Pastor Ray, Maryanne and Boss boarded a plane here in Bujumbura about 2 hours ago. They’re flying to Ottawa, where Pastor Ray’s parents lived. His mom passed away in June of this year, and on Sunday he received a call saying his dad had been found dead that morning in an armchair, presumably having suffered a heart attack. Please pray for them.
There’s no school again today, due to the fact that Burundi is commemorating the death of another past president. We really don’t mind though, a little R&R is very welcome.
We took the opportunity to go to Sabe village again with Honda and Libby. I will try to post pictures today; there are some other “mzungu’s” in some of the pictures, namely Andrew and Christine from England; he teaches at secondary, she teaches at primary; there’s Luke and Caleb, 2 guys from Niagara, Ontario who graduated from high school in June and are both at primary as well. The well dressed Africans in the pictures are some of Honda and Libby’s 60 plus boys that they’ve rescued off the streets of Bujumbura and have been transformed by Jesus Christ. There’s also sweet Donah, who’s from Uganda; she teaches at secondary. The kids wearing the soccer jerseys are the poorest of the poor, sporting the brand new jerseys that were donated by the head of a soccer club in England. This guy, a non-Christian, is coming out in April.
We went into the village today. No World Vision program could prepare you for what we witnessed today. Last week when we were there, we stayed at the edge of the village, and I stood there with tears rolling down my face. Today we went in, and there were no tears; tears may come once the shock has worn off.
The sewage system (holding tank) is only effective if it is utilized. Using the street is much faster and more convenient. The stench made Isaac’s stomach sick. The houses I wrote about last week, saying they’re the size of a small bedroom were the ones on the edge of the village. Today we saw many homes where I don’t know if a grown man could stretch out in; children with seemingly perpetually runny noses wearing short rags on the top part of their bodies with nothing at all on the bottom part. We saw the men sitting in the shade whiling the day away, leisurely sipping on their yellow banana hooch, gradually, wilfully blinding themselves.
We saw their tiny “market” consisting of perhaps 5 makeshift tables with the wares, mostly questionable to bad quality vegetables and fly covered little fish displayed. These are awful images. But the ones that get to you are the ones that are etched on the inside of your eye lids; when you close your eyes you see the big, empty, staring at nothing eyes of some of the children. Where is the happiness of childhood in these eyes; the curiosity of an ever inquisitive mind, the occasional glint of mischievous behaviour? Where is the hope in these big, black eyes?
Enter ‘Restoration Of Hope’. The Lord has given Honda a massive vision for this place. Believe me, apart from the Lord, one would think, ‘where do you start’, but we serve a God of all possibilities!! And when the Lord calls He makes a way.
The village is about the size of a residential block or smaller, housing about 400 dwellings. Like I said previously, it’s home to 1700 people. ‘Restoration of Hope’ is renting a large shed that is situated about 30 seconds from the entrance of the village. A congregation from England is paying for the rental of this property; a one time gift from an English lady paid for the water installation. Honda has plumbed in fresh, safe drinking water to this location in the last while. There are 6 taps where people come with their little jugs twice a day to get water. There is no electricity. Both times that we’ve gone so far Honda brings in a generator and the rescued street boys give haircuts; about 200 heads, male and female, get shaved each time. Meanwhile, some of Honda’s other boys organize kid’s games on the compound. It’s a wonder that these malnourished children have the strength and energy to run.
In one corner is a tiny chicken coop that Honda wants to grow into a big operation that will yield a few 1000 eggs per day. One chick costs $2500 francs - about $2.50 CND.
Honda and Libby, Lord willing, are planning on starting a school in January. Initially they will limit it to about 60 students. They’ve held 2 crusades here to date, with 153 people having accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour!!!
