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Ezekiel 37:1-14
In any story of survival, one of the most important elements is hope. In a struggle for survival, if hope is lost, death often follows soon after. However, if those in peril hold on to hope, their chances to make it through can often increase. Many oncologists actually point to hope as the greatest psychological contributor to recovery for cancer patients. Hope is a powerful motivator.
In the valley of dry bones, God articulates the collective spiritual and psychological state of the people of Israel: "Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off' " (v. 11). Yet, as dry as those bones were, as distant as hope could ever be, God brought life out of death in that valley, just as he can bring hope out of our deepest despair.
Craig K.
Romans 8:6-11
In the movie The Devil's Advocate (1997) Kevin Lomax is a defense lawyer who specializes in jury selection. Even though he is appalled by the actions of his clients and allows witnesses to lie on the stand, he is driven, not by justice, but by a motivation to always win. Realizing his success, John Milton, the senior partner in a New York City law firm, entices Lomax to relocate in the city with a huge financial package including many perks. Lomax's wife, Mary Ann, is at first excited about the opportunities that the Big Apple has to offer, but she slowly becomes disillusioned and desires to return home to Gainesville, Florida. Her husband refuses, because he is riveted by the big cases he is assigned and his ability to continue to win.
As the movie progresses, and after Mary Ann suffers many personal disappointments and tragedies, causing her to commit suicide, the audience learns that John Milton is Satan. In the closing scene Lomax and Milton have a violent confrontation when he learns who the senior partner really is. In the exchange of dialogue Milton says that the greatest sin he uses is "vanity." Even though he is Satan, he cannot overcome free will. But what he can do is create situations where the vanity of an individual empowers them to do wrong. Milton says in the movie, "Vanity, definitely my favorite sin." Realizing this, Milton says all that he has to do is "set the stage," and an individual's vanity, a desire for success and notoriety, will lead him/her to personal destruction. In the case of Lomax, vanity caused him to forsake the intimacy that Mary Ann craved so he could continue a winning law practice.
Paul says, "To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace." As we can learn from the life of Kevin Lomax and so many others, a life that is not focused on Christ will be lived in the torment of vanity, absent of spiritual peace.
Ron L.
Romans 8:6-11
Mary Jane and her husband Rob were happy together. They lived on a farm in rural Iowa, where Rob grew corn and where the two of them raised three handsome, healthy boys. And then Rob got sick. It was like something out of a horror flick, out of a sci-fi novel: flesh-eating bacteria, contracted from the fields, perhaps, but no one really knew how or why. Deadly. Usually, those who contracted the bacteria had to have an amputation wherever the virus had set in. Rob's virus was in his collarbone. "What could they do, cut off his head?" sobbed a hysterical Mary Jane in her mother's arms. Within three days, Rob was dead. What did Mary Jane have left? Three young sons, a grief-stricken heart, and a church community who would, for the rest of her life, be the only line that could sustain her and her grieving family through the bad times now and the good times that would, someday, return.
Leah T.
John 11:1-45
It is often in the darkest of circumstances when God shows up the most. In the persecuted church, believers are often witness to extraordinary miracles in the midst of being hunted down, beaten, imprisoned, and even killed. One Chinese pastor recounted that during one of his stints in a maximum security prison, the doors of the prison miraculously opened and he was allowed to escape unseen! However, while we rejoice at God's hand at work in the church, we must remember that if that pastor wasn't in that prison, God would never have worked to secure his escape. That dark time paved the way for a miracle.
When Jesus heard about Lazarus' fatal illness, his words speak to this truth: "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it" (v. 4). If Lazarus had not died, Jesus couldn't have raised him from death, and God would not have been glorified to the degree that he was in that situation. As John recounts, "Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him" (v. 45).
Craig K.
In any story of survival, one of the most important elements is hope. In a struggle for survival, if hope is lost, death often follows soon after. However, if those in peril hold on to hope, their chances to make it through can often increase. Many oncologists actually point to hope as the greatest psychological contributor to recovery for cancer patients. Hope is a powerful motivator.
In the valley of dry bones, God articulates the collective spiritual and psychological state of the people of Israel: "Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off' " (v. 11). Yet, as dry as those bones were, as distant as hope could ever be, God brought life out of death in that valley, just as he can bring hope out of our deepest despair.
Craig K.
Romans 8:6-11
In the movie The Devil's Advocate (1997) Kevin Lomax is a defense lawyer who specializes in jury selection. Even though he is appalled by the actions of his clients and allows witnesses to lie on the stand, he is driven, not by justice, but by a motivation to always win. Realizing his success, John Milton, the senior partner in a New York City law firm, entices Lomax to relocate in the city with a huge financial package including many perks. Lomax's wife, Mary Ann, is at first excited about the opportunities that the Big Apple has to offer, but she slowly becomes disillusioned and desires to return home to Gainesville, Florida. Her husband refuses, because he is riveted by the big cases he is assigned and his ability to continue to win.
As the movie progresses, and after Mary Ann suffers many personal disappointments and tragedies, causing her to commit suicide, the audience learns that John Milton is Satan. In the closing scene Lomax and Milton have a violent confrontation when he learns who the senior partner really is. In the exchange of dialogue Milton says that the greatest sin he uses is "vanity." Even though he is Satan, he cannot overcome free will. But what he can do is create situations where the vanity of an individual empowers them to do wrong. Milton says in the movie, "Vanity, definitely my favorite sin." Realizing this, Milton says all that he has to do is "set the stage," and an individual's vanity, a desire for success and notoriety, will lead him/her to personal destruction. In the case of Lomax, vanity caused him to forsake the intimacy that Mary Ann craved so he could continue a winning law practice.
Paul says, "To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace." As we can learn from the life of Kevin Lomax and so many others, a life that is not focused on Christ will be lived in the torment of vanity, absent of spiritual peace.
Ron L.
Romans 8:6-11
Mary Jane and her husband Rob were happy together. They lived on a farm in rural Iowa, where Rob grew corn and where the two of them raised three handsome, healthy boys. And then Rob got sick. It was like something out of a horror flick, out of a sci-fi novel: flesh-eating bacteria, contracted from the fields, perhaps, but no one really knew how or why. Deadly. Usually, those who contracted the bacteria had to have an amputation wherever the virus had set in. Rob's virus was in his collarbone. "What could they do, cut off his head?" sobbed a hysterical Mary Jane in her mother's arms. Within three days, Rob was dead. What did Mary Jane have left? Three young sons, a grief-stricken heart, and a church community who would, for the rest of her life, be the only line that could sustain her and her grieving family through the bad times now and the good times that would, someday, return.
Leah T.
John 11:1-45
It is often in the darkest of circumstances when God shows up the most. In the persecuted church, believers are often witness to extraordinary miracles in the midst of being hunted down, beaten, imprisoned, and even killed. One Chinese pastor recounted that during one of his stints in a maximum security prison, the doors of the prison miraculously opened and he was allowed to escape unseen! However, while we rejoice at God's hand at work in the church, we must remember that if that pastor wasn't in that prison, God would never have worked to secure his escape. That dark time paved the way for a miracle.
When Jesus heard about Lazarus' fatal illness, his words speak to this truth: "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it" (v. 4). If Lazarus had not died, Jesus couldn't have raised him from death, and God would not have been glorified to the degree that he was in that situation. As John recounts, "Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him" (v. 45).
Craig K.
