ONE: Today I couldn't help but recognize how many times the word ONE was brought up! -one nation -one king -one kingdom -one shepherd -one dwelling forever -one everlasting covenant -one God -one people Wow! America might say we are a nation under God, but one day there will be One people- one nation ACTUALLY under ONE GOD! That is something I am looking forward to! One shepherd who cares for my soul, the good shepherd to his also my Sovereign king, who has also created one dwelling place for me to be with him for eternity. Today, my soul is encouraged to consider the eternal hope of getting to be with the Lord in heaven one day. I was encouraged from the sermon this weekend to think about our sister Erlinda who passed away, and to think of how she gets to see this Oneness with Christ perfectly right now. I praise the Lord for taking these dry bones and giving me life. I am praying that this week, we would see more dead souls made alive by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Ezekiel 37 Approaching ministry and daily life as a Christian: Let God prove himself, do not limit his power. “And he led me around among them, and behold there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” v 2-3 Often I am tempted to ask the question “Would God save this person? Would God sanctify this person? Will they endure till the end?” I am tempted to ask these questions especially when a person I pray for seems unlikely to repent. This should NOT be my attitude. The valley was filled with dry bones. I was among them. My bones were no more alive than anothers’ bones when God decided to breathe his breath into me. I was just as dead as the next person. How then could I say, will you do this, Lord? Instead I should pray “O Lord God, you know!” And leave it to him! Praying that I would put myself under the ability of God, seeing his power for what it really is. His words have the power to breathe life! “And I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.” v 14 If I am putting confidence in anything other than God’s power, and his will, I have missed my mark. No good will come of it. I need to confess today that I must continually check myself, that I put no confidence in anything but the word of God, and the Spirit’s power to save! Bless the Lord that it is not up to me! And bless the Lord for the future inheritance that is mine in Christ! !! #juniorgirls
5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. There is power in the Word of God! And because Ezekiel was the one who opened his mouth to speak what God said, he got to see the power of God at work right before his eyes. I was thinking a couple of things this morning... 1. I want to see Gods power work right before my eyes! Then I need to speak Gods Word, not my word to people. 2. I don’t want to limit Gods power. Something I was convicted by was how I invite people to church very often but don’t always get to the Gospel! I could be limiting the power of God. Because it is the Gospel that holds the power of God for salvation! So I need to freely speak the good news! It’s great to invite people to church, and God can use an invite to church to save someone’s soul, but I don’t want to limit Gods power by only inviting them to church. Where’ve I go, I want to sow the Gospel! Praying this morning for an open door today to share the Gospel! #seniorguys
Ah praise God!! When our souls are thirsty God's word gives us just what we need AMEN??? “And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord God, you know."” Ezekiel 37:3 Convicted this morning about my WEAK FAITH. It feels like the Lord is asking me the same question before I go into Albertsons this morning concerning my co-workers, "Can these bones live?" My flesh says "no God, look at how they dead they are! They are so far gone in their sin!" ......What a lie from Satan. Of course God can resurrect the souls at my work! I prayed this morning that God would give me a heart like Ezekiel when he says, "O Lord God, you know." If only I am faithful to preach life today to the souls around me, they, like me, can be risen from the dead!! Father God, please help us, for we are weak. Forgive me this morning for my little faith. Your hand is not shortened that you cannot save. Neither is your Spirit weakened to where he cannot produce within us a great love for lost souls. Please Father, open doors today for everyone at our church to be sowing the Gospel and leading souls to life! Amen. Looking forward to prying with you guys tonight at the prayer meeting! :)
11 Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.' 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. - Ezekiel 37:11-13 I love this verse because it shows how gracious the Lord is! Through constant disobedience and judgement He’s had to pour out on this nation; they still get a chance to be His people. They fear that because they disobeyed they have been cut off from the Lord and are no longer His people, but that’s the exact opposite of what he says! I’m amazed at the love the Lord can show! Just like Israel was Gods people then, we are Gods people now, because we have been saved! When I walk around school it feels like I’m walking with dry bones around me, and it just feels like everyone is a walking corpse, trying to suck all the satisfaction out of everything but it always runs out. This chapter makes me want to see people get saved so bad! They’re missing out on the greatest joy they can find, and I can share that with them! I want to see the a revival at my school and watch these people find joy! #SeniorGuys
“And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”” Ezekiel 37:13-14 Wow, what an amazing chapter! I think this is the first time I’ve truly dived into it, and how encouraging it was, to see prophecy of Jesus’ future reign as the King of all kings, when all of us who are in him will be resurrected to be with him! This is such a beautiful and encouraging reminder, that no matter what may happen in this life, we WILL live and will someday be with the Lord, which will be infinitely better and worth whatever we go through now! He will be our God and we will be his people, and we will see him and know that he is the Lord! He has spoken it, so we know he will do it!! Praise God! “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”” 1 Corinthians 15:54-55 #SeniorGirls
The words of eternal life! These words could not have been made up! Reading today’s chapter reminded me of God’s wisdom and great love that he would orchestrate every event in time and use it to lead us back to him. He used the splitting of two kingdoms Israel and Judah, the captivity of his people, and now their desperate state of being “dry bones” to bring salvation! He will restore his people, bringing them life and breath, and He will raise up one nation with one King, Jesus Christ our Lord! And we will be his people and He will be out God! How could this have been made up? Only God could give such good news! I am praying for revival in our city and our nation, that God will put his Spirit into the hearts of many people and turn us from our sins! Already this last weekend, God has been answering our prayers and he is saving souls! I have heard of souls getting saved, including a jr. high student in my small group, and he is convicting others to repent and believe in his Son! He is using the year 2020 to being people to him- praise the Lord! I am excited to pray with my church family tonight and trust in God’s will to revive and give life in his word!
“They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” Ezekiel 37:23 i loved getting to read ezekiel 37 today!! this verse specifically stuck out to me, as it reminded me a lot of 2 corinthians 5:17 and the picture of salvation! only because of the Lord were the people of Israel able to turn from their idols, and only because of the Lord was i able to turn from my idols!! because of His mercy and love, we are able to become new creations, with new hearts of flesh and worship Him for eternity, which is something to continually praise Him for! #seniorgirls
Wow! What a chapter. “They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” - Ezekiel 37:23 How blessed are we to be grafted in along with this promise to Israel? Salvation is through the Jews and to us too! Now we are also his people and he is our God! Hallelujah! How great a salvation this is. This verse reminds me of Titus 3:4-7! It’s humbling to realize as Americans (a nation that didn’t even exist when the LORD spoke this to Ezekiel), we would be one of the nations. And as I read verse 28 it makes me praise the LORD that we know he is the LORD! But then I back up and ask does America really know that he is the LORD? I believe some do, but we still need a great revival. We still need life to be breathed into these dry bones and for God to tell us to arise. We still need to be one under one King, one Lord, and one Shepherd JESUS CHRIST. Stirred up to pray for a revival, who’s with me?!
“And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord God, you know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.” Ezekiel 37:3-4 SOTD today was so powerful. I thought it was so cool in verse 3 how Ezekiel knew that he could not make the dry bones live, but God could. Also in verse 4 looking at it from the spiritual viewpoint and not physical. Those who are dead in sin are like the dry bones. They must listen to the Word of God, and receive Him so that they can live. This reminds me of how God created all things. He created man from dust in the beginning and God breathed His life into him. The word of God created all things and brings us life!!! “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” John 1:1-4 #Juniorgirls
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live." - Ezekiel 37:7-9 As I read this chapter I got a clear picture of the valley of dry bones. It looks dark and empty. There is no life to be found. The people have lost hope in the Lord. But God still loves the people and commands Ezekiel to prophecy to the dry bones and God breathes life into them! My School campus has the same look. It’s dark and empty. No life is there. It’s a bunch of dead people walking around. They need to be prophesied to! They need to hear the word of the Lord! As I am on campus this week I want the name of Jesus to be lifted high on my campus and to see God breath life into people! Jesus didn’t come to die for specific people. He died to save everyone! He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. - 1 John 2:2 #SeniorGuys
I’m pumped up seeing how God is the one who makes bones that are come alive, and seeing the only thing Ezekiel do was prophesy as a picture of God’s work of salvation and my responsibility to preach the Word, just like this past week’s sermon. One thing that I got super encouraged from though was the end of the chapter. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. - Ezekiel 37:27 I was rereading this and then immediately thought of an almost identical verse in Revelation! And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. - Revelation 21:3 This is what is still coming! I was reminded also of the contrast towards the beginning of Ezekiel, when God leaves the temple (Ezekiel 10). And how much this is what I deserved: to never be in the presence of God because of my sin. But because of Christ, I can rest in this surety-that I will dwell with God one day and see Him as He is! I’m praising God today for that future grace that is yet to come!