We are praying about how the Lord wants to use us in these peoples’ lives. Even though we pray the people that we touch will feel the love of Jesus through us, or that they will see the love of Jesus when we look into their eyes, this does not fill their distended bellies, or improve their hygiene, or provide much needed medicine or clothing. Will you please pray about how God wants to use you as well? Christmas is coming up; perhaps instead of buying gifts for family and friends, you want to contribute to the realization of the vision that God has given to Honda. If so, please email us at: ircfroese@gmail.com
P.S. Oct. 28 2009 (This was written Wednesday, Oct. 21; due to the fact that internet access has not been possible here for a number of days, or when it is accessible it is incredibly slow, so I have still not been able to post it. Also, the pictures may or may not work to post, as they are even trickier to post than just text from here. Sorry for the great delay, and please don’t give up on reading our blog, as we continue to covet your prayers.)
Rosel
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Introducing Sabe village - part one
We’re getting more and more involved with the CRIB kids. The pastor couple from England, Dave and Sheena, are allowing us to walk along side them with doing a weekly Monday evening Bible study for all the CRIB kids age 11 and up. We started this 3 weeks ago. The first week Dave and Sheena asked if I would do a call to salvation. Three people responded and caused the angels in heaven to rejoice!!! “… I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Lk 15:10b
We prayed over them and they where baptized by the Holy Spirit. Praise the Lord, He is so good!! Every week so far we’ve had a deep moving of the Spirit. God is really working in these kids, but not surprisingly, the enemy knows he’s losing ground and is doing “overtime” to try and destroy what Jesus has and is doing. Things have happened among a handful of kids that make this very evident. Please pray for the blood of Jesus to cover the compound and every person that steps foot on it. Please pray for Dave and Sheena, Isaac, Colton and myself as we seek to minister to them and love them with the love of Jesus Christ.
You know, they know Bible stories and most of them say they are Christians, but once they step out of Dave and Sheena’s living room and life happens…
So every Monday at 4:00 we trek over to the Pailthorpe’s, who live in the CRIB compound. We spend a lot of time praying for the evening, discussing the lesson, etc., followed by tea. (People here, including us, have “tea” and not supper. Basically what this means is that lunch and supper are just reversed here - the main, hot meal is at 1:00 - 1:30, and “tea” is a lighter evening meal.) After this we get the space ready for 32 people and at 7:00 we begin.
On Saturday mornings, also starting 3 weeks ago, we go over as well and just play active games. This is “family time” for the kids. The aim is to teach them to play together as a team, without fighting, without screaming at each other, just good clean fun. Keep in mind, when you put almost 50 kids in a fenced space without parental love, guidance, teaching and discipline, things can’t be without challenges.
We are planning on starting an art time as well. Oh, and we’re on a rotating schedule to supervise groups of kids when they go swimming at Chrissie’s. I think that’s all for the structured time we spend there.
There’s a guy who dropped out of high school and ran away from CRIB in late winter that was a very bad influence on the rest of the kids. He lived with some buddies and on the street till about a month ago. At this time his buddies kicked him out, which left him solely on the street. He came back to Chrissie’s, being at wit’s end. The CRIB kids didn’t want him back, so he is living at Chrissie’s with the guard/house worker. To occupy his time and to hopefully teach him some things, he is spending Mon. - Fri. with Isaac. This can be very challenging for Isaac, as he has to watch him at all times. Please pray for Isaac in this regard, and pray for this guy.
We finally got to see the “real” Burundi today. With our busy schedule, we had not yet seen Honda and Libby’s village till this morning. With today being a national holiday commemorating the death of a past president, which meant no school, we finally had the opportunity.
You know the saying: “what you don’t know won’t hurt you.”? Well, Honda and Libby had told us lots about the village and showed us a video they made, but nothing prepares you for seeing and smelling and living what we experienced today.
