Message for January 11, 2015 from Pastor Shirley

IT IS TIME TO LIVE AGAIN (Ezekiel 37:1-14)

  There was a prophet in the Bible named, Ezekiel. The hand of the Lord was upon him, and the Lord brought him out in the Spirit and set him down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. And He caused him to pass round about among them, and behold, there were very many [human bones] in the open valley or plain, and behold, they were very dry. And the Lord said to Ezekiel, Son of man, can these bones live? And Ezekiel answered, O Lord God, You know!

   Ezekiel was brought by God’s Spirit to a valley full of dry bones. As we can see, it is a scene of desolation and death. These bones represented the nation of Israel, carried off to Babylon in captivity. It is an image of sin and despair, and yes, a reminder of defeat.

  How many times have we gone and revisited a place in our lives where we have been hurt in some way.  We have allowed that one thing to determine the entire course of our lives. And now all we see are dead bones. For each one of us it can be something different.  Maybe it was a failed marriage, a failed ministry, a child that did not go in the direction they were raised to go, wrong choices when we were younger.

  I have always said nothing can be healed till it is revealed. If we don’t deal with the brokenness in our lives, sooner or later it will deal with us. It comes out in many different ways. Sometimes it is with drugs, illegal or prescription, excessive spending, overeating, anger. You may not know why but you know something is not quite right.

  We want God to change the external aspects of our lives, our circumstances, but we don’t want to change on the inside. Helaing comes from the inside out. God is not about the band aid fix. He wants you to look at it for what it is. Ezekiel was brought to the valley of bones and passed among them. He saw they were very dry. He saw them without life-dead.

  But Glory to God death does not have the final word at the end of our life or now in our everyday living. God is sovereign over death. Hope has the final word and as long as you have got breath in your body,  you have a living hope for things to be better.

 It may seem as if it is too late. But I have good news for you today-today is the first day of the rest of your life!!

   

Restoration in 2015

 

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