When I first get up in the morning and my feet hit the floor, I give thanks to the Lord God that my inner being might come alive through the power and energy of the Holy Spirit’s breath.  I grab my coffee and head outdoors to sit in the presence of Jesus. I pray that God’s healing light would penetrate my being and touch the very crevices of life to energize and carry me through the day for others. The same sun that God created to give life, light, vitality, and health is the same power in his Beloved Son by way of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ finished work brought the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church. Do we recognize this power from on high? It lives within us. Praise God! The same breath in Christ that spoke, “it is finished” now awakens and moves us to live as children of God. This must be the reality of our new existence. The power of the Holy Spirit is enough to awaken the dead and call forth life that did not exist (Romans 4:17).

Ezekiel was a radical prophet. He saw visions that foretold of what was to come in God’s Kingdom. Ezekiel locates himself in a community of Judean exiles settled by the Babylonians in the land of the Chaldeans. The very place that God called Abraham to begin a new covenant. In chapter 37, we witness that God’s people are spiritually dead. And so, Ezekial the priest and prophet was raised up to speak life into God’s people. They must learn to trust God in the unknown and wait on him to act. Once again, Judah and Israel were unfaithful to a faithful God. We too are a people who continually fall prey to our environment instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to fill us with life so others might come to know Jesus. We are a society of consumerism. We take instead of offering our whole being to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel’s vison is a powerful image of how the church should not be. God’s people have lost all sense of spiritual moorings because of their situation. So, God’s uses a vision to proclaim to the people that they must awaken to life once again because the Spirit of God has breathed into their dry bones. Ezekiel 37: 5-6 declares God’s prophesy, “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.” This vision was an answer to the exiles despair. In this vision, the valley is filled with very, very dry bones: a horrible battlefield, with the fallen left to rot. If they can live again, it would be only through the power of God and his prophetic word through Ezekiel. Ezekiel prophesies to these bones out of obedience to the Lord step by step. This is a beautiful description of how these dry bones come alive: from the death of sin to the life of righteousness, and to the resurrection of the Church from its afflicted state to liberty and rest in Christ. Hallelujah! God promised to bring the Israelites back to their land and plant them again with his very breath.

This is what God intended for the bride of Christ, the universal Church, that we are never consumed by this earthly life, or personal gain in any way, but that the church, every ligament, tendon, and bone come together in unity and fulfill the mission of his Kingdom: to become spiritually alive and mature in Jesus Christ. We do this by working in harmony with one another and taking our differing gifts and using them to build the church that is rooted in the Spirit of God. This is foundational for the church to flourish. Paul declares in Ephesians 4:16, “From Christ, the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” We will grow to become a mature body of Christians who are unified in their purpose, in their love for one another, and their love for the Lord. Christ is the truth and the Holy Spirit who guides the church is the Spirit of truth alive in us. Church, come alive! Let us radically awaken one another to become the bride that God intended us to be.

Reflection:

• How can you become spiritually alive in Jesus?
• Do you allow the Spirit to breathe new life into your being every day?

 Dear Father,

We give thanks for your breath upon the Church so that we might awaken to your Spirit through Jesus. Breathe on us oh God and rattle our being to grow your kingdom on earth.

In Jesus name,

Amen!

Blessings

Dr. Caroline