And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know." - Ezekiel 37:3 When I pictured this: the Lord taking Ezekiel to a valley filled with dry, dead, dead for years bones and then asking Ezekiel whether or not these bones could have life, I would have honestly and confidently said, “Absolutely not, now way, these bones are dead.” Yet Ezekiel said, “O Lord God, you know.” He didn’t make a decision then and there, but he brought it up to the Lord, knowing that He has the final decision. God can do anything; He can do whatsoever He pleases with these bones, even give them life. Is that the way I approach every situation in my life? Even the most “simplest” situations where I believe there is a very straightforward answer? Like we saw with this chapter, God gave LIFE to these bones! A body and breath! And there was a whole army of them! That’s absolutely crazy! I would not have imagined that from one question “Could these bones have life?” I need to call upon the Lord, expecting Him to do ANYTHING with whatever circumstances I am faced with! Bones that were dead for years were given life by the Mighty Hand of God, circumstances that I have lost hope for years could be transformed by that same power! I’m praying that the Lord would really give me the mindset to never assume what the outcome will be but have faith that He is able to change anything in miraculous ways for His glory! "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. - Job 42:2 #SophomoreGirls
“Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD." - Ezekiel 37:5-6 Resurrection!!! Loved reading through today’s chapter along with Rev. 20. I often feel so keenly aware of the fact that I am a resurrected spirit encased in a fallen body, in a fallen world. But the promised resurrection brings encouragement and perspective in the here and now! This quote from the weekends sermon has resonated with me since I heard it - “Stop searching for greener pastures- they will fade. But the seed of the gospel will never fade, it endures forever.” Amen!! This applies, not only to my zip code, but to so many other temporal pursuits I can be tempted to devote too much attention to. I love an illustration I once heard. How silly would it be for me, during a hotel stay, to buy furniture, a nice fiddle leaf house plant, invest in its decor, or remodel?? It’s a temporary stay! Should I take care of my room while I’m in it, of course, but I’m not making a long term investment in something that is meant to be temporary! May where I spend my money, my time, my words, my energy - be to an eternal end! May today’s emphasis be on the gospel! Because... spoiler alert that coveted house will burn one day, those clothes I have my eye on will go out of style in two minutes, that cute house plant will wither and fade, and those aches and pains... they are only going to get worse! But what hope we have as Christians... “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
“And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.”” Ezekiel 37:3 What an example of faith. Here Ezekiel is talking to God and God says can these bones live?, and Ezekiel is just like God, you already know. Here Ezekiel asks God with faith to give life to bones, and he does it and yet sometimes I doubt that God can save my friends and family? What I took away from this chapter is that I need to pray for God to help my unbelief. I am also going to be praying that God would give me the mindset that God is all powerful and can do anything. #seniorguys
"Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord ." - Ezekiel 37:4 Reading about God telling Ezekiel to go prophesy to these dry bones sounds absolutely crazy. It reminded me of when God commanded the Israelites to go march around the walls of Jericho seven times until they fell down. Both of these things sound crazy, but both the Israelites and Ezekiel responded with this radical faith and did exactly what God had told them to do. This morning I was led to asking myself the question of whether or not I would act with that same faith if God told me to go prophesy to a valley of dry bones? "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind." - James 1:6 God has made it so clear to me that there are times where I would doubt Him. There are times that I have limited His power. But in this chapter we see God restore life to these dry bones! How much more is our God able to do?! I don't want to be the one that hinders God from doing something out of my lack of faith. I want to be one that when God calls me to do something, that I would get up and do it, seeing as our God wants to do good! He wants to be our God and us to be His people! Really praying this morning that God would search my heart! Praying that God would make it so clear to me any part of my life which I am lacking faith and that He would get rid of that doubt! God is only one that can bring revival and if He can do that from a ball of dry, decaying bones then how much more than He do that here among the living in America today!! "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." - Ephesians 3:20-21 #seniorguys
“And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people.” ~Ezekiel 37:13 1 Corinthians 13:12 came to mind- “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” Every bit of understanding we have now, every glimpse of who God is, is just a blurry-eyed view of reality. Someday, I will know, in person, face to face, Him who my soul loves! “And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!” ~Job 19:26-27 Even now, this morning & every morning, as I open the God-breathed Word, I pray- “My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word!” ~Psalm 119:25
“Then he Said to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off. Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, O my people. And I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord” Ezekiel 37:11-14 Was so encouraged this morning reading about how the Lord was restoring Israel, despite how much they had sinned against him. Reading verse 11 reminds me of my life before God saved me. “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of air the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. Ephesians 2:1-2 Even though It might have not looked like it on the outside, I had no hope, I was dead, but God breathed into me life and gave me his spirit. Praise God for the work of salvation that he does in us! #freshmenguys
Spirit רוּחִי רוּחַ rûaḥ The power to bring life into dry bones! Praise the Lord for His Power is mighty! Praise the Lord that his Spirit is alive & at work today that we can continue to see Him raise up dry bones like mine, that He would use something that was once worthless to serve as an army for His good will! #juniorgirls
And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD." - Ezekiel 37 : 14 Such an amazing promise and reminder that I have the spirit and this power within that can only come from God. This chapter was a brand new story to me and I was truly in awe. Just one more example of his power and promises. #JuniorGirls
“They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” Ezekiel 37:23 God is going to cleanse his people of their sins so that he can be their God and they will be his people. This chapter is such a clear representation that God goes great lengths to show his might to his people. God brought the whole house of Israel back to life from a pile of bones. “And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”” Ezekiel 37:13-14 That is so crazy to me that even after they died God was still planning to raise them up so that they could know who he is as their God! And when he raises them he doesn’t punish them for not obeying while they were still alive but because he loves them so much he instead promises to put his spirit within them so that they can live not only physically but spiritually also! Did you know that this is something that happens all the time. People who are dead are made alive, people who were once a rotting pile of bones doing no good have become living beings filled with the spirit! See, reading this is shocking because seeing a pile of bones turn into a living breathing person doesn’t exactly happen, and if it did it would be terrifying because we know that once dead you don’t come back to life. But... it actually does happen. From the moment we are born we are dead in our sin. And we must be reborn to a new life in Christ! “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Psalm 51:5 “Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” John 3:5-6 “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,” Colossians 2:13 #juniorgirls
21 then say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. 22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. 23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. - Ezekiel 37:21-23 Praise the Lord for His great mercy and grace! We’ve read about so many times where the people of Israel and of Judah have sinned against God without repentance. God punished and judged them, yet here we see a prophecy that He will restore them! They sinned against God, in the same way our nation sins against God without repentance! They were prideful, idolatrous, sexually immoral, yet God still promises to restore them for His names sake! If God was good to keep His covenant with the people of Israel and not completely wipe them out, then surely He will continue to save as He says in His new covenant with us here today! God is faithful! You and I can have 100% assurance in salvation through His son Jesus Christ! 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live." 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. - Ezekiel 37:7-10 Wow! God is sovereign, He is in control! I feel like this is something that I need to really abide on in every day of my life. When God saves your soul He puts His Spirit in you! Do you know what that means!? This means that the same power that is able to raise these dead, dry bones back to life lives those who trust in God! I can think of multiple times, especially during this Coronavirus pandemic, where I’ve felt anxious or stressed over school or the guidelines, or whatever it may be. The idea of anxiety is so twisted here in 2021, really every time we’re anxious we’re just not trusting that God is in control! Whenever you’re tempted to be worried or anxious, just be reminded of the power and sovereignty of our God! If he is able to raise an army of dry bones back to life, surely He can help each and every one of us with the things we have going on. #FreshmenGuys
“Then he said to me,”Prophecy over these bones and say to them, O dry bones hear the word of the Lord.” Ezekiel 37:4 This has encouraged me to continue to spread the Gospel at my school more. There are lots of people who call themselves Christians, but they do not have the Spirit breathing through them! I used to be a “check the box Christian” but now I am real Christian with the spirit speaking through me and giving me the wisdom and strength to follow his commands and also share the gospel. I used to be deathly afraid to share the Gospel because it is sadly “controversial” now to people, and now I am able to share it without the fear of being rejected. Praise the Lord and pray that people’s hearts will be softened to the word of God! #seniorguys
11 Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.' 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. - Ezekiel 37:11-13 #Freshmanguys
“I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore."” Ezekiel 37:26-28 ESV I love seeing God’s heart for His people here in this passage! He always seeks His people out and His desire is for them to come to repentance! We continually see God’s patience despite the fact that He constantly gets rejected. We see this patience even in our own nation today. Let’s pray the hearts of men are moved towards repentance and that God would change the hearts of evil men like He did for us!