This tiny “village” of 1700 people is hidden behind a massive, high- fenced UN compound that stretches on for probably a few miles. Honda was introduced to this village in November of last year by a mentally challenged guy that they partially support. Almost nobody knows about this village; the government has chosen to turn a blind eye to the absolute poverty conditions almost without fail. In April of this year they had a huge flood, where many, many of the stick/mud huts collapsed in the approximately one meter plus flood waters. The huts, which are the size of a small bedroom, house families of up to 13 children plus the parent. They are 1-2 meters apart; there is no furniture; the roof consists of mostly garbage they’ve strategically placed to serve as a roof; they have one meal a day consisting of bugali ( basically nutritionally void, root of a common plant made into flour mixed with water), and maybe a bit of beans, but some days there isn’t even this. Some days there is nothing. The flood was a blessing in that now they at least have a sewage system, a holding tank for the sewage, which they collect in a bag and deposit into the tank which is located at the entrance of the village. Mothers deliver their babies on the bare ground, as this is their bed. The wealthier may have a straw mat to sleep on, but even with just a normal rainfall, the water comes into the hut and that mat doesn’t do much good anyway. The villagers’ entire wardrobe is that which they wear, day in and day out. A majority of the clothing is rags really, and worse, held together by dirt and filth, especially the childrens‘. Even though a child is wearing a skirt doesn’t mean it’s a girl, but that’s the only piece of clothing available. Diapers consist of a bit of material covered with a plastic bag.
People die of aids; alcoholism is a problem; the hooch, which is made from bananas, blinds the consumer with time. Education is non-existent - there is no school. Of the 1700 people, about 900 are children.
I need to go now, I will continue with this next time I blog. However, I want to add that for the last months I’ve prayed that the Father would make my heart hurt over the things that hurt His heart; my heart hurts.
Rosel
We prayed over them and they where baptized by the Holy Spirit. Praise the Lord, He is so good!! Every week so far we’ve had a deep moving of the Spirit. God is really working in these kids, but not surprisingly, the enemy knows he’s losing ground and is doing “overtime” to try and destroy what Jesus has and is doing. Things have happened among a handful of kids that make this very evident. Please pray for the blood of Jesus to cover the compound and every person that steps foot on it. Please pray for Dave and Sheena, Isaac, Colton and myself as we seek to minister to them and love them with the love of Jesus Christ.
You know, they know Bible stories and most of them say they are Christians, but once they step out of Dave and Sheena’s living room and life happens…
So every Monday at 4:00 we trek over to the Pailthorpe’s, who live in the CRIB compound. We spend a lot of time praying for the evening, discussing the lesson, etc., followed by tea. (People here, including us, have “tea” and not supper. Basically what this means is that lunch and supper are just reversed here - the main, hot meal is at 1:00 - 1:30, and “tea” is a lighter evening meal.) After this we get the space ready for 32 people and at 7:00 we begin.
On Saturday mornings, also starting 3 weeks ago, we go over as well and just play active games. This is “family time” for the kids. The aim is to teach them to play together as a team, without fighting, without screaming at each other, just good clean fun. Keep in mind, when you put almost 50 kids in a fenced space without parental love, guidance, teaching and discipline, things can’t be without challenges.
We are planning on starting an art time as well. Oh, and we’re on a rotating schedule to supervise groups of kids when they go swimming at Chrissie’s. I think that’s all for the structured time we spend there.
There’s a guy who dropped out of high school and ran away from CRIB in late winter that was a very bad influence on the rest of the kids. He lived with some buddies and on the street till about a month ago. At this time his buddies kicked him out, which left him solely on the street. He came back to Chrissie’s, being at wit’s end. The CRIB kids didn’t want him back, so he is living at Chrissie’s with the guard/house worker. To occupy his time and to hopefully teach him some things, he is spending Mon. - Fri. with Isaac. This can be very challenging for Isaac, as he has to watch him at all times. Please pray for Isaac in this regard, and pray for this guy.
We finally got to see the “real” Burundi today. With our busy schedule, we had not yet seen Honda and Libby’s village till this morning. With today being a national holiday commemorating the death of a past president, which meant no school, we finally had the opportunity.
You know the saying: “what you don’t know won’t hurt you.”? Well, Honda and Libby had told us lots about the village and showed us a video they made, but nothing prepares you for seeing and smelling and living what we experienced today.
