Ezra 6
Cyrus’ decree foundverses 1-5
Then Darius the king made a decree
and search was made in the house of the rolls
where the treasures were laid up in Babylon
and there was found at Achmetha
in the palace that is in the province of the Medes
a roll and therein was a record
thus written
In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus
the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem
Let the house be built – the place where they offered sacrifices
and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid
and the height thereof threescore cubits
and the breadth thereof threescore cubits
with three rows of great stones
and a row of new timber
and let the expenses be given out of the king’s house
and also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God
which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple
which is at Jerusalem – and brought unto Babylon
be restored
and brought again unto the temple which is at Jerusalem
every one to his place and place them in the house of God
Darius sends out a decree to helpverses 6-12
Now therefore – Tatnai
governor beyond the river
Shethar-boznai – and your companions the Apharsachites
which are beyond the river – be you far from thence
Let the work of this house of God ALONE
Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build
this house of God in HIS place
Moreover I make a decree what you shall do to the elders of
these Jews for the building of this house of God
that of the king’s goods – even of the tribute
beyond the river forthwith expenses be given
to these men that they be NOT HINDERED
That which they have need of both young bullocks – rams – lambs
for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven
wheat – salt – wine – oil according to the appointment
of the priests which are at Jerusalem
Let it be given them day by day without fail
that they may offer sacrifices of sweet savors
to the God of heaven
and PRAY for the life of the king
and of his sons
Also I have made a decree that whosoever shall alter this word
let timber be pulled down from his house and being set up
let him be hanged thereon
let his house be made a dunghill for this
And the God that has caused HIS name to dwell there
destroy all kings and people that shall put to their hand
to alter or destroy this house of God which is
at Jerusalem
I Darius have made a decree
Let it be done with SPEED
Temple completedverses 13-15
Then Tatnai – governor on this side the river – Shethar-boznai
and their companions – according to that which Darius the king
had sent so they did SPEEDILY
And the elders of the Jews built – and they prospered
through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet
and Zechariah the son of Iddo
And they built – and finished it
according to the commandment of the God of Israel
according to the commandment of Cyrus
Darius – Artaxerxes – king of Persia
And this house was FINISHED on the third day of the month Adar
which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king
Temple dedicatedverses 16-18
And the children of Israel – priests – Levites
the rest of the children of captivity
kept the dedication of this house of God with JOY
And offered at the dedication of this house of God
a hundred bullocks – two hundred rams four hundred lambs
and for a sin offering for all Israel – twelve he goats
according to the number of the tribes of Israel
And they set the priests in their divisions
and the Levites in their courses – for the service of God
which is at Jerusalem as it is written in the book of Moses
Passover celebratedverses 19-22
And the children of the captivity kept the Passover on the
fourteenth day of the first month
For the priests and the Levites were purified together
all of them were pure
And killed the Passover for all the children of the captivity
and for their brethren the priests – for themselves
And the children of Israel – which were come again out of captivity
and all such as had separated themselves to them
from the filthiness of the heathen of the land
to SEEK the LORD God of Israel
did eat
And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with JOY
for the LORD had made them JOYFUL
and turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them
to strengthen their hands in the work of the
house of God the God of Israel
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 7 Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in HIS place. (5673 “work” [‘abiydah] means service, administration, labor, business, affairs, worship, or activity directed toward making or doing something.)
DEVOTION: When we put up a “do not disturb” sign on our door in a motel it means that the cleaners should walk pass our door without making noise or knocking on our door. That is what it means to not disturb someone.
Here we find that the king was ordering the people who were giving the children of Israel a message that meant that he didn’t want the work on the Temple to be disturbed in any way by these individuals.
He even gave a consequence to those who disturbed the children of Israel. He wanted the Temple build so that the children of Israel could worship the LORD. He had his reasons for it to happen as well.
In our society we find that there are people who are disturbing the worship of the LORD in our day. There are many who want the messages of the church to change to be politically correct rather than biblically correct. They are starting by taking individual Christians and Christian companies to court to have them change the way they do business. The problems is the courts are change the laws that are written in our constitution to take away the individuals freedom of religion.
