March 18, 2010 (Musings)

Again, I have fallen behind in reading and posting. I finished Malachi the other day, but just didn't write anything yet. I'm still sick, and although being sick makes you not feel like doing stuff, in looking back over this past week, I wasted a lot of time. It's so much easier to 'veg' with mindless TV than it is to seek God. I looked back over my log and I started the Old Testament November 7th. So in about 4 1/2 months I've read through the whole Old Testament, which leaves 1 1/2 months to finish the new. I'm looking forward to the New Testament, but in a way am 'hating' to leave the Old, because I feel I'm still not implementing what I have learned. I tell Cooper all the time, "It doesn't matter what you know, it matters what you apply". And the words of the prophets continue to ring in my ears. God is speaking to us today. I did a search (couldn't remember where it was) on a verse that I think of often...here it is:

^{2 Chronicles 16:7} At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa and told him, “Because you have put your trust in the king of Aram instead of in the Lord your God, you missed your chance to destroy the army of the king of Aram. ⁸ Don’t you remember what happened to the Ethiopians and Libyans and their vast army, with all of their chariots and charioteers? At that time you relied on the Lord, and he handed them over to you. ⁹ The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. What a fool you have been! From now on you will be at war.”

What 'chances' am I missing? The last time I 'mused', there was a verse, speaking of God that said "You did what You promised because You are always true to Your word." So, is God searching the earth to find hearts that are fully committed to Him? I think He is. Is mine? Partially, not fully. If I was fully committed to Him would I waste so much time with mindless activities? No. And perhaps putting this in writing will help me to choose wisely. What example am I living for my son? Yes, he sees me do my quiet time most every morning, he sees me serve others, he sees me pray with people over the phone. But how does he see me using my 'free' time? I pray he sees a difference starting today. It's never too late to make a change. At the women's retreat last weekend the speaker challenged us to create new "I am" statements. As I typed that, I remembered that Jesus used that phrase often. I did a search on that and came up with the following:

John 6:35
Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

John 8:12
Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

John 8:18
I am one witness, and my Father who sent me is the other.”

John 8:23
Jesus continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not.

John 9:5
But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”

1. John 10:7
   so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.
   
2. John 10:9
   Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.

1. John 10:11
   “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.
   
2. John 10:14
   “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me,

John 10:36
why do you call it blasphemy when I say, ‘I am the Son of God’? After all, the Father set me apart and sent me into the world.

John 11:25
Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.

John 14:6
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

John 14:20
When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.

1. John 15:1
   “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener.
   
2. John 15:5
   “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

John 16:32
Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me.

John 20:21
Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”

Revelation 1:8
“I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”

Revelation 1:18
I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.

Revelation 3:11
I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown.

Revelation 21:6
And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.

Revelation 22:7
“Look, I am coming soon! Blessed are those who obey the words of prophecy written in this book. ”

Revelation 22:12
“Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds.

Revelation 22:13
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

Revelation 22:16
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne. I am the bright morning star.”

Revelation 22:20
He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!”Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

Jesus knew who He was, and He knew what His purpose was. That governed how He lived. So who am I?
I am not of this world, because Jesus has changed me.
I am not alone, because Jesus is in me and the Father is with me.
I am saved to serve and to make a difference in this world.
I am fully committed to God.
And as I said to Jesus this morning, "I am Yours."

I will try to keep that last two "I am" statements constantly before me. Knowing that I am His and that I am fully committed to God should affect my actions. I am no longer of this world. This world's attractions should no longer have their pull on me. I am not alone. The Spirit of God lives within me. I don't need to, and can't, live this Christian life on my own. I am different. I am listening to God. I am aware of His words. I am a servant of God, waiting for His instructions.

"I am" statements are powerful statements. I am going to print them off and place them on my mirror. I am going to make wise choices. And now to do what I say I am going to do. How about you?

March 16, 2010 (Nehemiah 8-13, Psalm 126)

I've heard the following verse many times, but never remembered where it came from:

^8:10 And Nehemiah continued, ......Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”

Chapter 9 tells of the spiritual preparation of the people. Again, it tells of them fasting and praying. If you think church services these days are long, how about this?

3 They remained standing in place for three hours while the Book of the Law of the Lord their God was read aloud to them. Then for three more hours they confessed their sins and worshiped the Lord their God.

And then Nehemiah recounts the past to the people:

⁶ “You alone are the Lord. You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve them all, and the angels of heaven worship you.
⁷ “You are the Lord God, who chose Abram and brought him from Ur of the Chaldeans and renamed him Abraham. ⁸ When he had proved himself faithful, you made a covenant with him to give him and his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites. And you have done what you promised, for you are always true to your word.

