Scripture Focus
“Then he said to me, ‘Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! … They are saying, We have become old, dry bones—all hope is gone. Our nation is finished. I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live again and return home to your own land. … My servant David will be their king, and they will have only one shepherd. … I will make my home among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And when my Temple is among them forever, the nations will know that I am the Lord, who makes Israel holy.’”
—Ezekiel 37:4–5, 11, 14, 24–25, 27–28 (NLT)

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Reflection

After reading about the devastation Israel endured—their land desolate, the temple in ruins, their people scattered—it’s breathtaking to turn the page and hear God’s voice of promise. Though He disciplined His people, He never abandoned them. His heart was always set on restoration: “I will cleanse you… I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you… You will be My people, and I will be your God” (Ezekiel 36:25–28). What a picture of mercy!

But these promises do not stop with Israel. In Christ, they spill over into our lives. Paul reminds us, “You have received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’” (Romans 8:15). Through Jesus, we are not outsiders—we are God’s children. And as adopted children, we are not second-class. In fact, in Roman law, adopted children could never be disowned and had stronger inheritance rights than biological ones. So it is with us: “Since we are His children, we are His heirs—in fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory” (Romans 8:17).

That means every promise of restoration, every blessing, every word of life spoken in Ezekiel finds its “Yes and Amen” in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:20). When He promised to give His people a new heart, He promised us new birth in the Spirit (John 3:5–6). When He promised to cleanse them from impurity, He promised us forgiveness through the blood of the cross (Ephesians 1:7). When He promised to dwell among them, He promised His Spirit to live within us forever (John 14:16–17). When He promised one Shepherd, He gave us Jesus, the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep (John 10:11).

So if these promises are ours, why would we neglect them? Why would we not memorize them, pray them, and live in the power of them? The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in us (Romans 8:11). The same Shepherd who restored Israel’s hope guides us today. The same God who vowed never to forsake His people holds us in His everlasting arms.

Let us not live as dry bones, but as those filled with the breath of God—alive, clean, restored, and anchored in the promises that are fully ours in Christ.

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Digging Deeper: The Dry Bones and New Life

In Ezekiel 37, God showed that He can bring life out of what is completely dead. Israel said, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is gone” (v. 11), yet God answered with resurrection. This vision points to the greater miracle we experience in Christ: “Even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead” (Ephesians 2:5).

✨ The lesson is clear: no one is beyond God’s power to redeem. The hardest heart, the most broken life, the farthest prodigal—He is able to breathe His Spirit into them and make them alive again.

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Lesson for Me

Because I am adopted into God’s family through Christ, every promise of restoration is mine. I am cleansed, forgiven, filled with the Spirit, given a new heart, and led by the Good Shepherd. My hope will never be cut off because God Himself lives in me.

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Application Questions
1.Do I live as if I am a child of God with full inheritance rights, or do I still live like an outsider?
2.Which of God’s promises do I need to memorize, pray over, and walk in today?
3.Who in my life looks like “dry bones”—hopeless and beyond reach—and how can I intercede for them, trusting God’s resurrection power?
4.What does it mean for me personally that the same Spirit who raised Jesus lives in me (Romans 8:11)?

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Prayer 🙏

Father, thank You for not abandoning Your people and for not abandoning me. Thank You for cleansing me, adopting me, and filling me with Your Spirit. Help me to live as a daughter who belongs to You—not in fear, but in confidence that every promise is mine in Christ. Breathe fresh life into the dry places of my heart, and awaken faith for the ones I love who seem far from You. Nothing is impossible with You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Journal ✍️

Sit quietly with Jesus. Write down the promises in today’s Scripture that speak to you most deeply. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where He wants to breathe new life, restore hope, or strengthen your faith. Record what He whispers to your heart.

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Promises to Hold Onto
•“I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you.” —Ezekiel 36:26
•“I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live again.” —Ezekiel 37:14
•“You have received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, ‘Abba, Father!’” —Romans 8:15
•“Since we are His children, we are His heirs… together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory.” —Romans 8:17
•“For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding ‘Yes!’” —2 Corinthians 1:20

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Takeaway

God’s promises of restoration to Israel are now mine in Christ—I will live today as one who is fully alive in Him.