From Dry Bones to New Life

"And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." ⁵ Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful."

Revelation 21:3-5

The context for this passage is a time when God will create new heavens and a new earth because the first passed away.  The Bible teaches us that a day is coming when He will dissolve this world and all the works and sin within it.  All who have rejected Christ will face eternal damnation, and all those who have repented of their sins will spend eternity with God in the new heavens and earth He creates.  Because of sin, no person is a stranger to pain, sorrow, crying, sickness, and death.  How wonderful it is to realize that God makes all things new!  He does not just remove pollution, sickness, or feelings.  He makes new, and in what is new is no trace of what was old.  Outside of the realm of time what is made new remains new, for it cannot grow old.

But is this promise of God only meant to be applied to life in heaven?  No!  But unfortunately, many Christians live as if that is the reality.  We have all been there.  A dog returning to his vomit may well describe our life at the moment.  We can be tricked to willingly drown in depression, disappointment, and disillusionment brought through belief of Satan's lies.  He would tell us such a promise does not apply to us, that we are too far gone for such a change to take place.  We have struggled with sin too long, our faith is too small, and we do not deserve such a blessing.  The fact is we have struggled with sin too long, our faith is small, and we do not deserve such a blessing.  But God has promised to give new life to all who repent and trust in Christ by His grace!  That is the wonder of the Gospel!  Completely unworthy of life, we can receive new life through Christ.  God will make us new from the inside today if we will ask Him believing in His promise.

Perhaps you cannot bring yourself to believe this.  There have been times when you were sure you were changed but before long you found yourself back in a pit dug dug with your own hands.  The only way to combat such deep-rooted doubt bred into us through sin is through confrontation with the truth of God's Word.  Are you familiar with the passage in Ezekiel 37 concerning the valley of dry bones?  God brings Ezekiel in the spirit to a valley full of dry bones and asks him, "Son of man, can these bones live?"  Ezekiel said something I would not have said.  I would have said, "Obviously not!"  He said to God, "O LORD God, you know."  There is no potential for life in such a thing as dry bones, at least from our human perspective.  But to God, the one who Creates from nothing, nothing is too hard for Him.

God tells Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones and they were covered with sinews, flesh, and skin.  God caused these bones to stand up resurrected and breathed life into them.  They stood on their feet and were an "exceeding great army."  The purpose of this vision was a sign of what God would later do:  Ezekiel 37:12-14 says, "Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³ Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. ¹⁴ I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it," says the LORD."  God's people would know He was the LORD when He opened their graves.  He would put His Spirit within His people, and He would bring them into their own land.

After Jesus died on the cross, His dead corpse was placed in a tomb carved out of stone guarded by Roman soldiers.  Three days after His death, Jesus would rise from the dead.  But did you know something wondrous happened at the moment when Jesus died on the cross?  The veil of the temple was torn top to bottom, there was an earthquake, and Matthew 27:52-53 confirms the word spoken in Ezekiel:  "...and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; ⁵³ and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many ."  Can these dry bones live?  Yes they can!  God has granted us access into His presence through the person of Jesus Christ.  After the resurrection of Christ, men and women long dead came out of their opened graves and appeared to many!  After Christ's ascension into heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to fill His followers on the Day of Pentecost.  It was about 60 years ago when Israel was made a nation once again and were brought into their land.

Without Christ, we are dead bones:  dead spiritually and condemned to die eternally.  But God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance and be born again.  Just because you have made a commitment to follow Christ, it will not be easy to walk in this newness of life.  We can be tempted to go back to old habits, old ways of thinking, the ways we used as coping mechanisms before we were transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Romans 6:3-6 reads, "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. ⁵ For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, ⁶ knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin."

Once God opened the tombs and raised those saints from the dead, they didn't remain in the graves but came forth as Lazarus.  Those who have been born again have now been raised from death to life.  Satan frantically works to deceive us to crawl back into our graves, isolate ourselves from God's help in self-pity, and roll the stone back over the opening to shroud us in darkness!  Many believers are in this pitiful state.  They have listened to and believed the lies of Satan rather than the truth of God's Word, condemning themselves when Christ has redeemed them!  Can these dry bones live?  YES!  Praise be to God, He makes all things new.  His mercies are new every morning, and He grants us perpetually the promise of new life in Him.