Looking forward to serving the Lord Jesus Christ in His Millennial Kingdom yet to be realized in Israel. Psalm 84 says that ‘I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.’ I want to tell the Lord that I would rather take any assignment He has for me than experience the pleasure of this life. To my shame, I have already sampled the pleasures of this life to some degree, but as God has given me a new heart and a new spirit, I have no interest. I want to serve the Lord NOW and THEN in Christ’s Millennial Kingdom!!
“Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord."” Ezekiel 37:5-6 Life did not come to these bones when they were dusted off. Life did not come to these bones when they were constructed into a body. Life did not come to these bones when they were connected with flesh. Life did not come to these bones when they were covered in flesh. Up until this point, they were still just a bunch of lifeless bags of bones. It wasn’t until God breathed into them that they came to life. And what else has been God-breathed? His Word... “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Application: I will aim to read the Bible every day seeking life from its pages. And I won’t pull my face from its pages until I have been filled with the life that only He can give. Father help me to get life from your Word every time I read it. May the same Spirit who breathed your Word into existence, be what fills me and Illuminates my mind so that I might truly live for the purpose which you have called me to. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
What a great example of God’s power to give life! It’s so tempting to sometimes pray without faith for a loved ones salvation. Every circumstance is so different and it can be easy to think, “God, how can you even save this person who is this way or who is going through this situation in life?” But God is the one who put them in that situation. They are not outside of His plan for them. The God who has all the power and is able to breath life into dry bones can bring salvation to anyone!
Amen to this encouraging cross-reference and future hope we have in His power. Rev 20:4 Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
-V:22- “One king shall be over them all” -V:24- “they shall all have one Shepard” Jesus! We are in Ezekiel, but it’s all leading to talking about Jesus. Doesn’t matter what time you have existed, it has always been and always will be about Jesus Christ our Lord. Let’s live for Him today!
I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. Ezekiel 37:26 Something that I needed to realize this morning, especially going back to school, is the amount of times God uses I in the book of Ezekiel and specifically this chapter. No part of Israel’s restoration is from what they have done. No part of their salvation is from their good works. Every single desire the Lord has to establish this covenant of peace is from His desire to save them!! I look at the revival we all want to see. I look at the amount of people that haven’t been reached at calvary yet and realize that I can’t talk to any of them. There is nothing in my human body that gave me a love for souls from birth. I need to be reborn so that the spirit could give me that love and even now, there is nothing in my human body that gives me the words to speak to these people. It is ONLY by the power of spirit that I can boldly proclaim Jesus’ name and it is ONLY by the blood of Jesus that revival will spark!!! Who’s in to be a vessel for the Lord today no matter how we feel?!?!? #seniorguys
“My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore." - Ezekiel 37:27-28 Such an awesome chapter about God breathing life into even the driest of bones! There is nothing too wonderful for the Lord, and He is the giver of all life that is, both physically and spiritually. These last two verses were so encouraging to think on the future inheritance and life we will get to share with our Heavenly Father, and that even now we can have a relationship with him! And just as the Lord is the one who brings sanctification for Israel, so he sanctifies us as we wait on him! Praise the Lord for this sweet salvation and the newness of life we can now experience with him! #seniorgirls “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” - 1 Peter 1:3-5
"THEN YOU WILL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD; I HAVE SPOKEN, AND I WILL DO IT, DECLARES THE LORD" (Ezekiel 36:36b & 37:14b) This shows just how important it is that we recognize that there is no other false god or idol in our our life. It reminds me of the commercial whose punch line was "You can pay me now or you will pay me later." Thank you Lord for your Scriptures and Spirit so that we can PAY you homage now and not join the "goats" later!
"'Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and YOU SHALL LIVE." -Ezekiel 37:4-5 There is no one too far gone that God cannot speak life into - eternal life with him! He uses the phrase "and you shall live" 3 times from v.5-14 - this really stuck out to me. We were dead in our sins and like these old dry bones - unable to do anything to save ourselves. Praise God for his grace and mercy that he breathed his Spirit within us and gave us a new life in Him!
Amen, we believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and of the dead! #juniorladies John 5:25-29 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. We also believe that everyone is a soul. Reminded today that everyone will live forever; it's only a matter of where. While the world around me looks dark and dry, I am thankful for passages as Ezekiel 37, which remind us how great and powerful our Lord is at bringing the dead to life.
"I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore" (Ezekiel 37:26) God is faithful to keep his promises! We're reading Ezekiel written way before the gospel books and we see this covenant fulfilled through Jesus Christ! What good news of great joy we have in knowing Jesus. We've got the good news the world needs and it's right here in this book! Still praying for revival!
Revelation 20:6 “Blessed and Holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years. ❤️ Sandy
God is a God of the miraculous, of healing, of forgiveness, of fulfilling His promises, long suffering, loving and patient. It’s so amazing to me that we could be considered the third stick in this story! Us the Gentiles. This is all a promise to Israel and to us! We have been grafted in! 🔽 Ezekiel 37:15-38...Them Romans 11:17-24...Us The Bible in it’s whole is a beautiful love story of Him and His chosen Israel and we have been brought in to be His children also!!!! I love The Word, and the Trinity! Thank you Jesus for dying for me and for bringing us with you into life!!!!!❤️ There are truly no bad chapters!
