Ezra 7 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GRACE DELIVERED US FROM FEAR

God’s grace delivered us from fear, but how quickly we return. Grace told us we didn’t have to spend our lives looking over our shoulders, but look at us glancing backward. Look at us with guilt on our consciences.

Why are we so quick to revert back to our old ways? Or as Paul candidly wrote, “What a miserable man I am! Who will save me from this body that brings me death?” (Romans 7:24). Simply stated: we are helpless to battle sin alone. Aren’t we glad Paul answered his own question? “I thank God for saving me through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7:25).

The same one who saved us first is there to save us still. Such is the message of grace. You are saved, not because of what you do, but because of what Christ did! And you are special because of whose you are.

Ezra 7

Ezra Arrives

 After all this, Ezra. It was during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia. Ezra was the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the high priest.

6-7 That’s Ezra. He arrived from Babylon, a scholar well-practiced in the Revelation of Moses that the God of Israel had given. Because God’s hand was on Ezra, the king gave him everything he asked for. Some of the Israelites—priests, Levites, singers, temple security guards, and temple slaves—went with him to Jerusalem. It was in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.

8-10 They arrived at Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king’s reign. Ezra had scheduled their departure from Babylon on the first day of the first month; they arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month under the generous guidance of his God. Ezra had committed himself to studying the Revelation of God, to living it, and to teaching Israel to live its truths and ways.

* * *

11 What follows is the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra, priest and scholar, expert in matters involving the truths and ways of God concerning Israel:

12-20 Artaxerxes, King of Kings, to Ezra the priest, a scholar of the Teaching of the God-of-Heaven.

Peace. I hereby decree that any of the people of Israel living in my kingdom who want to go to Jerusalem, including their priests and Levites, may go with you. You are being sent by the king and his seven advisors to carry out an investigation of Judah and Jerusalem in relation to the Teaching of your God that you are carrying with you. You are also authorized to take the silver and gold that the king and his advisors are giving for the God of Israel, whose residence is in Jerusalem, along with all the silver and gold that has been collected from the generously donated offerings all over Babylon, including that from the people and the priests, for The Temple of their God in Jerusalem. Use this money carefully to buy bulls, rams, lambs, and the ingredients for Grain-Offerings and Drink-Offerings and then offer them on the Altar of The Temple of your God in Jerusalem. You are free to use whatever is left over from the silver and gold for what you and your brothers decide is in keeping with the will of your God. Deliver to the God of Jerusalem the vessels given to you for the services of worship in The Temple of your God. Whatever else you need for The Temple of your God you may pay for out of the royal bank.

21-23 I, Artaxerxes the king, have formally authorized and ordered all the treasurers of the land across the Euphrates to give Ezra the priest, scholar of the Teaching of the God-of-Heaven, the full amount of whatever he asks for up to 100 talents of silver, 650 bushels of wheat, and 607 gallons each of wine and olive oil. There is no limit on the salt. Everything the God-of-Heaven requires for The Temple of God must be given without hesitation. Why would the king and his sons risk stirring up his wrath?

24 Also, let it be clear that no one is permitted to impose tribute, tax, or duty on any priest, Levite, singer, temple security guard, temple servant, or any other worker connected with The Temple of God.

25 I authorize you, Ezra, exercising the wisdom of God that you have in your hands, to appoint magistrates and judges so they can administer justice among all the people of the land across the Euphrates who live by the Teaching of your God. Anyone who does not know the Teaching, you teach them.

26 Anyone who does not obey the Teaching of your God and the king must be tried and sentenced at once—death, banishment, a fine, prison, whatever.

Ezra: “I Was Ready to Go”
27-28 Blessed be God, the God-of-Our-Fathers, who put it in the mind of the king to beautify The Temple of God in Jerusalem! Not only that, he caused the king and all his advisors and influential officials actually to like me and back me. My God was on my side and I was ready to go. And I organized all the leaders of Israel to go with me.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Read: Philippians 4:1–9

Closing Appeal for Steadfastness and Unity

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!

2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Final Exhortations
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

INSIGHT
Addressing the believers in Jesus at Philippi, Paul encourages them not to be anxious about anything. The Greek word for anxious (merimnao) means “to be divided or distracted” in one’s thinking. Paul is suggesting that believers in Christ ought not to be pulled in multiple directions—like the doubter described in James 1:6–8. But he doesn’t simply leave the reader to figure out how to do this; he provides two-fold instruction for how to keep our minds focused. The first method for single-mindedness is taking our concerns to God in thankful prayer (Philippians 4:6–7). This will guard our hearts and minds with the peace of Christ. Second, the apostle encourages us to focus our attention on things that are true, pure, lovely, admirable, and praiseworthy (v. 8).

Practice These Things-By Glenn Packiam
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. Philippians 4:9

As I helped my son with his math homework, it became apparent he was less than enthusiastic about doing multiple problems related to the same concept. “I’ve got it, Dad!” he insisted, hoping I would let him out of doing all of his assignment. I then gently explained to him that a concept is just a concept until we learn how to work it out in practice.