Are you sick of your life?  Are you weary of the stench of death when God has made you alive?  Only God can give you this victory.  Cry out to Him for new life for He has said, "I make all things new."  A man said at this week's conference, "Because of this conference, we will never be the same."  That's just the kind of talk that disillusions people, for the emotional feelings will fade over time.  It is because of Christ we have been made new.  We don't ever have to be without Him and the power of renewal again!  Conferences will come and go, songs of worship have a beginning and end on earth, but fellowship with our Savior is for eternity.  New life can only be found in Him!

The Word Conference

Last night me and two mates took the red-eye from Perth to Sydney following the weekend conference at Calvary Chapel Albany.  We all were blessed by messages and testimonies from pastors Raul Ries and Bill Welsh, as well as from Ryan Ries of The Whosoevers.  The common qualities between these men are a genuine love of God, compassion, and a contrite spirit.  Whether they shared passages from scripture or detailed events of their lives, the power of Jesus Christ to save and deliver was central.  Being grounded and obedient to the Word of God was another uniting point of every discussion.

I was not only able to spend quality time with my traveling buddies Ian and Paul, but also met a lot of great people like Russ, Bruce, Luke, Bryan, and many more.  The more I travel around Australia the more I am struck by the fact we serve the same God.  We come from different backgrounds with different accents and roles in the Body of Christ, but we love and honor the same LORD.  It's amazing how powerful the Gospel of Jesus Christ is, and how it has remained unchanged since the very beginning.  What was Good News then is STILL Good News now.  The message never grows old because this world is still full of sinners who need forgiveness and new life in Christ.  Because there are more people on the world than ever, the need for salvation grows bigger by the day.

There will likely be a string of posts borne out of this conference as I consider what God is showing me.  He still wants to completely change and revitalize my relationship with Him.  Am I willing to grow in faith, obedience, and prayer?  Am I willing to believe that what God has promised He is able to perform?  Because of Christ we are never destined to remain in a rut or repeat past mistakes.  Our God makes all things new.  This promise is not only for those who have just made a commitment to follow Christ.  God desires to bring a newness to the way you approach God, a freshness to His Word, and graft into our hearts a renewed desire to please Him and fall back into love with Him again.  He wants our dry eyes moistened with divine affections, and our hearts to be full of love for Him and the lost.  We are not doomed because of our past, not even by what you did yesterday or today.  Because of Christ, we now have a future.  Will we live for Him?

Bursting the "Christian" Bubble

No matter what our standards are, life will force upon us a barrage of choices.  We will be forced to decide if we will have that fifth cookie, what movie we will watch, whether we should pay extra on the mortgage this month, or if diet Dr. Pepper actually tastes like regular Dr. Pepper.  As parents we not only have to make decisions about our lifestyle, but we must set boundaries for our kids.  Some parents make well-defined boundaries, and others let their children live as they please.  Boundaries to some are no different than a bubble!  Due to hurts they may have experienced as children, many parents work hard to protect their children from every potential worldly influence.  Boundaries are important.  But it is possible to make boundaries so restrictive for the child to be stripped of the decision making process when it comes to morality.  When "obey" or "disobey" are the only decisions to be made, when real choices present themselves many teens and young adults are actually tested for the first time and are usually away from the instruction of a parent.  The results are often disastrous.

All healthy human bodies have an immune system.  This immune system is able to isolate and destroy potential threats to the health of the body.  From 1971 to 1984, a boy named David Vetter lived in Texas who was basically born without a functional immune system.  Any exposure to germs would be fatal.  So he basically lived inside of a bubble and wore special suits designed by NASA.  I was intrigued by this quote from an article:  "Even though David was only five, he recognized his difference and dreaded what the future held - limited choices, feelings of alienation and an increased need to be polite and compliant so as not to reveal his anger."  This struck me as similar to the feelings of many kids whose parents construct a "Christian" bubble around them.  Because all choice is taken away and compliance is demanded, their anger grows.  By the time David was a teen, the doctors had great concern.  "Doctors feared that as a teenager he would become even more unpredictable and uncontrollable."  They decided to operate, and in a few months David became ill with cancer and passed away.  Life had become unbearable in the bubble, and outside the bubble he could not survive.  I have such respect for this tough little guy who faced unimaginable struggles.  The emotional fight must have been as strong as his battle for physical health.