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8, ESV)
Ezekiel 37:14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD." I love this resounding theme that God WILL act and that God WILL do for His name sake seems to be at the core of the book of Ezekiel. Nothing has happened nor can take place apart from the will of our Creator. This story of Ezekiel being led by God to a valley of dry lifeless bones 🦴 really paints this vivid picture of death. God puts His majesty on display in two incredibly significant yet different ways. First, by literally taking something dead like these lifeless bones and gathering them together and then donning them with actual flesh. At this point there are only lifeless corpses lying around Ezekiel though this in of itself would be enough for anyone to say that Yahweh is the one true God. Secondly, God then chooses to take it a step further and have Ezekiel prophesy breath into the lifeless corpses around him. Verse 10 then clearly records not just one or two men came to their feet full of life but an “exceedingly great army” stood up!! God creates and can recreate anytime He so wishes! Praise the Lord, Hallelujah, AMEN! The same Spirit that caused these bones to spring forth in life, the same Spirit that arose the three day dead body of our Lord and Savior is the same Spirit that now resides in me and afforded me new life and has given me new purpose! Salvation and eternal life is a work of the Lord. I was as dead as those bones here in chapter 37 until God took it upon Himself, for His names sake, to breath life into me. This was done to bring Glory and honor to His Son Jesus Christ and so that others might look to Him and give Him the praise and recognition He rightfully deserves. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. - Romans 8:11
“Then He said to me, ‘Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.” - Ezekiel 37:4 “So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.” - Ezekiel 37:10 God told Ezekiel to prophesy to this valley of dry bones and He obeyed! Then God brought life and breath to these dry bones and made them into a great army! If God told me to go prophesy to a valley of dry bones, would I act faithfully and obey? God knows what He is doing! And so when He says something I need to believe it! When He commands me to do something I need to act in obedience and have faith! Something God is telling me to do is to proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation (Mark 16:15)! This means ALL people! Do I hold back from sharing the words of eternal life with certain people out of doubt that God will save them? Or do I share the Gospel with every soul I come across knowing that God desires for all souls to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth? Today’s chapter was such a good reminder for me to not limit God’s power! Not only do I need to obey God’s calling on my life, but I need to have faith that He will save souls, even the hardest of hearts! If He can bring a valley of dry bones to life, surely He can bring anyone and everyone to life! My prayer is that I would obey God’s purpose for my life by sharing the Gospel with someone today! I’m asking the Lord to increase my faith, that I wouldn’t pick and choose who to share with based on who I think could be saved, but that I would remember who God is, how His power is limitless, and how He desires for ALL souls to reach repentance! Praying that I would walk by faith and act out of obedience just like Ezekiel did! “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires ALL people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” - 1 Timothy 2:3-4 “The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that ALL should reach repentance.” - 2 Peter 3:9 God commands me to share the Gospel with all people, and so I must obey! God wishes for all to be saved, and so I need to have faith! #JuniorGirls
Apart from their presence in a living body, bones are dead. Dry bones are not only dead; they have been long dead. Bones are what remain when life has passed. If something never had life, it will not leave bones. Yet when something has been dead so long, we normally give up hope it will ever live again. If we want to see a revival today we must preach the Gospel message so people will not be just dry bones but, their soul will go to Heaven. This is an act of revival; restoring life to something that at one time had life. This was not the creation of life from nothing; it was the restoration of life to something that had been long dead. I don’t ever want to be too busy or too scared (fear of man) to share the Gospel with anyone. John 5:25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.”
Loved reading about God’s promises to restore the nation of Israel today. God gives life to dead souls, revives dry bones, he scatters nations and also powerfully restores. The prophesy of the two sticks caught my attention this morning. Even though this prophesy about the two sticks being joined together refers directly to Israel and Judah, I can’t help but think about how we gentiles were also sticks that were grafted into God’s family tree. “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.” Romans 11:17-18 ESV The Lord is mighty to save, unite, forgive, and sanctify! Idk if these thoughts are really cohesive but I feel like Romans 11 complimented these chapters today. It kept my thoughts humble and kept my perspective on Christ.
Through the eyes of men, it seems there's so much we have lost As we look down the road where all the prodigals have walked One by one, the enemy has whispered lies And led them off as slaves But we know that You are God, Yours is the victory We know there is more to come That we may not yet see So with the faith You've given us We'll step into the valley unafraid, yeah As we call out to dry bones, come alive, come alive We call out to dead hearts, come alive, come alive Up out of the ashes, let us see an army rise We call out to dry bones, come alive God of endless mercy, God of unrelenting love Rescue every daughter, bring us back the wayward son And by Your Spirt, breathe upon them, show the world that You alone can save You alone can save As we call out to dry bones, come alive, come alive We call out to dead hearts, come alive, come alive Up out of the ashes, let us see an army rise We call out to dry bones, come alive So breathe, oh, breath of God Now breathe, oh, breath of God Breathe, oh, breath of God, now breathe Breathe, oh, breath of God Now breathe, oh, breath of God Breathe, oh, breath of God, now breathe As we call out to dry bones, come alive, come alive We call out to dead hearts, come alive, come alive Up out of the ashes, let us see an army rise We call out to dry bones, come alive We call out to dry bones, come alive Oh, come alive Lord Breath into the dry bones of America and bring us back to life in You. 🙌🏻🙏🏼
And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. - Ezekiel 37:3-4 The Lord spoke to the bones and breathed life into them. Just how he breathes life into us when we are saved! #freshmenguys
“Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.” Ezekiel 37:5 “My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Ezekiel 37:27 I love the progression of this chapter. Dry bones coming to life again, and then those that were now brought to life dwelling in the midst of their God. It had me thinking-THIS is the point of resurrection: LIFE WITH GOD. God makes dead men live so that they could live in communion with Him, which is itself LIFE. He did this by resurrecting HIMSELF and defeating death. He also does this by being our righteousness and cleansing us from sin in the life of Christ! The Lord our God does not save us from death so that we could only escape hell, or only live righteously. He saves us from death so that we could KNOW Him. That He would be our God and we would be His people! What a great and loving God we have! This was such a great reminder that God didn't save me just so I could get my way and live a comfortable life. He saved so that I may KNOW Him. This pumped me up to live for Him today with all that I am! “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” John 17:3
Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord... So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. Ezekial 37:4 & 7 Ezekial prophecied as he was commanded and got brought the dead bones to life. Yet another example of complete obedience on display from Ezekial. I am someone who makes a lot of excuses so I just want to do what God says, with no doubt or questioning. And he will do great things. #JuniorGuys #Ireallyhopeiamnottheonlyjuniorguyonhere #United
Rev 20:2-3 "And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nation's any longer...." Our nation is being deceived by the enemy right now, but this will not last forever.
The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. -Job 33:4 In Ezekiel 37:11 we see that the bones 🦴 🦴 are the whole house of Israel. They say their bones are dried up and their hope perished and that they’d been cut off. We see, as others have mentioned, there are deme signs to this, many prophecies that are 2-fold, 3-fold and so on, packed with meaning. In Genesis we see that Jacob (heal-catcher) has a name-change. Jacob becomes Israel (Governed by God). A person without Salvation is cut off from being governed by God. Why? Jesus tells Nicodemus in John 3:5 that unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. There is a separation a cutting off from God due to sin, just like the people of Israel kept sinning against the Lord had lead them to exile. In Ezekiel 37:14 God says, “I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know I am the Lord. I have spoken, and I will do it. This is the declaration of the Lord.” So being born again (of the Spirit) means having life, eternal life. And Israel would indeed become a nation (and we see this further into the chapter). It’s fulfilled prophecy. And a man can be made whole and governed by God and not death by being born again (John 3 *v.16). “I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him.” -Ecclesiastes 3:14 Side-note about Jacob becoming Israel: I love that in Christ we realize that victory is won. Not only do I have a body with breath in my lungs, but I’m adopted into the Body of Christ who conquered death on the cross at Calvary. Sin does not govern me. I don’t have to do schemes to get my way as Jacob did. What God has promised, He is faithful to do. To be governed by God is having true freedom because God’s ways lead to life, abundant life here right now and in the next. Revelation 20:4... the very last line of the verse says, “They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” It is not so for those who are dead in their sins. Time and time again, God calls people to Himself.
The Scriptural hope for the dead is the resurrection-God’s restoration of the person to life! Whether a dead person is cremated or not, Jehovah God is not limited in his ability to restore the person to life with a new body. He does not have to reassemble a person’s former body to resurrect him. Our hope in the resurrection rests, not on what might be done with the physical corpse, but on faith in God’s ability and desire to fulfill his promises! John 5:28,29:”Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out.” Acts 24:15:”There is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.”
ONE:
Today I couldn't help but recognize how many times the word ONE was brought up!
-one nation
-one king
-one kingdom
-one shepherd
-one dwelling forever
-one everlasting covenant
-one God
-one people
Wow! America might say we are a nation under God, but one day there will be One people- one nation ACTUALLY under ONE GOD! That is something I am looking forward to! One shepherd who cares for my soul, the good shepherd to his also my Sovereign king, who has also created one dwelling place for me to be with him for eternity. Today, my soul is encouraged to consider the eternal hope of getting to be with the Lord in heaven one day. I was encouraged from the sermon this weekend to think about our sister Erlinda who passed away, and to think of how she gets to see this Oneness with Christ perfectly right now. I praise the Lord for taking these dry bones and giving me life. I am praying that this week, we would see more dead souls made alive by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Ezekiel 37
Approaching ministry and daily life as a Christian: Let God prove himself, do not limit his power.
