Saturday, July 31, 2010

Rebirth

Read Ezekiel 37:1-14

The Lord said, "I will give you a new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart."

-Ezekiel 36:26 (TEV)
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A movie told the story of a man who had died inside and had turned to alcohol to deaden any signs of life. Hope for the future was woefully absent. Then he was hired to be a bodyguard for a charming little girl; and, under her influence, he began to change. He started enjoying life again. His transformation made the film popular.

We identify with characters who are reborn. Such characters help us to dream that we can find renewed hope and change.

The good news is that we don't have to settle for vicarious rebirth. The good news is that no matter how many times we have fallen or how far down, we are not beyond God's power to restore us. God knows how to connect bone to bone, to restore flesh, and to breathe new life into us. And the best news is that this feeling of life and exhilaration doesn't end as a movie does; the vitality that God offers lasts into eternity.

Thomas Buice (Florida, USA)

Prayer
Thank you, God, for your unfathomable power and limitless love. Thank you for your life within us, life that will never end. Amen.

Thought for the Day
No matter what we have done, God can restore us.

Prayer Focus

To believe in God's power to restore
Forgiveness, The Passionate Journey

In her latest book, FORGIVENESS, THE PASSIONATE JOURNEY, Flora Wuellner writes to help us learn new ways to forgive others and ourselves. In this most timely offering, Wuellner uncovers answers to why forgiveness seems much more difficult today by exploring the Beatitudes and Jesus' vision of peace and healing. Learn more about or purchase this book.

| July 30, 2010 | July 31, 2010 |



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