Did October really disappear so quickly?
A while back , we met with some friends for dinner, and afterwards we prayed. One of our friends had a message for me - that I should remember Ezekiel 37. This talks about a vision the prophet had, when he was walking through a valley which was covered in the bones of the dead. To cut a long story short, God gave these bones life - through Ezekiel prophecying to them, God's Spirit brought them together into people, and then organised them into an army. I thought about that for a while, and even told my small group. Many of the members of that grouphad recently been in Kenya, where, to my surprise, they had also studied Ezekiel 37! To me, thatconfirmed that God wanted us to think about this passage. However, with the business of theworld, I put it to one side, and forgot about it.
This morning, as I was reading my Bible and my Bible notes (Closer to God, from the Scripture Union), again Ezekiel entered my mind. I realised I had neglected that message. The more I think about it, the more I feel that God wants me to use it to build up my church, St Andrew's. I feel God wants to tell us that he is breathing new life into us - some of whom have become a bit dry and worn, like those bones (and I don't deny that I may be one of those!). He does this because He loves us, and He wants us for His army - not an army of destruction, but a force who are strong with The Spirit, working to show our community His love and grace, and bringing people closer to Him.
A while back , we met with some friends for dinner, and afterwards we prayed. One of our friends had a message for me - that I should remember Ezekiel 37. This talks about a vision the prophet had, when he was walking through a valley which was covered in the bones of the dead. To cut a long story short, God gave these bones life - through Ezekiel prophecying to them, God's Spirit brought them together into people, and then organised them into an army. I thought about that for a while, and even told my small group. Many of the members of that grouphad recently been in Kenya, where, to my surprise, they had also studied Ezekiel 37! To me, thatconfirmed that God wanted us to think about this passage. However, with the business of theworld, I put it to one side, and forgot about it.
This morning, as I was reading my Bible and my Bible notes (Closer to God, from the Scripture Union), again Ezekiel entered my mind. I realised I had neglected that message. The more I think about it, the more I feel that God wants me to use it to build up my church, St Andrew's. I feel God wants to tell us that he is breathing new life into us - some of whom have become a bit dry and worn, like those bones (and I don't deny that I may be one of those!). He does this because He loves us, and He wants us for His army - not an army of destruction, but a force who are strong with The Spirit, working to show our community His love and grace, and bringing people closer to Him.