Paul wrote about practice to his friends in Philippi. “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice” (Philippians 4:9). He mentions five things: reconciliation—as he urged Euodia and Syntyche to do (vv. 2–3); joy—as he reminded his readers to cultivate (v. 4); gentleness—as he urged them to employ in their relation to the world (v. 5); prayer—as he had modeled for them in person and in writing (vv. 6–7); and focus—as he had shown even in prison (v. 8). Reconciliation, joy, gentleness, prayer, and focus—things we’re called to live out as believers in Jesus. Like any habit, these virtues must be practiced in order to be cultivated.

But the good news of the gospel, as Paul had already told the Philippians, is that “it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (2:13). We’re never practicing in our own power. God will provide what we need (4:19).

What things do you need to practice as you seek to imitate Jesus? How can you practice in the power of the Holy Spirit?

Jesus, give me the grace to practice Your ways by the power of the Holy Spirit. Empower me to live my life in a way that bears the fruit of the Spirit.

Read Filled with the Spirit at DiscoverySeries.org/Q0301.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Being an Example of His Message

Preach the word! —2 Timothy 4:2

We are not saved only to be instruments for God, but to be His sons and daughters. He does not turn us into spiritual agents but into spiritual messengers, and the message must be a part of us. The Son of God was His own message— “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). As His disciples, our lives must be a holy example of the reality of our message. Even the natural heart of the unsaved will serve if called upon to do so, but it takes a heart broken by conviction of sin, baptized by the Holy Spirit, and crushed into submission to God’s purpose to make a person’s life a holy example of God’s message.

There is a difference between giving a testimony and preaching. A preacher is someone who has received the call of God and is determined to use all his energy to proclaim God’s truth. God takes us beyond our own aspirations and ideas for our lives, and molds and shapes us for His purpose, just as He worked in the disciples’ lives after Pentecost. The purpose of Pentecost was not to teach the disciples something, but to make them the incarnation of what they preached so that they would literally become God’s message in the flesh. “…you shall be witnesses to Me…” (Acts 1:8).

Allow God to have complete liberty in your life when you speak. Before God’s message can liberate other people, His liberation must first be real in you. Gather your material carefully, and then allow God to “set your words on fire” for His glory.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Jesus Christ can afford to be misunderstood; we cannot. Our weakness lies in always wanting to vindicate ourselves.
The Place of Help

Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 11-13; Mark 12:1-27

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, March 10, 2021

I Want To Take a Friend - #8913

It was the good old days. The children were little. My wife and I could just decide we were going to go away for the weekend and announce to them where we were going, bundle them into the car and take off. Well, then they got to be teenagers. That got to be a little bit more complicated. Their vote would count a lot more as far as the decision-making process went.

So, let's say, I would decide this wonderful trip that I had planned, and then they would bring up that very familiar teenage issue no matter how good the trip sounded, "How about my friend? I can't be away from my friends!" And then we would hear this strong appeal from them, "I want to take a friend." Well, depending on where you're going, that just might be a tremendous idea.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "I Want To Take a Friend."

Our word for today from the Word of God - John 1. I'm going to begin reading at verse 40: "Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who had heard what John had said about Jesus and had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother, Simon, and tell him, 'We have found the Messiah, that is the Christ!'" And then I love these words: "And he brought him to Jesus."

Andrew's first response was to think of a specific person he wanted to bring to Jesus. So, let me ask you, "Do you have somebody like that?" Andrew had a specific burden for a specific person. It was a burden with a name. It happened to be his brother, Simon. He knew who he wanted to reach.

The problem with our concern for lost people is that often it's kind of general, unfocused, theological, and it's mostly talk and not very much action. Oh, we have a burden for the lost maybe. And it says, "Lord, reach the unsaved. Help the lost wherever they may be and whoever they may be." A burden for the lost, though, usually goes nowhere until it has a name. Andrew knew that. He knew who he wanted to bring to Jesus. So should you! So should I!

I often ask young people to make a list of four names; four people in their world that they think are right now not headed for heaven, but people they want to see in heaven when they get there. Then slowly I would take them through a step-by-step process where I asked them to get it down to one person; the one person that they're most going to look for when they get to heaven. "Oh, man, I hope Kim is here. I hope Bill is here." Who is that person you want to see in heaven?

What happens if you say, "Jesus, is Kim here? Is Bill here?" And He says, "Oh, did you bring him? Did you bring her?" Would you commit yourself to do whatever it takes to share Christ with that friend? Picture yourself holding Jesus in one hand and that friend with the other, and being the one bringing them together. We can't just sit in our little Christian cocoon and allow our love for the lost to be just sterile, general, theological.

Focus your life, focus your influence, focus your prayer, focus your love on one person that God lays on your heart. Pray by name for them every day. Look for open doors; pray for open doors, natural opportunities, to share Christ with them. When my teenagers knew they were going to a special place, they usually wanted to take a friend. Well, you're going to the most special place of all. Who is the friend you want to take with you?

Your life takes on a whole new urgency, a whole new importance, a whole new excitement when you think about heaven and you say to Jesus, "I want to take a friend."