24 December 2022
Ezekiel 37:4-6 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.’”
Israel turned away from God, so God turned away from Israel. The people were scattered and taken into Babylonian captivity. I was once just as unspiritual and just as useless to God as those dry bones that were scattered over the valley floor, described in the verses referenced above. Before I accepted Christ into my heart, like those Israelites who had turned away from God, I was also a walking dead man. But just like God brings renewal to his creation after a cataclysmic event, such as the eruption and explosion of Mount Saint Helens, so also he reached down and renewed, revived and gave me new life. If you look at a picture of Mount Saint Helens today, you would be hard pressed to tell that the mountain had ever exploded. At the zenith of my unbelief, like that mountain, spiritually speaking I also exploded and died, but Jesus in his great love and mercy, gave new life to these dry bones. When I look out over the landscape at the world as a whole, I see so many who are in that category of dry bones/the walking dead. Dear friends, if you are headed down that wide path that leads to destruction/the valley of dry bones, just look at the extreme measures God has taken and is taking to bring you back into a loving relationship with himself. You are so precious to him that he will never give up and stop loving you. He will simply love you to death if necessary. I am reminded of John 3:16, which says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever should believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” God has done and is doing everything possible to convince you to change course, and get on that narrow path that leads to everlasting/eternal life. Praise the holy name of Jesus!
Changing Course
This story may sound familiar,
It might even ring a bell.
Like Paul I was traveling a dangerous road,
That lead to the gates of hell.
I remember my surprise when I realized the truth,
All those things I’d heard were true.
Jesus suffered and died on a cross,
For people like me and you.
I don’t remember how long it took,
To make that important choice.
I only know I turned to the right,
When I heard his heavenly voice.
So many people reject our Lord,
They continue to rob and kill.
As for me I’ve met him face to face,
So I know that he is real.
And then there are those who accept God’s call,
Without being hit over the head.
They go to church and study God’s word,
And base their lives on what they’ve read.
My encounter with Christ was bittersweet,
Like Thomas I search for ways to relieve.
The guilt I feel when I recall,
I had to see before I could believe.
Ethan W. Moses