“And he led me around among them, and behold there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” v 2-3
Often I am tempted to ask the question “Would God save this person? Would God sanctify this person? Will they endure till the end?” I am tempted to ask these questions especially when a person I pray for seems unlikely to repent. This should NOT be my attitude.
The valley was filled with dry bones. I was among them. My bones were no more alive than anothers’ bones when God decided to breathe his breath into me. I was just as dead as the next person. How then could I say, will you do this, Lord? Instead I should pray “O Lord God, you know!” And leave it to him! Praying that I would put myself under the ability of God, seeing his power for what it really is. His words have the power to breathe life!
“And I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.” v 14
If I am putting confidence in anything other than God’s power, and his will, I have missed my mark. No good will come of it. I need to confess today that I must continually check myself, that I put no confidence in anything but the word of God, and the Spirit’s power to save! Bless the Lord that it is not up to me! And bless the Lord for the future inheritance that is mine in Christ! !!
#juniorgirls
5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.
There is power in the Word of God! And because Ezekiel was the one who opened his mouth to speak what God said, he got to see the power of God at work right before his eyes. I was thinking a couple of things this morning...
1. I want to see Gods power work right before my eyes! Then I need to speak Gods Word, not my word to people.
2. I don’t want to limit Gods power. Something I was convicted by was how I invite people to church very often but don’t always get to the Gospel! I could be limiting the power of God. Because it is the Gospel that holds the power of God for salvation! So I need to freely speak the good news! It’s great to invite people to church, and God can use an invite to church to save someone’s soul, but I don’t want to limit Gods power by only inviting them to church.
Where’ve I go, I want to sow the Gospel!
Praying this morning for an open door today to share the Gospel!
#seniorguys
Ah praise God!! When our souls are thirsty God's word gives us just what we need AMEN???
“And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord God, you know."”
Ezekiel 37:3
Convicted this morning about my WEAK FAITH. It feels like the Lord is asking me the same question before I go into Albertsons this morning concerning my co-workers, "Can these bones live?" My flesh says "no God, look at how they dead they are! They are so far gone in their sin!" ......What a lie from Satan. Of course God can resurrect the souls at my work! I prayed this morning that God would give me a heart like Ezekiel when he says, "O Lord God, you know." If only I am faithful to preach life today to the souls around me, they, like me, can be risen from the dead!!
Father God, please help us, for we are weak. Forgive me this morning for my little faith. Your hand is not shortened that you cannot save. Neither is your Spirit weakened to where he cannot produce within us a great love for lost souls. Please Father, open doors today for everyone at our church to be sowing the Gospel and leading souls to life! Amen.
Looking forward to prying with you guys tonight at the prayer meeting! :)
11 Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.'
12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel.
13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. - Ezekiel 37:11-13
I love this verse because it shows how gracious the Lord is! Through constant disobedience and judgement He’s had to pour out on this nation; they still get a chance to be His people. They fear that because they disobeyed they have been cut off from the Lord and are no longer His people, but that’s the exact opposite of what he says! I’m amazed at the love the Lord can show! Just like Israel was Gods people then, we are Gods people now, because we have been saved! When I walk around school it feels like I’m walking with dry bones around me, and it just feels like everyone is a walking corpse, trying to suck all the satisfaction out of everything but it always runs out. This chapter makes me want to see people get saved so bad! They’re missing out on the greatest joy they can find, and I can share that with them! I want to see the a revival at my school and watch these people find joy!
#SeniorGuys
“And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.””
Ezekiel 37:13-14
Wow, what an amazing chapter! I think this is the first time I’ve truly dived into it, and how encouraging it was, to see prophecy of Jesus’ future reign as the King of all kings, when all of us who are in him will be resurrected to be with him! This is such a beautiful and encouraging reminder, that no matter what may happen in this life, we WILL live and will someday be with the Lord, which will be infinitely better and worth whatever we go through now! He will be our God and we will be his people, and we will see him and know that he is the Lord! He has spoken it, so we know he will do it!! Praise God!
“When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?””
1 Corinthians 15:54-55
#SeniorGirls
The words of eternal life!
These words could not have been made up! Reading today’s chapter reminded me of God’s wisdom and great love that he would orchestrate every event in time and use it to lead us back to him. He used the splitting of two kingdoms Israel and Judah, the captivity of his people, and now their desperate state of being “dry bones” to bring salvation! He will restore his people, bringing them life and breath, and He will raise up one nation with one King, Jesus Christ our Lord! And we will be his people and He will be out God!
How could this have been made up? Only God could give such good news! I am praying for revival in our city and our nation, that God will put his Spirit into the hearts of many people and turn us from our sins! Already this last weekend, God has been answering our prayers and he is saving souls! I have heard of souls getting saved, including a jr. high student in my small group, and he is convicting others to repent and believe in his Son! He is using the year 2020 to being people to him- praise the Lord!
I am excited to pray with my church family tonight and trust in God’s will to revive and give life in his word!
“They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”
Ezekiel 37:23
i loved getting to read ezekiel 37 today!! this verse specifically stuck out to me, as it reminded me a lot of 2 corinthians 5:17 and the picture of salvation! only because of the Lord were the people of Israel able to turn from their idols, and only because of the Lord was i able to turn from my idols!! because of His mercy and love, we are able to become new creations, with new hearts of flesh and worship Him for eternity, which is something to continually praise Him for!
#seniorgirls
Wow! What a chapter.
“They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”
- Ezekiel 37:23
How blessed are we to be grafted in along with this promise to Israel? Salvation is through the Jews and to us too! Now we are also his people and he is our God! Hallelujah! How great a salvation this is. This verse reminds me of Titus 3:4-7!
It’s humbling to realize as Americans (a nation that didn’t even exist when the LORD spoke this to Ezekiel), we would be one of the nations. And as I read verse 28 it makes me praise the LORD that we know he is the LORD! But then I back up and ask does America really know that he is the LORD? I believe some do, but we still need a great revival. We still need life to be breathed into these dry bones and for God to tell us to arise. We still need to be one under one King, one Lord, and one Shepherd JESUS CHRIST.
Stirred up to pray for a revival, who’s with me?!
I'm with you!
“And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord God, you know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.”
Ezekiel 37:3-4
SOTD today was so powerful. I thought it was so cool in verse 3 how Ezekiel knew that he could not make the dry bones live, but God could. Also in verse 4 looking at it from the spiritual viewpoint and not physical. Those who are dead in sin are like the dry bones. They must listen to the Word of God, and receive Him so that they can live. This reminds me of how God created all things. He created man from dust in the beginning and God breathed His life into him. The word of God created all things and brings us life!!!
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.”
John 1:1-4
#Juniorgirls
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live."
- Ezekiel 37:7-9
As I read this chapter I got a clear picture of the valley of dry bones. It looks dark and empty. There is no life to be found. The people have lost hope in the Lord. But God still loves the people and commands Ezekiel to prophecy to the dry bones and God breathes life into them!
My School campus has the same look. It’s dark and empty. No life is there. It’s a bunch of dead people walking around. They need to be prophesied to! They need to hear the word of the Lord! As I am on campus this week I want the name of Jesus to be lifted high on my campus and to see God breath life into people! Jesus didn’t come to die for specific people. He died to save everyone!
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
- 1 John 2:2
#SeniorGuys
I’m pumped up seeing how God is the one who makes bones that are come alive, and seeing the only thing Ezekiel do was prophesy as a picture of God’s work of salvation and my responsibility to preach the Word, just like this past week’s sermon.
One thing that I got super encouraged from though was the end of the chapter.
My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. - Ezekiel 37:27
I was rereading this and then immediately thought of an almost identical verse in Revelation!
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. - Revelation 21:3
This is what is still coming! I was reminded also of the contrast towards the beginning of Ezekiel, when God leaves the temple (Ezekiel 10). And how much this is what I deserved: to never be in the presence of God because of my sin. But because of Christ, I can rest in this surety-that I will dwell with God one day and see Him as He is! I’m praising God today for that future grace that is yet to come!
