plan for you to handle the overwhelming - little by little.
Break it into daily chunks - manageable pieces. Have a good day. Let Jesus be the Lord of the undone at the end of that day. Remember, daily is how He promised He would give you His strength. He said, "Your strength will equal your days." There is no strength for Friday when it's Thursday. You've only got Thursday's strength. You run ahead of your strength and you'll sink.
Maybe you've been wondering how you'll ever beat some sin that's been beating you, or how you can carry out your desire to dedicate your whole life to Jesus. Win for one day. You let Jesus be the Lord of that weakness for this one day. Tomorrow you have another twenty-four hour victory. And don't try to dedicate your life to Jesus unless you do it by dedicating each new day. You give Him a day, and then another day, and then the day after that. He'll make a life out of it. The Christian life is the sum total of a thousand little victories a day at a time.
Just like little Jeremy going to school. He doesn't have to worry, and you don't have to worry about all those months and all those years ahead. The secret of handling the overwhelming is to do it little by little. Remember, this is the day the Lord has made!