Ezekiel 37 is a well-known chapter containing the “Valley of Dry Bones.” There’s even a song about it! The song is not that deep theologically, but if you like gospel quartet…

The Dry Bones are about Israel returning from exile:

Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.’ ” (Ezekiel 37.11 – 14, ESV)

The story starts with dry bones…dead, and they look dead:

The hand of the LORD was on 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, “Sovereign LORD, you alone know.” (Ezekiel 37.1 – 3, ESV)

A vivid picture of life without God:

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. (Ephesians 2.1 – 3, ESV)

Bringing the bones back to life was a two-step process:

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 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.’ ” So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. (Ezekiel 37.4 – 8, ESV)

Still on the ground. Still dead. Until they are filled with the Spirit, the “breath,” the pneuma, they are dead.

The wind [pneuma] blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. (John 3.8, ESV)

To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. (Revelation 3.1, ESV)

And here’s the second step:

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ ” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army. (Ezekiel 37.9, 10, ESV)

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2.4 – 7, ESV)

Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. (John 5.24, ESV)

Ezekiel 36 contains a few lessons on prayer starting with a reflection on the first request of the Lord’s Prayer:

Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. (Matthew 6.9, NLT)

And what does Ezekiel 36 have to say about God’s attitude toward his name?

I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, and yet they had to go out of his land.’ But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came. (Ezekiel 36.19 – 21, ESV)

“I had concern for my holy name…” There’s more:

“Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. (Ezekiel 36.22, 23, ESV)

And then this section of promises:

• I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.
• I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And
• I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And
• I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And
• I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
• You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. (Ezekiel 36.24 – 28, ESV)

Finally, a stunning word on the relationship between prayer and the promises.

Then the nations all around—all those still left—will know that I, the Lord, rebuilt the ruins and planted lush crops in the wilderness. For I, the Lord, have promised it, and I will do it.”

The Lord God says: “I am ready to hear Israel’s prayers for these blessings and to grant them their requests. (Ezekiel 36.36, 37, Living Bible)

“I, the Lord, have promised it, and I will do it…I am ready to hear Israel’s prayers for these blessings…”

Promise fulfilled by prayer.

It’s like working in an office. All the supplies are there, but they don’t show up on your desk automatically. You have to ask for them.

Expectant faith and persevering prayer rooted in the promises of God. – A Core Value of The Navigators

I think I’m behind on this one, but I was lying in bed a few days ago, 5:00 a.m., praying The Lord’s Prayer. And there it was:

Give us this day our daily bread.

Pretty simple, but having heard a sermon on John 6 a few days before and then watching The Sheep Detectives, I thought to myself: “You’re an idiot! The bread is Jesus. After all,

I am the Bread of Life.

Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6.32 – 35, NIV)

I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” (John 6.48 – 51, NIV)

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4.4, NIV)

Give us today our daily bread. (Matthew 6.11, NIV)

I’m not the first one to make this connection. Google search has an optional AI capability, so I asked it:

Does anyone relate “give us this day our daily bread” to Jesus as the “bread of life”?

The answer was unequivocal:

Yes, theologians, scholars, and Christian traditions widely connect “give us this day our daily bread” from the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:11) directly to Jesus as he “Bread of Life” (John 6:35). While the petition serves as a literal plea for physical sustenance, it is deeply understood to have a secondary, spiritual layer.

Then it talked about something one of our pastors told us way back in 1973. That the Greek word for “daily” is used nowhere else except in The Lord’s Prayer:

The Greek word used for “daily” in the Lord’s Prayer is epiousion (ἐπιούσιον). This is a notoriously rare word found nowhere else in classical Greek literature outside of the Gospels.

Early Church Fathers, including Origen and St. Jerome, analyzed its literal root components: epi (above/super) and ousia (substance/essence).

Under this literal translation, the prayer is not merely asking for standard physical food, but for the supernatural bread from heaven—Jesus Christ Himself.

Google’s sources also pointed out the relationship between manna and Jesus as the Bread of Life.

God provided manna to the Israelites every morning in the desert (Exodus 16).