I see you brother...
And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know." - Ezekiel 37:3
When I pictured this: the Lord taking Ezekiel to a valley filled with dry, dead, dead for years bones and then asking Ezekiel whether or not these bones could have life, I would have honestly and confidently said, “Absolutely not, now way, these bones are dead.” Yet Ezekiel said, “O Lord God, you know.” He didn’t make a decision then and there, but he brought it up to the Lord, knowing that He has the final decision. God can do anything; He can do whatsoever He pleases with these bones, even give them life. Is that the way I approach every situation in my life? Even the most “simplest” situations where I believe there is a very straightforward answer? Like we saw with this chapter, God gave LIFE to these bones! A body and breath! And there was a whole army of them! That’s absolutely crazy! I would not have imagined that from one question “Could these bones have life?” I need to call upon the Lord, expecting Him to do ANYTHING with whatever circumstances I am faced with! Bones that were dead for years were given life by the Mighty Hand of God, circumstances that I have lost hope for years could be transformed by that same power! I’m praying that the Lord would really give me the mindset to never assume what the outcome will be but have faith that He is able to change anything in miraculous ways for His glory!
"I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. - Job 42:2
#SophomoreGirls
“Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD." - Ezekiel 37:5-6
Resurrection!!! Loved reading through today’s chapter along with Rev. 20.
I often feel so keenly aware of the fact that I am a resurrected spirit encased in a fallen body, in a fallen world. But the promised resurrection brings encouragement and perspective in the here and now! This quote from the weekends sermon has resonated with me since I heard it -
“Stop searching for greener pastures- they will fade. But the seed of the gospel will never fade, it endures forever.”
Amen!! This applies, not only to my zip code, but to so many other temporal pursuits I can be tempted to devote too much attention to. I love an illustration I once heard. How silly would it be for me, during a hotel stay, to buy furniture, a nice fiddle leaf house plant, invest in its decor, or remodel?? It’s a temporary stay! Should I take care of my room while I’m in it, of course, but I’m not making a long term investment in something that is meant to be temporary!
May where I spend my money, my time, my words, my energy - be to an eternal end! May today’s emphasis be on the gospel! Because... spoiler alert that coveted house will burn one day, those clothes I have my eye on will go out of style in two minutes, that cute house plant will wither and fade, and those aches and pains... they are only going to get worse! But what hope we have as Christians...
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Love this sweetheart!!!
“And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.””
Ezekiel 37:3
What an example of faith. Here Ezekiel is talking to God and God says can these bones live?, and Ezekiel is just like God, you already know. Here Ezekiel asks God with faith to give life to bones, and he does it and yet sometimes I doubt that God can save my friends and family? What I took away from this chapter is that I need to pray for God to help my unbelief. I am also going to be praying that God would give me the mindset that God is all powerful and can do anything. #seniorguys
"Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord ."
- Ezekiel 37:4
Reading about God telling Ezekiel to go prophesy to these dry bones sounds absolutely crazy. It reminded me of when God commanded the Israelites to go march around the walls of Jericho seven times until they fell down. Both of these things sound crazy, but both the Israelites and Ezekiel responded with this radical faith and did exactly what God had told them to do. This morning I was led to asking myself the question of whether or not I would act with that same faith if God told me to go prophesy to a valley of dry bones?
"But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind."
- James 1:6
God has made it so clear to me that there are times where I would doubt Him. There are times that I have limited His power. But in this chapter we see God restore life to these dry bones! How much more is our God able to do?! I don't want to be the one that hinders God from doing something out of my lack of faith. I want to be one that when God calls me to do something, that I would get up and do it, seeing as our God wants to do good! He wants to be our God and us to be His people!
Really praying this morning that God would search my heart! Praying that God would make it so clear to me any part of my life which I am lacking faith and that He would get rid of that doubt! God is only one that can bring revival and if He can do that from a ball of dry, decaying bones then how much more than He do that here among the living in America today!!
"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
- Ephesians 3:20-21
#seniorguys
¹¹
“And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people.” ~Ezekiel 37:13
1 Corinthians 13:12 came to mind- “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” Every bit of understanding we have now, every glimpse of who God is, is just a blurry-eyed view of reality. Someday, I will know, in person, face to face, Him who my soul loves!
“And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!”
~Job 19:26-27
Even now, this morning & every morning, as I open the God-breathed Word, I pray- “My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word!” ~Psalm 119:25
I love these cross-references Christine!
“Then he Said to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off. Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, O my people. And I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord”
Ezekiel 37:11-14
Was so encouraged this morning reading about how the Lord was restoring Israel, despite how much they had sinned against him. Reading verse 11 reminds me of my life before God saved me.
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of air the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.
Ephesians 2:1-2
Even though It might have not looked like it on the outside, I had no hope, I was dead, but God breathed into me life and gave me his spirit. Praise God for the work of salvation that he does in us!
#freshmenguys
Spirit
רוּחִי
רוּחַ
rûaḥ
The power to bring life into dry bones!
Praise the Lord for His Power is mighty! Praise the Lord that his Spirit is alive & at work today that we can continue to see Him raise up dry bones like mine, that He would use something that was once worthless to serve as an army for His good will!
#juniorgirls
How do you say Holy Spirit?
And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD." - Ezekiel 37 : 14
Such an amazing promise and reminder that I have the spirit and this power within that can only come from God. This chapter was a brand new story to me and I was truly in awe. Just one more example of his power and promises.
#JuniorGirls
“They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”
Ezekiel 37:23
God is going to cleanse his people of their sins so that he can be their God and they will be his people. This chapter is such a clear representation that God goes great lengths to show his might to his people. God brought the whole house of Israel back to life from a pile of bones.
“And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.””
Ezekiel 37:13-14
That is so crazy to me that even after they died God was still planning to raise them up so that they could know who he is as their God! And when he raises them he doesn’t punish them for not obeying while they were still alive but because he loves them so much he instead promises to put his spirit within them so that they can live not only physically but spiritually also!
Did you know that this is something that happens all the time. People who are dead are made alive, people who were once a rotting pile of bones doing no good have become living beings filled with the spirit! See, reading this is shocking because seeing a pile of bones turn into a living breathing person doesn’t exactly happen, and if it did it would be terrifying because we know that once dead you don’t come back to life.
But... it actually does happen. From the moment we are born we are dead in our sin. And we must be reborn to a new life in Christ!
“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
Psalm 51:5
“Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
John 3:5-6
“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,”
Colossians 2:13
#juniorgirls
Love the perspective, Caitlin! Praying for God's kingdom to grow on earth, and for Jesus' heavenly Kingdom to come soon!
21 then say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land.
22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms.
23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. - Ezekiel 37:21-23
Praise the Lord for His great mercy and grace! We’ve read about so many times where the people of Israel and of Judah have sinned against God without repentance. God punished and judged them, yet here we see a prophecy that He will restore them! They sinned against God, in the same way our nation sins against God without repentance! They were prideful, idolatrous, sexually immoral, yet God still promises to restore them for His names sake! If God was good to keep His covenant with the people of Israel and not completely wipe them out, then surely He will continue to save as He says in His new covenant with us here today! God is faithful! You and I can have 100% assurance in salvation through His son Jesus Christ!
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.
8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live."
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. - Ezekiel 37:7-10
Wow! God is sovereign, He is in control! I feel like this is something that I need to really abide on in every day of my life. When God saves your soul He puts His Spirit in you! Do you know what that means!? This means that the same power that is able to raise these dead, dry bones back to life lives those who trust in God! I can think of multiple times, especially during this Coronavirus pandemic, where I’ve felt anxious or stressed over school or the guidelines, or whatever it may be. The idea of anxiety is so twisted here in 2021, really every time we’re anxious we’re just not trusting that God is in control! Whenever you’re tempted to be worried or anxious, just be reminded of the power and sovereignty of our God! If he is able to raise an army of dry bones back to life, surely He can help each and every one of us with the things we have going on. #FreshmenGuys
“Then he said to me,”Prophecy over these bones and say to them, O dry bones hear the word of the Lord.”
