Do you loose hope?
Ezekiel is speaking today to anyone who has lost hope.
When I was a child, every Saturday was house cleaning. My Mother and Aunt would clean the house from top to bottom. My Uncle would do chores and in between polish every dress shoe he owned. My Dad would shop for fresh luncheon meat and rolls. My sister, cousins and I all had some chore. My mother would make traditional Southern sweet tea for my Dad and Grandfather. I used that same pitch recently The work was as if the old bones of the house were resurrected to new glory.
Thus says the Lord God to these bones: See ! I will bring spirit into you that you may come to life . I will put sinews upon you, make flesh grow over you, cover you with skin and put spirit in you so that you may come to life and, know that I am the Lord.
All the preparation on Saturday was all done in preparation for Sunday. Church in the morning and visiting at either my Uncle’s house or ours. The resurrection that occurred to our homes was a symbol for the focus of our families. Sunday Church and Sunday afternoon with family. It was a fuel stop for growth, affirmation and inspiration for the week coming school year ahead. It was the end of Summer but the beginning of hope for Fall.
I miss these times today. Most of my family lives in other cities. With work schedules and poor health these memories are all that is left. However, hope is always there for the future.
Ezekiel 37: 11-14 He said to me: Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel! They are saying, “Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, and we are cut off.” Therefore, prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD: Look! I am going to open your graves; I will make you come up out of your graves, my people, and bring you back to the land of Israel. You shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and make you come up out of them, my people! I will put my spirit in you that you may come to life, and I will settle you in your land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD. I have spoken; I will do it—oracle of the LORD.
Simply said God only wants two things from us . Matthew 22: 36-40 Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
I see people my age and younger yearn for times past. Hope for those times seems gone when hope is always there if we follow a couple of rules.
God Love You Always
Bob Burford
PS: Please pray for Cancer victims and their caregivers. Also, pray for peace in the Ukraine.
