Scripture Focus:

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT)

In our passage for today, Jesus describes his yoke as “easy.” The Greek word for this is chrestos. It’s the same word that is sometimes translated as kindness when talking about the fruit of the Spirit. It’s also sometimes translated as gentleness. I believe this points to the importance of integrating our inner character and the outward expression of our lives as we grow in the full stature of Christ. We are to become patient and kind, good and gentle.

Another interesting use of the word chrestos is to describe old wine – old wine is mellow. Christ’s yoke is chrestos – it’s mellow. It doesn’t chafe or hurt. It fits, it’s easy. There’s a significant connection here. We’re called to a particular style of relationship with others. We’re to be with them in the same way Christ is with us – making their way easier because we’re yoked together. Our kindness is an expression of Christ’s presence within us. It’s a way of being with others that gives the strength and power they need to go on.

Years ago, I heard a story about a young woman whose husband was a doctor in India during World War II who died from a tropical disease of some sort. The shock of it sent her into despair. She lost all interest in life, not caring whether she live or died. She booked passage on a ship back to the United States and on that ship she met the survivor of another tragedy – a seven-year-old boy, whose missionary parents had been killed in the fighting in Burma. The little boy was attracted to the woman. A seven-year-old needs a mother, especially under those circumstances. But she would have nothing to do with him. In fact, she scheduled her time on shipboard to avoid him. She couldn’t get outside herself and her sorrow long enough to comfort a little boy. “I have my own problems to deal with” is how she described it.

One night the ship was torpedoed and began to sink slowly. The woman came out on deck, preparing herself to go down with the ship. She had no will to live and decided not even to seek an escape. But on the deck she saw the little boy, shivering with cold and fright. He saw her, ran over, and clung to her. Something came over her. She led him to one of the lifeboats; they both got in, and, for the next several days, until they were rescued, she held him. Looking back on the incident, her friends said they didn’t know whether the woman saved the boy or the boy saved the woman.

Kindness – yoked together in a fashion that makes the way of another easier. Why are we so blind that we fail to see kindness as the salvation needed by so many? Men, women, young, old. People need to have someone with them in the fashion that Christ is with us, making their way easier because we are yoked with them.

We talk about random acts of kindness. When those acts happen it brightens everyone’s day. But kindness as a fruit of the Spirit is hardly random. It’s an aggressive and assertive kindness – always reaching out for easy yoking.

As you pray and fast this week, think about this definition of kindness: yoked together in a fashion that makes the way of another easier. Are you yoked together with anyone in that fashion? Is there anyone you need to be yoked together with in that way but are not? I will be praying that if there is such a person in your life, that you will begin to cultivate kindness toward them, yoking yourself in a way that makes their way easier.

Scripture Focus:

I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations. For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

Psalm 108:3-4 (NLT)

You are my rock and my fortress. For the honor of your name, lead me out of this danger. Pull me from the trap my enemies set for me, for I find protection in you alone. I entrust my spirit into your hand. Rescue me, Lord, for you are a faithful God.

Psalm 31:3-5 (NLT)

United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Great Britain Prime Minister Winston Churchill were at the Yalta Conference with Joseph Stalin from Russia in 1945, trying to settle issues between nations following World War II. When Roosevelt said that he hoped that the conference would only last five or six days, Churchill responded, “I do not see any way of realizing our hopes about world organization in five or six days. Even the Almighty took seven.”

One of our biggest problems is that we’re always in a hurry. We live in a fast-food, quick-fix, instant-replay world. The amazing advancements in technology have dramatically improved our lives, yet we can’t wait even a couple of seconds for the video to load or our computer to boot up. It reminds me of the story of a man who prayed earnestly one morning for grace to overcome his impatience. A little later, he missed his train by half a minute and spent an hour stomping up and down the station platform in furious irritation. Five minutes before the next train arrived, he suddenly realized that his prayer had been answered! He had been given an hour to practice the virtue of patience but had missed the opportunity and wasted the hour fuming.

The fruit of the Spirit, especially patience, can’t grow if we’re always in a hurry. This fruit of the Spirit, Christian patience, is dependent upon our belief in a sovereign God who is in control, who is at work in the world, and who will not forget any one of us. The psalmist sang about this in our Scripture passages for today. But not only in the Psalms, the witness is throughout the Bible: Our sovereign God is in control. God is at work in the world and will not forget any one of us. The prophet Isaiah put it this way, in one of the most haunting words in the Old Testament’s record of God speaking of his people:

Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Isaiah 49:15-16 (NLT)

We demonstrate our impatience most irreverently when we question God’s timetable. How often and in how many ways does it happen? We expect God to act now. When we don’t perceive signs of God’s acting, we give up looking for God’s activity in our life; even specific answers to prayer go unnoticed.

