Warning: If you have a "thin spiritual skin" or a chip on your shoulder, you will have problems with today's meditation. Be aware that Satan can use this to manipulate your understanding of the message for today. It takes a close relationship with God to comprehend the full meaning of today's meditation.
“The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “O Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”” (Ezekiel 37:1–3, NIV84)
“The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “O Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”” (Ezekiel 37:1–3, NIV84)
It may be difficult to discern “spiritually stupid” statements said by Christians. Some of these statements are very common, even regularly spoken in churches. I call them “spiritually stupid”, because they go against all Christian reason and knowledge. Though sounding religious, they are not Biblical or godly. As an example, I’ve heard Christians say at funerals, “Your wife died because God wanted her home with him.” Stupid. God always wants us home with Him. This saying comes across as if God was jealous or upset that wife was here and God wanted her back in Heaven with Him. It sounds religious to some extent but isn’t quite faithful to scripture. Another common saying that sounds religious but is not faithful is often heard at weddings. I hear the phrase, “God put you together”. This may or may not be true. I’ve met many people who God didn’t put together but got married anyway. To assume that a person who is getting married was supposed to get married in God’s eyes can be far from the truth. The last time I heard this was at a wedding where the two got married because of a pregnancy. The bride was six months pregnant and showing. The pastor mentioned in the sermon how the couple was “brought there to the altar by God”. For some couples, it would be more possible that a shotgun brought them to the altar than God.
Many Christians repeat commonly heard statements about God or God’s intentions without thinking that the statements are not very faithful in the least. Oswald Chambers often wrote about deep spiritual matters. He also was a strong evangelist and Bible scholar. He penned the following words: “Can that sinner be turned into a saint? Can that twisted life be put right? There is only one answer: ‘O Lord, Thou knowest, I don’t.’ Never trample in with religious common sense and say—"Oh, yes, with a little more Bible reading and devotion and prayer, I see how it can be done.”” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest: Selections; 1986) Chambers was critical of Christians who would say that if a man put forth a little more “work” in the religious department such as Bible reading or worship attendance, he could be saved. The people who think who say such things don’t get it. You don’t “get saved” by doing a little more reading of the Bible. You can’t begin a relationship with Jesus by just attending church services more often or praying more deeply. The connection with God comes from God’s work through the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s God’s action that causes the Christian faith to become real, not extra works on the part of a person. You can’t pray a person into heaven or guilt a person into becoming faithful. A relationship with God takes connection between the person and God and is initiated by God. You will never have control over who is saved. You can only point the person toward God.
The prophet Ezekiel knew wholeheartedly that only God can save the lost or cleanse the soul. No amount of prayer or worship or wishing or hoping or begging can make a person holy. In the scripture for the day, written above, God offered Ezekiel a vision. In that vision, God took Ezekiel to a large valley full of dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1). The bones were probably arranged as if a large army lost a great battle in that valley. The bones of the dead littered the scene. It was a picture of great loss. Instead of people full of life and love, that valley was littered with dead bones and lifeless skeletons. By way of teaching, God said through the power of the Spirit to Ezekiel, “Son of man, can these bones live?” Now, Ezekiel could have spouted stupid religious sayings, but he did not. Instead he stated the spiritually significant and Biblical truth, “O Lord God, you alone know” (Ezekiel 37:3). It was a perfect statement. Only God can save the dead and lost. Only God can redeem the soul of a person. Only God can correct the wrongs. God allows the Holy Spirit to bring healing and wholeness and spiritual power to the situation. God is in control.
Spiritually stupid statements often take the control away from God. They may sound religious, but they are not righteous. A pastor who preaches at the funeral of an atheist that “He is in heaven now” is not faithful to God. The person who says to a friend, “Do what makes you happy” may not be helping a person’s relationship with God. The well-meaning person who says, “God made you this way”, isn’t helping the person who is going down the wrong path in life. There are so many sayings and adages that sound religious but in the end are not appropriate for true faith or representative of God in that moment.
According to the scripture for today, there are things that “only God knows”. We don’t have control over those things and should not assume we have any say over those matters. There are many times when God’s Spirit will cause you to say something deeply spiritual to address a situation. Don’t hold back. Say what God wills. Just don’t stray from what is spiritually correct. Don’t mistake the spiritually correct for the politically correct. True faith does not spout religious sounding phrases or politically correct half-truths. Spiritually wise statements exhibit clear belief in the power of God and knowledge of how the true God works.
