Dear Ones,
Hope you are set for a new day! We never know what each new day holds. I plan to make cookies, meatloaf and egg dishes, go to Exercise class and then Craft class. Kurt will be dropping in the afternoon on his way to the cabin and later we have Bible study.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Let us not hold back from the Lord but to give Him our whole selves, with a desire to keep growing closer to Him. If that is our true resolve, we must let go of the old, even that which was good and from the Lord in the past, so that we may embrace the new He has for us now.

The Lord has been speaking that message to me in several ways lately, and Al has also shared that in Bible Study. And then to make sure I got His message, I happened to read Jean Nestler who wrote about letting go so we can grow. She used the portion of scripture of the valley of dry bones in Ezekial 37, with which you are probably very familiar. The valley was a dry place full of old bones and was a place of separation and consecration. It was a lonely, humbling place, stripped of things, and Ezekial was asked to prophesy to the bones. I will leave you to read the rest of the chapter to find out what happened when he obeyed and the bones started rattling.

Maybe that is a word for you also today, to let go of the old and embrace what it says in Isaiah 43:19, “Behold, I am doing a new thing: now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” You might also make the words that Jean prayed yours also:

“Holy Spirit, come with power. Breathe into every dry place. I yield completely to You. I surrender the old, and I make room for the new. I break agreement with fear, with despair, and with delay.

“I declare: Though this valley is my proving ground, I will not die here! Let every dead dream and every buried promise come alive with Your resurrection power. Where there has been barrenness, let rivers of living water begin to flow!

“I ask for the atmosphere of Heaven to invade the atmosphere of my life. Flood me with Your Spirit! Let the rivers of living water burst forth from within me. I speak to my spirit: Rise up in the power of the Holy Spirit! It’s time to hope again! It’s time to live again. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Challenge for today: Ask the Lord to help you release the old to Him and welcome the new thing He desires to do in you.
Blessings to you on your day and prayers and love, Judy