June 12: The Life-Breathing Spirit, Part 1

“1The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley, it was full of bones…they were very dry. 3And he said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ And I answered, ‘O Lord God, you know.’” –Ezekiel 37.1, 2b-3
I’ve seen many skeletons in my life up to this point. I’ve seen a lizard skeleton treasured by a little girl; I’ve seen the remains of ancient people in museums; I’ve seen animals who’ve been hunted and animals who’ve died naturally; I’ve seen innumerable skeletons in the movies. And here’s the bottom line on skeletons: they’re dead.
The bones that Ezekiel sees here represent the true nature of the people around him. It takes the Spirit of the Lord opening his eyes in order for him to see that the souls of these people are nothing more than dry bones. And, just like the dry bones that I’ve come across, these bones have no life, and as far as we can see they’ve got no prospect of obtaining life. Outside of what comes next – outside of the breath of God – these bones are us. They have no life. Outside of the Spirit of God, we have no life.
1. If you don’t believe in Jesus as Savior, why do you think God would refer to you as dry, lifeless bones? Pray that He’ll open your eyes to the answer to that question.
2. Why do we need God’s Spirit to open our eyes to seeing that we were once lifeless bones and that those outside of Christ are lifeless bones right now?