Shake off the dry bones

As I woke this morning (5/8/2015), a phrase was running through my mind, “Shake off the dry bones.” I wasn’t sure what that meant, but as I searched through Bible verses with “dry” and “bones” in it, Ezekiel 37:2 popped out at me, and I couldn’t get it out of my head. 

Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry.

Of course, the very dry bones meant that these bodies had been there for a while. There was no flesh, sinew or anything left on them. They were as dead as dead can be. So I’m thinking, “Okay, God. There’s something important about this phrase. What is it?” So, I read the entire section of Ezekiel 37 “The Dry Bones Live”. 

God told Ezekiel to “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”

So, Ezekiel does, and the bones stand up, getting their sinew and flesh, but they aren’t breathing. God told him to prophesy again. 

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.

So now, we have a living breathing army who was once dead come back to life again. You have to remember, this was a vision that God had given Ezekiel about Israel as a nation. God was causing Israel to rise again, and He was reestablishing the army. 

What got me was the next few verses, God’s explanation of what the vision was about.  

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.’”

If we take this and put it into context into today’s time, God is telling us that He will take our old, dry bones and renew them, giving us hope again! If we listen to His words, have faith, and stay strong, He will breathe life back into our dry bones, giving us hope once again!

See, Christians are beginning to get weary. The enemy is fighting us hard, but God says to shake off the old bones! Shake off the weariness and have hope! He will see us through, and He’s going to make sure that we’re set up in the place of our inheritance (His promises). We're an army, and He's breathed life back into us!

Don’t lose hope. Don’t let the dry bones overtake you. Shake them off, and live in faith, knowing that God is going to put us back where we belong. He is going to help us and see us through the difficult times to get us to the good times.

 

Realizing Who You Are in Christ

I know that I haven't posted here in a while, and I hope you'll forgive me.  It feels like life has gotten in the way, but to be honest, I was running from this project of mine. It started as a way for me to blog and connect with you in a way to help you understand the meaning of peace and refreshing.

See, God gave me the idea for a short devotional book based on the posts on this blog.  I didn't want to write because it's something that's completely new for me.  How can I write about something with authority and hope that it stikes a cord with someone?  But see, it's not my job to connect with someone about their life.  My job is to write what God tells me to because HE KNOWS how to connect with that someone.  So, I've had to learn a valuable lesson, and I have to blog and finish my book.  THAT is my job.

If you've stuck with me this far, I commend you.  It's been an amazing and eye-opening journey for me, and I hope that it has for you as well.

So, let's get on to what this post will be about today.  Realizing who you are in Christ.

Who are we?  How do we see ourselves?  I guarantee that the way you see yourself now is much different than the way God sees us.

Let me show you.  If I were to describe myself, I'd probably tell you that I'm overweight, have adult acne that drives me insane, and I have frizzy hair that I cannot tame.  What image does that strike with you?  Definitely not one that puts off a GOOD image of me, right?  In all honesty, I am overweight, and I do deal with adult acne, but my face isn't covered with it.  I'm not ugly because of my weight, and although my hair is frizzy, I love my brunette curls.  I am not an ugly woman, and please do not take that conceitedly.  Let me tell you why I say that about myself.  God said I was beautiful.

He did.  He told me that I was beautiful because I was HIS DAUGHTER!!  I am a daughter of Christ, and as His daughter, I walk in His authority.  I'm a princess.  (He told me that too.)  I walk with authority, and a princess doesn't walk with her shoulders slumped and letting the world's views of what she looks like bring her down.  No.  Just because she doesn't fit the standards of the world's view of true beauty doesn't mean she isn't beautiful.  God told her she's beautiful so she walks with that affirmation in her heart.

See, we shouldn't care what the world thinks about us.  I don't.  I know that God says I'm beautiful, so I listen to Him. He's told me that I'm His princess, so I walk with that authority.  God told me that He is preparing my future, so I walk knowing that My God is taking care of me.  What else do I need?  I certainly don't need the lies of the devil and this world to bring me down and make me think that God's worth isn't something.  I'm holding out for God's promises, and I'm not looking back.

Sunday evening at church, I overheard a young girl of ten or eleven talking about her weight.  She said that she was fat for her age.  I called her over and said, "Honey, listen to me.  I don't want to hear you talking about yourself like that.  You certainly aren't fat, and you are a beautiful young woman.  So please, don't call yourself that because if you say it enough, you'll start believing it."

I know this from experience.  I called myself fat from the very first day that I heard others say that I was, and although I am overweight, I kept that "fat" attitude stuck in my head, never believing I was pretty enough or good enough for anyone else.  What I didn't know or want to believe was that it didn't matter. Who needs negative people in their lives?  Certainly not me!  I've cut ties with people who can't see me for my true worth which is God's Child.  They don't need a place in my life, and they don't need a place in yours either.

I encourage you today, look in the mirror and say, "I'm a beautiful Child of God and just because the world says I'm ugly doesn't mean it's true!  That's a lie out of the pit of hell, and I refuse to believe a lie of the devil!  I AM BEAUTIFUL!"

