Lenten Devotional - Day 32

Scripture: Ezekiel 37:1-6

“The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, ‘Mortal, can these bones live?’ I answered, ‘O Lord God, you know.’" (Ezek. 37:1-3)

  The February 14th featured article in the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat was entitled “Cambria coroner again ‘sounding the alarm’ as OD deaths accelerate.” The article began: “Last year was the worst year for fatal drug-related overdoses in Cambria County history – and 2017 has started out even worse. In 2016, the county saw 94 fatal drug-related overdoses with several cases still pending, County Coroner Jeffrey Lees said. So far in 2017, Lees’ office has investigated 22 overdose deaths – on a pace for more than 200.”

  “People that are abusing or addicted to these opioids need to seek help,” Lees said. “The end result could be a ride in the back of my (coroner’s) vehicle.”

  The statistics are staggering. Then we see needles strewn on the street and deals happening in front of our eyes. A single mother dies leaving behind two beautiful daughters. Gunshots ring out in broad daylight. Hopes are dashed again as someone we thought could stay clean shows up high, thinking we won’t even notice. But we do. We see all this around us and more. We dwell in the valley of the shadow of death.

  God lifted Ezekiel up and set him down in the valley of the shadow of death. Ezekiel saw bones lying in a field, bones that were once part of living, breathing human beings, who, in death, had been abandoned to the elements. Now all that was left was dry bone.

  God asked Ezekiel if these bones could live. The logical answer would be, “Of course not. It’s utterly, physically, ridiculously impossible.” But Ezekiel remembered to whom he was speaking – God, Creator of the heavens and the earth. “O, Lord GOD, you know,” he replied. Not only could those bones live, they did live.

  If God can bring life out of absolute death, then there is nothing outside of the Lord’s control, not even addiction and its deadly toll.

  Let us pray for all who see nothing but death and despair, that they may know the life-giving power of God.

Alice Tondora, Contributor

Remember in Prayer: Those working to make a difference in the lives of the drug dependent individuals and feel as if they are in a valley full of bones.

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Lenten Devotional - Day 28

Scripture: Ezekiel 37:7-10

“So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.’" (Ezek. 37:7-9)

  One night, my husband had to take my teen-aged daughter to the emergency room because she couldn’t breathe. She was afraid that she was dying, but we later learned that a severe panic attack can feel a lot like a heart attack. She had to learn how to trust in her breath. Breath is life.

  When God creates Adam in Genesis 2, he is a lifeless body until God breathes into his nostrils and makes him a living being. Breath is life.

  At yoga, my teacher is always reminding us to breathe. She says yoga is not about how strong we are or how flexible we are, but about how we breathe. Breath is life.

  In today’s Bible verse the prophet Ezekiel commanded the bones and flesh to come together as bodies, but there was no breath in them. Even though they looked human on the outside they were dead on the inside.

  So often we can have everything together on the outside. Our lives look like they are supposed to. We get up. We go to work. We care for our families. We work around the house. But, sometimes we do it without any breath. Without breath, there is no life. We are dead inside.

  And so, we reach out to those things that make us feel alive again on the inside—food or alcohol or drugs or shopping. We can become addicted to a lot of things that give us a false life. Things that make us feel good and alive for a short time but in the end, leave us empty again.

  But the good news of the gospel is that God is not a temporary fix. God is in the business of creating new life, but it’s not temporary. God is in the eternity business. When God breathes life into us, it doesn’t mean everything will go our way and life will be easy. No, it is a promise that we will not have to panic or suffer alone. God is with us in the dry and dusty pits of our life. It’s a promise that when we can’t breathe, God will do it for us so that we may truly live.

Sue Washburn, Contributor

Remember in Prayer: New life might be breathed into our communities to find their way toward helping their neighbors.

Click Here PDF - Day 28 Devotion

Lenten Devotional - Day 23

Scripture: Ezekiel 37:10-14

“I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude. Then he said to me, "Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.' Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel.” (Ezek. 37:10-12)

  Deep within the souls of those struggling with AOD dependency is the belief that they are beyond hope, they are lost deep within the grave of despair. Recovery offers the possibility of resurrection. They need us to help them believe that recovery is possible.

  People in the midst their addictions believe the same as the people referenced by Ezekiel in today’s passage, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost.” (v. 11) God needs Jesus’ disciples to exercise their prophetic voice and proclaim what God can do, “to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves” (v. 12)

  We are called to proclaim a message they have never heard and to believe in someone they have never known. Prophets share the word of God with us, reminding us who we are as God’s people, something which has been true from the beginning of time and has faded from our memories. We all have days and moments when we feel, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost.” (v. 11) These moments come at times of grief, during sudden and rapid life changes, or emotional distress.

  The whole church is called by God to have a prophetic voice in our communities and proclaim that together with the Holy Spirit we have a partner in our faith. Jesus Christ leads us to the harvest which will breathe new life into our communities and help those affected by AOD problems rise to their feet to new life. We are also called to teach them how to tell their stories of restoration and redemption, how “they lived, and stood on their feet.” They have rich and meaningful stories about how God’s love and grace transformed their lives and we as the church need to hear their stories and the hope they show us and our communities.

  We all have stories of faith, heartache, hope, and grief capable of breathing new life into our communities. Communities which have arrived at a point where they have come to believe “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost;” (v. 11) Our prophetic voice allows these stories to live and breathe new life into our communities. We are called to tell our stories and share our hope, to encourage those with recovery stories, those with stories of grief and loss, those with stories of transformation, and those with stories of resurrection which lifted them up from the darkness. We have stories to tell which can breathe new life and raise up our communities from their graves of despair. What stories is God’s Spirit calling your church to tell and teach others to tell?

Lee McDermott, Contributor

Remember in Prayer: Individuals and families who feel hopeless about their current situation.

Click Here PDF - Day 23 Devotion