2015- Can These Dry Bones Live Again?

2015 dawns in a few hours. January 1 is a reset point, a time to start anew.  Restoration is one of God’s blessings for His people. Because of His grace, we meet life with hope, overcome failure by His strength, and discover life in the middle of death.  Are you familiar with that vision of the valley of dry bones that God gave to Ezekiel?

In the 37th chapter, the prophet is led by the Spirit to a valley full of bones, bleached and dried by the sun. Any semblance of life- gone. As he looks over this scene of desolation, God asks him, "Can these bones live again?"  Impossible, right?  Nothing is deader than dried out bones in the desert. I would say, "The day for life in these bones is long since passed! No, Lord, they won't live again." Ezekiel chooses a different response. "Lord God, only you can answer that." (37:3) It's not exactly a statement full of faith, but he does focus on the right Person! Sometimes that is all the faith we have, just enough to allow for a possibility.

Now comes the test. God said “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." (Ezekiel 37:4-5, NIV)  “Preach to these bones, Ezekiel,” the Spirit tells him. I wonder if he felt foolish speaking out loud to scattered bones?  But, in full obedience Ezekiel spoke the improbable, into a situation of the impossible.  And as he spoke, those bones rattled and moved! They assembled into skeletons, began to be connected, then covered with flesh. As he continued to preach, the Spirit of God swept over the valley of death and "breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army." (37:10)

That chapter is not fiction or fantasy. It is an allegory, a story of amazing faith and I am fascinated by the promise in it!  God's message to His people who were convinced that all hope was gone, was that He can make things whole and new where no natural hope exists. Listen to what they're saying: “Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone, there's nothing left of us.” (37:11) Ezekiel preached to a nation that was beyond hope – so it seemed! But, God called him to obedience, courage, and boldness; to bring back spiritual life to that 'dead' nation. It was a work beyond anyone's natural ability.

Who can make bones live again? Only God can raise the dead! "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.” Ezekiel 37:13-14

What seems dead, beyond hope, to you?

Are your dreams for the future, hopes to make a real difference, rattling around in your mind, dried up and dead?

Is your church, once alive with the Spirit, a place of skeletons and ghosts of things past?

Is your spiritual life nothing but bones seeming dead to the Spirit of God?

In 2015 the Spirit puts the question to us - "Can these bones live?"   They are not condemning words of doubt, they are a challenge to greater faith. Let’s become bold like the prophet,speaking the Words of life to a dead situation. "Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!" Nothing is so thrilling as seeing God bring life back, breathing His life into a person, situation, relationship, or church that is in the natural realm, beyond hope. So, hear the Word of the Lord!

Here is a word from the Word to ponder today. May it bring life to the dry places! “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:9-11, NIV)

The true power of restored life, of renewal of all things, IS NOT found in our personality, plans, or programs. "So he answered and said to me: “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts. " (Zechariah 4:6, NKJV)

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These are the days of Ezekiel,

The dry bones becoming as flesh;

And these are the days

Of Your servant David,

Rebuilding the temple of praise.

These are the days of the harvest,

The fields are as white in the world,

And we are the laborers

In the vineyard,

Declaring the word of the Lord.

Behold He comes

Riding on the clouds,

Shining like the sun

At the trumpet call;

Lift your voice,

It's the year of jubilee,

Out of Zion's hill

Salvation comes.

Days Of Elijah-

Mark, Robin- Integrity Music, Inc.© 1997 Daybreak Music, Ltd. (Admin. by Integrity Music, Inc.) CCLI License No. 810055

Where are you?

One sunny afternoon in 1972, while I was a student pilot, I set off on a solo flight to an airport 140 miles away. About a half hour into my flight, a visual check of details on the ground compared to my maps showed that  I was off course.  I was flying over an urban area that was not supposed to be on the flight path. Why, I wondered, since I had been flying with my little Cessna on the right compass heading? 

My inexperience made me miss the strengthening winds that were pushing the airplane south of my true course.  Unseen winds blew me miles off course in very short time!  I learned a life lesson that summer day.  Check your charts, use your radios, take nothing for granted. 

Today we are just a couple of days from the calendar flip to 2015.  This marker in time provides a reminder to us that we need to check the charts, do evaluations, and measure progress.  Today or tomorrow, ask questions about your health, your spiritual growth, your financial state, your personal relationships.  Yes, sit down, alone, prayerfully, thoughtfully, and do a real progress report. Be sure to use ALL the resources available.  You might say, “Well, Jerry, I have never been happier in my life, so I must be doing well.”  I am all for happy, but that is not a sufficient measure.  Or perhaps you could say,  “I made more money this year than I have made previously and my debts are cleared.”  Bravo!  Good stewardship and hard work are commendable but that’s not all you need either.

