A Life Worthy

Tag: dry bones

  • One-a-Day Friday, 10/31/14

    number 1Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.  They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and we are cut off.’  Therefore prophesy to them and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them…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…(Ezekiel 37:11-13).

    Today’s Halloween.  My neighborhood is covered with skeletons and open graves.  They are meant to be scary, or funny, or…

    You know what, Beloved?  I’ll bet no one is intending these images of death to be comforting.  And yet, I’ll never look at bones or graves the same way again.

    Thanks, God.

    Your Word wins.

  • One-a-Day Thursday, 10/30/14

    number 1Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, 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 (Ezekiel 37:9-10).

    It’s his power, of course.

    Ezekiel realized that.

    Ezekiel knew that, while he may have spoken the words, they were God’s words.

    God’s Word.

    Oh, the things that God can accomplish through you, Beloved—and yet it is God doing the accomplishing.

    I find that empowering

    and humbling

    at the same time.

    Happy Thursday, Beloved.

  • One-a-Day Wednesday, 10/29/14

    number 1So 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 (Ezekiel 37:7-8).

    He did what he was told to do.

    He probably didn’t understand what all was happening.

    He might have felt a little foolish, you know, talking to dead bones.

    But he obeyed…and something amazing began to happen.

    What has God told you to do today, Beloved?

    Are you willing?

  • One-a-Day Tuesday, 10/28/14

    number 1Then 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.

  • One-a-Day Monday 10/27/14

    number 1The hand of the Lord was upon 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, “Oh Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” (Ezekiel 37:1-3)

    I wish I could tell you how well I identify with Ezekiel.  Man of God, totally in tune with the Spirit, hearing from the Lord and boldly speaking truth to the world around him.

    Yeah, that would be awesome.

    But I identify with the bones.

    Some days, I feel like the life has been drained completely away from me, and I am a dry, bleached, crumbling pile of bones.  Do you ever feel that way, Beloved?

    I thought you might.  That’s why you and I get along so well.

    So I ask the question: can these bones live? Will they ever again live and move and breathe and love and laugh and cry and have purpose?

    God alone knows.

    He knows.

    Are you ready for what comes next?

    Hold on to your bones, Beloved—this is gonna be amazing.