Week 47

This week's Bible reading plan is as follows:

• Sunday: Ezekiel 37:1-38:23; James 1:19-2:17; Psalm 117:1-2; Proverbs 28:1
• Monday: Ezekiel 39:1-40:27; James 2:18-3:18; Psalm 118:1-18; Proverbs 28:2
• Tuesday: Ezekiel 40:28-41:26; James 4:1-17; Psalm 118:19-29; Proverbs 28:3-5
• Wednesday: Ezekiel 42:1-43:27; James 5:1-20; Psalm 119:1-16; Proverbs 28:6-7
• Thursday: Ezekiel 44:1-45:12; 1 Peter 1:1-12; Psalm 119:17-32; Proverbs 28:8-10
• Friday: Ezekiel 45:13-46:24; 1 Peter 1:13-2:10; Psalm 119:33-48; Proverbs 28:11
• Saturday: Ezekiel 47:1-48:35; 1 Peter 2:11-3:7; Psalm 119:49-64; Proverbs 28:12-13

Our S.O.A.P. this week is from the book of Ezekiel:

Scripture: Ezekiel 37:4-6
"Then he said to me, 'Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, "Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord."'"

Observation:
This is a message of hope and restoration. The dry and scattered bones symbolized God's people that were captives in many foreign lands. The Assyrians invaded the 10 northern tribes more than 150 years before Ezekiel's prophetic ministry. The Assyrian king led the Israelites into captivity, dispersing them throughout his vast kingdom. He then repopulated the land with foreigners, whom he had taken captive from other countries. Then in Ezekiel's more recent past, the Babylonians led the rest of God’s people into captivity. Israel lay in ruins. Only a few of Israel’s poorest were left behind to tend the land. Everything looked hopeless. But what appeared to be dead and gone by all human reckoning was about to come back life! God would bring his people back to life, as it were, restoring them to their land and ultimately bringing Jesus Christ into their midst, who would not only deliver them, but would also bring life to all other peoples.

Application:
We serve a God who can resurrect dry bones in our lives too! As long as we are alive, we have the chance to surrender to Christ and let his Spirit breathe new life into our situation – whatever it may be! We sometimes do an amazing job turning everything in our lives into a valley of dry bones. In other words, we can make a mess of things! But God is in the business of restoration and new life. Today I want to take inventory of my life and ask God bring restoration and new life wherever it is needed.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you for giving me new life in Jesus Christ! I live only because you brought hope and restoration to me personally. Yet there are dry bones strewn throughout my life that also need your healing breath, mainly because of my own doing! Please, for Jesus' sake, let your healing grace abound! Amen.

Have a great week!






Faithfully,


Chuck