God has laid it on my heart to share my story with y'all.  That's just part of it, and I'm sure a more detailed version will come later.  I haven't written it out, and I'm kind of scared to.  I don't like dealing with that emotional side, but I've put some of that emotion into an upcoming Christian novel titled, Entertaining Angels.

I know I don't discuss my writing career on here much because this isn't what this blog is for, but Entertaining Angels was written for the sole purpose of teaching young women their true worth and beauty.  When it's finally released (which I hope will be in March), I'll announce it here as well.

Until then, you can sign up for my newsletter at www.emeraldbarnes.us to stay up to date with my writing career and follow ebarnes23.wordpress.com.

I hope you realize just how beautiful you are, brothers and sisters in Christ, and if you have a story to share, please share in the comments or through my email.  If you have questions about finding your true worth, I'll help as much as I can.  You can reach me at emerald_barnes (at) yahoo (dot) com

Much love and God Bless!
xoxo

Make 2013 Your Year!

Today we have another guest post from Sharon Johnson! 

   

It is never too late to make a change.  Change is good.  Change is also scary.  Fear is what stops people from making changes in their lives.  Fear traps people from moving forward in their lives. 

    

People get comfortable and don’t want to leave their comfort zone.  They settle.  Accepting the way their lives turned out.  Afraid to change.  Afraid to fail.  People are in a job they hate.  Accepting that there is nothing better out there for them.  They don’t have a college education and convinced themselves that they are too old to change.  Fear has paralyzed them.  Fear has stopped God from moving in their lives.  Fear is exactly where Satan wants you to be. 

 
If fear is stopping you from changing your life.  Stopping you from doing something you have always dreamed about, stopping you from what God has told you to do, then Satan has you in his grip.  It is time for you to get Satan out of your life and let God begin to work in your life. 

I am not saying it is going to be easy.  I am not saying that you will not be scared.  I am saying that if you are tired of your life.  If you want a change.  The only way to change your life is to face the fear head on.

    
I am a creature of habit.  I do the exact same thing every day.  When I get up to go to work, I have a routine.  I drink out of the same glass.  I eat with the same fork.  I live in my comfort zone.  Some say I have OCD Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.  It has limited me to what I can do.  When I can leave the house.  Where I can go.  I even have a hard time eating out in restaurants.  I accepted my fate.  I was willing to live in my comfort zone and die in my house.  This was my destiny.  A year ago, I couldn’t go on vacation with my boyfriend.  I was afraid to leave my house.  The What If’s kept popping up.  What if, my pipes break and the house is flooded.  What if someone breaks into my house?  What if?  So we stayed home.  I restricted myself to going to work and coming home.  I went nowhere else.  Fear had me.  Satan had control of my life.

    Psalms 103:4-5

     Who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.  Who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

I was in a pit and GOD says that he will redeem my life from the pit and crown me with love and compassion.  Not only will he get me out of the pit, he will give me the desires of my heart with good things.  That makes me want to do my happy dance.

I was in a job, I didn’t like anymore.  It was a good job.  I was getting older, the boxes were getting heavier and I knew I couldn’t do this job when I neared 60.  Having turned 50, I wanted a change.  Had no idea what, but I couldn’t live this life for the next 20-30 years.  There had to me more to life than work and hiding in my house. 

     

At work, there was a cashier position open.  It was the night shift.  I read and reread the notice.  I couldn’t learn to check.  I would be up front mostly by myself.  I would have more responsibility.  I told myself I couldn’t do it. Fear gripped me. They had to know today.  I didn’t have time to wait.  If I didn’t go in and put my name in, I would be stuck, nothing would change.

I walked into the mangers office and told him I wanted to apply for the position.  To my surprise, I got the job on the spot.

  

Then the fear crept in.  Co-workers asked why I wanted to be a cashier.  I only had 4 hours to learn how to check and then I was on my own. I know for a fact that the minute I decided to stop listening to Satan, GOD stepped in and started working in my life. 

I learned to check.  I learned how to use the ordering gun.  I learned to face fear and walk through my fear.  I am not saying that it was easy.  I am saying that if you don’t face your fear and stand up to Satan, nothing will ever change. 

For the first time in 5 years, I am going on a two week vacation with my boyfriend.  Is the What If’s still pounding in my head?  Yep.  Am I nervous about leaving my comfort zone?  Yep.

    

I want a change in my life.  I have to admit, that things are changing in my life.  I am listening to GOD.  Leaning on GOD.  I am trusting GOD. 

I am still OCD, but when I realize that it is stopping me from doing something, I remind myself that I am now dependant on GOD.  GOD love me and he redeemed me from the pit.  It is not always easy, but the more I turn to GOD, the easier it gets. 

No matter what you are going through or how old you are, it is never too late to change.  Ask GOD.  It won’t be easy, but with GOD on your side nothing is impossible.  2013 is a new year.  Make a change this year, start listening to GOD; he is who redeems your life from the pit.

I was tossed in the pit by Satan.  It was only by the Grace of GOD that I am no longer in the pit.  

In my book  My Bible—My God  www.amazon.com/dp/B006N0ZDGW  I tell how GOD and his word, the Bible saved my life.

http://iamwalkingwithgod.blogspot.com

http://sharonleejohnson.com