We also show the limitation of our patience when we’re impatient with another person’s weaknesses. This is one of our most glaring failures. We’re quick to see the “speck” in another’s eye and disregard the “beam” in our own. An antidote for this is to constantly remind ourselves of God’s patience with us. Psalm 92 reminds us that it is good “to declare [God’s] steadfast love in the morning” (v2). If we keep reminding ourselves that God is committed to us, that our welfare is close to God’s heart and that God will not withhold or even modify one single promise, then we can show patience with another person’s weakness. If God is patient with us, constant in lovingkindness, we certainly owe the same to others.

Finally, when we’re in a hurry, we can’t pray. Prayer demands time, attention, silence, waiting. When we’re in a hurry, we miss much of the beauty and meaning of life. In “Infirmity” the poet Theodore Roethke talks about seeing in a different way: “the deep eye sees the shimmer on the stone.” If we’re in a hurry we miss that – not only the shimmer on the stone, but also the glimmer on the grass, the yellow-breasted finch, first violets of spring, the beauty of the weeks, the dancing shadows of wind-motioned pines.

Roethke makes another suggestive statement in “What Can I Tell My Bones.” He says, “I recover my tenderness by long looking.” Impatience blocks us from tenderness because there can be no long looking if we’re always in a hurry.

As you fast and pray this week, reflect on several questions. Have there been occasions recently when you have been impatient with God?

Are there people in your life that you are impatient with because of their weakness? How do you think God might want you to change in relation to those people?

How about your prayer life? Do you have difficulty giving God your focused attention in prayer?

I pray that you would begin to cultivate a “deep eye” and “long looking,” remembering that you are written on the palm of God’s hand – he will never forget you.

Scripture Focus:

Where is another God like you, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of his special people? You will not stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing unfailing love. Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!

Micah 7:18-19 (NLT)

This month we’re focusing on three fruits of the Spirit – patience, kindness, and goodness. Today we’ll start with patience.

A first-grade teacher was having an unusually difficult day. It was raining and the kids couldn’t go out for recess. As the day wore on, the kids got more and more restless. The teacher could hardly wait for the end of the day.

About 15 minutes before the bell rang, she saw that it was still raining so she decided to start getting everyone ready for dismissal. She sorted out their boots and raincoats and began helping get them on. Finally, they were all ready to go with the exception of one little boy whose boots were just too small for his feet. There were no zippers or snaps, and it took every last ounce of strength she had to get them on.

When at last she had them on, she straightened up with a sigh of relief. But the little boy looked down at his feet for a moment and said, “You know what? These boots ain’t mine!”

She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but being the good teacher she was, she smiled bravely and started taking them off. They were even harder to get off than they were to put on! She yanked and tugged and tugged and yanked. Finally, the boots came off. And you’ll never guess what the little boy said, “They ain’t my boots, but they’re my sister’s and I gotta wear them!”

It happens daily: Our patience is tried.

The Greek word is makrothymise and is translated “patience” and “forbearance” as well as “long-suffering.” To grasp the meaning of patience as a fruit of the Spirit, it’s best to begin by thinking of the patience of God with us. God suffers long, bears with us in all our sinning and rebellion, all our apathy and unconcern. God doesn’t draw back when we spurn God’s love.

In our Scripture for today, the prophet Micah provides a marvelous picture of this patient, long-suffering God. Pardoning our guilt, overlooking our sin, delighting in showing unfailing love. This is who God is, and Jesus reveals this patient, long-suffering God as the Shepherd who never gives up on a lost sheep, as a Father who waits and prays and prays and waits with outstretched hands and heart to receive the prodigal son back home.

As you pray and fast this week, think about the things that try your patience. Why do these situations get to you? Is it a matter of time? Is it a control issue – you’re not in complete control? Are feelings of threat involved? Reflect on why you become impatient in these situations. I’ll be praying that you would remember the depth of God’s patience with each one of us. That he never gives up and always waits with an outstretched hand and heart.

Scripture Focus:

If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live… I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

John 14:15-19, 25-27 (NLT)

There is no ongoing peace apart from keeping our mind stayed on Jesus.