David's case is extreme, and another example is equally compelling.  When the Europeans arrived in the Americas, the Native Americans were absolutely devastated by the common cold.  Without having been exposed to the flu before, the antibodies in the native people were not able to combat the virus initially.  Because medicine was far from what we have available to us today, countless people died as a result.  I have seen the exact thing happen in "churched" kids.  All their lives they have been confined under strict rules and guidelines given for their own "protection."  Like the Native Americans who became deathly ill from the influence of foreign germs, churched kids are easily overcome by worldly influences and temptations.  "Churched" is not the same as "Christian!"  Their anger and resentment builds towards God and church life in general.  When they finally are free from parental authority, many run as far away as possible from a semblance of Christianity and are hardened in their rebellion.  Why?  They see being a Christian as having rules.  They rebel against the bubble and relish to make their own choices even if it kills them.

I read a parenting book which emphasized, "Let reality be the teacher."  As Christians we often fall into the trap of thinking our job is to insulate our kids from reality and even consequences.  I would rather my child be cured of his rebellion under my care than a vain attempt when he is 22 in college and far away or far gone!  It is wise to protect our kids from obvious dangers, like sexual predators, pornography, drugs, alcohol, and friends who are bad influences.  But whenever possible, we should allow our kids to make their own decisions followed up with an opportunity for instruction.  For example, my oldest son Zed wanted to play a video game at his friend's house that was a "Mature" rated game for violence.  I could go with the bubble method and immediately say, "No rated M games.  Period.  End of story."  That would only allow the potential resentment and bitterness to grow inside of him.  So I did something a little different, even for me.  I said, "Zed, you make the decision.  If there's a lot of blood or cursing or stuff you know is wrong, don't play the game.  Let the LORD show you what to do."  This gave Zed an opportunity to make his own decision concerning one of those "gray" areas that will challenge us all our lives.

So after Zed came home, we talked about what had happened.  "Dad," Zed began.  "I'm thinking I made a bad decision."  "What do you mean, son?"  "Well, I played the game...but after I played it I realized I probably shouldn't have."  And then we were able to have a wonderful conversation about the choice Zed made and how he could make better decisions in the future.  It built trust between us rather than resentment.  We were able to talk about what was actually wrong with the game for Zed and encouraged him to seek forgiveness if he was in sin.  He will actually trust our decisions as parents more because we let him make a choice.  In this case it was a controlled environment.  I would never have done this with something blatantly sinful or harmful.  Take every opportunity to reason with your children according to the scriptures.  Instead of throwing out their music CDs because "That's the Devil's music!" it would be better to look carefully over the lyrics.  Allow them to see how the message lines up with the message of scripture.  Then they will make an educated decision.  Either way, you're effectively teaching them the process.

Jesus never told parents to isolate their children from the world.  Instead we are to be light in a dark world, the salt of the earth coming into direct contact with the world's wisdom to turn people to Christ.  We are to teach our children and raise them in the admonition of the LORD, not insulate them from making real decisions.  Our children are like ships on a billowing ocean.  The world will woo them with tempting breezes, subversive currents, and the sway of satanic temptations.  Our job as parents is to guide and direct them, teaching them of Christ and demonstrating a life set apart for God.  Someday your children will take the helm full-time.  Wouldn't it be wise to hand them the wheel while they are still young?  No person would ever think to send their children out in a sailboat without training or guidance. That soul would not doubt face the real threat of shipwreck!  We would never even allow an adult to fly a plane without expert supervision!  Instead of spending all our energy trying to protect our children by environment control, let's seek God's control of their hearts from within.  Let us cultivate in them not a reliance upon their parents for guidance, but a complete trust upon God for His leading according to the truth of the scriptures.

Sunday School Danger!

There are a lot of positive things to say about Sunday School for kids.  For parents, however, there is a hidden danger.  Decades ago it was not uncommon for kids to attend the same service as their parents.  This gave parents an opportunity to explain thoroughly what had been preached and apply it personally to the lives of their children.  Frankly I do not know the exact history of what has brought us to the current system of kids having their own separate classes with activities, crafts, and snack apart from convenience.  As much as children have benefited from having a class geared to their level of understanding, teachers have also grown through the preparation and prayer for children and services.  This is good.  But I believe parents should live as if their kids never went to church at all.  Allow me to explain.