Now they are changing the word by saying that we only have a freedom to worship which means that we have to keep our beliefs in our individual churches. What is happening is that individual churches are moving away from the standard of the Word of God and believing what the government is telling them is proper beliefs.
They are disturbing the worship of God by causing confusion that God doesn’t want to happen in the lives of HIS people. The children of Israel had people and so there is nothing new under the sun but we seem to think that we can’t stand against what is happening in society but our God is still on the throne and we have to remember that we should not be a people who are discouraged but face these challenges with the help of the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Our God promises strength and we have it available to live even in these times.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 8 Moreover I make a decree what you shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God, that of the king’s goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given to these men, that they be not hindered. (5313 “expenses” [niphqa’] means cost, the total spent for goods or services including money, time, and labor, or outlay.)
DEVOTION: Taxes have been around it seems since the beginning of nations. Here we have the nation of Cyrus letting the children of Israel rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. He ordered the people of the land that paid him taxes to give Israel the tax money to rebuild the temple.
The Medes took over ownership of the nation of Babylon. Here we have Cyrus telling the people in the land that the Jews were going to be able to rebuild the Temple with the money they were supposed to send to him.
The people of the land didn’t like the Jews returning or that they were able to rebuild their place of worship. They caused all kinds of trouble but they couldn’t stop the work anymore with the permission given by Cyrus.
Not only were they to allow it to be rebuild but they were to help pay for it. It really caused them heart problems. They were very upset to the point of being unaware that the LORD was the one who was really behind all that was happening.
We have people today that would like to see all Christian either put in jail or sent to another country. Our country was founded on Christian principles but in current years the teaching in our colleges and schools has been antigod. They want nothing to do with the God of the Bible.
Just like the people surrounding Jerusalem we are facing a world that no longer loves Christians. We have many religions that would like to see all believers in Jesus as the only way to heaven done away with no matter what was needed to have it happen.
Like the children of Israel of old we have to stand our ground and realize that the LORD is still protecting us each day. Our world is going in the direction the LORD knew it would but HE is still protecting HIS people until the time of the second coming of Christ.
CHALLENGE: We need to accept God’s plan for the future as it is told in the Bible and realize that we are living in a time when our witness is still necessary. Be the witness the LORD wants you to be until Jesus returns.
: 10 That they may offer sacrifices of sweet savor to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons. (6739 “pray” [tsala] means to address a deity or say a prayer, often to make a request, make intercession, to incline, or to entreat.)
DEVOTION: Here is a heathen king that wants the Temple rebuild and God’s people to pray for him and his family. He feels that it doesn’t hurt to have all the nations under his control praying to the gods they worship because it helps to keep him on the throne of the nation. It is not so much that he believes in the ONE TRUE God but that he wants all the peoples who are under his control to be praying for him.
This is a command of the LORD for us today. We are to be praying for those who are the leaders of our nation. Our first prayer for the leaders should be for their salvation. We need to be a witness to those in authority over us.
Our prayers should begin on a local level and then on a state level and then on a national level. Our prayers mean that we are being obedient to the LORD and HE can bless us because of our obedience.
Even when we think that the leaders are not the right people to lead we find throughout the Bible that it is God who places each leader of every nation in the place of leadership. It is hard to believe at times but this is what the Bible teaches and HE is the one who will put leaders in place and take them down. HE has a plan and HE is working HIS plan throughout history.
Our responsibility is to accept what HE is doing and pray for those HE allows in leadership. It is never easy to be obedient but this is what we should be doing on a regular basis.
CHALLENGE: We have the responsibility to pray for those in leadership even if they are not followers of the LORD. HE wants us to remember them in prayer especially for their salvation.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 19 And the children of the captivity kept the Passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month. (1473 “ captivity” [gowlah] means captive, removing, exile, an act of dwelling in a country other than one’s native land, migration, carried away or deportation.)
DEVOTION: Here are the children who have been in captivity in another country that was not their own celebrating the first time in their life a feast that the LORD wanted them to celebrate each year.