I’ve spent much of my adult life studying scripture, reading theology, writing sermons and books, preparing for worship, praying, seeking to lead others, caring for persons in need, and in the process receiving a lot of love and affirmation. Yet, there are times when I feel an absence of peace. A subtle franticness sets in, and I become uneasy, uncertain, unproductive. I lose my sense of centeredness and go into a “funk.” Sometimes this gloom and absence of peace is short-lived. Sometimes it’s for a day even a week.

The time is determined by how long it takes me to realize I’ve taken my eyes off Jesus. My mind isn’t stayed on Christ. When I discover what priority has replaced Christ as the priority in my life, then through prayer and commitment, I recover peace.

This is the first way to cultivate the certainty of God’s presence, and thus receive the by-product of peace – keeping our minds stayed on Jesus.

In his classic book Brother to a Dragonfly, Will D. Campbell tells the story of a woman who transparently kept her mind stayed on Jesus.

And about Mrs. Tilly a little Methodist woman from Atlanta, who never weighed more than a hundred pounds in her life, who looked about eight years younger than God, joined forces with a group of forty thousand women in the thirties and forties in what they called the Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching. She was then active in advocating the desegregation of public schools and got a lot of obscene phone calls, calling her everything but the gentle woman she was. She had an engineer hook her telephone to a phonograph and when someone called her late at night the answer they heard was some deep-throated baritone singing The Lord’s Prayer. The calls soon stopped. [1]

What an imagination! But also, what confidence in the Lord! No wonder Mrs. Tilly knew peace. She kept her mind stayed on Jesus.

Then there’s a second realization. The Christian’s peace is the companion to knowing and doing God’s will. If we’ve been given marching orders in a particular area or relationship of our lives and have refused to follow, then we can’t know peace. If we pray, “Lord, what do you want me to do? Where do you want me to go? How do you want me to act?” and the Lord responds with direction that we consciously refuse to follow, we won’t know peace. Faithful obedience is the environment essential for the fruit of peace.

It sounds presumptuous, but we’ve got to give God “elbow room” in our lives. We have to make room and be willing to allow God to move in our lives as God pleases. However intimately we may know God, we never know God well enough to predict when and how God is going to act and what God is going to demand. Obedience must be our ready response.

I saw this stance of obedience and thus a peace that passes all understanding in the life of my family’s friends, Abel and Freida Hendricks. Abel was a Methodist preacher in South Africa. He fought the battle against apartheid and stood with the poor and oppressed at great cost. At one point, he had been imprisoned by the government for his courageous opposition to oppression. My father had a telephone conversation with him the day after his release. Though my father didn’t know until later, Abel was on the verge of nervous collapse; he had suffered so much physically and emotionally. He was very emotional as they talked on the phone, even crying at times. But his words were strong and confident: “We’re going to be all right. They can put us in prison; they can close our schools; they can continue to deny human rights and try to reduce us to animals. But they cannot take away our peace and joy in Christ.”

Where is the secret of Abel and Freida’s joy and peace? Keeping their minds stayed on Christ and knowing and doing the will of God.

As you pray and fast this week, reflect on these questions. Would those who know you say you are peace-filled? Are you resisting some call, failing to respond to what you know is God’s will? I will be praying for you! That you would claim the promise and live in the confidence that God will keep in perfect peace those who trust in him.

[1] Will D. Campbell, Brother to a Dragonfly (New York: The Continium Publishers Corporation, 1995), p137.

Scripture Focus:

In that day, everyone in the land of Judah will sing this song: Our city is strong! We are surrounded by the walls of God’s salvation. Open the gates to all who are righteous; allow the faithful to enter. You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.

Isaiah 26:1-4

Peace is the product of the certainty of God’s presence despite the circumstances. That’s important enough to repeat:

Peace is the product of the certainty of God’s presence despite the circumstances.

We’ve probably all witnessed this truth at some point. Someone we know is walking through the darkest valley of the shadow of death, yet radiating peace. Another is living in horrendous circumstances that would drive others to madness yet move through the clamor and confusion with quiet strength. And another is pulled in ten different directions – demanding work, a sick spouse, a rebellious teenager. You wonder how they keep from “flying to pieces,” and then you discover why. You know they’re being kept in peace because their mind is stayed on God.

We have a family friend, a Methodist minister’s wife, whose life is the most powerful witness I know of the peace that is the product of the certainty of God’s presence despite the circumstances.

