Feasting on God's Word (One Year Bible)

Following the return of the Jews to Jerusalem, after their captivity in Babylon and prior to the beginning of the rebuilding of the Temple, there was the resumption of worship at the Temple site (Ezra 3:1-6). Worship - This must always lie at the heart of the life of God’s people. Once the foundation had been laid at the Temple, there was joyful thanksgiving - “They prayed and gave thanks to the Lord ... He is good; His mercy toward Israel endures forever ... Praise the Lord” (Ezra 3:11). In Ezra 4, we read of opposition to God’s work. This opposition led to a temporary hold in God’s work (Ezra 4:24). Inspired by the ministry of Haggai and Zechariah, Zerubbabel resumed the rebuilding of God’s Temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 5:1-2). The work was completed (Ezra 6:15) and dedicated to the Lord (Ezra 6:16). At the heart of the dedication of the Temple, there was worship - joyful worship (Ezra 6:19-22). Ezra was a man of God. His life was grounded in the word of God. He brough...

What will the future hold for us? One thing we can say is this: there is work to be done – God’s work. God is calling us to do His work and He will give us the strength that we need (Ezra 1:2,5). ‘At such a time is this’, a time when many are turning away from the Lord, showing little or no interest in worshipping and serving Him, a time when many are living according to the world’s standards with no real desire to please God and do His will, God is looking for people who will make a whole-hearted commitment to a life of serving Him. He is looking for people who will say, ‘Serving the Lord – this must be the great priority of my life, the most important thing’ (Esther 4:14,16). Serving the Lord will not be easy. There will be many times when we will feel like giving up. We will be tempted to follow the crowd rather than following our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. When it seems that we are in danger of being overwhelmed by such temptations, we must say, ‘I have decided...

Ezra 1:1-2:35 "Rebuild the House of the Lord" (Ezra 1:3). This, Lord, is what You're calling us to do. Who are You calling? Is it just a few 'special' people? - No! It's "all those whose spirits God had moved" (Ezra 1:5). Help us, Lord, never to say, "There's nothing for me to do." There's always something we can do. Help us to open our hearts to You, to lay our lives before You, and to do the work that You give us to do for You. Ezra 2:36-3:13 At the heart of Your work, Lord, there is worship - "praising and giving thanks to the Lord" (Ezra 3:11). Help us to see the importance of worship. Nothing can take the place of worship. Where would we be without worship? Could we even begin to serve You? Help us, Lord, to come to You, with this heartfelt prayer: "I will worship You with all of my heart ... with all of my mind ... with all of my strength" (Jude Del Hierro). Ezra 4:1-5:17 Sometimes, ...

Following the return of the Jews to Jerusalem, after their captivity in Babylon and prior to the beginning of the rebuilding of the Temple, there was the resumption of worship at the Temple site (Ezra 3:1-6). Worship - This must always lie at the heart of the life of God’s people. Once the foundation had been laid at the Temple, there was joyful thanksgiving - “They prayed and gave thanks to the Lord ... He is good; His mercy toward Israel endures forever ... Praise the Lord” (Ezra 3:11).In Ezra 4, we read of opposition to God’s work. This opposition led to a temporary hold in God’s work (Ezra 4:24). Inspired by the ministry of Haggai and Zechariah, Zerubbabel resumed the rebuilding of God’s Temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 5:1-2). The work was completed (Ezra 6:15) and dedicated to the Lord (Ezra 6:16). At the heart of the dedication of the Temple, there was worship - joyful worship (Ezra 6:19-22). Ezra was a man of God. His life was grounded in the Word of God. He brought the Word of G...

Ezra 1:1-2:35 To ‘all’ of us, God gives His call. We are to ‘rebuild the House of the Lord’. To ‘all’ of us, He gives His strength: ‘Then... all those whose spirits God had moved, arose to go up and build the House of the Lord’(1:3,5). If the work of God is to be done, every one must play their part. No one must opt out. No one must say, ‘There’s nothing for me to do’. There’s always something to do. There’s something for every one. God has so much work for us to do. We must not fail Him. He is calling you to serve Him. He will give you the strength that you need. Open your heart to Him. Surrender your life to Him. ‘Every person in every nation, in each succeeding generation, has the right to hear the news that Christ can save... Father, I am willing to dedicate to Thee, life and talent, time and money. Here am I, send me’. Ezra 2:36-3:13 At the heart of God’s work, there is worship - ‘praising and giving thanks to the Lord’. This is our first priority. We must not ...

