Day: December 27, 2020

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Thought for the Week: James 1-2

Living Out Your Faith

Just as a human body that fails
 to breathe is labelled a dead body,
 so too a faith that fails to breathe
 is labelled  a dead faith. And the
 breath of faith   in the Christian life
 is good works: demonstrating
 concern for the poor, controlling
 the tongue, exhibiting a spirit of
 humility and building up others.

Lord, we will Live Out our Faith:
Consider it pure joy whenever You 
face trials because the testing of
    Your faith produces Perseverance.
  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature & complete,
not lacking anything (Jas 1:2-6).
     What good is it… if someone
 claims    to have faith but has no
deeds?.. Faith by itself, if it is not
 accompanied By Action, is dead.
But someone will say: You have
faith; I have deeds. Show me your
faith without deeds, and I’ll show u
my faith by my Deeds (Jas 2:14-18)
Abraham believed God, and
 God counted him as righteous 
because     of his faith. He was even
called the Friend of God (v23).

Lord, grant us the hallmark of our
faith be the ability to face troubles
with Your perspective in mind.
Grant us Lord the ability to
face troubles with Your grace.
 Help us        to hold on to Your promise
so that when my faith is tested, 
Endurance has a chance to grow,
 and we              will be Complete In You.
In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

Lord, we realise we are to show
our faith by the good Deeds we do.
Help us Be Obedient in trusting You;
for You Lord want believers not only
to hear the truth but also to do it.
Grant us grace to love, to serve and to seek ways of Living Out Our Faith
for they are evidence of true faith.
Prompt us do acts of kindness;
and whilst we may mess up at times,
help us learn from mistakes and
move on. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Lord, we want to be Your Friend.
Grant us faith that works
its way outward in our lives.
Grant us faith that will cause
us to do what we believe in.
 Help us to be more like You, know
Your purpose & be united with You.
Let our faith and actions draw us
closer to You as a Friend. Amen.

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Meditating on Ezra 9-10

Returning to Holy God (Dec 27)

The good news of Ezra’s arrival at
Jerusalem is tempered by the bad
news of mixed marriages in the
community. Jews are permitting
their sons to marry heathen women
from neighbouring territories. Even
the priests, Levites and civic leaders
are involved – a condition which
the law of God condemns & which
Ezra finds intolerable. The process
of righting these wrongs is painful,
difficult and time consuming. But
even those “rainy skies” cannot
dampen Israel’s renewed commit-
ment to personal & national purity.

The urging of Israel’s leaders
motivated the people to complete
the temple. Over the years, they
intermarried with idol worshippers
and adopted their pagan practices.
Their faith, tested and revived,
also led them to remove these sins
from their lives. Indeed faith led
them to complete the temple and
to remove sin from their society.
As we trust God with our hearts
and minds, we must also act by
completing our daily responsibilities.
It’s not enough to say we believe; we
must make changes God requires.
Lord, we Consecrate to You:
Lord, we Confess & Return to You.
Lord, we Seek Your Restoration,
In Jesus’ precious name we pray.

Lord, we Consecrate to You:
The people of Israel including the
priests and the Levites have not
kept themselves separate from the
neighbouring peoples with their
detestable practices… They have
taken… their daughters as wives…
And the leaders and officials have
led the way in this unfaithfulness.
When I heard this, I tore my tunic…
pulled hair…and sat down appalled..
Then at the evening sacrifice, I rose
from my self-a basement, with my
tunic and cloak torn, and fell on
my knees… and prayed: O my God,
I am too ashamed and disgraced to
lift up my face to You (Ezra 9:1-6).
Lord, like Ezra’s, we express shame
for sins, fear for the consequences
and desire that the people will
come to their senses and repent.
For even when we sin in worst way,
we can turn to You God with prayer
of our unworthiness & repentance.
We look to Your mercy and trust You
God for pardon and peace. Amen.

Lord, we Confess & Return to You:
Now while Ezra was praying and
while he was confessing, weeping
and bowing down before the house
of God, a very large assembly of
men, women and children gathering..
from Israel; for the people wept very
bitterly… Then Ezra the priest stood
up and said to them: You have
transgressed and have taken pagan
wives, adding to the guilt of Israel.
Now therefore, make confession
to the Lord God… and do His will;
separate yourselves from the
peoples of the land and from
the pagan wives (Ezra 10:1,10-12)
Father God, thank You as believers
in Christ, our sins are forgiven; for
His death cleansed us from all sin.
Confession is also recommitting
ourselves to do God’s will and to
renounce any act of disobedience.
And confession inevitably leads
one to repentance, turning away
from sin and asking God for
fresh power to live for Him. Amen.

Lord, we Seek Your Restoration:
The book of Ezra opens with God’s
temple in ruins and the people of
Judah being captive in Babylon.
Ezra tells of the return of God’s
people, the rebuilding of the
temple and the restoration of
the sacrificial worship system.
Similarly God is able to restore and
rebuild the lives of people today.
Merciful Lord, Thank You that no
one is so far away from You that
he or she cannot be restored; for
repentance is all that is required.
And Thank You Lord that no matter
how far we have strayed or how
long it has been since we have
worshipped You God, You are able
to restore our relationship to Him
and rebuild our lives. In Jesus’ name.