On New Year’s Day, 1991, she and her ten-year-old daughter were headed home from celebrating the Christmas holidays with friends. She missed a turn and decided to take the next road, though it wasn’t familiar to her. She topped a hill to be greeted by a stop sign. She was going too fast to stop and went through the intersection and under the trailer of an eighteen-wheeler. Her daughter survived with minor lacerations and a mild concussion, but our friend’s spinal cord was injured and she was paralyzed from the neck down. There were broken ribs and a punctured lung. In the first week, she had three surgeries. In the beginning, she could only move her eyes.

The doctors told her husband that she would be better off dead; that if she lived, she would be bedridden, ventilator-dependent, and a vegetable. The doctors even told her husband that he was too young to be saddled with an invalid wife and offered “some solutions.” But her husband chose life for her.

The initial few years after the accident were full of pain and struggle, hospitalization, and surgery after surgery. Yet, over time, she was able to graduate to a wheelchair and a neck brace, and with a splint on her wrist she can use a telephone, a computer, and feed herself. A newspaper carried an article about her activity – her speaking in church and ministering in all sorts of imaginative ways. In a letter to my father, she described her life:

My family is like any other family. We shop, go to movies, eat out, and take vacations. I’m still a quadriplegic. But by God’s grace I’m also a pastor’s wife, a mother, a registered nurse (inactive), a Certified Lay Speaker in our church, a Sunday school teacher, and an active member of United Women in Faith. I continue to pray for physical healing, but I’m also aware of the great spiritual healing God has done in me and through me. His hand has been in my life throughout this journey. I know because I hold on to it and “walk” with God every day.

How aware are you of God’s presence in your life? As you fast and pray this week, bring to your mind a time when you felt forsaken or alone or abandoned – maybe it was an illness, or the death of a loved one, or a failure or loss of a friendship or job. In reflecting on that experience, did you feel God’s presence? How did you experience God’s presence? Even though, then, you may not have felt and acknowledged God’s presence, are the signs, in retrospect that God was there – present and working?

I will be praying that you would cultivate a keen sense of God’s presence and that you would experience the peace that comes from the certainty that God is with us despite the circumstances.

Scripture Focus:

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to the Most High. It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, your faithfulness in the evening, accompanied by a ten-stringed instrument, a harp, and the melody of a lyre. You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done. O Lord, what great works you do! And how deep are your thoughts. Only a simpleton would not know, and only a fool would not understand this: Though the wicked sprout like weeds and evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever. But you, O Lord, will be exalted forever.

Psalm 92:1-8 (NLT)

Last month we focused our attention on joy, one of the fruits of the Spirit. This month we turn to peace. As we do this, we must remember that the fruit of the Spirit aren’t isolated from each other; they overlap in meaning and expression. Some have special connections. That’s the way it is with joy and peace – they go together. Neither is dependent on circumstance. Both are by-products of obedience.

Just as joy is dependent on abiding in Christ’s love, so peace is dependent on keeping our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7 says, “you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Just as the source of our joy is the fact of our salvation and the confidence that all our needs will be met, it’s the same with our peace.

In his now classic book, How to Live the Christian Life, Selwyn Hughes told of a preacher friend’s encounter with the receptionist at a doctor’s office. During the preacher’s appointment with the doctor, he invited the receptionist to visit his church. He was stunned at her response. She said that when she saw so many of his church members waiting for their weekly supply of sedatives at the doctor’s office on Monday morning, she really wondered what the church had to offer.

There were tears in the minister’s eyes as he told Hughes the story, concluding, “It hurt so much because it was true.” Reflecting on that experience, Hughes wrote:

If as Christians we claim to have abundant life, how does it happen that so many of us give so little evidence that this life is superior? We say that God is our Father and is quietly arranging all things to work to our good, yet we fly into a panic at the first approach of trouble. We claim Christ is Lord of our lives, yet when someone tramples on our rights we show by our actions who is really in command. We talk piously about peace, but when tragedy strikes, our peace goes into pieces. We preach forgiveness, but let someone injure us and see what happens. [1]

Hughes wrote those words decades ago and so much in our world has changed since then. But it seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same. The gap must be closed – the gap between what we profess and how we live. Peace is the result of our acceptance of God’s forgiveness in our lives. If that’s true – and I absolutely believe it is – then we must keep that awareness alive, and we must practice forgiveness in all our relationships.