This tiny “village” of 1700 people is hidden behind a massive, high- fenced UN compound that stretches on for probably a few miles. Honda was introduced to this village in November of last year by a mentally challenged guy that they partially support. Almost nobody knows about this village; the government has chosen to turn a blind eye to the absolute poverty conditions almost without fail. In April of this year they had a huge flood, where many, many of the stick/mud huts collapsed in the approximately one meter plus flood waters. The huts, which are the size of a small bedroom, house families of up to 13 children plus the parent. They are 1-2 meters apart; there is no furniture; the roof consists of mostly garbage they’ve strategically placed to serve as a roof; they have one meal a day consisting of bugali ( basically nutritionally void, root of a common plant made into flour mixed with water), and maybe a bit of beans, but some days there isn’t even this. Some days there is nothing. The flood was a blessing in that now they at least have a sewage system, a holding tank for the sewage, which they collect in a bag and deposit into the tank which is located at the entrance of the village. Mothers deliver their babies on the bare ground, as this is their bed. The wealthier may have a straw mat to sleep on, but even with just a normal rainfall, the water comes into the hut and that mat doesn’t do much good anyway. The villagers’ entire wardrobe is that which they wear, day in and day out. A majority of the clothing is rags really, and worse, held together by dirt and filth, especially the childrens‘. Even though a child is wearing a skirt doesn’t mean it’s a girl, but that’s the only piece of clothing available. Diapers consist of a bit of material covered with a plastic bag.
People die of aids; alcoholism is a problem; the hooch, which is made from bananas, blinds the consumer with time. Education is non-existent - there is no school. Of the 1700 people, about 900 are children.
I need to go now, I will continue with this next time I blog. However, I want to add that for the last months I’ve prayed that the Father would make my heart hurt over the things that hurt His heart; my heart hurts.
Rosel
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Dry Bones and Sandals
I was telling my boys over lunch that I had dreamt about bags of chocolate chips. Colton quite longingly sighed, “I wish I would have had that dream.” Yea, we’re missing food from home.
Have I got something to tell you!!!
I had bought a really nice, comfy, expensive pair of dress sandals before we came out here. I don’t walk to school in them, but put on my trusty Vans, and yes, I look like a geek walking to school every day wearing a skirt and Vans, but anyway, once at school, I change into my sandals, which I just left at school in my art room closet everyday after changing into my Vans again to trek home in.
So 2 weeks ago I come to school after the weekend, and my shoes are gone. Vamoos!! I couldn’t believe it. Someone went into the closet and helped themselves to my shoes in a Christian school. I was pretty ticked, I mean if they would have just been in plain view on the floor, that’s one thing, but to snoop in the closet and take them, that just irritated me. By the way, I “happened” to bring another pair of sandals to school that day - thank you Jesus - so I didn’t have to look geeky all day.
The next day I told Irene, the head teacher. She was pretty upset about it for the same reasons as I was; you should be able to trust in a Christian school. The next morning after staff devotions she announced what happened, and by now I’m feeling kind of sheepish, after all, they’re just shoes!! I’d been praying about my attitude, and yes, I’d like my shoes back, but really, it wasn’t a big deal. That day I had many of the teachers and guards come into my room wanting to see where they had disappeared from. People were really taking this serious. They too saw this as a violation in trust at The KING”S school. They prayed. We prayed. This is God’s school, the enemy has no right here.
The next morning it was Antoinette’s turn to do devotions. She told us how she used to come by the gate of The King’s School and prophesy, out loud, that this would be her place of work. She wanted to teach here rather than at the public university where she was. Needless to say, she’s a great teacher there now. Her Scripture passage was Ezekiel 37:1-14. This really went deep into my Spirit; I mean, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.“ 2 Ti 3:16. In other words, the account of the dry bones coming to life is not just a really cool event that took place years ago, but God ordained it to be in the Bible to impart something to believers; it’s relevant for today. So this means that, as silly as it may sound to some of you, we can , in the ALL mighty name of Jesus Christ prophesy to even inanimate objects!! How sweet is that!!?? God is so good. He’s provided us with everything for life and godliness. Also, “ For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Heb 4:12. I was praying the Word of God and I was also acutely aware of the spiritual warfare raging as a result. God was on the move to spur me ( and fellow staff ) on in my/our faith.
