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GLEANINGS FROM THE WORD Encountering an extraordinary God in ordinary life Issue # 194 July 10, 2001 ANT FARM CHRISTIANS   Did you ever see or have one of those “ant farms” as a kid? You know the ones where a small colony of ants is encased in a glass frame so that you can see what they are doing. I never had one, but I remember a friend with one. One of the things I remember most was that when the conditions got to be too dry in the farm, the ants stopped working. A quick spray of water from a mister bottle would raise the humidity enough to revive the ants and send them back to work. I wonder how many churches are like those ant farms. Dead or nearly so. Lethargic. People just sitting in the pews. Perhaps a spray of water from a mister bottle or water gun would bring about some temporary life, but it wouldn’t last and the person spraying might just find themselves in a lot of trouble. Perhaps what those congregations need, is an outpouring of heavenly blessing. Living water brought into their lives. A time of refreshing. If we find ourselves in those dry lifeless spots, we need to turn back to Him. Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God. Your sins have been your downfall! Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to him: "Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips. Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount war-horses. We will never again say `Our gods' to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion." "I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily. Like a cedar of Lebanon he will send down his roots; his young shoots will grow. His splendor will be like an olive tree, his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon. Men will dwell again in his shade. He will flourish like the grain. He will blossom like a vine, and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon.                                                         Hosea 14:1-7 NIV This passage is perhaps a little metaphorical for some, but God simply tells us here to repent and turn back to Him and He will pour out His blessing. Imagine the transformations of lives that could happen if each of us was diligent about turning back. Our lives would be transformed, our congregations could be transformed and entire communities transformed. God is waiting to pour out streams of living water and showers of blessings. Will we seek them, or will we be content to lay nearly life-less in the dry sand, like dying ants? Until next time, may you seek Him with all your heart. God bless. Kevin ©  2001 K.F. "Kevin" Corbin All Rights Reserved