Rattling Bones?

 

This week’s bible readings have been quite a rich collection!  Here’s a taste of some of the fantastic tidbits that speak right to the heart:

First, the pleading, from Psalm 51:14, 16, 17

“Restore my joy . . . Rescue me from death . . . Open my lips”

And this, one of my favorites, from the 36^th Chapter of Ezekiel (23-28):

“I will sprinkle clean water upon you
to cleanse you from all your impurities,
and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you,
taking from your bodies your stony hearts
and giving you natural hearts.
I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes,
careful to observe my decrees.
You shall live in the land I gave your ancestors;
you shall be my people, and I will be your God.”

And we can’t forget the passage about the dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14) which gives a prophesy that is so uplifting!  In this passage, the prophet is led by the Spirit into a land where he is surrounded by bones in every direction.

The prophet asks God how the bones are supposed to come to life and as soon as he prophesizes as directed, the bones begin to rattle and come to life!  This resurrection is described in graphic detail.  It reveals God’s power to return the exiles back to their land but it is meaningful for us as well.

I like to personalize it and make this summary:

God has the power to bring you and I to life.  Whatever you don’t like about yourself or your circumstances, God can change that. 

He can purify us. 

He can take our weary, hardened, stony hearts and make them natural again.

And he can take what appears dead in your life, through the working of the Holy Spirit, and renew you.

But here’s the key we really should focus on.  Let these words pour into you and believe them with all your might.  It is one of the most significant realities, the greatest gift, for which we should be thankful.

God says, “You shall be my people, and I will be your God.”

Let that sink in.

In this covenantal relationship, codified in this promise, we have with our Creator a union so great, a relationship so unique and an unbreakable love so unimaginable that there is no room for doubt that God does, indeed, hold us in the palm of his hand and give us new life.

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.blogspot.com