Please read Ezekiel 37:1-14. It’s about the Lord telling Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones to come to life. So he did as the Sovereign Lord commanded. As he prophesied, “there was a noise, a rattling sound,” GOD was on the move!! Bone came to bone, tendons and flesh and skin appeared on the bones! God told Ezekiel to prophesy to the breath to come from the four winds into the slain that they would live. So the breath entered the slain and they came to life, and they stood to there feet!!! A vast army!! Alive!! By the power of the Sovereign Lord.
Prophesy is one of the nine gifts of the Spirit mentioned in 1 Co 12:7-10; being seated in Christ Jesus in the heavenly realms ( Eph 2:6 ), and through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we have authority and power over all rule, power, authority, dominion and every title. The same power that God exerted when He rose Jesus from the dead is available to us when we pray in the name and will of Jesus Christ. (Eph 1:19-21).
Before I go on, I want you to know that if the issue at hand was just a pair of shoes, I would not bother to write any of this. Stolen shoes is simply the “vehicle” that the Lord chose to use for a huge revelation of Himself, and the power of believing, biblical prayer.
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Heb 11:1
So I prayed. I prophesied in the name of Jesus that my shoes would be returned. I prayed for the person that stole the sandals. I sensed such a great power in and through the praying, I actually felt sorry for the person who took them, because I knew the conviction they were experiencing. The battle raging in them, knowing they should return them, but what if they got found out, … etc.
Well, the power of the Lord overcame the deeds of darkness yet again, and my shoes were anonymously returned the following Wednesday. First thing every morning I checked, expectantly, in my closet to see if they were there; this particular morning I did the same, they weren’t there, so I just started getting art materials ready for the day; I opened the other closet, and there they were in plain view. I was so overwhelmed by God’s faithfulness!!! I went on my knees and praised and worshipped God for coming through; and please remember, it wasn’t about the shoes, but about how God heard and answered prayer.
I was so fantastically pumped!! The word spread quickly as I had told 2 teachers, and there was rejoicing and relief. God was certainly at work at The King’s School.
I am currently praying/prophesying about 3 huge “only God can do that” issues. And I believe in God’s time, they will come to pass.
I had read Ezekiel 37 many times thinking, “yeah, that must have been so cool to see all those bones coming to life,” but never seeing the relevancy of it for my life. Now it’s chock full of relevancy. God opened the eyes of my heart to reveal the power of that passage, and I will never be the same again. This will be one of a growing pile of Ebenezer stones in my life. In 1 Samuel 7:12, Samuel sets up a stone of remembrance naming it Ebenezer, saying: “Thus far has the Lord helped us.” I want to testify to you, “thus far the Lord has been so gracious and compassionate to me, revealing Himself to me in wonderful ways.”
Look at Eze 37 again. Verse 11 says: “… Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.” That sounds like the epitome of destitution of soul and spirit. (Though in this case it’s literal.) If you’re anything like me, sometimes you feel dry, hopeless and alone. But listen to what God says in response:
“… O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them.” I think sometimes our faith is near death, and sad to say, some people lose their faith altogether because they think that God hasn’t answered their prayers the way they want Him to. But God wants to resurrect us from our spiritual graves and fill us anew with hope and faith and an abundant life.
Another thing that now jumps out at me is v: 9 where it says: “…breathe into these slain, that they may live.” These guys were killed, they did not die a natural death. It was a premature death. Life was snatched from them. What has the enemy snatched from you that you need to, and can, by the power of the indwelling Spirit take back from the enemy? Like the song says, ”Well I went to the enemies camp and I took back what he stole from me, took back what he stole from me, took back what he stole from me, I went to the enemies camp and I took back what he stole from me, he’s under my feet, he’s under my feet, satan is under my feet.”
Check out verse 1 and 2: There weren’t just a few bones; no, “it was full of bones. He (God) led me back and forth among them…bones that were very dry.” Sometimes, when it rains it pours. That is, sometimes we haven’t got just a few challenges to deal with at once, but we feel we can hardly, if at all, stand up under the burden of all our problems. And they are persistent problems, problems that just don’t get resolved and that bog you down. But if God can resurrect “very dry” bones, bones that aren’t still meaty fresh, he can surely breath life and truth into your 20 year old problem! And what about the “led me back and forth among them” part?! Why can it not be just a quick sprint through? How often have you heard the phrase’ “It’s in the desert that you grow the most.” Maybe it’s taking a while for you to attain all the growth that the Father has intended for you. But you’ll come out stronger for it.
