So I spoke this message, just as he told me. Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons.
I sat for what seemed like a long time just thinking. There were so many things running through my brain. Everything from the pain of a friend that is going through a trial to another friend battling cancer and on to the busyness of the season of the year we are now in. You could call that cluttered thinking.
But in the midst of my daily Bible reading cluttered thinking isn't good. There are hurting people influencing my prayers, my reading and my life. That is when I came to read Ezekiel 37 that I quoted above. I've read it before, but what an incredible truth we find in this Old Testament story that speaks to our lives and to lives all around us.
God has called His church to breed life, to give life and to share life. The church is about Jesus' life and how people can experience that in big, abundant and sweet ways. But does the typical church really experience this new life?
Daily we are experiencing miracles. No, I am not talking about people walking who are paralyzed. I am talking about people who are under the weight of guilt or bad choices or addiction. This is people who have lived in prison, real or imagined. God is able to bring them back to or give them live. We see this often.
Ezekiel walked through a valley of bones. Death surrounded him. But in the midst of the pain of death and heartache came life. Life can still happen where there is brokenness and pain. God is in the business of giving us 2nd chances and loving His people. We can experience abundant life. That is much like what Ezekiel must have experienced in that valley.
I long to see more and more people come to have real life. I long to walk with people who are in bondage and to help them get free, to find peace and to see success rather than doom and gloom. I am committed to raising up a group of people that help others find life!
The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD.
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