Then He said to me, “Speak to these bones and say, ‘Dry Bones, listen to the word of the Lord!’... Ezekiel 37:4
THE WORD OF THE LORD!! What’s the big deal? This was a devastated valley with nothing to offer anyone. God asked Ezekiel, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?” He asks us the same thing today regarding dead areas in our lives, in the lives of those we love, and in the lives of those we live around. CAN THESE BONES BECOME LIVING PEOPLE AGAIN? Ezekiel wisely replies to God, “...you alone know the answer to that...” The miracle of God’s word, however, is that dwelling in the word itself is life. Miracle-working, life-giving essence comes in every word from God. Ezekiel proceeds by speaking every word he is told to speak. As we start 2015, I want to suggest that we give a dose of “the word of the Lord” to our dry bones. An exact definition of “dry bones” is hard to find. As I tried to research it I was unsuccessful in finding an exact definition. We do know “dry” does speak to withered and less than what used to be. God comes to not just cause random dry bones to assemble, but to cause the actual connective tissue and make-up of those bones to be full and healthy. Fullness and health of the bones are not the end either...but muscles, flesh, skin and BREATH! A living being is what He is after. As Ezekiel speaks the words the Lord tells him, the impossibility of life from dry, scattered evidence of death becomes not just possible. It is accomplished. It is completed. It is finished. THE WORD OF THE LORD!! That’s the big deal! Let’s make the Word of the Lord a daily habit in our lives in 2015. Let’s make the reality of death transforming to life how we live. Let’s make wholeness and fruitfulness the “way” of 2015. Let’s live the Word of the Lord. BYSSIW!! (Remember this from Pastor Phil’s sermon last week? BYSSIW=Because You Say So, I Will!!) Maybe we can add BYSSIS...”Because You Say So, I Say...”) Our circumstances may say one thing...BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD!! Let’s speak His word! Let’s live His word! Let’s live in His reality of fullness of life transforming every dry bone we encounter!
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The thing is: is it me that needs to trust God? Or is God coming to me to see if He can trust me?
This is not so much a theological question I’ve been wrestling with...though it is a theological question. This is a heart question. This question came as I was working on a Beth Moore Bible study one day. And I started thinking... I’ve spent hours thinking about, studying about, and trying to live what it means to trust God. This effects every area of life Big decisions and little decisions. Big ideas and small ideas. To give or not to give. The list could go on and on. Lately, I’ve been wrestling with a completely different question. Am I trustworthy? My whole life I’ve worked to be a person who can be trusted, a person of integrity who’s word is their bond. As God shows me different areas of my heart, however, I am struck by how much process I still have left to go. What has been vexing me is that I want to be, more than anything else, a person who God can trust with His complete riches. This is not money...though money is a part of this. This is His word, His voice to a generation, His thoughts, HIS HEART, His resources, His wisdom, His discernment, His understanding...and much more. I want to be one who God can say, “Give her this job...it will be done. Not because she’s a doer...but because she loves me. Out of this love, nothing is held back from me and nothing is left in reserve. She pours it all out. She empties herself so she can be filled by Me. She is trustworthy to steward the inheritance I have for her...so let’s pour in to her. Let’s pour in lavishly. Let’s cause her to flourish. She has learned what it means that I am her source and she walks in that with such grace. Let’s give her so much more. She is my conduit to those I’m trying to reach, she understands my heart, and she is trustworthy. She gives lavishly, so she can receive lavishly. She leaves room for Me to pour in because she has poured out. She empties herself so she can be filled by me. Let’s knock her socks off with her inheritance.” God longs for those who can steward the riches of His Spirit. And the cool thing is in this process. I’m (we’re) not left to our own resources even in becoming those God can trusts. Romans 8:26 shows us that the same God who sees right where I am and who is committed to “perfecting that which concerns me” also “intercedes for me (for us) according to God’s will.” That’s incredible! He not only sees the problem and shows us the problem (because we are blind to the problem otherwise) but He is the solution. Amazing! “And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.” Romans 8:26 So, God is praying for me, even though He sees all of my inadequacies, so that I will BE who He has set forth and called me to be. I have an ADVOCATE! And He’s not just any advocate. He’s the Advocate that can get things efficiently through the court system. I rest in His working ... while I wait on Him in prayer today... to cause my heart and life to be one that He can fully trust with all of His riches. Want to join me? “RUN!! RUN!!” The men screamed as their enemies pursued.