Ezekiel 37:4
This has encouraged me to continue to spread the Gospel at my school more. There are lots of people who call themselves Christians, but they do not have the Spirit breathing through them! I used to be a “check the box Christian” but now I am real Christian with the spirit speaking through me and giving me the wisdom and strength to follow his commands and also share the gospel. I used to be deathly afraid to share the Gospel because it is sadly “controversial” now to people, and now I am able to share it without the fear of being rejected. Praise the Lord and pray that people’s hearts will be softened to the word of God!
#seniorguys
11 Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.'
12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel.
13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. - Ezekiel 37:11-13 #Freshmanguys
“I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore."”
Ezekiel 37:26-28 ESV
I love seeing God’s heart for His people here in this passage! He always seeks His people out and His desire is for them to come to repentance! We continually see God’s patience despite the fact that He constantly gets rejected. We see this patience even in our own nation today. Let’s pray the hearts of men are moved towards repentance and that God would change the hearts of evil men like He did for us!
Looking forward to serving the Lord Jesus Christ in His Millennial Kingdom yet to be realized in Israel. Psalm 84 says that ‘I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.’ I want to tell the Lord that I would rather take any assignment He has for me than experience the pleasure of this life. To my shame, I have already sampled the pleasures of this life to some degree, but as God has given me a new heart and a new spirit, I have no interest. I want to serve the Lord NOW and THEN in Christ’s Millennial Kingdom!!
Maranatha
“Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord."”
Ezekiel 37:5-6
Life did not come to these bones when they were dusted off. Life did not come to these bones when they were constructed into a body. Life did not come to these bones when they were connected with flesh. Life did not come to these bones when they were covered in flesh. Up until this point, they were still just a bunch of lifeless bags of bones. It wasn’t until God breathed into them that they came to life. And what else has been God-breathed? His Word...
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Application:
I will aim to read the Bible every day seeking life from its pages. And I won’t pull my face from its pages until I have been filled with the life that only He can give.
Father help me to get life from your Word every time I read it. May the same Spirit who breathed your Word into existence, be what fills me and Illuminates my mind so that I might truly live for the purpose which you have called me to.
In Jesus name I pray,
Amen.
What a great example of God’s power to give life! It’s so tempting to sometimes pray without faith for a loved ones salvation. Every circumstance is so different and it can be easy to think, “God, how can you even save this person who is this way or who is going through this situation in life?” But God is the one who put them in that situation. They are not outside of His plan for them. The God who has all the power and is able to breath life into dry bones can bring salvation to anyone!
Amen to this encouraging cross-reference and future hope we have in His power.
Rev 20:4
Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Rev 20:6
Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
-V:22- “One king shall be over them all”
-V:24- “they shall all have one Shepard”
Jesus! We are in Ezekiel, but it’s all leading to talking about Jesus. Doesn’t matter what time you have existed, it has always been and always will be about Jesus Christ our Lord. Let’s live for Him today!
I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore.
Ezekiel 37:26
Something that I needed to realize this morning, especially going back to school, is the amount of times God uses I in the book of Ezekiel and specifically this chapter. No part of Israel’s restoration is from what they have done. No part of their salvation is from their good works. Every single desire the Lord has to establish this covenant of peace is from His desire to save them!!
I look at the revival we all want to see. I look at the amount of people that haven’t been reached at calvary yet and realize that I can’t talk to any of them. There is nothing in my human body that gave me a love for souls from birth. I need to be reborn so that the spirit could give me that love and even now, there is nothing in my human body that gives me the words to speak to these people. It is ONLY by the power of spirit that I can boldly proclaim Jesus’ name and it is ONLY by the blood of Jesus that revival will spark!!! Who’s in to be a vessel for the Lord today no matter how we feel?!?!?
#seniorguys
I’m ready to be used by the Lord! My body is not my own! Let’s do this!!!!
HALLELUJAH!!!! This just made me feel so empowered through the Holy Spirit! Thank you for this powerful explanation of this chapter!
“My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore." - Ezekiel 37:27-28
Such an awesome chapter about God breathing life into even the driest of bones! There is nothing too wonderful for the Lord, and He is the giver of all life that is, both physically and spiritually. These last two verses were so encouraging to think on the future inheritance and life we will get to share with our Heavenly Father, and that even now we can have a relationship with him! And just as the Lord is the one who brings sanctification for Israel, so he sanctifies us as we wait on him! Praise the Lord for this sweet salvation and the newness of life we can now experience with him! #seniorgirls
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” - 1 Peter 1:3-5
I Believe in the Resurrection. The Lord Jesus Christ promises. AMEN. 🙏🏻🤗🙏🏻💓
"THEN YOU WILL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD; I HAVE SPOKEN, AND I WILL DO IT, DECLARES THE LORD" (Ezekiel 36:36b & 37:14b) This shows just how important it is that we recognize that there is no other false god or idol in our our life. It reminds me of the commercial whose punch line was "You can pay me now or you will pay me later."
Thank you Lord for your Scriptures and Spirit so that we can PAY you homage now and not join the "goats" later!
"'Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and YOU SHALL LIVE."
-Ezekiel 37:4-5
There is no one too far gone that God cannot speak life into - eternal life with him! He uses the phrase "and you shall live" 3 times from v.5-14 - this really stuck out to me. We were dead in our sins and like these old dry bones - unable to do anything to save ourselves. Praise God for his grace and mercy that he breathed his Spirit within us and gave us a new life in Him!
Praise the Lord for giving life!!
The power mighty of God’s mercy 🙏
Amen! Thank you God for resurrection life that one day I will raise and have eternal life with Jesus Christ ❤️🙏🏼🙌🏼
Amen, we believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and of the dead! #juniorladies
John 5:25-29
“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
We also believe that everyone is a soul. Reminded today that everyone will live forever; it's only a matter of where. While the world around me looks dark and dry, I am thankful for passages as Ezekiel 37, which remind us how great and powerful our Lord is at bringing the dead to life.
"I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore" (Ezekiel 37:26)
God is faithful to keep his promises! We're reading Ezekiel written way before the gospel books and we see this covenant fulfilled through Jesus Christ! What good news of great joy we have in knowing Jesus. We've got the good news the world needs and it's right here in this book!
Still praying for revival!
Revelation 20:6 “Blessed and Holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
❤️ Sandy
God is a God of the miraculous, of healing, of forgiveness, of fulfilling His promises, long suffering, loving and patient. It’s so amazing to me that we could be considered the third stick in this story! Us the Gentiles. This is all a promise to Israel and to us! We have been grafted in! 🔽
Ezekiel 37:15-38...Them
Romans 11:17-24...Us
The Bible in it’s whole is a beautiful love story of Him and His chosen Israel and we have been brought in to be His children also!!!! I love The Word, and the Trinity! Thank you Jesus for dying for me and for bringing us with you into life!!!!!❤️
There are truly no bad chapters!
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8, ESV)
Ezekiel 37:14
And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD."
I love this resounding theme that God WILL act and that God WILL do for His name sake seems to be at the core of the book of Ezekiel. Nothing has happened nor can take place apart from the will of our Creator.
This story of Ezekiel being led by God to a valley of dry lifeless bones 🦴 really paints this vivid picture of death. God puts His majesty on display in two incredibly significant yet different ways.
First, by literally taking something dead like these lifeless bones and gathering them together and then donning them with actual flesh. At this point there are only lifeless corpses lying around Ezekiel though this in of itself would be enough for anyone to say that Yahweh is the one true God.
Secondly, God then chooses to take it a step further and have Ezekiel prophesy breath into the lifeless corpses around him. Verse 10 then clearly records not just one or two men came to their feet full of life but an “exceedingly great army” stood up!! God creates and can recreate anytime He so wishes! Praise the Lord, Hallelujah, AMEN!
