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Listen to the devotional read here: https://bit.ly/2S7aGS4
1 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. 2 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. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign LORD, you alone know.” 4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones: 'Dry bones, listen to the Message of God!'" 5 God, the Master, told the dry bones, "Watch this: I'm bringing the breath of life to you and you'll come to life. 6 I'll attach sinews to you, put meat on your bones, cover you with skin, and breathe life into you. You'll come alive and you'll realize that I am God!" 7 I prophesied just as I'd been commanded. As I prophesied, there was a sound and, oh, rustling! The bones moved and came together, bone to bone. 8 I kept watching. Sinews formed, then muscles on the bones, then skin stretched over them. But they had no breath in them. 9 He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man. Tell the breath, 'God, the Master, says, Come from the four winds. Come, breath. Breathe on these slain bodies. Breathe life!'" 10 So I prophesied, just as he commanded me. The breath entered them and they came alive! They stood up on their feet, a huge army. 11 Then God said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Listen to what they're saying: 'Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone, there's nothing left of us.' 12 "Therefore, prophesy. Tell them, 'God, the Master, says: I'll dig up your graves and bring you out alive - O my people! Then I'll take you straight to the land of Israel. 13 When I dig up graves and bring you out as my people, you'll realize that I am God. 14 I'll breathe my life into you and you'll live. Then I'll lead you straight back to your land and you'll realize that I am God. I've said it and I'll do it. God's Decree.'" (Ezekiel 37:1-14 The Message Bible)
Happy Wednesday, ConCafe Family! May the blessings of God bless you Friend into service that brings God to full knowledge in you and all who need that! May our prayers continue for all that need our prayers and God's blessings. Pray for Irene Oakes, of FUMC Gonzales who is having shoulder surgery today. Pray for a successful operation and speedy recovery. Pray for one another. Pray for yourselves.
This is one of the most fun passages in scripture. I know it was not written wtih the intent to make Eradio smile or chuckle. It has a very serious message, but it is an amazing, almost incredible message. Hint: Our God is a God of life, of incredible acts, and whose message may not always be super obvious to everyone. And is one of those passages, like many in the Holy Bible, upon second or third readings reveal ideas or images not yet realized and it is important to prayerfully and marvelously read each as a surprise message from God. May we be open to new adventures that God may be sharing with us through this reading. Bear in mind that this is done in a paraphrase style with the imagination of Dr. Eugene Peterson, who wanted the scripture to jump out at us in a modern way.
Years ago, my sister had a male friend interested in her. She found him amusing, but did not hold the same serious interest in him as he had in her. Part of it may have been was the fact that he was the son of a funeral director, who owned a chain of funeral homes. As the son and as one who was in training to be an undertaker, he had more than his share of stories of his experiences with the dead. He certainly held our attention and made some of sleep a bit uncomfortably. I won't go into detail! I hope this scripture doesn't frighten you!
The passage begins with the prophet sharing how God grabbed him and sat him in the middle of a most unusual spot; "an open plain strewn with bones." Think of an uncovered cemetery. Okay, for the fearful, don't! This place was covered with bones! Those suffering from ostiophobia please bear with me! This is a word made up for those with a fear of skeletons and bones. But these bones had been so exposed to the sun and the elements that they were bleached. The question that God asks the prophet is one the prophet probably did not expect. God asks, "Can these bones live?" The prophet gives a good response, "Master God, only You know that." I would have silently said that to myself had I been standing near this conversation. He doesn't commit to making himself look foolish or dumb, but hands it off to God for God to answer. Yet, regardless of the answer, God shocks him further by giving him an almost impossible task; "Prophesy over these bones: 'Dry bones, listen to the Message of God!'" Okay. A prophet is the mouthpiece of God and if God orders the mouthpiece to speak to dry bones, then speak! It is then that God speaks directly to these bones with this message; "Watch this: I'm bringing the breath of life to you and you'll come to life. I'll attach sinews to you, put meat on your bones, cover you with skin, and breathe life into you. You'll come alive and you'll realize that I am God!" The prophet was faithful in sharing this message and he hears a sound along with rustling, and the bones moved and came together, bone to bone. All that God said would happen, happened! Fully formed but devoid of breath. Again God gives Ezekiel the command and Ezekiel shares and the breath of life comes and fills the bodies now formed from the bones, and they formed a huge army. God then identifies the army as being the house of Israel, and the prophet hears the voice of this army as they said, "Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone, there's nothing left of us. Then the word of promise and hope; God will dig up your graves and pull you out alive. You will be taken straight to the land of Israel; and you will be formed as God's people, and you will be people of life.
This passage goes hand in hand with all the passages related to the coming of God's Holy Spirit. It is a passage of life, love, and hope. It is a promise of life beyond death, and life beyond hopelessness. It is also a message of faith for the Church. And it seems today's church needs to hear this. We have many church buildings occupied by people but no mission or vision to share with the world. Some are social clubs to be honest; others are ideology centers, with little to nothing to share about Jesus and His love. Many gather to gather; and scatter just to scatter. The message is clear; invite the Holy Spirit into your life. Think about the "dead" areas of faith in your life, and ask God how to bring life into that part of you. We should invite the Holy Spirit into our churches to give us life and as a result we will have life to share with the people outside of our churches. Being dead is not the goal of God; while we have breath we should thrive in the fullness of life; when we encounter hopelessness, we share hope; when we find some in darkness we have light to share; and for those living Godless lives, we share God.
I say the adventure has been laid out for us; it's up to us to join in or get left behind.
PRAYER: Loving God, fill us with Your Holy Spirit. May He guide us to faithfulness and fruitfulness. May we be guided to respond in loving ways to situations that seem futile. Bless us, bless our families, our churches, our communities, our government; bless all who need blessing in the right way to become the people you have called us to be. Please bless those who are facing need. May we glorify You; we pray in Jesus' strong name! Amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. Be a conduit of God's Spirit to those in need!
Receive my blessings of love and joy,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