Sunday School attendance has the power to subversively deceive parents into thinking their children are being taught the Word of God and thus have all the spiritual training they need.  This causes parents to shirk their God-given duty of taking a proactive role in their children's spiritual growth and understanding.  It insulates the parents from concern or care of their child's relationship with God.  The fact their kids go to church and hand them a coloring page or craft every week makes them content.  Have we become ignorant to the fact a huge majority of "churched" kids fall away from God entirely after they leave home?  They become hardened from much hearing.  There is nothing more dangerous to a child than church attendance without a real walk with God.  This "churchianity" breeds spiritual pride, boredom, disillusionment, hardness of heart, and hatred of church gatherings.

I suspect the vast majority of children who go to their classes are never engaged in their heads or hearts with observing, interpreting, and applying scripture.  If they were their lives would bear the long-term results of fruitfulness.  The fact is kids learn very quickly how to behave in a Sunday School environment.  Be quiet at the right time, answer "Jesus" when a question is presented, and colour inside the lines.  To have the teacher pull his parent aside would mean discipline, so the child learns to behave according to proper church decorum.  Therefore the kids who are the most quiet are considered attentive and Christian, while the kids who struggle in the class environment are seen as the ones who must be reached - or at least conditioned to be quiet and attentive like the rest.  All parents want their children to go to heaven.  But the stark reality may be few do little for their children's spiritual benefit aside from a weekly taxi service to and from a church building.  

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 reads:  "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! ⁵ You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. ⁶ "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. ^{8 9} You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes."  God commands us as parents to teach our children of God, His righteous laws, the truth of His Word, to provide an environment at home that nurtures spiritual growth, answer their questions, live out biblical truth constantly as an example, and to cultivate in their hearts love for God.  It is well said that "more is caught than taught."  Sunday School will never replace this personal instruction with a complimentary Christian witness, nor does church attendance free us from our personal duty and responsibility to teach and train our children in the admonition of the LORD.  Do you know how many millions of souls have been doomed to hell by a parent's poor example?  I would say even more have been lost because of lack of instruction, prayer, and carelessness.  God says through the prophet in Hosea 4:6, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..."  Why should our children perish because of our negligence?

Speaking for myself as a "churched" kid, my heart was virtually never engaged in Sunday School.  It was little more than reading comprehension:  a story was read and we would answer questions about it.  I cannot remember scripture being applied to my life.  Sadly, I believed my job in Sunday School was to make sure everything the teacher said was correct according to scripture.  I had a reputation among my peers and teachers of knowing everything about the Bible, but I harboured a critical spirit in pride.  I strained out the gnats and swallowed the camel!  God used an atheist college professor and public university to humble me and compel me to seek Him.  Questions were asked I had never heard in Sunday School!  The validity and social relevance of the Bible were not assumed like in church services.  I was forced to either throw out everything I believed or actually discover the person of Jesus Christ as revealed in scripture.  Don't get me wrong.  I had great Sunday School teachers and godly parents who took the time to disciple me.  But it was not until I was confronted with a challenge from a godless environment that caused me to develop spiritually.

When I was on staff at a church, God convicted me that I was not performing my duty as a parent to personally instruct my children.  My kids are very well-mannered, obedient, and respectful in church.  They know that if they do not behave there will be consequences!  But because of their attentiveness and knowledge, they were flying under the radar.  It is a sad truth knowledge can often pass as spirituality, though knowledge of God's Word does not mean a person knows God!  My wife and I repented of our lax leadership, and instituted a "Bible night" where we discuss a basic doctrine of scripture.  It marked the start of us walking in obedience to God in teaching our children of Him.  One day a week is still not enough impart all the spiritual nourishment needed.  Like the scripture states, we should be diligent to instruct them concerning God when we rise up, lie down, walk in the way, or sit in our house.  God's truth should be so plastered all over our lives that when our kids see us they see Jesus Christ.  I am not saying we should be legalistic, but on the contrary:  our relationship with Jesus should govern our thoughts, mouths, activities, intentions, and attitudes.

Please do not fall for the lie that Sunday School provides all the spiritual nourishment and instruction your children need.  It is not the primary job of Sunday School teacher or a pastor to instruct your children:  it is your job!  Instead of working to create a "Christian bubble" around our kids, let us labour to have Christ living inside them.  No matter what struggles they face or what fiery darts Satan throws at them, they can stand firm upon the foundation of Christ as revealed in scripture when we are faithful to instruct and encourage them.  Let us instruct with our lives as well as our mouths.  Have you taken steps to lead your children to Christ today?