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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion March 4, 2008 Hope for Dry Bones |
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Frontline Devotion for Tuesday, March, 4, 2008 by Brenda Kessler
Scripture: Ezekiel 37: 1-14 “The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ I said, ‘O Sovereign Lord, you alone know.’ Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin 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 it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says, ‘Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army. Then he said to me: ‘Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone: we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them,‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it,’ declares the Lord.” (The NIV Study Bible)
“Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones. Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones. Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones. Oh, hear the word of the Lord!"
Does it happen to you? Do you find yourself singing the spiritual, “Dem Dry Bones,” whenever you read this scripture from Ezekiel? The words have been resonating in my head ever since I opened the assigned text for this morning’s frontline devotion.
Dry bones. My study bible tells me that in this major vision of Ezekiel, “Ezekiel now received a message of hope, where he had previously heard God’s word of judgment.”
Hope. This year during the season of Lent the adult Sunday school class at my faith community in Gaithersburg has been studying People of Purpose, 40 Life Lessons from the New Testament by ELCA Pastor, the Rev. Dr. Robert Driver-Bishop. This past Sunday our leader gave us three minutes to write - for our eyes only - about a time when we felt alone, a time when hope seemed far away. Then she asked us to circle three words in our writings that stood out. All of the shared words evoked negative emotions. Our leader then gave us three minutes to write about a time when we felt included, a time when we felt accepted, a time when we felt welcome. Again she asked us to circle three words in our writings that stood out. This time all of the shared words evoked positive feelings. She then used our feeling words to bring to life the biblical characters we were studying that morning – Cleopas, Barnabas, Mary (John Mark’s mother), the prodigal son, Simon the Pharisee, the blind man, the woman at the well, and Thomas. Our leader’s use of “free writing” was a very effective way not only of having us look at ourselves but also a very effective way of having us learn about biblical personalities who were touched by the person of Jesus. Jesus brought hope to each of those persons. Jesus brought hope to their dry bones.
If we are honest with ourselves, we, too, have times in our lives when hope seems far away. Our bones are dry. There are times when hope seems far away in our world. Dry bones are scattered near and far. During those times, especially during those times, we need to “…hear the word of the Lord!”
Prayer: Lord, bring hope into our lives during those times when hope seems so far away. Breathe your Spirit into our dry bones. Amen.
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All are welcome to join and share in our Devotional Ministry on the "Frontlines" of the world. Frontline Devotions are sent via email daily. Sign up by clicking on the box to the left. Pastor Dave welcomes feedback. Contact him at pastordave@goodshepherdonline.org. |
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