Skip to main content

Preparation, Prayer, and Purity

Day 134

Reading: Ezra 8:1 - Ezra 10:44

God's eyes are searching to and from for a person or people that He may show Himself strong for 2 Chronicles 16:9a. What are the qualities that we need to become a people who will rebuild the House of God on earth today? In the midst of all that you are doing here on earth understand that the clock in heaven is saying its time to rebuild. This is God's hour of restoration. We are being restored to be the House of God in all glory and splendour! Reading the book of Ezra there are 3 things that I have picked that are critical for the days we are living in.

Preparation

Ezra prepared before he set off for the journey. We read in Ezra 7:10 that he prepared for the task that lay ahead. We read that even before setting off for the journey to Jerusalem he prepared by gathering the required resources and authority to undertake the task at hand. Ezra didn't travel because of fantasy or fun. He travelled to Jerusalem knowing that he had a mandate to fulfil and arrived prepared. Opportunities are only taken by the prepared. The place you are is a place of preparation! 

Prayer

Ezra didn't set off from Babylon without prayer. He even added fasting to the prayer as he had understood that what he was undertaking required spiritual discipline exercised to secure the victory. Too many of us are casual in prayer and careless in fasting and thus our lives don't display answers to prayer. Ezra sought God to know the right way to go about his endeavours. He was not careless in going about life without the approval and backing of God. To live life without God's backing is the path of eternal damnation.

Purity

When Ezra heard that some of the priests had married the daughters of the nations they were told never to marry he tore his garments and wept before God.  His tears were not crocodile tears but tears of remorse and a cry for mercy for the sins the priests had committed. He already understood why the people had been taken captive was because of not keeping the Law and now he was discovering that those meant to teach the law were the breakers. Ezra didn't come up with an easy fix. He spent the day fasting in repentance for the sins and decreed that the requirements of the Law would be kept. The priests were to do away with those pagan wives. What associations do you have that are not pleasing God? What associations do you have that are in disobedience to God? 

Memory Verse: Ezra 8:23

Decree: 

Ezra 8:23
So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer. (italics mine)

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Now is....

Everyday I seek to share something that I have learnt through the daily reading. I make a choice to discipline myself not to write too much as we inundated with a lot of reading material. Feel free to add comments because that way we share and thus encourage one another to grow into the fullness of Christ. Today I am amazed at the fact that God will always remember His covenant and fulfill the promise. I want to list five words in the order they appear in one scripture that showed God is at work in our lives. Remembered : My God will never forget me. To be delayed is not to be denied as God will surely remember. God spoke and said to Sarah that He would return at the appointed time; at the right season!!! I do believe that we are in a season where we will see God begin to act on the promises that seem forgotten. Or better put in another way there is a resurrection of seemingly forgotten prophecies that is about to take place. Dry bones are beginning to take shape. Listened : No longer ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Blessing or ....

To live well is one thing we all desire. I have never met anyone who did not want to live well. By living well for some people it means helping others. For others it means having a successful business. Yet for others it means travelling the world. I have discovered that it is not money that empowers but the blessing of God that empowers. Money is simply one of the many ways that the effects of the blessing may show up. Many times today in society we confuse money with being blessed yet people like Mother Teresa did not flaunt money but her life still is blessing many people round the world. The book of Deuteronomy has challenged me to desire to be blessed. Anyone who has walked with the blessing of God in their live has seen doors open that are a struggle for others. Yesterday I wrote about obedience. What obedience opens our lives to is the operation of the blessing. By choosing to obey the Word we are choosing to open our lives to be blessed. The purpose of being blessed is not self ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dont Go Back to Egypt

Day 207 Reading: Jeremiah 42:1 - Jeremiah 45:5 When life's blows strike us our response matters more than we realise. Many believers today are in a place of bewilderment because life has dealt blows that have knocked the wind out of them. As a result, many are questioning whether God is still God. Reading the Book of Jeremiah I have been encouraged to trust in God at all times.  The remnant children of Israel upon seeing the King of Babylon conquer them asked Jeremiah to seek the mind of God regarding their desire to go to Egypt. The same pattern of thinking that their forefathers had in saying let's go back to Egypt was on display generations after. Many people don't realise the importance of right thinking. God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt, to desire to go there for safety is a smack to God in the face! When faced with trouble don't allow the thinking of God helps those who help themselves send you to Egypt. It's a death trap! Man...
Post a Comment
Read more