Quote from Forum Archives on January 7, 2003, 11:32 pm

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

This week, Larry Davies, in his weekly series of messages
entitled "Sowing Seeds of Faith", turns to the prophet Ezekiel to
share a message about our broken spirits. He asks several
important questions in this message, but he leaves some of them
unanswered for the time being, to give us time to think about
them. Expect to hear more from Larry about our spiritual health
in the next week or two. In the meantime, wouldn't it be
appropriate that each of us examine ourselves?

This message reminds me of a song from the Steve Green Children's
video series entitled "Hide Them in Your Heart". In it, he has a
song, "A Joyful Heart", based on scripture:

Dear God, I know at least for me, that were it not for Your
Spirit, my bones would already be dry. Sometimes, even with the
richness and wonder of all that you've provided, I have to ask
myself if I am really responding to You as You'd want me to do.
So I ask you to work in my heart today, and I'd also ask you to
penetrate the hearts and minds of people everywhere, that we
would not simply become a valley full of dried bones. Thank you
for Your amazing graciousness and patience with each of us. I do
pray that You would light the fires of spiritual passion in us
once again. I ask these things humbly, in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Your Brother in Christ,
Brian
____________________________

Sowing Seeds of Faith...

"Breaking the Peanut Butter Habit." Normally $24.95 now just
$10. Each book is signed. Click here for more information:
www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/peanbutt.htm

God... Breathe Life Into Us!
Larry Davies

One dark stormy night, I dreamed God placed me in a church
preparing for their Sunday worship service. God had me walk up
and down the aisle among hundreds of people. They all looked...
gulp... they all looked dead! There were all kinds of people:
children with crayons in their hands, teenagers sitting among
friends, mothers cradling babies and choir members holding
music. They seemed normal enough... for dead folks. God asked
me: "Preacher, can these dead people live?"

I said: "Lord, you are the only one who knows." (Ezekiel 37)

Welcome to my feeble attempt at a modern translation of the Old
Testament prophet Ezekiel from chapter 37... better known as the
Valley of the Dry Bones. The question asked by Ezekiel is...
"Can these dead people live?" In other words: can today's church
still make a difference in the world?

To answer the question, we need to face several important trends
shaping our church and society.

1. Our nation is in severe crisis... ethically, morally and
financially. The newspapers are filled with stories of
corruption, corporate collapse and scandals of all kinds.

2. September 11, 2001 changed our nation... rise in patriotism
and national pride. We thought there would be an increase in
church attendance and there was, at first... but not for long.

3. Interest in spiritual growth is increasing... Christian web
sites, increased Christian book sales and media attention on
spirituality has shown we are a nation interested in discovering
God.

4. Church morale is low... declining attendance combined with
higher costs have made it almost impossible for many churches to
pay their own bills. There is little left over to help others.

The first two trends are somewhat obvious but three and four
seem to contradict: Interest in spiritual growth is increasing
yet the traditional source of our spiritual growth, namely our
churches are experiencing steady decline? Why is that? Surveys
and opinion polls quote many typical Americans saying: "I
believe in God but I don't need to be in a church."

There are many reasons given why those who seek deepened
spirituality are not necessarily utilizing the resources offered
by the church? Comments like these are heard frequently:

1. "Worship services are boring and irrelevant."

2. "Churches are always asking for money."

3. "I need to do more than serve on a committee to be involved."

4. "Churches don't seem to do much to serve our community."

5. "Church people are too quick to judge and exclude... Moslems,
Gays, Abortion."

6. "Church people are just a bunch of well-dressed hypocrites."

7. "Churches are always trying to tell me what is right and
wrong."

Are these statements true? No... well, sometimes but if those
outside the church believe it then we as the church obviously
need to do a better job of communicating the passion and the
daily excitement of serving Christ. We must work to change the
world's image of us and preach God's truth.

The prophet Ezekiel goes on to say: Then God said to me, "Preach
to these dead people and say to them, 'Dead people, hear the
word of the Lord! This is what the Lord says to you. I will
breathe into your dead bodies and you will come to life. You
will begin to smile at one another and offer a hug. You will
welcome the strangers, visit the sick and volunteer to help
those who are helpless. I will put breath into you and you will
come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord." (Ezekiel
37)

Can God still breathe life into the church? Of course... but are
we ready to receive it?

Ezekiel continues: So I preached to the dead people as God
commanded. First one person began to smile and then another
moved his head to look at me. One woman began to fold her hands
together as if in prayer... but there was still no twinkle of
light in any of their eyes or color in their cheeks.

Next week: A few ideas that can help any church receive God's
new life... are you ready?

If you like this devotion you will love the book: "Breaking the
Peanut Butter Habit: Following God's Recipe for a Better Life"
now on sale only through this website. Click here for more
information: www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/peanbutt.htm

Join our prayer ministry by clicking here:
www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/sign-up.htm

Jesus said: "You are the light of the world--like a city on a
mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your
light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it
shine for all." (Matthew 5:14-15)

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=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

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