October 27 2018

Tears for What Was

When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the ordinance of David king of Israel. And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD:
“For He is good, For His mercy endures forever toward Israel.” Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.
But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard afar off. Ezra 3: 10-13

The foundation of the new temple was laid and the people began to praise the Lord.  
But……..there is often a “but” when we talk about “new things”.  
The people who had seen the old temple wept loudly.  
It doesn’t mean they weren’t happy about the new temple, but their view of the new temple was impacted by what they remembered about the old temple.  
Perhaps it was grander, perhaps it was better laid out, and perhaps it was more beautiful.  
We really don’t know for sure.  
What we do know was that it was more familiar. 
Often we miss out on the new move of God in our lives, because we are remembering the old move and weeping.  
We weep because the new move is not yet familiar, not yet ours.  
But the time we spend weeping, is time we miss out on jumping into the new move of God wholeheartedly. 
What is God doing in your life today? 
Are you still weeping about the old move?  
Or have you been able to change the lens through which you are looking and participate fully in what God is calling you to now? 
There is no time to waste.  
Dry those tears for what was and start looking forward to what can and will be!

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October 26 2018

There is Life in Those Dry Bones

Also 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 breathe 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 37:9-14
We all have some dry things in our live.  
But I am encouraged today.  
God took Ezekiel to a pile of dry bones.  
He commanded Ezekiel to prophesy life into those dry bones and they knit together and muscle and flesh covered them. 
Then the Lord commanded Ezekiel to prophesy breath into them and they stood and became a mighty army.  
I believe God is getting ready to bring forth a mighty army.  
He is working on us individually even now, speaking life into our dry bones.  
Even now we are watching our dry bones rise up and grow muscle and skin.  
When the time is right, the Lord will speak breath into us and we will rise a mighty army called to go forth.  
Don’t be discouraged by your dry bones, wait for the miracle – 
believe that when the Lord breaths on those dry bones, they will rise up with life!

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October 25 2018

There is Strength in the Waiting


Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the LORD,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:28-31
Wait = qavah = to be strong, robust (for the notion of binding fast, tying fast, is applied to strength); to expect, to await (perhaps from enduring, remaining, which differs but little from the notion of strength.
The Word says that we will all become weary at some point in time, every the youths and young men.  
What then do we do in times of weariness?  
We wait upon the Lord. 
That waiting, we are told, will renew our strength.  
It is interesting that the term used for wait here is quavah, which itself has a connotation of strength.  Sometimes waiting takes strength.  
We find ourselves strong in the waiting; the waiting as opposed to giving into the desire to “do”.  
Do you find yourself weary today?  
Perhaps it is a time to begin “waiting on the Lord”.  
Not wasting what is left of your strength in clamouring to “fix” the situation, but to begin to refocus that remaining strength into a position of waiting on the Lord, which will, in time, renew your strength.
But those that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength!

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