• In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches disciples to depend on God for daily provision just like the Israelites did.
• In John 6, Jesus explicitly uses that exact same manna narrative to explain His identity, stating that while the ancestors ate manna and died, He is the true “living bread that came down from heaven” who grants eternal life. Therefore, the daily dependence taught in the prayer ultimately finds its fulfillment in daily reliance on Jesus.

So, like a lot of truths in mathematics, I “discovered” the connection, but I’m certainly not the first nor only person to discover it!

Google closes:

While modern or secular interpretations focus exclusively on material needs (food, shelter, basic income), historical orthodox Christian theology views the petition as a two-fold request: physical bread to sustain the body for today, and the spiritual “Bread of Life” to sustain the soul for eternity.

Amen.

Give us this day our daily bread...I am the Bread.

I reminded us Sunday that Sebastian the Ram in The Sheep Detectives was right when he said God was a shepherd. The most beloved psalm in the Bible opens:

The Lord is my shepherd. (Psalm 23.1)

And Jesus affirmed it:

I am the Good Shepherd. (John 10.11, 14)

Did you know it’s also in Ezekiel? I wrote on June 16, 2026, the problem God had with his shepherds, the priests. Jeremiah addressed it in Jeremiah 50; Ezekiel, in chapter 34:

You have not…

• strengthened the weak or
• healed the sick or
• bound up the injured. You have not
• brought back the strays or
• searched for the lost. (Ezekiel 34.4, NIV)

The solution? Right. God is the Shepherd:

I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak… (Ezekiel 34.15, 16, NIV)

And God delegates that work to us:

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew 9.36 – 38, NIV)

What’s the solution to sheep without a shepherd? Pray for more “laborers” – more shepherds. (And those who pray are often sent.)

Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness…These twelve Jesus sent out… (Matthew 10.1, 5, NIV)

I almost never publish stories without fact-checking, but since I knew the story so well, I didn’t fact check the story I shared on August 7 about the connection between Dawson Trotman, founder of The Navigators, and Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, now known as Cru. I said that Dawson picked up a hitchhiker named Bill, led him to Christ, and the hitchhiker turned out to be Bill Bright.

Turns out I didn’t get it quite right, and I’ve corrected the original blog. Here’s the more accurate version:

A fellow named Bill picked up a hitchhiker one day in southern California. Bill was just coming into town, and the hitchhiker told Bill he should spend the night in the home of Dawson Trotman, founder of The Navigators. Bill spent just that one night in Dawson’s home and left the next day unconverted.

Later Bill began attending Hollywood Presbyterian Church and met Jesus through the ministry of Henrietta Mears, who had mentored Dawson earlier. Once Bill decided to venture into ministry, Mears suggested that he get in contact with Dawson Trotman who is likely the one who encouraged Bill toward campus ministry.

We’re talking about Bill Bright, who later went on to found Campus Crusade for Christ (now called “Cru.”) Bright went to UCLA to do evangelism, conservatively estimating that it would take him a year to see substantial fruit and thereby skimping on his preparedness for discipleship ministry. After a month, 50 students had come to put faith in Christ, and Bright had no idea what to do next. He phoned Trotman, who personally loaned resources, training, and key Navigator volunteers to Cru for the first five years of Bright’s time on UCLA’s campus. Cru is actually built on the framework of Navigators methodology and uses Nav resources to this day. – Portions of this story from an interview with Justin Taylor on the 60th anniversary of Dawson Trotman’s death, June 18, 2016

So there is a strong connection between Dawson Trotman and Bill Bright, and, in the theme of the August 7 blog, neither Dawson nor Henrietta Mears was particularly “strategic.” They were following the Spirit’s leading to serve those God put in their path.

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. (1 Corinthians 3.5 – 8, ESV)

Ezekiel 33 opens with the well-known section about the serious responsibility of a watchman.

So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. (Ezekiel 33.7 – 9, ESV)

It’s tough to warn people because they don’t listen. The chapter ends with precisely that fact:

As for you, son of man, your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses say to one another, each to his brother, “Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the LORD.” And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it…And behold, you are to them like one who sings songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it. (Ezekiel 33.30 – 32, ESV)

Chilling. Preaching as entertainment. “You are like one who sings…and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it.”

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1.22, NIV)

Last Sunday night we watched The Sheep Detectives (free with Amazon Prime Video). It’s a light-hearted mystery involving sheep solving the murder of their shepherd. It’s PG, very well done, wholesome in its entirety, with one reference to God that I’m sure some will take offense at. I don’t.