If you were on the sidelines watching this play out like a movie before you...what kind of men do you think these were? What were important to these men who were being chased? What had they spent their lives doing and investing in and becoming? Unbelievably. These men were trained warriors. Psalms 78:9 “The warriors of Ephraim, though fully armed, turned their backs and fled when the day of battle came...” All their lives these men had been trained for this day. And they miserably failed. Completely failed. Mortally failed. Why? As we read before and after in that chapter, there is a theme. They had a heart attack. Not literally...but you see what their problem was by their response. They were afraid. They were cowards. Though they had learned the mechanics of warfare, though they had all the armor they needed, they lacked the heart. They had a heart attack because of fear. They didn’t remember the good things God had done for them. They were “stubborn, rebellious, unfaithful and refusing to give their hearts to God.” Ps. 78:8 Fear drove them to a response opposite of what they’d been trained for. Fear stemming from not remembering, not seeing and not believing who God was and wanted to be for them. God had promised to be their FORTIFIER. God had promised to be their VICTOR. God had promised to be their DEFENDER. It just required what they were unwilling to give...complete surrender. Complete surrender yields a heart of faith...which results in trusting the only ONE who is our VICTOR! Today, rather than running...as believers, let’s remember in the day of battle, today, that we are fortified in Him. He fights for us as we hide in him. We rest in faith and fear vanishes as we look to our VICTOR. Let’s take our place and stand firm today knowing that He fights for us in ways we can’t even fathom!! “From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.” John 1:19 “Position yourself to receive…” a woman was talking in Bible study and suddenly the Holy Spirit spoke so clearly to me this summer. I pondered this statement. What does this mean and how does this apply to me? I am a hard worker who earns what I receive. What does it mean to position myself? What does it mean to receive? To position is to be in the right place at the right time-especially as it relates to business and the ability to seize an opportunity. To position is also to just stand or wait-as in your number 10 in line and you wait until you are called. In sports, you are to play a position as it relates to a team as a whole. In wrestling, you must know your positions and when to be defensive and offensive in your positions. In the medical world, when you are recovering and doing physical therapy, you must go through rehearsing different positions to get your full range of motion back. So what on earth does it mean as it relates to God? How do I position myself to receive? And how do I receive? If my hands are closed, am I positioned to receive? If my back is turned, am I positioned to receive? If my eyes are closed, am I positioned to receive? You can view this phrase, “Position yourself to receive…” in many different ways. After all, I could receive a punch in my nose with my eyes closed, right? And one could argue that I had positioned myself to receive the punch because I was standing there with my eyes closed. This was not the angle the Lord was taking with me. He wanted me to simply open my hands. To rest and be quiet and wait to see how He showed up. To enjoy His goodness simply as I slowed down in my spirit to notice His movement in and around me. To take some time to tune my ear to His voice and receive pivotal direction in my life. Indeed, it is true, “From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another…” Let’s ask ourselves today, “Father, do I need to do any repositioning to put myself in a place to receive from you? If so, help me see where and how this needs to be done so that my heart is open to all of the goodness you have for me…” Matthew 26:16 “From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.” What am I looking for an opportunity to do? I missed an opportunity at the Bend, Oregon art walk yesterday because I didn’t buy a one-of-a-kind beautiful bracelet. It took more of a monetary investment than I was willing to make. What about with Jesus? What investments am I willing to make? Am I able to see the joy made available to me through Christ? Or instead do I opt for what appears to be an easier option? Betray Jesus??? Today will I be like Judas and sell out for a mere 30 pieces of silver? Or will I do what is right no matter what the “buy out” may be? Do I find myself laughing in conversations with others when Jesus or someone He loves is mocked? Or do I choose to quietly but firmly stand up for what or who I know Jesus would back? Do I love Jesus by serving others? Or do I show contempt of Jesus by living with a heart that refuses to be penetrated by what affects His heart? Opportunity knocks. Everyday. Every minute. Let’s choose love at every turn! His love that changes our hearts and then causes us to be those who are followed by others as we pursue LOVE Himself. Let’s make the choice to be those that in every situation we are found not just siding with Jesus...but being so enamored with His goodness that others want to come and join the journey of love that we are on! Opportunity Knocks. Today...let’s take the opportunity to live LOVE out loud in Bend, Oregon and everywhere else we find ourselves. Turning Their Back on Jesus From hero to castaway in a few short sentences...that’s what we get a glimpse of as we travel in Jesus’ shoes through Luke 4. Jesus was operating in full Holy Spirit anointing and power and then??? Then he came to his hometown and started preaching. The crowds started to turn because what He said didn’t feel so good. What did He say? Though He came fully packing the power of God and reports spread quickly about Him (Luke 4:14), He was not accepted in His own hometown as a prophet (Luke 4:24). He spoke of the miracles and favor of God that He came to bring and the people who’d known Him His whole life wanted to throw Him over the cliff. They couldn’t see His anointing; they wouldn’t accept His power; they rejected Him as Christ the Lord. What Will You Do With Jesus? What happens in those places in our lives when Jesus comes close and starts to want to switch things up a bit? To make some change? To bring a little upheaval to the way we’ve grown accustom to things being in our hearts? Even as those that know Christ, sometimes we want to toss Him over the cliff in our lives because what He says requires something of us we are unwilling to give up. The