November 18

Ezekiel 37-38

I replied, “O Lord GOD, only You know” (37:3). When the Bible says nothing is impossible with God, it’s not kidding. Dry bones of dead men clicking together like Legos, growing tendons, organs, muscle, and skin to form a functioning army is God doing the impossible. I doubt we could imagine it had God not done it. What else can He do?

Breathe into these slain, so that they may live! (37:9). By the breath of His mouth, God makes things come alive. The ancients realized that when one speaks, they breathe out, and they reasoned that God’s word comes out by His breath. This led to the Holy Spirit being called the breath of God. His word, therefore, is alive–it comes from the breath of His mouth. Both Hebrew word ruach and the Greek pneuma translate “Spirit” in English, but they both mean “breath” or “wind” in common usage. When God breathes on something, His Spirit emanates from Him to bring it to life. You became a living being by the breath of God in your Mama’s womb. When Jesus breathed on His disciples, He said, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” and they came alive (John 20:22).

The deeper question for most of us, especially when we feel dead from a miserable trial is, “Can I come alive?” If dry bones can live by the word of the Lord, and nothing is impossible with God, why not?

James 1-2

Everyone should be quick to listen... (1:19). I imagine that when he wrote this, James was thinking of the older men in his church. As one of that balding lot, I can criticize us–we talk too much. Perhaps we believe others care to hear our exploits for the fifth time. Heaven help us if we think things change by our complaints or, worse, recounting the good old days.

The reality is that we accomplish a lot more if we listen. People tend to trust those who listen well. Listening invites people to tell you where it hurts. I’ve found that if I listen to people long enough, they’ll tell me how to lead them to Jesus and help them grow.

Psalm 117

Great is His loving devotion toward us … Meditate on loving devotion.

Proverbs 28:1

God’s love fills us with confidence in God’s word, so we know what to do.