The exchange involves ewes Lily (brown) and Mottle (white) with Sebastian, a black ram who has been out and about in the world. Hence, he’s answering the questions.

The dialog goes like this:

Lily: What is this?

Sebastian: This is the church where someone named God lives.

Lily: Who is God?

Sebastian: It’s a bit confusing. God is a shepherd.

Mottle: So he could be our shepherd?

Sebastian: No, because he’s also a lamb.

Lily: What?

Sebastian: And he’s also invisible. And he’s made of bread. And he damns things?

Lily: Dams things? Like a beaver?

Sebastian: Yes.

Lily: So God is a big, invisible lamb beaver…made of bread?

Sebastian: Yes. And they eat him on Sundays.

Mopple: Poor God.

Has Sebastian heard about God? Yes. Has what he has heard about God true? Mostly. Has he understood anything that he’s heard? No.

I expect we all have not-yet-believing friends and neighbors who have heard all the words, and we think they have rejected Christianity. It may be that they have rejected their flawed understanding of Christianity.

I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 34.15, ESV)

I am the good Shepherd. (Jesus, John 10.11)

Behold the Lamb of God. (John the Baptist, John 1.29)

No one has ever seen God. (Jesus – John 1.18, ESV)

I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” (Jesus, John 6.48 – 51, NIV)

They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. (Ephesians 4.18, ESV)

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (1 John 5.20, ESV)

Let’s wrap up the judgments on the nations with three chapters on Egypt, Ezekiel 30, 31, and 32.

A sample from Ezekiel 30. Egypt will be destroyed:

I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the LORD.” (Ezekiel 30.25, 26, ESV)

“They will know that I am the LORD” also in verses 8 and 19.

Ezekiel 31: a reiteration of Egypt’s pride problem and resulting judgment:

“Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because it towered high and set its top among the clouds, and its heart was proud of its height, I will give it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations. He shall surely deal with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out. (Ezekiel 31.10, ESV)

The chapter concludes:

“Whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? You shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the world below. You shall lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword. “This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel 31.18, ESV)

Ezekiel 32: another lament over Pharaoh and Egypt

A familiar theme:

When I make the land of Egypt desolate, and when the land is desolate of all that fills it, when I strike down all who dwell in it, then they will know that I am the LORD. (Ezekiel 32.15, ESV)

Then a list of nations, fallen:

• Egypt (verse 20…)
• Assyria (verse 22…)
• Elam (verse 24…)
• Meshech-Tubal (verse 26…)
• Edom (verse 29)
• The princes of the north (Tyre?)…and the Sidonians (verse 30)

I think this ends the prophecies and laments against the nations which began in chapter 25.

Again, here I am in a beautiful place. Sitting on the patio, looking out over blue sky and trees. I shot this while walking the dog this morning, the full moon setting over Pikes Peak:

And it can all turn in an instant. Nations now have the capability of destroying other nations with nuclear bombs. Building is hard. Destroying is easy. And the US is crumbling from the inside with people voting in socialists. Many great powers in history are now footnotes in history books.

This is the purpose that is purposed concerning the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations. For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back? (Isaiah 14.26, 27, ESV)

When I moved back to Colorado from Alabama in 2006, a newly minted Navigator staff member, I had breakfast with a well-connected Navigator colleague. Among the things he told me was:

Navigator Church Ministries are not strategic.

I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, and it didn’t sound quite right at the time, but I was new. I wrote it down dutifully…and forgot about it.

My experience, then and now, with people and churches, is that God gives you those he wants you to work with. I don’t assess them for their “strategic” importance.

In WORLD Magazine, Paul Butler reviews Charles E. Cotherman’s Strip Mine Jesus: Hope for the Rural Church, Small Towns, and Overlooked Places, a book he says should be required reading for every prospective pastor. Here’s a key paragraph containing the reviewer’s experience:

Personally, I never imagined I’d end up ministering in the shadow of a coal mine’s castoffs. Yet here I am. During my own Bible college experience, there was a sense that the bigger the gospel vision, the more God-honoring it must be. This idea gets reinforced in many seminary alumni magazines with glossy spreads on the “successful” graduates, while often overlooking the faithful, hidden servants of God working in the quiet corners of the Master’s fields. Cotherman calls believers to join the rolls of that latter group—looking out for the woman at the well, the blind man by the side of the road, and the unclean on the edges of society.

