“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…Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” -     Ezekiel 37:4-6

        Well, we made it. It’s finally the end of a challenging year. As we turn the page on 2020, where is your life right now? For many of us, perhaps we feel like the dry bones the prophet Ezekiel was addressing in Ezekiel 37.  

        Ezekiel was taken up by the Holy Spirit into this valley that was full of dry bones. He takes a look around the valley and Ezekiel says, “Man, these bones are really dry, they must've been dead for a long time."  

        Is this you? Are you these really dry bones? Perhaps even before the troubles of 2020 began, you were feeling this dryness. On the outside it looks like everything is okay, but inside you feel like you're spiritually dead. Maybe you’re feeling like these dead bones are saying “Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost.” Or perhaps you've never actually been in a place where you have ever felt alive spiritually. Perhaps you have never felt the joy of being in a relationship with Jesus.  

        The great promise of this text is there is hope! This season will not last! We will experience our ups and downs. There will be times where we feel like Jesus is my lifeline and other times when our bones just feel dry. Maybe even now, you're in a dry place like a wilderness where you're just grasping at the straws of your faith.

         Take heart! Don't be afraid! Sometimes God leads us into the wilderness so that we can realize there is nothing more we can do but depend on Him.  

         How is this possible? It’s possible because Jesus Himself went into this wilderness when He hung on the cross. We know that new life for us is possible because on the third day Jesus had new life breathed into Him. 

         If we feel like we've been dead spiritually for a long time, the Holy Spirit renews our spirits, giving us new life and fresh hope, and placing us back in the joy of relationship with Jesus.

         As we enter a new year, may we find our hope, life and joy in Christ Jesus who loved us and gave His life for us so that we might live in the fullness of God. 

         On behalf of the pastors and staff at BAC, we pray that you will have a Happy New Year! See you in 2021.

      祂又對我說：「你向這些骸骨發預言說：『枯乾的骸骨啊，要聽耶和華的話！主耶和華對這些骸骨如此說：我必使氣息進入你們裡面，你們就要活了。我必給你們加上筋，使你們長肉，又將皮遮蔽你們，使氣息進入你們裡面，你們就要活了，你們便知道我是耶和華。』」          以西結書37:4-6     

      好了，我們終於熬過了，充滿挑戰的一年快要結束了。當我們翻開2020年的這一頁時，你會怎樣形容你現在的生命景況？對於我們許多人來說，也許我們會覺得好像先知以西結在他書中37章所形容的那種乾枯的骸骨一樣。

      以西結被聖靈帶進這個充滿枯乾骸骨的山谷。他環顧山谷後說：「噢，這些骨頭真的很枯乾，必然是死去很長的時間。」  

      這是你嗎？你是否像這些枯乾的骸骨？也許甚至在2020年未有各樣的困難前，你已經有這種枯乾的感覺。在外面看來一切都好像沒有問題，但是在內裡，你感到靈裡的枯乾﹑枯死。或者這種枯乾會令你說：「我的骨頭乾死了，我的希望已盡失。」又或者，你可能從來都未有真正感覺過靈裏的活潑快樂。也許你從來沒有感受過與主耶穌靈裏契合的喜樂。     

     這裏的經文帶出的應許是盼望！這些都不會持續的！我們都經歷跌宕起伏。有時候，我們覺得主耶穌是我們的生命線，而有時候，我們的骨頭卻又感到枯乾。甚至在目前的一刻，你可能正處於荒野之地，在靈裏僅僅抓住一些乾草。  

     振作起來吧！不要害怕！有時，神帶領我們進入曠野，好叫我們明白除了依靠神以外，我們別無他法。  

     真的是這樣嗎？是的，因為當主耶穌被懸掛在十字架上時，就是走進了曠野之地，我們知道，當主耶穌第三天從死裏復活時，祂就為我們成就了新的生命，一切都變成可能。  

     如果我們覺得自己已經在靈裏枯乾﹑枯死了很長時間，聖靈是會更新我們的靈，給我們新的生命和希望，叫我們重新活在與主契合的喜樂中。   

     當我們踏入新的一年時，願我們在愛我們並為我們捨了生命的基督耶穌裡找到盼望﹑生命和喜樂，以致我們都可以活在上帝的豐盛中。  

     謹代表本宣家全體教牧同工，祝你們新年快樂！來年再見！ 

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