A friend of mine told me about a misunderstanding she had with her sister over the matter of a disputed family will. The misunderstanding led to bitter estrangement between the two. She confessed that her resentment darkened through the passing years and something beautiful died within her. She wasn’t only hurting her sister; she was injuring herself. Then on a Sunday, words of Scripture in the worship liturgy took hold of her mind and heart: “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15).

That afternoon she wrote a letter to her sister, a letter that breathed love, forgiveness, and reconciliation. She said, “When I dropped that letter into the mailbox, it was like a thousand ‘alleluias’ singing inside me. The world was beautiful again and I felt alive for the first time in years.”

Peace and joy!

As you pray and fast, bring to your mind the most peace-filled person you know. As you know and have observed this person, what is the source of their peace? Thinking of your own life in relation to this person, what is missing from your life that perhaps is robbing you of peace? I’m praying that you will experience God’s peace, which is greater than you can ever imagine. And I’m praying as well, that His peace would guard your heart and mind as you live in Christ Jesus.

[1] Selwyn Hughes, How to live the Christian Life (New York: Seabury Press, 1982), pp14-15.

Scripture Focus:

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:4-7 (NLT)

Paul was in prison when he wrote his letter to the Philippians, yet this is one of his most remarkable contributions to us Christians. From prison, and nearing the end of his life, he wrote an appealing and convincing argument for the Christian faith. It’s Paul’s most joy-filled letter. He calls on the Philippians to rejoice – not just to rejoice in one act of praise and thanksgiving, but to rejoice always.

The last two verses of his letter form the capstone and give the reason why joy is not only possible but is the logical response to the experience that is ours.

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Now all glory to God our Father forever and ever! Amen.

Philippians 4:19-20 (NLT)

It’s a bold affirmation: Our God will supply our every need “according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” One difference between happiness and joy is that happiness is tied to circumstances – what’s going on around us. Joy is much deeper – it’s not dependent on circumstances but on commitment and trust.

A big enemy of joy is self-pity. The antidote to self-pity is the confidence that God will supply our every need. However much we lack that confidence, that’s how much our joy will be limited.

Do you remember the story of Elijah in the Hebrew Scripture? He was overcome with self-pity when he began to think that God no longer cared for him. It happened when he heard Jezebel had sent her soldiers to kill him (1 Kings 19:1-2). How quickly he had forgotten. God had intervened with direct and supernatural care by responding to his request that it not rain (1 Kings 17:1), by feeding him through the ravens for an entire year (1 Kings 17:6), and by providing the support of a widow who hid him from his enemies (1 Kings 17:9). And God demonstrated his faithfulness by sending fire to incinerate the altar when all the prophets of Baal couldn’t get even a whimper from their god (1 Kings 18:38).

How quickly Elijah forgot. So, when Jezebel came after him, he gave in to self-pity. When immediate success and visible results didn’t come in his ministry, he wallowed deep in despondency: “I have had enough, Lord. Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died” (1 Kings 19:4).

How quickly we forget!

Elijah discovered, as we need to discover, that God doesn’t always work in the ways we want God to work. But that doesn’t mean God isn’t working. Our joy isn’t in the WAY God works, but in the fact THAT God works. For Elijah, God wasn’t in the earthquake, wind, and fire, but in the still small voice.

As you pray and fast this week, reflect on a time when you knew God supplied your need. What was going on in your life? What were your needs? How were those needs met? How did you feel and respond?

Are you struggling now with particular issues and needs, wondering why God doesn’t help or intervene? Maybe you have prayed, but no answers seem to be forthcoming. How might your reflection above give you clues about how you might respond to what is going on now?

This week I will be praying that you would become ever more aware that our joy isn’t in the way God works, but in the fact that God works.

I talk to many people today who seem anxious. There is a great deal of anxiety due to global conflicts, national elections, or a myriad of issues that continue to fester around the world. The attack on Christians and Christianity from people of power and influence seems to be on the rise. The answers to these problems are complex and will take years to answer. 

A World Contrary to God’s Command

We should not be surprised that the world is full of teaching and practices contrary to God’s commands and principles. Jesus said as much to his followers on several occasions. Having grown up around farms and farming, I can hear the wise old men looking at me and saying, “You shouldn’t be surprised when you look at the cow pasture and see cattle.” A careful reading of Scripture tells us that the world around us will often be hostile to Jesus’ teaching. However, for the follower of Jesus Christ, we need not lose hope. Rather, God’s Word is full of examples when He calls His followers to speak words of life-changing truth and hope.

