Dry Bones

I know I've said that I was going to write more, but I assure you, I am not abandoning this site, nor am I planning to visit it occasionally. I just didn't factor in the colossal workload the spring semester usually brings. I suppose it's a way to remind that if we want to enjoy the warm weather outside, you need to finish your work first. If my mother wouldn't tell me that I need to buckle down, it would be my quest to keep my GPA high.

Ezekiel 37:1-10 has been ministering to my soul recently and the Scripture fails to leave my conscious. Rather than saying I stumbled across it as if it was a fortunate case of coincidence, it was more I wasn't expecting to come across it. The wonderful of reading the Bible is that no matter how many times you've read the same Scripture or verse, there is a new revelation that falls. A fresh understanding reveals a new way of looking at the Scripture that makes me exclaim, "Huh! I didn't think of it like that before." 

The NIV translation reads as such: 

The hand of the Lord was on 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, “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, breath, from the four winds 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.

As always, I like to have a different translation accompany every Scripture I read since it offers more insight and the choice in words a different translation may have can a different effect (such as, in regards to choosing a words for affection, liking someone or ardently admiring). The Complete Jewish Bible, translated from the original Hebrew and Greek, reads as such:

With the hand of Adonai upon me, Adonai carried me out by his Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley, and it was full of bones. He had me pass by all around them — there were so many bones lying in the valley, and they were so dry! He asked me, “Human being, can these bones live?” I answered, “Adonai Elohim! Only you know that!” Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones! Say to them, ‘Dry bones! Hear what Adonai has to say! To these bones Adonai Elohim says, “I will make breath enter you, and you will live. I will attach ligaments to you, make flesh grow on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you. You will live, and you will know that I am Adonai.” So I prophesied as ordered; and while I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound; it was the bones coming together, each bone in its proper place. As I watched, ligaments grew on them, flesh appeared and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. Next he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath! Prophesy, human being! Say to the breath that Adonai Elohim says, ‘Come from the four winds, breath; and breathe on these slain, so that they can live.’”

So I prophesied as ordered, and the breath came into them, and they were alive! They stood up on their feet, a huge army!

Both talk of the same thing, but the different translations paints a different picture. I read it and I was blown away at what I realized. God was telling Ezekiel that should you speak to those dry bones to come to life, to breathe life into them, according to my word, they shall. He was telling Ezekiel exactly what to say and all Ezekiel had to was to repeat them and speak them in faith. The following verse says that the bones were coming together. Bones were coming together. Ezekiel spoke the words of the Lord and it came to pass exactly what He prophesied. I sitting on my sofa, with my mouth open and utterly speechless because it wasn't exactly the profundity of the event or how magnanimous the position of Ezekiel was. Rather, I was blown away at the simplicity of it. God was telling Ezekiel that should you speak what I speak, you will see great things follow. It wasn't a mythical process; it was simply speaking forth the words of the Sovereign God. However, what I also gather is that Ezekiel didn't repeat them anxiously, unsure, or muttering it, questioning what would happen. He spoke them in faith, knowing that with every utterance, the Holy Spirit went before him, and wonders followed. I was immediately taken aback that as Christians, we possess the same power. Prophesy with unshakable faith that moves the mountains and shakes the depth of hell and dry bones will come to life. 

And they did. The following clause is what's very important to note. He didn't just say them, full of faith to realize that nothing happened, it was done for nothing, and absolutely nothing followed. He spoke, and it came to pass. Bones were coming together, flesh was covering them, and the dead came to life. 

That is a foreshadow of the power we possess through the blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit. When we speak to dry bones, they come to life. Yet, in the midst of this wild revelation, I also acknowledged another thing: it wasn't in my power that was doing all of this. While I am speaking what the Lord puts on my lips, it is His Spirit that goes forth and accomplishes what is being spoken. With that, I never have to doubt whether what I speak will come to pass. Since the words that I speak are words directly from the Lord, His Spirit goes before me and fulfills what is being spoken. It is His power, not mine. But His power is in me because His Spirit dwells in me. Wow. I don't possess any power, but through His Spirit, through Jesus Christ, I am able to accomplish all things, including commanding dry bones to come life. Because they will. 

 

I hope this will minister to you as it did to me.

Le Nouveau Année

Happy New Year!

The cliche, "times flies by" doesn't seem quite as cheesy when I reminisce on the memories I've made in 2012, the people I've encountered, and the things I've experienced. 2012 was truly a jam-packed year, as it provided fertile soil for many amazing, life-changing experiences occur. Several poignant occasions include Catch the Fire, spending the summer in Europe, going to Florida for Spring Break and subsequently going to Disney World for the first time, going to DC for Kony 2012: MOVE, and getting a car.

I will freely admit that this blog has taken a back seat and on some occasions, performed as the spitting place where masses of pictures agglomerate together and somehow serve a purpose. However, with a new year brings newness, change, and opportunities to bring change, I propose several things, all of which will not just be eloquent propositions, but rather goals to pursue and accomplish. 

I am not a frivolous writer. I rarely will compose a paragraph based on superfluous subjects or that are filled with arbitrary objections. I like my writing to full of purpose, intellectual vocabulary, and a sense of freshness--a new perspective that hovers over the topic of conversation. At the same time, I don't want my New Years resolutions to reflect superficial goals, such as trimming my middle (which, I admit, is one of my goals), but I desire to have something more of substance. So, at the risk of announcing my years goals:

1. I am going to read and to write more. While this is more of a discipline issue than of time management, it is simply taking 15 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour out of my day to simply read, relax my mind, fill my brain with fresh words, give vitality to my syntax. I want to look at my bookshelf and now that I am making progress in completing the list of novels on the bookshelf above my desk as which I glance a great majority of my time. 

2. I am going to cultivate a deeper relationship with God. Not only a deeper relationship and fall deeper in love with Abba, but also develop a stronger relationship with the Holy Spirit. 

3. I am going to make dietary changes. Not as many sweets and cookies (which in my defense, I do not breathe chocolate chip cookies as I do oxygen), and more fruits and vegetables. Make more meals with variety. Change things up a bit so that I will not have to resort to eating out. 

4. Be myself. Cliche, I know, but people can go into being what people expect from you, so you stop doing what's right for you. I'm going to do my own thing that is not going to be determined by what people want, what people conjure ideas about in regards to a particular thing, and privately aspire for me to act/speak/behave. I am simply going to be me. And in being myself, there is a freedom that comes from that.