Hearing God In Ezra 1-3 (April 7)

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.

Thought for the Week: 1st Chr 14

Inquire & Listen Before Acting

The ark of covenant is mentioned
more than 40 times in Chronicles;
and the events surrounding the
journey of the ark to Jerusalem
consume 3 full chapters in 13-15.
The lesson is clear: The right action
must be done with the right motives
and carried out in the Right Way.
When the ark is at last installed
in Jerusalem, David then leads
the people in national celebration.

Lord, we’ll Inquire & Hear You:
The Philistines had arrived in the
Valley of Rephaim and raided it.
So David ASKED God: Should
I go out to fight the Philistines?
Will You hand them over to me?
The Lord replied: YES, go ahead.
I will give you the victory.
So David and his troops went
to Baal-Perazim and defeated
the Philistines there (1Chr 14:9-11).
But after a while, the Philistines
returned and raided the valley again.
And once again David ASKED God
what to do. Do Not Attack them
straight on, God replied. Instead,
Circle around behind them and
attack them Near the balsam trees.
When you HEAR a sound like
marching feet in the tops of the
balsom trees, Attack (v13-15).
So David DID what God commanded
and he struck down the Philistine
army all the way fr Gibeon to Gezer.
So David’s fame spread everywhere
and the Lord caused all the nations
to fear David (1 Chron 14:16-17).

Lord, I ask You concerning the
situation I am facing for I don’t
want to run ahead of Your plan.
Lead me follow David’s example to
seek Your wisdom first in the matter.
For only then can I be truly sure
that I will be following Your plan.
Guide my actions O Lord by Your 
wisdom & Your instruction. Amen.

Lord, You know everything whilst
I don’t know the answer to the 
questions of what, how and when.
So Lord I need to learn to Seek Your
advice in life’s important decisions.
Rescue me Lord from turmoil and
lead me to regularly ask questions
beginning with: Should I Lord. And
Lead me down the path to recovery
into a life of purpose & destiny.Amen

Lord, pray that I will always inquire
of You first before taking action.
For I can’t assume that just because
You had instructed in a certain way
before, that You want the same way
each time with a similar situation.
And I don’t want to mistakenly think
of having all the answers when
only You have all the answers to life.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.