Ezekiel and the Valley of Dry Bones

One such example is in Ezekiel’s journey to the valley of the dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14—take a minute to read that now). The Israelites are living in captivity and a long way from the Promised Land. God calls his prophet Ezekiel to a valley full of dried up bones. God asks Ezekiel if he thinks that there is hope for the death and desolation around him. The prophet’s answer to this challenge is, though his faith is small, God—in whom his faith lies—is great. These bones can live, Ezekiel says, if You will make it so.

The Power of Prophesying Life

Though God could have made those bones alive again without help, He tells Ezekiel to “prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.” (v.5) I am always fascinated and humbled that God asks His followers to be a part of His work in bringing healing and restoration on Earth. Though God does not need our help, he gives us the joy and privilege of being part of His work. Sometimes we misunderstand the term “prophecy” and think it only means foretelling. It also means forthtelling: speaking the truth in love. Here Ezekiel speaks forth the promises of God and reassures them that He will resurrect them from the grave of their crippling anxieties, of their shattered hopes and dreams. God’s Word is the source of life and vitality they are seeking. 

When Ezekiel spoke to the bones, miraculous things happened! The bones were gathered together; they grew flesh and resumed the form of living things. Yet, there was work to be done. Though they had the form of humanity again, there was no life in them yet. God told Ezekiel to prophesy—to speak the truth again—to them so that there would be breath and life in them. Then, what was once a valley full of dry bones, now contained an abundance of life—“the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.” (v.10)

A Message of Hope for Today

While this message was originally given to Israel to remind them that God would gather them together and give them new life, the message applies to Christ’s followers today. Many in the world today are unknowingly lying lifeless in the valley. Many of Jesus’ followers are looking for the mountain tops from which they call yell down into these valleys, far from the effects of being in that valley inanimate bones and decay. Maybe it is time for each of us to listen carefully for God’s commands anew. He may be calling us into a valley of bones–not to become one of them, but to speak truth and life in the middle of a broad road that leads to death and destruction. Our job is to go where God calls, to speak the word of the Lord, and to let him bring new life in the darkest and driest places.

Scripture Focus:

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.

1 Peter 1:3-9

Years ago, my father received a handwritten note from The Broadmoore, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, one of America’s premier hotels. The writer lived in Indiana. Maybe he was on a business trip of vacation. Whatever the case, he was in a reflective mood and wanted to share with my father, even though they had never met. He identified himself and told his story.

Dear Dr. Dunnam,

A little more than two years ago, out of sheer desperation, I began a spiritual journey that has transformed my life. Some of your work, especially The Workbook of Living Prayer and The Workbook of Intercessory Prayer, have been vital guideposts along that journey.

My life was lost to alcohol and I was on the verge of losing my family, joy, money, and even my life. After a series of unsuccessful suicide attempts, God intervened through a number of agencies including AA and a rehabilitation center. As a result, I came to know God, then Jesus, and finally the Holy Spirit – not overnight, but slowly, surely.

I am enormously grateful to [God] for restoring my life and returning my family, health, joy, and showing me a way to live that I never thought possible.

What would cause a person like this, a stranger, to take the time to share his joy with someone he had never met? His was the “glorious, inexpressible joy” that Peter is talking about in our Scripture passage for this week. He was full of joy that he had to share because he was receiving the reward of trusting God – the salvation of his soul. (v.9)

The primary source of our joy is the fact of our salvation. Too few of us reflect enough on this fact. That might be one of the reasons our joy isn’t “full.” If we don’t know the joy of salvation, it may be that we haven’t dealt deeply enough with our sin. There’s a connection, even a parallel, between our sorrow for sin and our joy in the Holy Spirit.

In A Diary of Readings, John Baille quotes Blaise Pascal: “The knowledge of God without that of our wretchedness creates pride. The knowledge of our wretchedness without that of God creates despair. The knowledge of Jesus Christ is the middle way, because in Him we find both God and our wretchedness.” [1]

That puts in perspective doesn’t it?

There’s a story in Luke’s Gospel (chapter 7) about a woman “who was a sinner” (some translations say an “immoral woman”) who crashed a dinner party where Simon, a wealthy Pharisee, was entertaining Jesus. It was a shocking interruption. Jesus was reclining on the floor cushions around the table and she stood behind him near his feet and began to weep. Her tears gushed forth uncontrollably – so much so that she began to bathe Jesus’ feet with her tears and dry them with her hair. It was an outrageous display in the eyes of the Pharisee and the others who were there. This woman of the street kept kissing Jesus’ feet and anointing them with costly ointment.

