A Fix for What’s Been Ruined (A November to Remember–11.15.2014)
Today’s Scripture — 11.15.2014
“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. They will say, ‘This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.’ Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.” ~ Ezekiel 36:33-36
“The wasteland will be plowed and sown—a vast change from the emptiness those passing by are used to seeing.” ~ The Voice
A Fix for What’s Been Ruined
Each spring, I watch from the kitchen window as farmers turn over the earth. It’s a season of hope for farmers everywhere, a timeless act of believing that something good will grow again.
The prophet Ezekiel wrote of this practice nearly six hundred years before Christ was born. He spoke of land being “cultivated instead of lying desolate.” His words held hope and promise.
Centuries later, behold: Christ cultivated new life on the cross at Calvary with the most marvelous, scandalous act of sacrifice known to mankind.
And the Savior still “cultivates.” Even today, He is “working the ground” of our souls, to make us like springtime fields, ready for planting. He tends to the fallow ground of human hearts, turning the soil over and over again so seeds can be planted.
What do you see in your fields today? Do they look desolate? Empty? Hopeless? Unproductive?
God is the farmer of your field. He has plans for what is lying in ruins. He has a fix for what’s been destroyed.
He didn’t say He might fix things. He didn’t say He’d think about it. He said, “I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.”
Look to the cross, to see how He already did.
Living PreApproved,
Jennifer
This post is part of our month-long series, “A November to Remember: Seeing Yourself Through God’s Eyes.
How You Can Be a Part of This Movement:
1 – Print out the Scripture sheets. (Click here for printable versions.) Each of the 30 daily Scriptures are quoted in Love Idol, and each one ties back in some way to our identity in Christ. (You don’t have to read the book to participate in this study. But of course, you’re welcome to!
2 – Find the passage assigned for today’s date.
3 – Consider how God is speaking to you. How does the verse help you remember who you really are, outside of all the cultural noise?
4 – Visit us on the blog, or the Love Idol movement page on Facebook, to share what the verse means to you.
5 – Share your insights on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or your blog, to add more soul to your scroll. #MoreSoulLessScroll
I’ll post my own response here on the blog every morning at 5 a.m. Sometimes, you’ll find a story, maybe a few short words, maybe a series of photos. That will happen every day, for all of November, God-willing.
Studies show that the best way to form a habit, is to NOT break the chain. Habits form if you keep at it, one day after the next after the next. After our 30 days, we may have created a new habit of Scripture before Scrolling – a habit that can take us into the Christmas season, and beyond.
Follow Along
If you want to follow along, visit us here every day. Consider subscribing to my blog by clicking here to get these reflections in your email inbox.
The Printables
(Download for printing from Google Drive)
Let this be the November that we remember who we really are: Loved. Preapproved. His.
Find all the posts in the November to Remember series by clicking here.
I’ve only missed one day so far and have blogged rather erratically, journaled faithfully. Sometimes it just doesn’t make a good blog post, you know? Here’s the last one I posted, I wrote a poem. Hope it’s okay to share. http://provokingbeauty.blogspot.com/2014/11/be-still-poem-pin-god-first-challenge.html