Verse 3 God asks: “ …can these bones live?” God knew what Ezekiel’s answer would be, but it’s good to verbalize our faith, or lack thereof. Where is your faith meter? Do you believe that God can and still does the impossible?? A daily prayer of mine is found in Lk 17:5 - Lord, increase my faith in you!!!
The bottom line is this: v 14a says; “I will put my Spirit in you and you will live.” Hallelujah!! 2 Co 3:17 says; “…where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Freedom means you’re not in bondage, you’re not oppressed, you’re not beaten down. Freedom in Christ means you’re VICTORIOUS !! Live accordingly!
In Christ, Rosel
Have I got something to tell you!!!
I had bought a really nice, comfy, expensive pair of dress sandals before we came out here. I don’t walk to school in them, but put on my trusty Vans, and yes, I look like a geek walking to school every day wearing a skirt and Vans, but anyway, once at school, I change into my sandals, which I just left at school in my art room closet everyday after changing into my Vans again to trek home in.
So 2 weeks ago I come to school after the weekend, and my shoes are gone. Vamoos!! I couldn’t believe it. Someone went into the closet and helped themselves to my shoes in a Christian school. I was pretty ticked, I mean if they would have just been in plain view on the floor, that’s one thing, but to snoop in the closet and take them, that just irritated me. By the way, I “happened” to bring another pair of sandals to school that day - thank you Jesus - so I didn’t have to look geeky all day.
The next day I told Irene, the head teacher. She was pretty upset about it for the same reasons as I was; you should be able to trust in a Christian school. The next morning after staff devotions she announced what happened, and by now I’m feeling kind of sheepish, after all, they’re just shoes!! I’d been praying about my attitude, and yes, I’d like my shoes back, but really, it wasn’t a big deal. That day I had many of the teachers and guards come into my room wanting to see where they had disappeared from. People were really taking this serious. They too saw this as a violation in trust at The KING”S school. They prayed. We prayed. This is God’s school, the enemy has no right here.
The next morning it was Antoinette’s turn to do devotions. She told us how she used to come by the gate of The King’s School and prophesy, out loud, that this would be her place of work. She wanted to teach here rather than at the public university where she was. Needless to say, she’s a great teacher there now. Her Scripture passage was Ezekiel 37:1-14. This really went deep into my Spirit; I mean, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.“ 2 Ti 3:16. In other words, the account of the dry bones coming to life is not just a really cool event that took place years ago, but God ordained it to be in the Bible to impart something to believers; it’s relevant for today. So this means that, as silly as it may sound to some of you, we can , in the ALL mighty name of Jesus Christ prophesy to even inanimate objects!! How sweet is that!!?? God is so good. He’s provided us with everything for life and godliness. Also, “ For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Heb 4:12. I was praying the Word of God and I was also acutely aware of the spiritual warfare raging as a result. God was on the move to spur me ( and fellow staff ) on in my/our faith.
Please read Ezekiel 37:1-14. It’s about the Lord telling Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones to come to life. So he did as the Sovereign Lord commanded. As he prophesied, “there was a noise, a rattling sound,” GOD was on the move!! Bone came to bone, tendons and flesh and skin appeared on the bones! God told Ezekiel to prophesy to the breath to come from the four winds into the slain that they would live. So the breath entered the slain and they came to life, and they stood to there feet!!! A vast army!! Alive!! By the power of the Sovereign Lord.
Prophesy is one of the nine gifts of the Spirit mentioned in 1 Co 12:7-10; being seated in Christ Jesus in the heavenly realms ( Eph 2:6 ), and through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we have authority and power over all rule, power, authority, dominion and every title. The same power that God exerted when He rose Jesus from the dead is available to us when we pray in the name and will of Jesus Christ. (Eph 1:19-21).
Before I go on, I want you to know that if the issue at hand was just a pair of shoes, I would not bother to write any of this. Stolen shoes is simply the “vehicle” that the Lord chose to use for a huge revelation of Himself, and the power of believing, biblical prayer.