They were probably told by their grandparents and parents about the first time the nation entered the Promised Land after spending over four hundred years in Egypt with the later part being a time of slavery to the Egyptians.
Now they had been in the nation of Babylon and Assyria for all of their life and they were seeing the Promised Land for the first time. It had to be quite an event for them to witness this feast.
When we inform our children of the times when the church was the primary place people went to worship the LORD it would surprise our children and grandchildren that people used to flock to church to honor the LORD. Some came only because everyone was going to church. They probably saw examples of it on television programs and in movies but never saw it in person.
Today very few attended church, in a community. Some attend churches that don’t preach from the Bible each Sunday. Some attend churches that do but many of them are just people who do it because others are doing it with no real commitment to the Word of God or Jesus Christ.
There is a commentator who claims to be an Evangelical Christian whose actions and words are not approved by the Word of God. If we make a claim to worship the LORD it has to be genuine which means that it affects not only our Sunday but the rest of our week.
This celebration was a genuine time when the people came to worship and those who led the worship sanctified themselves before the LORD. We need to sanctify ourselves before the LORD each day to genuinely worship the LORD and this can only be done through our prayer life with confession and listening to the Holy Spirit regarding our lifestyle.
CHALLENGE: Training our children to genuinely worship the LORD takes instruction and example. Our home life and public live have to match our statement of belief.
: 22 And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the LORD had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel. (8057 “joy” [simchah] means mirth, gladness, happy issue, pleasure, or glad result.)
DEVOTION: In the work of the LORD there needs to be individuals who encourage others to properly serve the LORD. Men like Haggai and Zechariah encouraged the people to build the Temple. They did it by telling the people exactly what they were doing wrong and how to properly serve the LORD. They didn’t pull any punches. They told them what the LORD expected and they did it.
Darius wanted to find out the truth regarding what was commanded by his predecessor regarding the Temple. He found what he was looking for and commanded the enemies of Israel to provide all the necessary supplies to complete the project of building of the Temple under penalty of death. The enemies of Israel provided what was needed.
With all the supplies needed provided they finished the building of the Temple in short order. They dedicated the Temple to the LORD. They offered sacrifices for dedication and for sin. The priests and Levites were set in order. Worship of the LORD was restored to Israel.
Gladness is one characteristic of those who follow the LORD. God’s people are to be glad when they are in proper relationship with the LORD. God wants them to be glad. God gives them gladness.
In this book of Ezra this word is mentioned many times in relation to the people of God. Here they are having a pleasurable time with the completion of the temple and the celebration of the feasts of the LORD. Part of the gladness comes from the LORD working on the hearts of heathen kings.
With this gladness their hands were strengthened to do the work of the Temple. The people were willing to cleanse themselves. The people were willing to separate themselves from the filthiness of the people of the land who worshiped other gods.
When we come together to worship the LORD, we should have this type of gladness. We are meeting with the KING OF KINGS and the LORD OF LORDS as part of HIS family. Are we part of a happy family? Are we feasting together with HIS children during are times of fellowship?
CHALLENGE: Come before the LORD with gladness. Worship with all of our being. Encourage others to worship the LORD in a happy way. Keep from looking like you have sucked sour lemons while you are worshiping the LORD!!!