Simon thought to himself “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!” (v.39) But it was quite the opposite. Jesus did know, so he confronted Simon.

He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume. I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love. (Luke 7:44-47, NLT)

This woman was full of joy and abandoned all reserve. She took the initiative in seeking Jesus out in a place where she was not invited or welcome. With the boldness of one who knew the depth of her sin and the extravagant extent of Jesus’ forgiveness, she poured out her love and gratitude.

As you pray and fast this week, reflect on the relationship between your sorrow for sin and your joy in the Holy Spirit. Is your salvation real enough to give you joy? I pray that it is! And I pray also that you would be empowered to share that joy with others.

[1] John Baille, A Diary of Readings, Day 37.

Scripture Focus:

If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.

John 14:15-17

Mark Twain’s wife did her best to censor the more picturesque flights of her husband’s language. One story says that he cut himself shaving and cursed long and loud. When he stopped, his wife tried to shame him by repeating to him word for word all the profanities he had just uttered. Twain heard her out and then remarked, “You have the words, my dear, but I’m afraid you’ll never master the tune.”

I’ve always chuckled at that story, and it also reminds me of the sorry state of many Christians. Not as it relates to profanity necessarily, but as it relates to our faith. We know the words, but we haven’t mastered the tune. As Christians we’re recipients of the Holy Spirit. A new kind of power, a new kind of action, a new kind of joy filled life is now possible. But it’s not automatic.

It’s a great day in our lives when we discover that the Holy Spirit and the indwelling Christ are one. It’s the witness of Scripture and is clear in the words of Jesus in our passage for this week. Jesus is preparing the disciples for his death. He tells them he is going away; that he is going to prepare a place for them but will come again. He says, “When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” (John 14:3) As he talks about his death, he promises that he won’t leave us alone but will send an Advocate, a Comforter, one to be with us forever. And here is the key. When Jesus promises the gift of the Holy Spirit, he immediately identifies himself with the Spirit. “I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.” (vs18)

Last week we talked about abiding in Christ, and that’s where the words and the tune come together. Jesus is the revelation of God and the personification of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit who gave us faith to accept Christ as Savior is the Spirit within us as the indwelling Christ. The Spirit is with us now to give us faith and the will to yield ourselves to Jesus as Lord. The Spirit is with us now to produce the “fruit of the Spirit” – the sign of Christ alive within us and our abiding in him. The words and the tune come together, and the tune is joy.

K. Chesterton said, “joy…is the gigantic secret of the Christian.” That’s so true. So many of us have the words but we simply don’t have the tune – or we aren’t living in a way that people can hear the tune. We aren’t abiding in Christ in a way that allows the stream of God’s love and joy to flow to us and through us. And yet, we are promised abundant life, a life of overflowing love and joy. That love and joy is the tune of the Christian life.

My first grandchild will be celebrating his first birthday in October. From the time he was born, I have used his picture as the wallpaper for my phone, updating it as he grows. Every time I use my phone, I see Charlie smiling back at me and my heart is filled with an indescribable joy.

In the months since Charlie was born, I’ve noticed two small, seemingly insignificant changes in my behavior. First, I find myself looking at my phone for no other reason than to see the smiling face of my grandson. I’ve also noticed that when I’m stressed or feeling frustrated, I pull out my phone, see Charlie’s smiling face, and the stress or frustration recedes as a wave of love and joy flow over me.

These experiences remind me of the stream of love and joy that flow to us from God through the power of the indwelling Spirit of Jesus. The love and joy I feel when I look on the face of my grandson mirror in a human way, the love and joy God feels for each of us. Charlie can do nothing for me, he didn’t have to earn my love or do anything to elicit my joy. The same is true with God. We cannot earn God’s love or do anything special to elicit God’s joy. It simply flows to us because of who God is.

Likewise, as we abide in Christ and live in the stream of that love and joy, the words and tune come together. Our joy isn’t dependent on our circumstances or artificially created by material goods or our cultures. Rather, as our roots go deep into the love of Christ, we experience waves of joy, even in the midst of frustration, stress, or hardship.

As you pray and fast this week, I pray that the words and the tune would come together. That the love and joy that flows from God would be yours and would in turn flow outward to others.