** Ezekiel 37 ** ** Verse 3 ** * And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. (King James Version) (To Each Of You, Have A Safe & Blessed) (Thanksgiving Holiday) ****************************************************** Grace be unto you, from me my beloved Christian brothers & sisters. Giving Him thanks for allowing the fellowship of His word through this group once more. Take out some time in your daily schedule to give God praise & glory for all He has done for you. For God has been good to me & if you can read this letter, God is being good to you, so let Him know through your praise worship today, that you thank Him for giving us His precious son, Jesus Christ. It is because of His daily mercy & compassion that You & I are not consumed. (Lamentations 3:22-23) ****************************************************** In the movie "Beverly Hills Cop," there is a scene with Eddie Murphy (Axel Foley), I know some of you ladies are swooning over the thought of Eddie right now, but let's try to stay focused on the lesson, LOL. I am told I am just as dapper, but just have not been discovered yet, LOL LOL LOL, Am I Right About It??? Ok, enough of the foolishness. The scene hinges on Eddie finding out the art dealer is a drug smuggler & Eddie & his friend girl are caught. She utters a statement "what are you going to do with him," the dealer answered unto her, "you should be more concerned with what we are going to do with you." O, my dear brothers & sisters, that statement speaks volumes to us as Christians in what we should be most concerned about. Stay with me as we delve into the wonderful word of God. For this brings me to my topic this week: (O Dry Bones) (Be Concerned About) (What God Is Going To Do With You) <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> My beloved Christian brothers & sisters, this lesson can be taught in two-folds, I shall state briefly on one & teach on the other. Bare with me as I try to share with you God's word. (1) The prophet Ezekiel relates the amazingly powerful vision of God restoring the dead to life. He sees the bones join together at the awesome command of God--yet there is no breath in them. God does breathe into them & they come to life. Just mind blowing is the power of our God. Who is like unto thee, O Lord? This is a picture of what God plans to do with the nation Israel. From God's point of view, Israel is a valley of bone-dry-death--and it has been that way for nineteen long centuries. Ah, my brothers & sisters, there is a day coming says the Lord, when God will breathe upon this nation. Like the vision of those dry bones, Israel will receive new life, & God will use the nation of Israel as the cornerstone of His reestablished kingdom on earth. *Am I Right About It* Thank You Lord For My Salvation (2) Dear friends, as I have stated in previous lessons, there is not much being taught on salvation & mercy these days, but in this ministry, I am called to bring your attention to just such things. I am a disciple unto Jesus Christ & stopped by to tell you like Ezekiel, that only God can restore your dry bones. We shall not leave this earth alive, it is appointed to every one of us the surely death unto our existence. (Hebrews 9:27) It does not end there, after death is the judgment & we should not allow anything on this earth to keep us from our eternal place with God. Rev. Comeaux has a e-mail fellowship called "Daily Inspirations" & I know some of you receive his lessons. They are a true blessing unto me. On Wednesday, he spoke on the fruits of the spirit, but not only that, he confessed that he had a problem of sin in the fornication area at one time. I wrote him back & told him it took courage to say that & said also that I too have been called away from such a sin. I told him that through our weakness & sharing to others of that weakness, one might draw strength to carry on in the obedience of God's word & what is right before Him. You see, we are to only be concerned with what God is going to do with/for us. God wants us to trust Him & believe on His son Jesus Christ, doing that, He will bless us & save us, so that we can do His will in this life. So, I would like to confess a sin of mine as I too should be concerned about what God will do with me. I challenge each of you to ask God when you rise in the morning each day to use you for His glory & share God's message with someone that they do not have to live with dry bones. Turn away from that which you know is displeasing unto God, so that your bones shall live forever. The bible says to confess our faults/(sin)(s) to one another. (James 5:16) My life as some of you know has had it's share of trials, heartaches, losses, & pains. It is so very hard for me to put aside the sin covetness, as I see others having good jobs, their bills being paid, no fear of what they are going to do in the upcoming week, no thought of being evicted, keeping their car, etc. I get so frustrated as I am going through so much at this time in my life, but as I type this lesson unto you, I have dry bones & only God can breathe life into them again to carry on to do His will. I ask God almighty to deliver me from this sin & that each of you pray for me as I wait for my change. **Thank You Lord** O I Feel This * When I was employed as truck driver, one of the safety requirements was to wear steel toe boots to protect our feet from impending dangers at the workplace. Some drivers who ignored the code, fell victim to forklifts running over their feet & objects falling on their toes, crushing or severing their feet/toes. A supervisor would at times stop a driver & step on his shoes to see if it would hurt. I came by to step on some toes today & some of you will say "Ouch," so I say to you, get some steel toe shoes. Do you hear what I am saying dear friends, when we continue to ignore God's word/will for our lives? I hear some of you saying, well Don I have no sin, I am living right & nothing is happening to me. This lesson is not for me. O Lord Well, my bible says that "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves." (I Epistle John 1:8) Whatever your sin(s) are at this hour, you need to confess them to God & share them with someone, for we know sin will keep us from fellowship with God. Do not preoccupy yourselves with trying to get what others have, living like they live, doing what they do, saying what they say, only be concerned with what God is going to do with you. The bible says, that if we do not abide in Christ, he is cast forth, only to be withered. We are as a dried branch without Him. (John 15:4-6) Am I Right About It My beloved Christian brothers & sisters, all I am saying unto you is that be not concerned with the sins of this world, but the business of our heavenly Father. In (Romans 8:35-39) Paul is speaking to us that there is nothing that will separate us from the love of God. Allow not any sin to cause you to have dry bones. Only Him that is able to deliver His children out of trouble can restore & give us eternal water never to be dry or thirsty. The other day I listened to Pastor Rod Parsley as he coined his text, "A Storm Is Coming," & thought to myself, on last week's lesson I spoke about putting away childish things(toys). This reminded me of when I was a young boy, when a storm was coming, sometimes I could smell the fresh rain as it approached, not like today, so much air pollution, further evidence that man is destroying his environment. We are all playing in the sandbox, some with lust, a lying tongue, fornication, pride, stubbornness, conceit, covetness, rebellion etc. The storm is coming & the rain is almost here, I hear God calling us, like my mother used to call me, saying "Donald" to come inside where it will be safe, but will You keep playing? Finally, like the parable of the ten virgins, the 5 foolish were locked out never enjoy their heavenly place with Jesus. ***There Is Still Room At The Cross*** ****************************************************** Dear friends, this is one of those lessons that causes one to really take a look at his/her life & say "Why Are My Bones So Dry"? I pray that each of you were encouraged in this lesson as I was, to say I have sin in my life causing me be dry without life from Jesus. Only he can breathe life back into us when we confess our sin & live for Him. Remember to keep God first in all that you do in the upcoming week. A member has expressed to me that her church sister is ill & needing a touch from God. Let us come together in prayer for this sister in Christ, for we know that God is still a healer & she when God raises her will use this as her testimony. Always praying for one another in the uplifting of spirit & healing. If you have enjoyed this lesson & any other lessons, please send a note of that reflection. If you wish to be opted from this group, also send a note, in that, I wish not to offend any of you. May God always walk with you & you with God. Peace Don Such As I Have, I Have Because Of Thee. Copyright ©2003 Donald J. Roy ** Dare To Be A Disciple For Christ**