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Darius wants Israelites to pray for him and his childrenverse 10
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
House of Godverses 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 22
Offered sacrificesverses 3, 17
Golden and silver vesselsverse 5
Taken out of House of God
Templeverse 5
Burnt offeringsverse 9
Priestsverses 9, 16-20
Purified themselves
Sacrifices of sweet savorverse 10
House finishedverse 15
Adar- third day – month Adar
Sixth year of Darius
Levitesverses 16-20
Purified themselves
Dedication of house of Godverses 16-18
Offering of dedicationverse 17
Sin offeringverse 17
Service of Godverse 18
Kept the Passover – 1/14verses 19, 20
Feast of unleavened breadverse 22
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Haggaiverse 14
Zechariahverse 14
Commandmentverse 14
Book of Mosesverse 18
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign)verses 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, 21, 22
House of Godverses 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 16, 17, 22
God of heavenverse 10
God of Israelverses 14, 22
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)verses 21, 22
LORD God of Israelverse 21
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Darius the kingverses 1-15
Wrote a decree to be followed
Babylonverse 1
Achmetha – in a palace of the Medesverse 2
Cyrus the kingverses 3, 14
Instructions found regarding Temple
Nebuchadnezzarverse 5
Tatnai – governor beyond the riververses 6, 13
Shetharboznaiverses 6, 13
Apharsachitesverse 6
Tribute given to build house of Godverse 8
Not to hinder the work of Templeverse 8
Darius wants prayer for him and his familyverse 10
Judgment given to those who hindered the workverse 11
Commandment of Cyrus – Darius – Artaxerxesverse 14
King of Assyria –strengthened their hands verse 22
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Hindering workverse 8
Alter the words of Dariusverse 11
Hanging penalty for altering wordverse 11
Sinverse 17
Filthiness of the heathenverse 21
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Prayverse 10
Prospered through the prophesying of prophetsverse 14
Joyverses 16, 22
Serviceverse 18
Purifiedverse 20
Separatedverse 21
Seek the LORDverse 21
Strengthverse 22
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Jerusalemverse 3
Jewsverse 7
Elders of the Jews builtverses 8, 14
Prophet: Haggaiverse 14
prophesying
Prophet: Zechariahverse 14
prophesying
Temple finished: Month Adar 3rd day 6th yearverse 15
Children of Israelverses 16, 21
Dedication of the Templeverse 16
Set the priests in their divisionsverse 17
Levites in their coursesverse 17
Tribes of Israelverse 17
Passover kept – 1/14verses 19-21
Feast of Unleavened Bread: seven daysverse 22
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
21 The returning exiles were not uncompromising separatists; they were willing to accept those who would separate themselves from the syncretism of the foreigners introduced into the area by the Assyrians.
“The unclean practices” (ṭumʾāh) are literally “uncleanness,” “filthiness.” The antonym of ṭāhēr is ṭāmēʾ (“to be unclean”). It and its derivatives occur 279 times in the OT, about 64 percent in Leviticus and Numbers and 15 percent in Ezekiel. Idolatry defiled the land (Ezek 36:18; cf. Gen 35:2). The Lord asked Judah, “How can you say, ‘I am not defiled, I have not run after the Baals’?” (Jer 2:23). Israel had been rendered unclean by the idols she had made (Ezek 22:4; 36:25). (Yamauchi, E. (1988). Ezra-Nehemiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 647). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
The joy of remembering (Ezra 6:19–22). Passover was just a few weeks later and the Jews gathered in their families to remember how God had delivered them from bondage in Egypt (Ex. 12). Each year, the Jewish men were required to make three trips to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. During their years in exile, how the hearts of the Jews must have yearned for the day when once again they were free to go to their Holy City and worship God.
The leaders invited all the Jews and Jewish proselytes to share in the Passover, even those who couldn’t prove their lineage. As long as the males were circumcised (Ex. 12:43–49) and had separated themselves from the paganism of the people of the land, they were welcome. It speaks well of the Jewish remnant that they reached out in this way and didn’t try to establish an exclusive “holier than thou” fellowship.
The temple had been dedicated, and now the people were dedicating themselves to the Lord. During the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Jews had to remove all yeast (leaven) from their dwellings, a picture of personal purification. To a Jew, yeast was a symbol of evil; so Passover was a time to put away all evil from their lives. What good is a dedicated temple if you don’t have a dedicated people? Once again, Jewish worship would take place in the Holy City in a restored temple dedicated to the Lord. No wonder the people were rejoicing! And it was all because of the faithfulness of God. He had “turned the heart of the king” to assist the people, and now the work was completed (Prov. 21:1).
No matter what our circumstances may be, we can trust God to be faithful. “Great is Thy faithfulness” isn’t just a verse to quote (Lam. 3:23) or a song to sing. It’s a glorious truth to believe and to act upon, no matter how difficult the situation in life might be.
