January 17, 2018
Ezekiel 37:6
“’I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
CONSIDER THIS
The miracle of awakening can never be reduced to spiritual renewal, good as that may be. This must be Word and Spirit, body and soul, heart and hands. As Scripture declares, “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you” (Rom. 8:11).
What does this mean? Awakening is not a touch from God, as though all that were needed was a bit of healing and renewal. No, awakening is a totalizing invasion and infusion of Word and Spirit, the present in-breaking of the realm and ultimate reality of eternal life. We are not talking about the renovation of an old house into a better house. We speak not of renewal of life but the resurrection from death; dead bones coming to life. This is not a spiritual self-improvement program. This is a comprehensive shifting of the center of gravity in our lives, from sin and death to love and life.
The Word of God wills to be made flesh—to take on human skin. The Spirit of God wills to be made breath, filling mortal bodies with miraculous life. No, awakening cannot be reduced to mere spiritual renewal. It happens when Word and Spirit come together to make gloriously visible the will of God in the working of human beings.
When the unseen is once again visualized, the knowledge about God turns into the palpable knowing, as in, “Then you will know that I am the Lord.”
THE PRAYER
Lord Jesus, awaken us (name Band members) and awaken me. I open my life to a totalizing and ongoing infusion of Word and Spirit and welcome the fullness of Jesus Christ through the life, presence, and power of the Holy Spirit in me. I confess I have and am settling for less than your best. I will be patient to seek you and to wait for you as long as it takes. It is in the power of and for the sake of your name I pray, Jesus. Amen.
THE QUESTION
What would happen if this “coming to life” kind of awakening began to occur more and more in my local church or campus ministry? Take it a step further. What would happen if this began to happen at my place of work or in my school?
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J.D. Walt, is a Bond Slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. jd.walt@seedbed.com.