Ezekiel 37:1-14, Psalm 130 I love this Ezekiel scripture about the dry bones that come to life with a message of hope. When all else fails, when hope has dried up like these bones, God promises to bring them up from their graves and put the Spirit of the Lord in them and bring them home. Ezekiel is confronted by a valley of very dry bones of a horrible battlefield. God asks whether these bones can come to life. To this he replies, “Only you know.” He is noting that it would have to be through the power of God and the prophetic word. Ezekiel follows God’s directions and against all odds the bone comes to life. God intended this vision to answer the exiles despair. They felt like they were dead and buried. With wind, breath, and Spirit God promises to bring them to real life, like he’s done to the dry bones through God’s spirit in them. In our Psalm passage the psalmist is waiting on God for divine redemption. One who is close to death hopes in God’s word pleading for God to hear. Ye...

John 9:1-7, Ephesians 5:8-14 Our John account tells how Jesus heals a blind man. Jesus puts to rest the idea that disability in a child was the fault of the parents. They must have sinned to create a blind child. Even widows were at fault for their husbands dying. Jesus changes this thinking by saying neither did but he was born blind for a greater purpose, to see that God’s work might be revealed in him. This is where Jesus states, “I am the light of the world.” Blindness in the Bible, especially with the prophets, talks about more than physical blindness but as a spiritual blindness which is an issue our Ephesians’ passage expounds. Once you were in darkness, meaning you were spiritually blind but in the Lord, we are now light. Furthermore, we are children of light, and this is the way we should walk – conduct ourselves. The fruit of the light is found in all that is good, right, and true. This is the fruit which we should produce but how? We are to arise from the dead of dar...

 Exodus 17:1-7, Psalm 95 In Exodus the people grumble and complain about the lack of water to Moses. This episode is not only understood as a complaint to Moses but as a direct test of the Lord. The lack of water interpreted as evidence of the absence of God. So, God provides a miracle when Moses strikes the rock. This spot gets names that remember how they quarreled and complained – Meribah and Massah. These names conjure up the image of their hardened hearts, and these cities are named in Psalm 95 as warnings. Instead of complaining and questioning God’s presence, the psalmist says to worship God with voice and heart. This is to declare God’s greatness that created and sustains the world. Not only is God our maker but God cares for us like a shepherd.   The psalmist is saying do not harden your hearts like they did at Meribah and Massah. Instead, they are to join in the praises of God’s power and care for us. “Oh, that you would listen to his voice.” Not only did they ...

Psalm 32, II Corinthians 5:20-6:10 Psalm 32 is the account of one person’s journey from sinfulness to righteousness. The psalmist tells how his suffering was a result of sin. Yet when he cries out for forgiveness it occurs. When he acknowledges his sin, forgiveness happens when one confesses one’s transgressions. Suffering in silence does not bring about forgiveness much less restoration. But joy comes from forgiveness, a term we’ve later come to describe as justification. The psalmist says that his sin is covered. When he said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord” God forgave the guilt of his sin. Due to his experience, he tells others – all who are faithful, to offer prayers to God in time of distress. He tells how God is a hiding place, preserving him from trouble, surrounded by glad cries of deliverance. He tells how steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord. In II Corinthians Paul entreats – extorts his audience to be reconciled to God. They must not l...