“I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; with my mouth I will make known Your faithfulness to all generations” (Ps. 89:1, nkjv). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Be heroic (pp. 33–34). Colorado Springs, CO: ChariotVictor Pub.)
6:19–21. Beginning with verse 19 the text is again in Hebrew (4:8–6:18 are in Aramaic). On the 14th day of the first month (April 515 b.c.) the Passover was celebrated. The temple had been completed in the 12th month (Adar; v. 15) and fittingly, in the very next month, the Passover was reinaugurated. This was the first time in 70 years that the people partook of this feast which commemorated their forefathers’ release from Egyptian bondage (cf. Ex. 12:1–14; Lev. 23:5).
The Israelite returnees ate the Passover with all who had separated themselves from the unclean practices of their Gentile neighbors. This second group might have been: (a) Gentiles living in Judah (cf. Num. 9:14), or more likely (b) Jews who had remained in the land and had defiled themselves by practices that went against the Law, and then repented of those sins, thereby “separating” themselves. (Martin, J. A. (1985). Ezra. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 664). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
6:21 the impurity of the nations. These were proselytes to Judaism, who had confessed their spiritual uncleanness before the Lord, been circumcised, and renounced idolatry to keep the Passover (v. 22). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ezr 6:21). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
Ver. 21. And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, &c.] The tribes of Judah and Benjamin, with some of the ten tribes mixed with them: and all such as had separated themselves unto them, from the filthiness of the Heathen of the land, to seek the Lord God of Israel, did eat; such of the Gentiles in the dominions of Babylon, and came with the Jews from thence, who were enlightened into the knowledge and worship of the true God, and not only renounced their idolatry, here called filthiness, but were circumcised, and embraced the religion of the Jews, and so were proselytes of righteousness, as they call them; or otherwise they would not have been allowed to eat of the passover, as they did, Exod. 12:48. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 3, p. 116). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
16–22. How beautiful and truly interesting is it, to discover, more or less, through the Bible, from the first forming of the church on our fathers’ coming out of Egypt, even to the days of the Lord Jesus, how this great typical feast of the passover was kept and most religiously observed. Surely nothing upon earth can more decidedly prove the vast and infinite importance of the thing signified, when the sign was thus preserved with such solemnity of holiness from generation to generation. Think, Reader, I charge you, how vast, how infinitely momentous must be the passover of Jesus’s blood, when through so many ages the shadow of it was thus religiously observed with the most scrupulous exactness. Oh! sir! how shall we escape, how shall any man escape, who wilfully neglects so great salvation? Heb. 2:3. (Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: 1 Kings–Esther (Vol. 3, pp. 607–608). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
So I’ve got to tell you that if you do not worship God seven days a week, you do not worship Him on one day a week. There is no such thing known in heaven as Sunday worship unless it is accompanied by Monday worship and Tuesday worship and so on…. We come into God’s house and say, “The Lord is in His holy temple, let us all kneel before Him.” Very nice. I think it’s nice to start a service that way once in a while. But when any of you men enter your office Monday morning at 9 o’clock, if you can’t walk into that office and say, “The Lord is in my office, let all the world be silent before Him,” then you are not worshiping the Lord on Sunday. If you can’t worship Him on Monday you didn’t worship Him on Sunday. If you don’t worship Him on Saturday you are not in very good shape to worship Him on Sunday. Tozer on Worship and Entertainment, 9,24. “Lord, permeate my whole life with a spirit of worship–all week long, every day. Amen.”
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The Dark Valleys Psalms 37 |
LIMITATION TO THE PROMISE
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
We now note what we might call the limitation to this promise. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” In the original that is emphasized by placing “to them that love God” at the commencement of the sentence. “We know that to them that love God all things work together for good.”
The promise is definitely limited. It is not universal as to the people included. The popular idea of the love of God is the very antithesis of this. That idea says that He is regarded as promising to bless all in exactly the same way. That He does so in His providential dealings with mankind in general is true. But following that, there is a great fundamental division and distinction everywhere in the Bible between the saved and the unsaved, between those who have entered into a covenant relationship with God in salvation through Jesus Christ and those who have not, or, to use the words of our text, “those who are the called” and those who have not been called.
