VERY DRY BONE< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>Ezekiel 37:1-14

ÒThe hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 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.Ó (Ezekiel 37:1-2) The hand of God that came upon Ezekiel was on purpose; it was meant to call his attention as to what the Lord can do. The hand of God is deliverance and preservation. When the hand of God came upon him, it was meant to call EzekielÕs attention to GodÕs intention. Indeed, there is nothing impossible for God to do when comes to the case of dry bones. The bones were not just dry, but they were very dry and lying in the open valley. If very dry bones can be called back to life, then there is no situation concerning you that cannot be called back to life. The same God yesterday is still the same God today and He will be the same tomorrow and forever. Ezekiel needed to receive the touch of His hand to know that there is power deposited in the word of God if the word is not only shut up in the mouth but also spoken to situation. Ezekiel received GodÕs command to speak forth to the dead bone: ÒAgain He said to me, ÒProphesy to these bones, and say to them, ÔO dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: ÒSurely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.Ó (Ezekiel 37:4-5) The hand that came upon Ezekiel qualified him to speak to the dry bones and Ezekiel did just as the Lord had spoken. Ezekiel 37:7, ÒSo I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone.Ó Ezekiel spoke by prophesying just has the Lord had commanded him and the dry bones came out of dryness. The dry bones, needing breathe again, had to respond. Ezekiel had to speak the word of God to the very dry bones in order for them to regain their very life back with breath. The word of God has been given to us to use as power when we speak it; if we are able to hear Him and see where and what needs to be spoken to. Ezekiel did not just speak, but he saw after he had spoken what the Lord commanded him to. There is no situation that is bigger than the word of God. If there is any experience of very dry bone representative, all we have to do is to speak forth the Word of God and let God move in response to His Word that will never go back to Him void (Isaiah 55:11). You speak and He will see it through.

GOOD OR BAD SOWER?Genesis 27

 < ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

It is absolutely and definitely certain that one cannot sow oranges and reap onions. Also, as close as the banana and plantain may look alike, one cannot sow bananas and reap plantains. It is a very common saying, Òwhat you sow is what you will reapÓ. If you will start to sow well, you will reap from what is good. It is impossible to sow the seed of deception and expect to reap the fruit of reception. Where you are sowing seeds of lies, you will reap the fruit of being deceived. Esau, the first son of Isaac, knew well enough not to marry outside of his fatherÕs prescribe area but nevertheless, he still went and married without IsaacÕs prescribed area. Genesis 26:34-35, ÒWhen Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah.Ó EsauÕs move gave his parents grief of mind, which can be likened to heartache, stress, disruption, anger and maybe sleepless nights. At a very old age when it was time for Isaac to sleep and go back to God, it was also time to pronounce blessings upon his children. Esau, being the first child, was in line to take the best part of the blessings. Despite the grief that Esau had caused his parents by marrying outside of his fatherÕs prescribed area, he was still considered to be the one receiving the best of the blessings. Isaac called on Esau and spoke to him, ÒNow therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. 4 And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.Ó(Genesis 27:3-4) There is no formula neither is there any accident that can delete or erase for one not to reap what he has sown and this was also the case for Esau. His mother intercepted IsaacÕs request and she made Jacob to overtake the blessings of Esau. Jacob went and carried out the assignment and entered into an assigned blessing of his brother. At the time Esau came back from his hunting, Jacob had already carried out IsaacÕs request and went away without any way of Esau regaining the blessing. Esau sowed the seed of grief for his parents and there was no way out for him but to reap the fruit of grief. Jacob, however, did not get away from sowing the seed of deception. Jacob also reaped the fruit of being aggravatingly deceived in the hand of Laban, his father in-law. Watch the kind of seeds you are sowing because when it starts growing, prayer will not help you to escape from reaping what you sow. Ask for the grace to be a good sower; not a bad sower.

