God did it all - on Good Friday, rthe Resurrection, and how you can help

As we celebrate the weekend of the Resurrection, it's wonderful to focus on the fact that what we needed done, God did it all.

I'll be posting more about our need for camp sponsorships in the coming days and weeks with a followup post, but for now, a little note about what I taught in one of our YLTI classes thsi past Thursday and how it relates to the Resurrection. Because it'll help you, the reader, to see how our Thursday activities are growing and the amount of help still needed.

We couldn't save ourselves, and because of that, we can fully trust in God and not have to rely on our own works. That, in itself, is an important thing. he hs different ways of using us sometimes - we no longer have a radio show but are trying very hard to help a dozen or so young people on our roster to grow spiritually. But, it's really God who is doing it, with our help and yours.

I did a teaching on the dry bones of Ezekiel 37 in ourYLTI (Youth Leaders Training Institute) class the other day. I wanted to talk about how this is a passage that is about Israel but how passages that might not have been about us at first can still have spiritual application. I think the kids understood, especially one 15-year-old, Hunter, who had some very good replies (such as that it was written so the Jewish people would know God would revive their nation) and comments (like about how he was frustrated because he kept sinning; he's been saved about 6 months now and is still learning how to walk in the Lord. Please pray for him and all the poor kids in our ministry to grow in the Lord and to get to the church camp we send them to; also for a few unspoken requests.)

I then shared how this is like when we are born again of the Spirit, and how God makes us alive and is the head of all of us, with us as different members of the body (going to 1 Corinthians) and how we need to work together for Him, etc.. (Something else important for these young people to realize.)

It reminds me of how the very fact of having life breathed into us, and being quickened by the Lord(Eph.2: 1-10), is so wonderful. We can trust Him to work in us to make us more like Him, and to guide us in everything.

And, it's all because 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ was willing to give everything up, to take our punishment for our sins, to take all the sins of humanity upon Himself. And then, thankfully, he did not stay dead but rose triumphantly from the grave!

God asked the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 37, "Can these dry bones live?" Just as He told the prophet they could when He, God, Himself put life into them, so too today many struggle witht he problems of life, and ask if tere is something that can make them alive. And, we can tell them with certainty that yes, Jesus Christ can make them new, fill the holes in their heart, and so on when they turn from their sin.

It is something we can't do ourselves, any more than those dry bones could be alive by themselves. But, God has given us eternal life, and while we struggle with the problems of this world - and I face my own spiritual battles just like everyone - each believer can go to God whenever they need and let Him give that grace we need to get through each day.