Salvation is the result of the operation of special grace, and there are special promises to those who have received this grace. The gospel has but one word to speak to those who do not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. It is to exhort them to repent and to believe. It holds out to them no special promises until they have done so. Indeed it threatens them with disaster. It does not tell them that “All things work together for good” for the reason that it tells them that they are “condemned already.” Special promises and comforts and consolations are not to be obtained directly. They are the consequences and results of salvation. They are offered only to those who “love God.”
A Thought to Ponder
Salvation is the result of the operation of special grace.
(From Why Does God Allow War? pp. 119-121, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
A Debtor to Grace
“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” (Romans 7:18)
All too often we find ourselves as frustrated as the apostle Paul in that we often know to do the right thing, to abstain from a particular sin, but we quickly fall right back into that sin. We must daily recognize our sinful habits and determine in our hearts, with strength from the Holy Spirit, to withstand the sin, to overcome temptation. “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin” (Romans 7:25). The writer of “Come Thou Fount” had the same frustration.
O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.
Scripture tells us we are secure in Christ, never to be separated. Christ informed His disciples that “my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:27-29). We are safe in Christ’s hand surrounded by the Father’s hand. And then the transaction is sealed by “the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30).
Take courage. We are secure in Him. (JDM, The Institute for Creation Research)
The Joy God Provides
A cheerful heart is good medicine. Proverbs 17:22
When Marcia’s out in public, she always tries to smile at others. It’s her way of reaching out to people who might need to see a friendly face. Most of the time, she gets a genuine smile in return. But during a time when Marcia was mandated to wear a facemask, she realized that people could no longer see her mouth, thus no one could see her smile. It’s sad, she thought, but I’m not going to stop. Maybe they’ll see in my eyes that I’m smiling.
There’s actually a bit of science behind that idea. The muscles for the corners of the mouth and the ones that make the eyes crinkle can work in tandem. It’s called a Duchenne smile, and it has been described as “smiling with the eyes.”
Proverbs reminds us that “a cheerful look brings joy to the heart” and “a cheerful heart is good medicine” (15:30 nlt ; 17:22). Quite often, the smiles of God’s children stem from the supernatural joy we possess. It’s a gift from God that regularly spills out into our lives, as we encourage people who are carrying heavy burdens or share with those who are looking for answers to life’s questions. Even when we experience suffering, our joy can still shine through.
When life seems dark, choose joy. Let your smile be a window of hope reflecting God’s love and the light of His presence in your life.
(By Cindy Hess Kasper, Our Daily Bread)
Sol Ibarra writes (Mexico): His Word and His promises bring calm to my heart. His testimony of faithfulness in my life assures me His faithfulness in the future. Thank you God for setting your eyes on me and giving me your grace and forgiveness!!!!
The night the Titanic sank in 1912 on April 14th, 1,528 people went into the frigid waters. John Harper, after putting his only daughter on a lifeboat, was seen swimming frantically to people in the water leading them to Jesus before the hypothermia became fatal. Rev. Harper swam up to one young man who had climbed up on a piece of debris. Rev. Harper asked him between breaths, “Are you saved?” The young man replied that he was not.
Harper then tried to lead him to Christ only to have the young man who was near shock, reply no. John Harper then took off his life jacket and threw it to the man and said “Here then, you need this more than I do…” and swam away to other people. A few minutes later Harper swam back to the young man and succeeded in leading him to salvation. Of the 1,528 people that went into the water that night, six were rescued by the lifeboats. One of them was this young man on the debris. Four years later, at a survivors meeting, this young man stood up and in tears recounted how John Harper had led him to Christ. Rev. Harper had tried to swim back to help other people, yet because of the intense cold, had grown too weak to swim. His last words before going under in the frigid waters were “Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.” Does Hollywood remember this man? No. Oh well, no matter. This servant of God did what he had to do. While other people were trying to buy their way onto the lifeboats and were selfishly trying to save their own lives, John Harper gave up his life so that others could be saved.
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