The same Spirit that caused these bones to spring forth in life, the same Spirit that arose the three day dead body of our Lord and Savior is the same Spirit that now resides in me and afforded me new life and has given me new purpose! Salvation and eternal life is a work of the Lord. I was as dead as those bones here in chapter 37 until God took it upon Himself, for His names sake, to breath life into me. This was done to bring Glory and honor to His Son Jesus Christ and so that others might look to Him and give Him the praise and recognition He rightfully deserves.
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. - Romans 8:11
“Then He said to me, ‘Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.” - Ezekiel 37:4
“So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.” - Ezekiel 37:10
God told Ezekiel to prophesy to this valley of dry bones and He obeyed! Then God brought life and breath to these dry bones and made them into a great army! If God told me to go prophesy to a valley of dry bones, would I act faithfully and obey?
God knows what He is doing! And so when He says something I need to believe it! When He commands me to do something I need to act in obedience and have faith! Something God is telling me to do is to proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation (Mark 16:15)! This means ALL people! Do I hold back from sharing the words of eternal life with certain people out of doubt that God will save them? Or do I share the Gospel with every soul I come across knowing that God desires for all souls to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth? Today’s chapter was such a good reminder for me to not limit God’s power! Not only do I need to obey God’s calling on my life, but I need to have faith that He will save souls, even the hardest of hearts! If He can bring a valley of dry bones to life, surely He can bring anyone and everyone to life!
My prayer is that I would obey God’s purpose for my life by sharing the Gospel with someone today! I’m asking the Lord to increase my faith, that I wouldn’t pick and choose who to share with based on who I think could be saved, but that I would remember who God is, how His power is limitless, and how He desires for ALL souls to reach repentance! Praying that I would walk by faith and act out of obedience just like Ezekiel did!
“This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires ALL people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
- 1 Timothy 2:3-4
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that ALL should reach repentance.” - 2 Peter 3:9
God commands me to share the Gospel with all people, and so I must obey! God wishes for all to be saved, and so I need to have faith!
#JuniorGirls
Apart from their presence in a living body, bones are dead. Dry bones are not only dead; they have been long dead. Bones are what remain when life has passed. If something never had life, it will not leave bones. Yet when something has been dead so long, we normally give up hope it will ever live again. If we want to see a revival today we must preach the Gospel message so people will not be just dry bones but, their soul will go to Heaven. This is an act of revival; restoring life to something that at one time had life. This was not the creation of life from nothing; it was the restoration of life to something that had been long dead. I don’t ever want to be too busy or too scared (fear of man) to share the Gospel with anyone.
John 5:25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.”
Loved reading about God’s promises to restore the nation of Israel today. God gives life to dead souls, revives dry bones, he scatters nations and also powerfully restores.
The prophesy of the two sticks caught my attention this morning. Even though this prophesy about the two sticks being joined together refers directly to Israel and Judah, I can’t help but think about how we gentiles were also sticks that were grafted into God’s family tree.
“But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.”
Romans 11:17-18 ESV
The Lord is mighty to save, unite, forgive, and sanctify!
Idk if these thoughts are really cohesive but I feel like Romans 11 complimented these chapters today. It kept my thoughts humble and kept my perspective on Christ.
Amen and Amen 🙏.
Through the eyes of men, it seems there's so much we have lost
As we look down the road where all the prodigals have walked
One by one, the enemy has whispered lies
And led them off as slaves
But we know that You are God, Yours is the victory
We know there is more to come
That we may not yet see
So with the faith You've given us
We'll step into the valley unafraid, yeah
As we call out to dry bones, come alive, come alive
We call out to dead hearts, come alive, come alive
Up out of the ashes, let us see an army rise
We call out to dry bones, come alive
God of endless mercy, God of unrelenting love
Rescue every daughter, bring us back the wayward son
And by Your Spirt, breathe upon them, show the world that You alone can save
You alone can save
As we call out to dry bones, come alive, come alive
We call out to dead hearts, come alive, come alive
Up out of the ashes, let us see an army rise
We call out to dry bones, come alive
So breathe, oh, breath of God
Now breathe, oh, breath of God
Breathe, oh, breath of God, now breathe
Breathe, oh, breath of God
Now breathe, oh, breath of God
Breathe, oh, breath of God, now breathe
As we call out to dry bones, come alive, come alive
We call out to dead hearts, come alive, come alive
Up out of the ashes, let us see an army rise
We call out to dry bones, come alive
We call out to dry bones, come alive
Oh, come alive
Lord Breath into the dry bones of America and bring us back to life in You. 🙌🏻🙏🏼
And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. - Ezekiel 37:3-4
The Lord spoke to the bones and breathed life into them. Just how he breathes life into us when we are saved!
#freshmenguys
“Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.”
Ezekiel 37:5
“My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
Ezekiel 37:27
I love the progression of this chapter. Dry bones coming to life again, and then those that were now brought to life dwelling in the midst of their God. It had me thinking-THIS is the point of resurrection: LIFE WITH GOD.
God makes dead men live so that they could live in communion with Him, which is itself LIFE. He did this by resurrecting HIMSELF and defeating death. He also does this by being our righteousness and cleansing us from sin in the life of Christ!
The Lord our God does not save us from death so that we could only escape hell, or only live righteously. He saves us from death so that we could KNOW Him. That He would be our God and we would be His people! What a great and loving God we have!
This was such a great reminder that God didn't save me just so I could get my way and live a comfortable life. He saved so that I may KNOW Him. This pumped me up to live for Him today with all that I am!
“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
John 17:3
Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord... So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. Ezekial 37:4 & 7
Ezekial prophecied as he was commanded and got brought the dead bones to life. Yet another example of complete obedience on display from Ezekial. I am someone who makes a lot of excuses so I just want to do what God says, with no doubt or questioning. And he will do great things.
#JuniorGuys #Ireallyhopeiamnottheonlyjuniorguyonhere #United
Nice to see your back🤓💥🇺🇸
Rev 20:2-3 "And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nation's any longer...." Our nation is being deceived by the enemy right now, but this will not last forever.
Amen 🙏
Amen Amen Amen
The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. -Job 33:4
In Ezekiel 37:11 we see that the bones 🦴 🦴 are the whole house of Israel. They say their bones are dried up and their hope perished and that they’d been cut off. We see, as others have mentioned, there are deme signs to this, many prophecies that are 2-fold, 3-fold and so on, packed with meaning. In Genesis we see that Jacob (heal-catcher) has a name-change. Jacob becomes Israel (Governed by God). A person without Salvation is cut off from being governed by God. Why? Jesus tells Nicodemus in John 3:5 that unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. There is a separation a cutting off from God due to sin, just like the people of Israel kept sinning against the Lord had lead them to exile.
In Ezekiel 37:14 God says, “I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know I am the Lord. I have spoken, and I will do it. This is the declaration of the Lord.” So being born again (of the Spirit) means having life, eternal life. And Israel would indeed become a nation (and we see this further into the chapter). It’s fulfilled prophecy. And a man can be made whole and governed by God and not death by being born again (John 3 *v.16).
“I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him.” -Ecclesiastes 3:14
Side-note about Jacob becoming Israel:
I love that in Christ we realize that victory is won. Not only do I have a body with breath in my lungs, but I’m adopted into the Body of Christ who conquered death on the cross at Calvary. Sin does not govern me. I don’t have to do schemes to get my way as Jacob did. What God has promised, He is faithful to do. To be governed by God is having true freedom because God’s ways lead to life, abundant life here right now and in the next.
Revelation 20:4... the very last line of the verse says, “They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” It is not so for those who are dead in their sins.
Time and time again, God calls people to Himself.
Help.! ? . What about those bodies that are cremated
Please tell me, then people who have been cremated won't be able to come back? 😥
The Scriptural hope for the dead is the resurrection-God’s restoration of the person to life! Whether a dead person is cremated or not, Jehovah God is not limited in his ability to restore the person to life with a new body. He does not have to reassemble a person’s former body to resurrect him. Our hope in the resurrection rests, not on what might be done with the physical corpse, but on faith in God’s ability and desire to fulfill his promises!
John 5:28,29:”Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out.”
Acts 24:15:”There is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.”