Ezra 8:1-36 The return of God’s people to Jerusalem was not simply a geographical return - moving from one place to another. It was a spiritual return. They were returning to the Lord. They were seeking His blessing (21). Without God’s blessing, we are nothing. We may have happy memories of better days, recalling ‘the good old days’. We may look back to times of blessing, remembering how the hand of the Lord was upon us. If this is all we have, we have nothing. We are no longer in the place of blessing. We need to return to the Lord. The times of blessing can come again. God gives us His promise: ‘The hand of our God is for good upon all that seek Him’(22). God wants to bless us. How much do we want to be blessed by Him? If the times of blessing are to return to us, we must ‘return to the Lord’(Isaiah 55:6-13). Ezra 9:1-10:44 The return of God’s blessing begins with a real confession of sin - ‘our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the ...

Ezra 6:1-7:28   Lord, Your work makes good progress when Your people receive strength from Your Word. It's Your Word that inspires us to keep on working for You. Your House is rebuilt, and Your people rejoice (Ezra 6:14-16). Help us, Lord, to turn, often - again and again - to Your Word. May Your Word lead us in the pathway of joyful obedience.

Ezra 9:1-10:44 Lord, the return of Your blessing comes with a real confession of our sin - "Our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens" (Ezra 9:6), You don't bless us because we deserve to be blessed. You bless us because You love us. This is where Your blessing comes from. It comes from Your love. Despite all of our sin, You encourage us to believe that You may yet "grant us some reviving to set up the House of our God" (Ezra 9:8-9).

Ezra 8:1-36   Lord, the return of Your people to Jerusalem was more than a geographical return. It was a spiritual return. Help us to return to You - and to seek Your blessing (Ezra 8:21). Without Your blessing, we are nothing. Help us to hold on to Your promise: "The hand of our God is for good upon all that seek Him" (Ezra 8:22).

Ezra 4:1-5:17   Sometimes, Lord, we're so busy, looking at the opposition that we fail to see the opportunity. Sometimes, the opposition can have some success - "the work on the House of God came to a standstill" (Ezra 4:24). Whenever Satan attacks Your work, You raise up Your servants to keep the work going: "Zerubbabel ... arose and began to rebuild the House of God in Jerusalem (Ezra 5:2). When our heads go down, You will lift them up - and Your work will go on.

Ezra 2:36-3:13 At the heart of Your work, Lord, there is worship - "praising and giving thanks to the Lord" (Ezra 3:11). Help us to see the importance of worship. Nothing can take the place of worship. Where would we be without worship? Could we even begin to serve You? Help us, Lord, to come to You, with this heartfelt prayer: "I will worship You with all of my heart ... with all of my mind ... with all of my strength" (Jude Del Hierro).

Ezra 1:1-2:35 "Rebuild the House of the Lord" (Ezra 1:3). This, Lord, is what You're calling us to do. Who are You calling? Is it just a few 'special' people? - No! It's "all those whose spirits God had moved" (Ezra 1:5). Help us, Lord, never to say, "There's nothing for me to do." There's always something we can do. Help us to open our hearts to You, to lay our lives before You, and to do the work that You give us to do for You.

Ezra 4:1-5:17 God’s work does not always move forward smoothly. We face determined opposition. Where there is opportunity, there will be opposition (1 Corinthians 16:9). The servants of Satan rise up to oppose the servants of the Lord. This is what happens here. The Lord’s enemies had some success: ‘the work on the House of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill’. This was, however, only a temporary setback. God gave new strength to His servants. He sent His ‘prophets, Haggai and Zechariah’. They brought His Word to the people. Strengthened by their ministry of God’s Word, ‘Zerubbabel... arose and began to rebuild the House of God in Jerusalem’ (4:24-5:2). God’s work was back on track. His people were moving forward - again. When your head goes down, let the Lord come to you. He will lift you up! Ezra 6:1-7:28 God’s work makes good progress when God’s people receive strength from God’s Word. Haggai and Zechariah were faithful in preaching God’s Word to the people...

