“I will put my Spirit in you and you will live. . . . Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken. . . .”

— Ezekiel 37:14

Ezekiel’s prophecy about dry bones being restored to life is a startling picture of hope in the darkest of circumstances. When God speaks life into what is dead, resurrection happens.

Jesus had told the Sardis church, “You are dead.” But he didn’t stop there. He called them to “Wake up!” His power could strengthen what life remained in them, giving them hope.

Jesus called them to remember what they had received and heard. Memory itself is a gift from God to cherish. May the church never lose its memory of God’s great gifts.

Then “hold . . . fast” to what you were given, he said. In other words, obey and be on guard and on high alert. Watch, and watch out!

And “repent.” Confession is good and necessary for the soul. Repentance and the forgiveness that follows are so freeing to our souls. In repentance we can admit who we are before God. And God mercifully forgives because he loves us and wants us to live with him.

The Lord wants us all to wake up and be fully alive, flourishing as he created us to be, and sharing his goodness with others everywhere in this broken world.

Father, I have sinned against you. I have not loved you with my whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. I need to be made right with you, remembering what you have given and done for me through Jesus. Fill me and renew my life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.