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Heb 11:1
So I prayed. I prophesied in the name of Jesus that my shoes would be returned. I prayed for the person that stole the sandals. I sensed such a great power in and through the praying, I actually felt sorry for the person who took them, because I knew the conviction they were experiencing. The battle raging in them, knowing they should return them, but what if they got found out, … etc.
Well, the power of the Lord overcame the deeds of darkness yet again, and my shoes were anonymously returned the following Wednesday. First thing every morning I checked, expectantly, in my closet to see if they were there; this particular morning I did the same, they weren’t there, so I just started getting art materials ready for the day; I opened the other closet, and there they were in plain view. I was so overwhelmed by God’s faithfulness!!! I went on my knees and praised and worshipped God for coming through; and please remember, it wasn’t about the shoes, but about how God heard and answered prayer.
I was so fantastically pumped!! The word spread quickly as I had told 2 teachers, and there was rejoicing and relief. God was certainly at work at The King’s School.
I am currently praying/prophesying about 3 huge “only God can do that” issues. And I believe in God’s time, they will come to pass.
I had read Ezekiel 37 many times thinking, “yeah, that must have been so cool to see all those bones coming to life,” but never seeing the relevancy of it for my life. Now it’s chock full of relevancy. God opened the eyes of my heart to reveal the power of that passage, and I will never be the same again. This will be one of a growing pile of Ebenezer stones in my life. In 1 Samuel 7:12, Samuel sets up a stone of remembrance naming it Ebenezer, saying: “Thus far has the Lord helped us.” I want to testify to you, “thus far the Lord has been so gracious and compassionate to me, revealing Himself to me in wonderful ways.”
Look at Eze 37 again. Verse 11 says: “… Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.” That sounds like the epitome of destitution of soul and spirit. (Though in this case it’s literal.) If you’re anything like me, sometimes you feel dry, hopeless and alone. But listen to what God says in response:
“… O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them.” I think sometimes our faith is near death, and sad to say, some people lose their faith altogether because they think that God hasn’t answered their prayers the way they want Him to. But God wants to resurrect us from our spiritual graves and fill us anew with hope and faith and an abundant life.
Another thing that now jumps out at me is v: 9 where it says: “…breathe into these slain, that they may live.” These guys were killed, they did not die a natural death. It was a premature death. Life was snatched from them. What has the enemy snatched from you that you need to, and can, by the power of the indwelling Spirit take back from the enemy? Like the song says, ”Well I went to the enemies camp and I took back what he stole from me, took back what he stole from me, took back what he stole from me, I went to the enemies camp and I took back what he stole from me, he’s under my feet, he’s under my feet, satan is under my feet.”
Check out verse 1 and 2: There weren’t just a few bones; no, “it was full of bones. He (God) led me back and forth among them…bones that were very dry.” Sometimes, when it rains it pours. That is, sometimes we haven’t got just a few challenges to deal with at once, but we feel we can hardly, if at all, stand up under the burden of all our problems. And they are persistent problems, problems that just don’t get resolved and that bog you down. But if God can resurrect “very dry” bones, bones that aren’t still meaty fresh, he can surely breath life and truth into your 20 year old problem! And what about the “led me back and forth among them” part?! Why can it not be just a quick sprint through? How often have you heard the phrase’ “It’s in the desert that you grow the most.” Maybe it’s taking a while for you to attain all the growth that the Father has intended for you. But you’ll come out stronger for it.
Verse 3 God asks: “ …can these bones live?” God knew what Ezekiel’s answer would be, but it’s good to verbalize our faith, or lack thereof. Where is your faith meter? Do you believe that God can and still does the impossible?? A daily prayer of mine is found in Lk 17:5 - Lord, increase my faith in you!!!
The bottom line is this: v 14a says; “I will put my Spirit in you and you will live.” Hallelujah!! 2 Co 3:17 says; “…where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Freedom means you’re not in bondage, you’re not oppressed, you’re not beaten down. Freedom in Christ means you’re VICTORIOUS !! Live accordingly!
In Christ, Rosel
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