Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Dry bones 2
About 2 weeks ago I visited Phnom Penh for the first time to have a better understanding of our missionaries’ work there. Jeff and Serene are both doing an excellent work amongst the prisoners and helping with visiting teams and short termers who desire exposure to evangelism and developmental work. Alvin our Missions pastor happened to be in town to teach at the Phnom Penh Bible College. Daisy and the kids were also there. All are very well versed in the Khmer language and highly regarded by the locals. Whilst Cambodia is peaceful today it has a dark history during the mid 70s with the horrors of the Killing Fields. The Genocide Museum I visited had graphic displays of torture, deaths and skeletons. There were hundreds of skulls and dry bones. It was a most depressing experience.
Dry bones or skeletons speak of death. God told Ezekiel to speak to the dry bones and He will do the work of joining them together again, putting on tendons, flesh, skin and making them alive again. In a similar way all who don’t believe in Jesus are condemned and dead. Our sharing of the good news that Jesus saves will see them come to life again eternally through the power of the Holy Spirit. That’s what our missionaries are doing in Cambodia in the modern “Killing Fields” of unbelief. We too can speak words of life when we share the gospel with unbelievers. Our church is encouraging all to share the good news and will be organizing an evangelistic dinner in Dec. Do pray and invite your friends to come.
My second meditation on dry bones is the issue of the miraculous. How can dry bones come to life again? Impossible! Pastor Lionel shared about how God healed one member’s curved spine and SP William shared about healing of a man with 4th stage cancer. There are some with physical ailments which are beyond medical science. Others face seemingly impossible obstacles at work or home or in relationships. The issue here is not so much can God heal or rescue us, He’s God of the impossible, but rather is it His will to do so? In this “dead” situation we are to mouth words of prayer to the Father and leave the situation in His hands. Someone puts it this way, “Fear comes from looking at the problem; strength comes from looking at God.” Life’s journey is not about just solving problems but discovering God’s purpose in each and every situation. Oh that we would learn that God loves and truly only desires the best for us when the going gets tough.
Ultimately on that glorious day, He will gather all bones, from the four corners of the earth and under the seas, together to bring to life forevermore.
Dry bones or skeletons speak of death. God told Ezekiel to speak to the dry bones and He will do the work of joining them together again, putting on tendons, flesh, skin and making them alive again. In a similar way all who don’t believe in Jesus are condemned and dead. Our sharing of the good news that Jesus saves will see them come to life again eternally through the power of the Holy Spirit. That’s what our missionaries are doing in Cambodia in the modern “Killing Fields” of unbelief. We too can speak words of life when we share the gospel with unbelievers. Our church is encouraging all to share the good news and will be organizing an evangelistic dinner in Dec. Do pray and invite your friends to come.
My second meditation on dry bones is the issue of the miraculous. How can dry bones come to life again? Impossible! Pastor Lionel shared about how God healed one member’s curved spine and SP William shared about healing of a man with 4th stage cancer. There are some with physical ailments which are beyond medical science. Others face seemingly impossible obstacles at work or home or in relationships. The issue here is not so much can God heal or rescue us, He’s God of the impossible, but rather is it His will to do so? In this “dead” situation we are to mouth words of prayer to the Father and leave the situation in His hands. Someone puts it this way, “Fear comes from looking at the problem; strength comes from looking at God.” Life’s journey is not about just solving problems but discovering God’s purpose in each and every situation. Oh that we would learn that God loves and truly only desires the best for us when the going gets tough.
Ultimately on that glorious day, He will gather all bones, from the four corners of the earth and under the seas, together to bring to life forevermore.
// posted by sleepless wherever @ 7:00 AM 
