KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Thursday, May 19, 2016
Chapters: Ezra 7-10
Message: Having A Relationship With Jesus
Hello My Friend,
Of all the relationships we have, family, friends, coworkers, business, there is none more important than the one with Jesus Christ. I would like to say that every day I talk to Jesus and tell Him how much I love Him, but admit I do not do it near enough. It is not that we need to talk to Jesus every day to let to know we love and need Him, He knows who does. We need to talk to Him every day because we do need Him, He will keep us out of trouble, encourage us, heal us, and give us the courage we need to keep going. We need to stop letting the cares of life keep us from talking with Jesus daily, He knows what we are going through, and He is right there for us. “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” – 1 John 4:4.
Ezra was born while the Jews were in Babylon, he wasn’t aware of the events that took place prior to their being in captivity. With the inspiration of God, king Artaxerxes sends Ezra with a group of men to help rebuild the city. “Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons? Also we certify you, that touching any of the priests and Levites, singers, porters, Nethinims, or ministers of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose toll, tribute, or custom, upon them. And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not. And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment. Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem:” – Ezra 7:23-27.
“and teach ye them that know them not.” Ezra was not only committed to preparing his own heart to know God’s word, he committed to following and teaching it. This should be a reminder that, if we want the best relationship we can possibly have with Jesus we ought to be learning His ways, following and teaching them to others. “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” – Luke 9:23.
Three days into their journey, Ezra a little overwhelmed about the job God had given him to do, realizes that there were no Levites accompanying him. He sent for some because they were the only ones allowed to handle the holy things of the temple. Over seventeen hundred men volunteered to go to Jerusalem, before going any further the Ezra proclaimed a fast. “Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us. Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them, And I said unto them, Ye are holy unto the LORD; the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the LORD God of your fathers. Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD. So took the priests and the Levites the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God.” – Ezra 8:21-24,28-30.
“So we fasted and besought our God for this:” Sometimes the best way to get answers from God is by prayer and fasting. Prayer has great power in itself, but when we afflict (abstain from food or other pleasures) ourselves for a time with prayer it becomes like a supernatural power. Fasting is an extra measure to reach God beyond normal praying, of course, He knows what we need, and has the answer, He just wants to see our faith, and if we are going to trust Him and wait for Him to give us the answer or be too impatient and do something drastic. “Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” – Matthew 17:19-21.
When Ezra and the people arrived in Jerusalem they expected to see at least a few of the Jews praising God, and giving them some hope that God was there. Instead, it was just the opposite, the moral and spiritual condition in Jerusalem was terrible and it grieved Ezra to the point that he fell on his knees.
“And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this.” – Ezra 9:6-9,15.
“to give us a reviving,” Revival, is spiritual awakening, no matter how strong our faith in God, and even when we serve God on a regular basis, we need a revival. Life can drown our spirit to the point that we just float on top, struggling to keep our head above the water. God knows life wears us down, we need Him daily to keep us afloat, but even daily can be a challenge, and all it takes is a little bit of depression or guilt to put us in bondage to our circumstances. That is where the strength of Jesus comes, He is our floating device, the one and only person who can keep us afloat when we have no strength to swim. He will lighten our eyes, give us hope and a new outlook on things, He is our revival. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30. Praise God!
As the congregation heard Ezra praying they too began to pray and repent of their sins, but now, came the hard part. Would they follow the Law as they said they would? “Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore. And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it.” – Ezra 10:1-4.
“and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God;” One by one, each Levite who had to present himself with his wife and children before the court to determine whether or not they served God, they agreed to get a divorce and separate from them forever if it was determined they were not. This is proof that unbelievers cannot be any kind of a relationship with Jesus. “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,” – 2 Corinthians 6:14-17.
Jesus Christ Revealed: Today, Jesus is revealed through the evening sacrifice (9:5). The evening sacrifice was a type of the propitiation of the Lamb of God, who, in the evening of the world, took away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:” – 1 Peter 1:18,19.
Today’s Prayer: God, You know there have been times in my life when I sunk so deep in my past that I couldn’t breathe anymore, but Your hand always pulled me back up. Thank You for loving me and not forsaking me, thank You for holding me up, even when I wanted to fall. Thank You for Your endless mercy and grace, it truly endures, and thank You for always being there for me, even when I wanted to give up. Lord, I need a revival, pour Your Spirit upon me and fill me with Your love, mercy, grace, peace, strength, and wisdom. Help me to get through this day, uplifted and encouraged, knowing that You are always with me, and have something great in store for me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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