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 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.’” (Ezekiel 37:4-6)

Now there’s a promise.

These dried up, bleached out, dead bones will live again.  And I don’t think that’s merely a future thing, either.  This dried up, bleached out, dead heart has already been raised to life.  This man, dried up by trials, bleached out by the world, dead in sin, is daily made new by the Lord of the Universe.

Why?

Why does he do it?  Why does he, day in and day out, put breath into me—physically and spiritually—and bring me to life?

Well, he tells us, doesn’t he?

So that I will know that he is the Lord.

That’s what he does, Beloved.  He makes life spring from death.  He renews and restores and refreshes, because he can.

Because only he can.

He’s at work in you right now, Beloved.  Restoring life to what was dead.  He’s working in you so that he can work through you.

All that, and it’s only Tuesday.