“…faithful, hidden servants of God working in the quiet corners…looking out for the woman at the well, the blind man by the side of the road, and the unclean on the edges of society.” Amen.

Jesus wasn’t “strategic,” ministering to fishermen in rural Galilee rather than to national leaders in Jerusalem. Some Navigators would argue that the Apostle Paul was “strategic,” going for the population centers. But does it matter? Have you heard this story?

A fellow named Bill picked up a hitchhiker one day in southern California. Bill was just coming into town, and the hitchhiker told Bill he should spend the night in the home of Dawson Trotman, founder of The Navigators. Bill spent just that one night in Dawson’s home and left the next day unconverted.

Later Bill began attending Hollywood Presbyterian Church and met Jesus through the ministry of Henrietta Mears, who had mentored Dawson earlier. Once Bill decided to venture into ministry, Mears suggested that he get in contact with Dawson Trotman who is likely the one who encouraged Bill toward campus ministry.

We’re talking about Bill Bright, who later went on to found Campus Crusade for Christ (now called “Cru.”) Bright went to UCLA to do evangelism, conservatively estimating that it would take him a year to see substantial fruit and thereby skimping on his preparedness for discipleship ministry. After a month, 50 students had come to put faith in Christ, and Bright had no idea what to do next. He phoned Trotman, who personally loaned resources, training, and key Navigator volunteers to Cru for the first five years of Bright’s time on UCLA’s campus. Cru is actually built on the framework of Navigators methodology and uses Nav resources to this day. – Portions of this story from an interview with Justin Taylor on the 60th anniversary of Dawson Trotman’s death, June 18, 2016

Bill Bright developed “The Four Laws” method of presenting the gospel. Over a billion people have heard the gospel through his influence.

Was Dawson being strategic that day he hosted Bill Bright? Was Henrietta Mears strategic? Or were they merely following the Spirit’s leading? Even “strategic” Paul’s goal was “everyone:”

Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. (Colossians 1.28, ESV)

To continue yesterday’s discussion about churches generally not doing a good job teaching skills like How to Have Daily Time with God, here’s another story:

A friend of ours, in her 80s, was talking with June about a new experience she was having. Our friend is politically liberal, and, as nearly as we could tell, theologically nowhere. She and her husband hadn’t participated in church much until they retired and moved to a Colorado mountain town. There, they were going to a church in which they could discuss, as nearly as I could tell, their political causes.

So June was shocked when she said something like this: “We’re not going to church anymore, but we are participating in a discussion group that meets at 7am. We’re reading the Bible and sharing what we’re hearing from God. Have you ever heard of ‘Lectio Divina?’” (Lectio Divina, Latin for “Divine Light” is, at its simplest, a way of reading the Bible to listen for God to speak.)

Then our friend said, “The church has failed us.”

By which she meant, I’m over 80 years old, and I’m just learning how to read the Bible in a meaningful way.

Bill Hybels, pastor of Willow Creek Church, said much the same thing in an oft-misunderstood quote back in 2008:

We made a mistake… What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and became Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become self feeders. We should have gotten people (and) taught people how to read their Bible between services (and) how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own.”

Bill discovered that Willow Creek Church, for all the good it was doing, hadn’t been teaching folks to read the Bible for themselves, and in that omission the church was failing its members. It was failing to make disciples. I’m afraid most churches and pastors fall into that trap. Churches have replaced training the people to be in the Word for themselves with never-ending spoon-feeding.

The Apostle John wrote:

I am writing to you,

• little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. I am writing to you,
• fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you,
• young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you,
• children, because you know the Father. I write to you,
• fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you,
• young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. (1 John 2.12 – 14, ESV)

“Little children” need someone to feed them. “Young adults” feed themselves. “Parents” feed others. There should be a progression, not, as I say, never-ending spoon-feeding.

About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. (Hebrews 5.11, 12, ESV)

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2.1, 2, NIV)

Portions of this blog are adapted from my blog “The Church Has Failed Us,” January 28, 2018