Then He said to me,
Prophesy to these bones and say to them,
Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!
This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones,
I will make breath enter you,
And you will come to life.
So I prophesied as I was commanded.
As I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound,
And the bones came together, bone to bone.
And I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them,
And skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
Then He said to me,
Prophesy to the breath,
Prophesy, son of man, and say to it,
Conjure the four winds of breath and breathe.
Rick Evans
There is a big difference between hearing and listening. God is not just looking for us to hear Him. God wants us to listen. The biggest difference between the two is “respect” and “trust”. When someone is talking to you that you don’t respect or trust, you will most likely only hear them (if that), unless they are threatening you in some way. This is not how God has built our relationship with Him. God wants us to listen because we know it is best, through Trust and Faith. Set aside some time today and listen to God. You won’t believe the words He is whispering in your heart if you can get quiet enough to hear them.
Armor Up
We are with you, sire! For Sparta, for freedom, to the death!
The essence of this “rise up” theme is embedded in many narratives; a theme that bears an unshakable source of inspiration for those of us who dare to face evil with unwavering courage!
I love the scene from J. R. R Tolkien’s “The Return of the King” where Aragon is desperately outnumbered. He looks fear right in the eye and finds the strength to inspire his men against what seems like an almost certain defeat against the massive forces of the enemy. Standing firm and riding in front of his army, Aragon addresses these words to his men:
Kissed By The King!
How much distance is there between you and God? Do you hold back your affection due to fear or shame, or do you find yourself often sitting in His lap, leaning as close as you can…so close there is almost no distance at all?
In an article called Kiss Me (www.bobkilpatrick.com), Bob Kilpatrick described what God wants from a relationship with us:
Approved
I was consumed in justifying myself apart from God, and it left me worn out, tired, and empty. Every day, I would run as hard as I could trying to find value and worth in everything else but where it was all the time—in God. I looked for it in the approval of my father, my mother, in others, in two marriages, in money, in achievement, in position and in power…I’m sure there are more places.
I spent so much time pursuing acceptance in these places that I lost everything that mattered. I became the sum total of all the expectations that I placed on my life giving up my identity, my true self just to belong. I discovered that many of the places I looked for love and acceptance never truly accepted or loved me back. What I did discover in the journey out of the midnight of my soul was that loving God is what my heart desired and what’s really awesome—He accepts me for who I am and…loves me back.