PLACE AND PURPOSEEsther 8:1-17

 < ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

As a child of God, the place you are today is directly related to the plans and purpose of God; if you will not replace yourself outside of His current place for you. It does not matter where you are or how you are. As long as you have life in you, God is at work on your behalf. He is good and merciful. He is the God who never runs out of mercy; except we run out of His mercy. Also, despite our inconsistency, He remains consistent in His faithfulness to us. He said in Jeremiah 29:11, ÒFor I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.Ó The word of God is speaking to us and He is aware of where we are and what we are doing or what we might be going through. His plans for us are a testimony to the fact that we should remain focus at all times. Mordecai was a captive Jew who was captured and carried away by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. Mordecai brought up Esther, his uncleÕs daughter, after the father and mother of Esther had died. His place was at the gate where he saw and heard as the Lord positioned him to. Esther 2:21-22, ÒIn those days, while Mordecai sat within the kingÕs gate, two of the kingÕs eunuchs, Bigthana and Teresh, doorkeepers, became furious and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 22 So the matter became known to Mordecai, who told Queen Esther, and Esther informed the king in MordecaiÕs name.Ó Bigthan and Teresh were eventually terminated for the plot against King Ahasuerus and it was documented in the favor of Mordecai. One would think it was over with, but it went deeper than expected because God is always there with His plan and purpose. When Haman wanted to have all Jews in the land destroyed, it was the documentation of the plot that Mordecai had at the gate that came to the rescue. On the night of the day that the law to destroy the children of Israel was passed, the kingÕs lost of sleep brought a gain for the deliverance of the Jew when the king read the documentation that saved his life through Mordecai. Esther 6: 1-2, ÒThat night the king could not sleep. So one was commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. 2 And it was found written that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the kingÕs eunuchs, the doorkeepers who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus.Ó The king was provoked to honor Mordecai based on the chronicle documentation of how his life was saved by Mordecai. As a result of the place and purpose in the life of Mordecai, the Jews were released and a new turn took its toll in the life of Mordecai as he went from gate to great in the hand of the King Ahasuerus. Do not replace yourself from where He places you; it shall be well in Jesus name.

INTEGRITYJob 1- 2

 < ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Integrity can be defined as standing on your word and living your word as you believe it and not living your word as the world presents it to you. Most times we believe, but our confession often contradicts the life style that is being demonstrated. Are you holding fast to the Word of God that you have received? It is a command from God that we ÒÉshall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.Ó(Deuteronomy 6:5) When the Lord is being loved, worshiping Him will have no bound regardless of confronting situations. Job, while the news of the first assault of the devil was being delivered, could do nothing but go to God in worship. ÒThen Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped.Ó (Job 1:20) Job had just lost all, including his children, yet he resolved to worship God. As a man who had received from the word of God that worship and honor belongs to God, he could remember nothing but to stand in the word of God; regardless of the dictation of the enemy against all that the Lord had blessed him with. Job could not take a stand of complaint, but he had to remain in the worshiping of the Lord. This is what is called integrity. He held on fast to the word of God knowing fully well that there is a Father who is above all and He is the giver and taker of all. JobÕs standing and position before God, by virtue of how he responded to the first assault, made God have no reason not to boast Job before the devil, Job 2:3, ÒThen the LORD said to Satan, ÒHave you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.Ó The grace to be able to stand for God and for God to declare us as worthy is what should be praying for. Job was a man of integrity who took his standing in the command of God. It was so glaring to God that He has to announce Job. As God saw integrity in Job, the wife also saw integrity in him. Job was not just holding to integrity; it was clear that he was holding so fast to it that his wife had to question his integrity. Job 2:9, ÒThen his wife said to him, ÒDo you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!Ó How do you see yourself when it comes to integrity? Can it be identified in you that you have integrity? When compromise sets into the life of a believer of the word, integrity will be offset and the standard of living in the word of God will be terminated. Integrity is what we all need to constantly demonstrate and to evangelize without a single word in the world of unbelief. Let it become of you that the way you said it is will be the way the world around you will see it.

GLORIFY HIM< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>Jeremiah 48:1-20

God was speaking against Moab in the book of Jeremiah 48:7, ÒFor because you have trusted in your works and your treasures, you also shall be taken. And Chemosh shall go forth into captivity.Ó (Chemosh: The chief deity of Moab.) It was a great pronouncement against Moab and it is worthy of our attention and sincere meditation so that it will enable us to observe how we place our trust. The pronouncement should be a strong warning for all that believes and also to unbelievers that God should be constantly and consistently acknowledged with thanks and praise for all that He enables us to do on a regular basis. A failure not to acknowledge Him for all is a demonstration of trusting and relying on self-effort as strength. It is clear that the people of Moab could have resolved to self-sufficiency whereby looking to their work and treasure as a measure of self-effort. A dangerous way to captivity is to assume self-effort as strength and source of blessing. God alone is our source. God wants to be glorified and exalted for every blessing that comes our way. He is a jealous God and He will not take it well with any soul who chooses not to acknowledge Him for His goodness and mercy. God spoke in Jeremiah 9:23-24, ÒLet not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; 24 But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these I delight, says the LORD.Ó How clear and loud can we possibly hear this from the Lord God that He wants to be glorified by us? It does not matter how long we attempt to take away His glory but it shows to us that God is a merciful and longsuffering God and He will not overlook sin nor allow us to get away with whatever we do wrong before Him. Have you been counting on self-effort as your source? It is time that you count your blessings; name them one by one and let Him take the entire honor and the glory. Captivity is not a ground that is funky for any one that is enjoying and living in the blessings of freedom with God. The Moabites might not be around to tell what it means to end up in captivity after having been in control of treasures, but the documentation in the Bible about what became of them is enough for us to learn and live to the glory of God. What God said He would do has already been done because His Word does not return to Him void. Do not give away all that He has blessed you with. Turn around and give Him all the glory and honor that belongs to Him; not to your efforts. Go and glorify Him in Jesus Name.