God told His people who had let themselves fall far from their holy calling that He had not forgotten or forsaken them. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:11-13, NIV) Christians are only ‘on course’ when they know the plan and live it.

We live for a destination that is beyond the horizon of time. Hebrews 11 speaks of living here on earth as strangers while longing for a country, a heavenly one!  If we hope to stay on course, we need to keep the hope in the forefront of our mind.  So many winds can carry us from our true course.  That is why we have the Spirit living in us to guide us.  He counsels us, speaking softly but urgently to us. God has also given us the wisdom of the Scripture where we see His nature revealed and learn from the examples, good and bad, of those who went before us.  He also calls us into His Body, the Church, where those who love us and journey with us keep us from deadly drift into error or self-absorption.

What we must never forget is that the BEST LIFE we can live NOW is guided by the hope of Heaven on the horizon and submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ today.  There a powerful but subtle temptation that insists that we can only be satisfied if we are doing our own thing, satisfying every whim and desire that comes our way.  Those who choose to live that way will find themselves “tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind...” (Eph 4:14).

"Am I making the choices God wants me to make or following my own desires?

Am I consistently doing what is right or taking the easy way of expedience?

Am I intentionally growing in character or drifting with the crowd and the current?"

Everyone of us, even those who make good God-honoring decisions from day to day, will deal with crosswinds. Temptations threaten to blow us off course. Factors beyond our control will bring storms that can blow us far from our intended destination in life if we’re just drifting along. If we are guided by the Spirit, they will not take us from His purposes!  

The Spirit's counsel is a sobering thought: "We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. ... how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3, NIV)

Here's a word from the Word. There is wonderful promise for those who are steady, eyes fixed on the Lord. Let these ancient words speak to you today.

"You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God.

You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him.

That’s right-you don’t go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set.

You, God, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it.

Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set;

Then I’d never have any regrets in comparing my life with your counsel.

I thank you for speaking straight from your heart;

I learn the pattern of your righteous ways. "

(Psalm 119:1-7, The Message)

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Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah

Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,

Pilgrim through this barren land.

I am weak but Thou art mighty,

Hold me with Thy pow'rful hand.

Bread of heaven, Bread of heaven,

Feed me now and ever more,

Feed me now and ever more.

Open Thou the crystal fountain

Whence the healing stream doth flow.

Let the fiery cloudy pillar,

Lead me all my journey through!

Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,

Be Thou still my strength and shield,

Be Thou still my strength and shield.

John Hughes | Peter Williams | William Williams

© Words: Public Domain

The "Plan"

Is your life a set of random events, an ‘accident’ in time, or is it one of purpose as prepared by the hand of God?  The question is not just one for philosophers.  The way in which we answer it either brings hope or despair, causes us to pursue the best or to resign ourselves to fate. 

Several members of Faith Discovery Church told part of their stories yesterday on the last Sunday of 2014 in a time we called, “Celebrating God’s Faithfulness.”  
(view podcast)   

Steve’s life went off the rails into confusion, drug abuse, and failure. But God (I love that phrase!) found him and today he lives with joy as a child of God. 

Heather and Mike were heartbroken by disappointments, but God gave them a new start and they live with joy in His provision.  

Bev faced an awful diagnosis of advanced cancer but God was there and kept her, restoring her to health.

Each of us makes choices produce results we could not foresee! In addition, we feel the impact of decisions made by others.  We are fools if we fail to understand the law of harvest. "You will always reap what you sow! Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful desires will harvest the consequences of decay and death. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time." (Galatians 6:7-9, NLT)  

However, we are not slaves of karma!  Our God is able to change the course of our lives and mercifully works to restore us to Himself.  Even when we ignore Him "God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much, that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s special favor that you have been saved!)"

(Ephesians 2:4-5, NLT)  

He can take the choices that break us, the experiences that frighten us, the disasters that come our way from sources beyond our comprehension - and work to save us. More than just save us, He can lead us on a path of joyful purpose that ends in His eternal home! We must choose.

In the coming year, make this passage a primary source of hope, a reason to seek the PLAN, and your guide for every day. "The moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. 

He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good." (Romans 8:26-28, The Message)

Are you living through a terrible time in your life?  

Do you see choices you made in the past that cause regret? 
Trust Him and let Him lead you to wholeness!

Are you experiencing rich blessings and ‘walking on the top of the mountain?’   Trust Him and give thanks, going steady on.