As Christian leaders become more and more secularized and political, spiritually stupid statements can even be found coming from pulpits. As Christians read less and less of the Bible, spiritually stupid statements about the faith proliferate in the pews and online. Whereas the meaning of “stupid” is “a person lacking in intelligence or common sense”, spiritual stupidity is when a person claims to be faithful but speaks words that lack godly intelligence or common Biblical sense. Anyone is capable of spiritual stupidity. Anyone. God blesses the wise, not the foolish.
Are you quick to make religious statements that make others feel better but do not point them toward God? Do you work faithfully to increase your knowledge of God? Can others see that God is in control of your life? Are you better at being politically correct that biblically correct? There are words that can make others want to know more about God. Stupid religious statements often drive people away from God.
Many Christians repeat commonly heard statements about God or God’s intentions without thinking that the statements are not very faithful in the least. Oswald Chambers often wrote about deep spiritual matters. He also was a strong evangelist and Bible scholar. He penned the following words: “Can that sinner be turned into a saint? Can that twisted life be put right? There is only one answer: ‘O Lord, Thou knowest, I don’t.’ Never trample in with religious common sense and say—"Oh, yes, with a little more Bible reading and devotion and prayer, I see how it can be done.”” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest: Selections; 1986) Chambers was critical of Christians who would say that if a man put forth a little more “work” in the religious department such as Bible reading or worship attendance, he could be saved. The people who think who say such things don’t get it. You don’t “get saved” by doing a little more reading of the Bible. You can’t begin a relationship with Jesus by just attending church services more often or praying more deeply. The connection with God comes from God’s work through the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s God’s action that causes the Christian faith to become real, not extra works on the part of a person. You can’t pray a person into heaven or guilt a person into becoming faithful. A relationship with God takes connection between the person and God and is initiated by God. You will never have control over who is saved. You can only point the person toward God.
The prophet Ezekiel knew wholeheartedly that only God can save the lost or cleanse the soul. No amount of prayer or worship or wishing or hoping or begging can make a person holy. In the scripture for the day, written above, God offered Ezekiel a vision. In that vision, God took Ezekiel to a large valley full of dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1). The bones were probably arranged as if a large army lost a great battle in that valley. The bones of the dead littered the scene. It was a picture of great loss. Instead of people full of life and love, that valley was littered with dead bones and lifeless skeletons. By way of teaching, God said through the power of the Spirit to Ezekiel, “Son of man, can these bones live?” Now, Ezekiel could have spouted stupid religious sayings, but he did not. Instead he stated the spiritually significant and Biblical truth, “O Lord God, you alone know” (Ezekiel 37:3). It was a perfect statement. Only God can save the dead and lost. Only God can redeem the soul of a person. Only God can correct the wrongs. God allows the Holy Spirit to bring healing and wholeness and spiritual power to the situation. God is in control.
Spiritually stupid statements often take the control away from God. They may sound religious, but they are not righteous. A pastor who preaches at the funeral of an atheist that “He is in heaven now” is not faithful to God. The person who says to a friend, “Do what makes you happy” may not be helping a person’s relationship with God. The well-meaning person who says, “God made you this way”, isn’t helping the person who is going down the wrong path in life. There are so many sayings and adages that sound religious but in the end are not appropriate for true faith or representative of God in that moment.
According to the scripture for today, there are things that “only God knows”. We don’t have control over those things and should not assume we have any say over those matters. There are many times when God’s Spirit will cause you to say something deeply spiritual to address a situation. Don’t hold back. Say what God wills. Just don’t stray from what is spiritually correct. Don’t mistake the spiritually correct for the politically correct. True faith does not spout religious sounding phrases or politically correct half-truths. Spiritually wise statements exhibit clear belief in the power of God and knowledge of how the true God works.
As Christian leaders become more and more secularized and political, spiritually stupid statements can even be found coming from pulpits. As Christians read less and less of the Bible, spiritually stupid statements about the faith proliferate in the pews and online. Whereas the meaning of “stupid” is “a person lacking in intelligence or common sense”, spiritual stupidity is when a person claims to be faithful but speaks words that lack godly intelligence or common Biblical sense. Anyone is capable of spiritual stupidity. Anyone. God blesses the wise, not the foolish.
Are you quick to make religious statements that make others feel better but do not point them toward God? Do you work faithfully to increase your knowledge of God? Can others see that God is in control of your life? Are you better at being politically correct that biblically correct? There are words that can make others want to know more about God. Stupid religious statements often drive people away from God.