God's people are to belong to Him alone. Influences which are foreign to the Gospel of Christ, alien to the Word of God, are to be excluded from our lives so that we might be, more truly and more fully, the people of God. This is the message of Ezra 10, as it emphasizes the sinfulness of God's people intermarrying with those who worship false gods. From our lives as well as our lips, there is to be the song of praise, found in Revelation 15:3-4. It is a song of praise which gives God His rightful place in our lives. We acknowledge Him as the holy God, the God of righteousness. We affirm that His ways are just and true. We submit to Him - "Who would not fear You, O Lord." We seek His glory - "and bring glory to Your Name?" (Revelation 15:4). This commitment to singing the praise of the Lord involves the whole of our life - "I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live" (Psalm 146:20....

Ezra speaks of the rebuilding of the Temple at Jerusalem (Ezra 5:11). Revelation speaks of "God's Temple in heaven" (Revelation 11:19). Both belong together - building the Church here on earth and building for the Kingdom of heaven. We must never be content with a measure of success in building the Church here on earth. God's calling is heavenly. We look beyond the Church here on earth. We work towards the full and final fulfilment of God's eternal purpose: "The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign for ever and ever" (Revelation 11:15). Here, on earth, we are learning to praise God - "I will exalt You, my God the King ... Every day I will praise You" (Psalm 145:1-2). This praise will be complete in the glory of God's heavenly and eternal Kingdom: "I will praise Your Name for ever and ever ... and extol Your Name for ever and ever" (Psalm 145:1-2). ...

At the heart of the rebuilding of the Temple, there was worship -"With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord: 'He is good; His love to Israel endures for ever" (Ezra 3:11). Those who worship the Lord are set within the context of a world that refuses to worship Him: "The rest of mankind ... did not stop worshipping demons" (Revelation 9:20). Even when the call to conversion is sounded out clearly and often, we must reckon with the fact that many will refuse to come to Christ for salvation. His way is still the narrow way, while many take the broad way that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14). Part of God's Word to today's world is a word of rebuke: "If you have played the fool and exalted yourself, or if you have planned evil, clap your hands over your mouth!" (Proverbs 30:32). Stop answering back! Stop protesting against the Lord! Start listening to the Lord! Listen to His Word! The Lord has much to say ...

We read of "gold" in both Ezra and Revelation (Ezra 1:4,6,9-11; Revelation 8:3; Revelation 9:7). In Ezra 1:6, "gold" is set alongside "valuable gifts" and "all the freewill offerings." "Gold" is a valuable thing. The "gold" of our lives is truly valuable when it is given freely, as a "freewill offering." In Revelation 8:3, "gold" is associated with "the prayers of all the saints." The "gold" of our lives is truly valuable when it is given prayerfully to the Lord. In Revelation 9:7, the reference to "gold" is of a different kind. It refers to "the locusts." It does not refer directly to "gold." It uses the intriguing phrase - "something like crowns of gold." This phrase speaks to us of the counterfeit, something which is like the real thing but is not the real thing. Like "the locusts", we must be "prepared f...

Day 344 Esther 1:1-2:18; Revelation 2:18-3:6; Psalm 140:6-13 God is at work in the life of both the Church and the nation. He has a message for His Church. It is the message of the Spirit: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches" (Revelation 2:29; Revelation 3:6). This message of the Lord concerns His Church. It also concerns the world. On the surface, the story of Esther is not a very spiritual story. Nevertheless, God is there. Amid all the talk of "twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics" (Esther 2:12), God was working out His purpose. He was revealing Himself as the "Sovereign Lord", the "strong defender" of His people. The plans of men - "the wicked" - did not succeed. The pride of man was brought to nothing so that the glory belong to God alone (Psalm 140:7-8). This is the message of the book of Est...