sad part is this: here in Luke as the crowd jumped up, mobbed him and tried to shove Jesus over the cliff, Jesus just “passed right through the crowd and went on His way...” (Luke 4:30). What a sad ending to a potentially life-altering story!! Jesus goes on to other towns and demons flee from distraught lives at His command and “no matter what their diseases were, the touch of His hand healed every one...” (Luke 4:40) Is He Welcome to Stay or Is Jesus Just Passing Through? The question begs to be asked: Am I more comfortable in the life I’ve arranged for myself with all the furniture of my heart just where I want it? Or do I want Jesus to come in and so rearrange things that my previous heart space is unrecognizable--but I’m healed!! But I’m delivered!! But I’m walking with Jesus and able to see and understand what is really going on in my life. Do I want to live in the life-changing Presence of Jesus? Or do I want Him to just be passing through because of my angry rejection and arrogant unwillingness to truly look at my heart? Jesus, perfect prophet, come and speak to me. Give me ears to listen. And come and stay and make your home with me! Let my heart be your home as I live for you in Bend, Oregon. If the Truth Be Told... On an evening not too long ago when a chocolate was missing from a gift bag of one of my children (who shall remain nameless in an effort to protect the innocent), an interrogation proceeded at the dinner table. The question was, “Who stole the missing chocolate?” To no avail, the victim of this heartless crime went after everyone in the room using various tactics to uncover the truth. Soon, my husband started in on a Bible story. The story of Ananias and Sapphira. This story is the account of a couple who did not tell the truth. What they said and what they did were two different things. Both chose to lie separately about the same situation and both ended up dead later on that same day. Can you imagine? A simple seemingly little lie and DEATH! So, Phil (my husband), asks the kids at the conclusion of the story, “So, what do you think would happen in our house if this is what happened to you when you lied?” One of my kids (who will also remain nameless so as to not cast a dark shadow on their character:)) immediately said with a smirk, “I would be the only kid still alive-still standing!!” Wow!!! We all busted up in laughter. Isn’t that how we are though? We see the problems so quickly and easily in the lives of others and yet we completely overlook any fault of our own. I like this phrasing from Matthew 7:1-5, “Why do you think we tend to be more critical of the plank in other people’s eyes when it’s the same variety of wood clouding our own spiritual vision?” So true! How about today we just ask God to clear our own vision (and I’m included here!!). How about we ask a close friend for their perspective on anything in our hearts that may need some adjusting. How about we just enjoy the gift of another and not critically assail their character...but encourage them in the ways they are a gift in our lives today. Let’s choose to enjoy this day of the journey...as we allow our own hearts to be changed today!! Let’s let the truth be told in and about our own hearts today!! It Is GOOD! Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31 “He SAW that it was (very) GOOD!!” In this first chapter of Genesis there are many details that can catch our attention about the creation account. However, one of the most repeated phrases is the one noted above. When God repeats something in His word, He is trying to get our attention about something. Seven times in this first chapter God is looking at what He created and proclaiming it is GOOD! His observation is focused on what is a blessing, on what is lovely, on what is beneficial in what has happened. We can learn a lot from this little phrase and an observation of God’s focus. Instead of focusing on what is going wrong, we can focus on what has gone right. Instead of focusing on what still needs to be changed, we can focus on what has changed. Instead of focusing on what we do not see, we can focus on the blessing of what we can see. An eyesight change can help us with a heart change. From ungrateful to thankful. Seeing God's Blessings In Bend, OR There is blessing here and goodness abounding all around us in Bend!! Do we see it? Do we notice it? Do we take time to be thankful for it? Is that what our minds are meditating on? Are we using and maximizing our resources based on the goodness we see rather than having those resources sucked away in a slew of despondency? Are we investing in the goodness of God around us? The Gift of New Eyesight Lord, change our eyesight. Give us rose-colored glasses...not so that we ignore the problems, but so that we see you at work in the midst of the problems. Let us see your good and glorious creative masterpiece everywhere we gaze in Bend, Oregon. Let us fix our eyes on your beauty and even the beauty of the creative (but often messy) process. As you change our eyesight, change our hearts. Let us be people of continual gratitude with hearts soft and pliable... Thank you for new eyesight today Lord!! Just thinking today...winter is a season of death in the natural-with the anticipation of new life. One beautiful purpose of Christmas is to take time to meditate on the GIVER himself. The Giver of LIFE (from death), hope, peace, joy...an endless list of gifts from Him. I'm asking God today to give me eyes to see where He wants to birth life from places that have been nothing but death in me. "Jesus told her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.'"John 11:25 NLT) What hope there is for everyone because of baby Jesus-the ONE alone worth complete celebration this Christmas!! Thank you Lord, for life today. The life of Jesus and the abundant life I am enabled to live because of You!! John 1:16 “From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another...” There is so much available because of Christ. So often we meditate on what we don’t have and on the “dis” around us and not on the “re”. Why not focus on the “More Than Enough” God we serve? We can change our focus and change our life... "From His abundance...”
“...we have all received...”
“...one gracious blessing after another...”
Let’s keep our eyes on Jesus! Let’s enjoy, ponder and report on His great blessings in our lives daily!!! Take a look at this news report about my friend. This is what I am talking about! |
AuthorShanda Harris is a lover of Jesus, dedicated wife, mother of 6 and the Women's Pastor at Epikos Church in Bend, Oregon. Archives
March 2018
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