Terra cotta soldiers....

Terra cotta soldiers...

Yesterday I was reminded of a trip we were privileged to take several years ago to China...

One of the places we visited was the diggings and display of the terra cotta soldiers  in Xian, China. There were hundreds of living people viewing these silent clay soldiers guarding their emperor in the "afterlife". Each soldier was individually designed with their various field gear, hair styles depicting which rank or position they held in the army...standing row after silent row. Clay horses  stood at ready to carry or work their jobs as well..

There were so many, it was hard to take in, standing in formation under huge roofs built to cover these vast armies of quiet clay empty hearted men...

I don't ever expect these clay soldiers to come to life..nor have hearts of flesh..but they could if God so desires like the valley of dry bones in the book of Ezekiel.   But, it was such a good illustration of heart of stone...no feeling, no care, empty....not what God so desires of us, hearts filled with His love, His care, His Spirit....filled

thank YOU that you give us new hearts, written on with Your Spirit...not hardened, empty...

Ezekiel 11:19 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. 

Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 

2 Corinthians 3:3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 

Ezekiel 37:1-14 The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army. Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 

Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 

I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’” 

Youtube, terra cotta soldiers..