"Speak To The Wind"

   And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" So I answered, "O Lord God, You know."
   Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, "O dry bones, hear the word of the  Lord!
   Thus says the Lord God to these bones: "Surely I will cause  breath to enter into you, and you shall live.
    I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord."
   So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone.
   Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.
   Then He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, "Thus says the Lord God, "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breath on these slain, that they may live."
    So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
   Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, 'Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!"
   Therefore prophesy and say to them, "Thus says the Lord God: "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
   Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I  have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves.
   I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it," says the Lord. Ezekiel 37:3-14

So, what do you think? Can they? Can the dry bones live? How would you respond if God was asking you and only you about the dry bones of today? Can they live? Can they be revived? I love how Ezekiel answers and is basically acknowledging that it is truly in God's hands. God knows the plans that he has to give His people a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11) He even, not only knows, but plans for the dry, dead bones to regain muscle, sinews, and most importantly the breath of life. Like Ezekiel it is our job as His people to speak to the to the wind. We have to be inviting the Holy Spirit to come, to move, to bring life to everything that is causing us or those we love to feel dry, hopeless, and cut off. Instead of speaking words of death we need to be inviting the Spirit of God to bring His breath of life ... No matter how dead it looks in the natural. One  touch from Him is all it takes to raise up and to bring any army to life! Speak to the Wind!

"No To The Choke Hold"

Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. Mark 4:18-19

I have to admit to the fact, that of late, 'the cares of this world' have had me in a pretty serious choke hold! I admit it. I'm guilty! Its not that I have walked away or not been spending time with Him because I have. What it is is this ... as a foster parent I have had a couple of kids that have been consuming  so much of my time that I haven't been able to sit down and write. One ate up my daytime hours and the other continues to eat up the night! I found myself writing the blog  at 2:00 in the morning and eventually I just needed sleep!  The next thing I know its been forever since I've had a moment to share the things He has been showing me.

The truth is its just that easy for all of us to get distracted by all the situations in life. Its easy to fall into a "Martha Moment" and forget that the "One Thing" thing necessary is sitting at His feet. How does the Word put it? She was "distracted with much serving." Luke 10:40 I'm guilty! That is what I've been doing. I've made sure to stay in the Word and to have my personal fellowship time with Him, but and here is the thing ... I just stopped making it a priority to share it per His instructions. I know that it was and is His will for me to be sharing His word through this devotional. So, I'm here today saying, "No, to the choke hold! I'm sorry, Lord. Forgive me. Help me to do better in the days ahead as I PURPOSE in my heart to no longer let Your Word be choked out with my 'serving.' Lord, my hearts desire is that Your Word would always and forever be fruitful in both words and deeds each and every day of my life."