Day: April 7, 2024

God Is Faithful & In Control

After 70 years of exile, God Fulfils
His Promise to return His people to
their homeland. Under His direction,
King Cyrus of Persia now rules
Babylonia, and the Jews are free
to go home. The first group of
returnees rebuild the temple in
Jerusalem (Ezra 1-6). 58 years later,
Ezra leads a second group back to
Jerusalem to rebuild the spiritual
character of the people (Ezra 7-10).

Lord, we Trust the world In Yr Hands:
To fulfil the word of the Lord spoken
by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the
heart of Cyrus to make proclamatn:
Thus says Cyrus king of Persia:
All the kingdoms of the earth the
Lord God of heaven has given me.
And He has commanded me to build
Him a house at Jerusalem(Ezra1:1-2)
God stirred the hearts of the priests
and Levites… to go to Jerusalem to
rebuild the Temple of the Lord (v5).
So a total of 42,360 pple returned
to Judah… and each leader gave as
much as he could towar rebuilding
of God’s Temple (Ezra 2:64-69).
With praise and thanksgiving
they sang to the Lord: He is good;
His love to Israel endures forever.
And all the people have a great
shout of praise to the Lord,
because the foundation of the
house of the Lord was laid (Ez3:11)

Lord, You enabled Cyrus to conquer
the Babylonians and guided Cyrus
to allow Judah return to their home
-land to fulfil Jeremiah’s prophecy.
Remind us Lord to trust that You
are actively at work even when
we may not be able to see how.
Lord, stir up people to come to You
for that’s where true security can
be found. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Lord, by returning to their home
land of Israel fr Babylon, the Jews
showed their faith in Your promise
to restore them as a people.
Trust Father God that You show
mercy to every generation; and
compassionately restores Your pple.
No matter how difficult our present
“captivity,” we are never far from
Your love and mercy. For You will
restore us when we return to You.
Lord, we Trust You Are In Control &
we’ll Not Fear but Praise You. Amen

Lord, You are Almighty, far above
all things; and Your presence is
greater than anything we fear. For
Faith in You and in Your Word will
conquer all challenges in our lives.
Help us Lord when we struggle
or doubt; to make praise the first
response to fearful situations.
Help us not to dwell on problems
but instead praise Yr mighty name.
And as we praise and thank You
Help us by taking away our fear
and instead give us peace. Amen.

Adoring God thru Thanks & Praise

The purpose of the book of Ezra
is show God’s faithfulness and
the way He kept His promise to
restore His people to their land;
whilst for Nehemiah is to record
the third return to Jerusalem after
captivity, telling how the walls were
rebuilt and the people were renewed
in their faith; and for Esther is to
demonstrate God’s sovereignty
and His loving care for His people.

On Monday, we learn from Ezra 1-3
that God Is Faithful & In Control.
On Tuesday, we learn from Ezra 8
that God Hears Earnest Prayers.
On Wed, we learn from Neh 1/2
that God Puts His Word In Yr Heart.
On Thu, we learn from Neh 8-10
that God Strengthens & Gracious.
On Friday, we learn from Esther 6/7
that Almighty God Is In Control.
On Sat, we learn from Esther 8/9
that God’s Mighty Deeds Spur Us.

Let us humble ourselves and pray
and seek His face. Help us O God
be Christ’s disciples who Adore You:
For You Put Your Word in our hearts;
and You Hear our earnest prayers;
For You are worthy of our Praise
as You are Faithful and Gracious;
For You are worthy of our Thanks as
You Strenghten,In Control & Spur us.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.