No matter what some may say, no matter how random life appears from our limited perspective, God has a plan and purpose that we can discover through faith. He invites us to participate in the plan, but gives us the freedom to follow our way, even to destruction.  Take the challenge first given by  Moses, the leader of ancient Israel.  Make your aspiration for the coming New Year -
"Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendants might live! Choose to love the Lord your God and to obey him and commit yourself to him, for he is your life. Then you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” (Deuteronomy 30:19-22, NLT)

Jesus provides us with the freedom to make the choice for Life through His death and Resurrection which broke the power of sin and death over us! The Spirit living in us empowers us to please God, to make the ongoing choice of obedience. Will you choose life and God’s plan? 

Here’s a word from the Word. 
Pray to own the promise, so as to live life to the full.
"Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: 
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of yourcause like the noonday sun."  (Psalm 37:2-6, NIV)

I want my Mom

He’s running and playing when his toe catches and he falls flat on his face.  It is just skinned knees and hands, but the child is a mess; a flood of tears, gasping for breath between sobs. "I want my Mom," the words wheeze out in little spasms of physical emotion.  Mom gathers him close with her soothing words, "Mommy's here," spread like a salve, healing the broken heart of that child. In a moment's time, terror gives way to peace - 'cause Mom is there. It's a magical scene! 

We are running through life when – bam! – we find ourselves knocked sideways. Challenges, disappointments, even weariness overwhelm us.  What a blessing for the Christian to be able to close his eyes in prayer with child-like faith praying -  "LORD, I need You!"  The Psalm uses maternal language for God’s comfort. "He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge. " (Psalm 91:4, NIV) The Holy Spirit embraces us. We listen quietly and the Voice of God says, "it's all right now!"

Sometimes as I sense the Spirit's Presence, I cannot hold back the tears, as the emotions that have been bottled up spill over. Those tears are not weakness, they are a language that God understands. One of the messages of this Holy Season is the nearness of God. He is not standing far off.  In Jesus, He became incarnate – ‘in the flesh.’

The Word calls Him "Emmanuel.”  Yes, He is God with us! The Gospel writers make it abundantly clear that He is not just God for the 'together,' the rich, the beautiful, the brave, or the intelligent. Jesus, the Christ, is the God of the little, the forgotten, the weak, those bruised and broken by life. He chose a young girl from a hill town to birth Him into this world. He chose to be born among us in the animal shelter 'out back,' because the room up front was full. Just maybe the kinsfolk of Joseph in Bethlehem had 'no room' specifically because they knew the whispered scandal of His conception.

The royal family in Judah determined early on to kill Him, and Jesus' family became fugitives for a time until Herod's death. As He began His adult ministry, Mark tells us that His own family thought He was mentally unstable and tried to bring Him home to avoid embarrassment. At the end of His short life, He hung naked, pinned to a rough cross, bleeding to death, while passers-by hurled insults at Him. Pilate mocked Him - "The King of the Jews" read the sign ordered nailed above Him as He died, a cruel joke.  If that all sounds terribly dramatic, remember this – He is able to be touched with our weakness.  He became fully Man and thus understands your weariness, your brokenness, your disappointment, your feelings of worthlessness... He's been there!

He offers more than sympathy. He is the Savior who is also the Lord of Glory. He is the embodiment of the Promise of the Great Reversal - who will make the last, first - who will exalt the humble!
Mary's song captures the joy we can know because of the Christmas promise. Read it thoughtfully today.
Note the triumph in the words, spoken prophetically, and with great hope. It is a poem written from the safety of the Divine Parent's embrace.

This is the word from the Word -
“Oh, how I praise the Lord. How I rejoice in God my Savior!
For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and now generation after generation will call me blessed.
For he, the Mighty One, is holy, and he has done great things for me.
His mercy goes on from generation to generation,
to all who fear him. His mighty arm does tremendous things!
How he scatters the proud and haughty ones!
He has taken princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
He has satisfied the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away with empty hands.
And how he has helped his servant Israel!

He has not forgotten his promise to be merciful.
For he promised our ancestors—Abraham and his children— to be merciful to them forever.”
(Luke 1:46-55, NLT)

"It's all right now!" God is here!
"He embraced his chosen child, Israel; He remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high."

May your Christmas be marked with Joy, filled with Light, and celebrated with a new awareness of God's Love.
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Thanks for reading along this year.
My prayer is to be used by God in these musings to encourage, to comfort, to provoke and that together we will grow up in Christ, living for the 'praise of His glory.' God bless you richly today.