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Day 239, or August 27. Always look on the bright side of life.

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Our thoughts today are from Ezekiel chapter 47 verse 9. Swarms of living creatures will

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live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish because this water

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flows there, and makes the salt water fresh, so where the river flows, everything will

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live. Another big picture surrounding this verse.

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Ezekiel's vision comes to a close with descriptions of the new land, with its rivers' boundaries,

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and the new city with its gates. After the exile, this is part of the dream that inspires

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many to return to the land God had given to their ancestors. The prophet tells them the

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land where they will live when they return will be truly a land of milk and honey, even

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though he doesn't actually use those words. Their ancestors had been promised a fruitful

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land, but when they lived there they disobeyed God and were finally evicted, as God used

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the ungodly Babylonians to work out His purposes. Now they have been granted a second chance,

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and a fruitful land was ready and waiting for them.

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And now today's action step. When the Bible talks about water, it must always be seen

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with the backdrop of a land which is surrounded by deserts and wilderness areas, where the

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inhabitants treasure water. We have friends in Israel who smile when we describe a wet

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day as bad weather. They describe a rainy day as a good one. It's all a matter of perspective.

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Ezekiel tells his fellow Jews that when they trust God, He will refresh them like they

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can't imagine. Jesus tells the woman at the well the same thing in John chapter 4 verse

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14, But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh,

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bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life. As I read this today, it's been a day

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when it's been raining on and off all day. A real nuisance, or essential for my garden.

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Once again, it's all a matter of perspective. God does refresh us, but sometimes we are

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so busy complaining about other things that we don't see God's hand in our lives. Be

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on the lookout today, and enjoy.