The following is quite long, but there is wisdom in the words if we will listen:

¹⁶ “But our ancestors were proud and stubborn, and they paid no attention to your commands. ¹⁷ They refused to obey and did not remember the miracles you had done for them. Instead, they became stubborn and appointed a leader to take them back to their slavery in Egypt! But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them, ¹⁸ even when they made an idol shaped like a calf and said, ‘This is your god who brought you out of Egypt!’ They committed terrible blasphemies.
¹⁹ “But in your great mercy you did not abandon them to die in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud still led them forward by day, and the pillar of fire showed them the way through the night. ²⁰ You sent your good Spirit to instruct them, and you did not stop giving them manna from heaven or water for their thirst. ²¹ For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell!
²² “Then you helped our ancestors conquer kingdoms and nations, and you placed your people in every corner of the land. They took over the land of King Sihon of Heshbon and the land of King Og of Bashan. ²³ You made their descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and brought them into the land you had promised to their ancestors.
²⁴ “They went in and took possession of the land. You subdued whole nations before them. Even the Canaanites, who inhabited the land, were powerless! Your people could deal with these nations and their kings as they pleased. ²⁵ Our ancestors captured fortified cities and fertile land. They took over houses full of good things, with cisterns already dug and vineyards and olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate until they were full and grew fat and enjoyed themselves in all your blessings.
²⁶ “But despite all this, they were disobedient and rebelled against you. They turned their backs on your Law, they killed your prophets who warned them to return to you, and they committed terrible blasphemies. ²⁷ So you handed them over to their enemies, who made them suffer. But in their time of trouble they cried to you, and you heard them from heaven. In your great mercy, you sent them liberators who rescued them from their enemies.
²⁸ “But as soon as they were at peace, your people again committed evil in your sight, and once more you let their enemies conquer them. Yet whenever your people turned and cried to you again for help, you listened once more from heaven. In your wonderful mercy, you rescued them many times!
²⁹ “You warned them to return to your Law, but they became proud and obstinate and disobeyed your commands. They did not follow your regulations, by which people will find life if only they obey. They stubbornly turned their backs on you and refused to listen. ³⁰ In your love, you were patient with them for many years. You sent your Spirit, who warned them through the prophets. But still they wouldn’t listen! So once again you allowed the peoples of the land to conquer them. ³¹ But in your great mercy, you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are!
³² “And now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of unfailing love, do not let all the hardships we have suffered seem insignificant to you. Great trouble has come upon us and upon our kings and leaders and priests and prophets and ancestors—all of your people—from the days when the kings of Assyria first triumphed over us until now. ³³ Every time you punished us you were being just. We have sinned greatly, and you gave us only what we deserved. ³⁴ Our kings, leaders, priests, and ancestors did not obey your Law or listen to the warnings in your commands and laws. ³⁵ Even while they had their own kingdom, they did not serve you, though you showered your goodness on them. You gave them a large, fertile land, but they refused to turn from their wickedness.
³⁶ “So now today we are slaves in the land of plenty that you gave our ancestors for their enjoyment! We are slaves here in this good land. ³⁷ The lush produce of this land piles up in the hands of the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They have power over us and our livestock. We serve them at their pleasure, and we are in great misery.”

And so it is with us. God is merciful and patient, and only asks us to love and serve Him in return for all His mercies.

March 13, 2010 (Nehemiah 1-7)

Well, the title is 'March 13th', when in actuality, today is March 16th. I read this passage on the 13th, but am just now updating the blog. I am not sick very often, thankfully, and am realizing how much I take for granted. Back to Nehemiah....

Again, this book starts off with Nehemiah hearing that things were not going well in Jerusalem and he responded by sitting down and weeping. Verse 4 says that "In fact, for days I mourned, fasted and prayed to the God of heaven." Just this is enough to bring conviction. Am I willing to mourn, fast and pray for others? God, help me to be a Nehemiah. Here was his prayer:

“O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, ⁶ listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned! ⁷ We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses.
⁸ “Please remember what you told your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations. ⁹ But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.’
¹⁰ “The people you rescued by your great power and strong hand are your servants. ¹¹ O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.” In those days I was the king’s cup-bearer.

Nehemiah knew God was in control. When he approached the king, the king asked him what was troubling him. Nehemiah told him and then the king asked how he could help. I love what the Bible says next:

2:4 With a prayer to the God of heaven, ⁵ I replied,

Before he replied, I think he said to himself "God help me". If only I would remember to do the same.

Twice in chapter 2 Nehemiah tells of how the king granted his requests "because the gracious hand of God was on me." He knew that it was ultimately God, and not the king, that was blessing him. He was quick to give the glory to God.

As they were rebuilding the wall, there were some who came to mock the work they were doing. Here was Nehemiah's response:

^4:4 Then I prayed, “Hear us, our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land! ⁵ Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked you to anger here in front ofthe builders.”

He didn't respond to them, he took his concerns to God.

⁸ They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into confusion. ⁹ But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves.

But they didn't just pray, they also worked and guarded the city.

As the attacks continued and the people weakened, this is how Nehemiah encouraged them:

¹⁴ Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!”

There is a 'time to work' and a 'time to rest'. Nehemiah knew when it was 'time to work':

²¹ We worked early and late, from sunrise to sunset. And half the men were always on guard. ²² I also told everyone living outside the walls to stay in Jerusalem. That way they and their servants could help with guard duty at night and work during the day. ²³ During this time, none of us—not I, nor my relatives, nor my servants, nor the guards who were with me—ever took off our clothes. We carried our weapons with us at all times, even when we went for water.

As I read the following section, I thought of our 'leaders', and how few of them would be willing to act as Nehemiah does in the following section. But there is a key verse in there that tells us why he did what he did. Which I think shows us the reason today why we have the issues we do:

^5:14 For the entire twelve years that I was governor of Judah—from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of the reign of King Artaxerxes —neither I nor my officials drew on our official food allowance. ¹⁵ The former governors, in contrast, had laid heavy burdens on the people, demanding a daily ration of food and wine, besides forty pieces of silver. Even their assistants took advantage of the people. But because I feared God, I did not act that way.

¹⁶ I also devoted myself to working on the wall and refused to acquire any land. And I required all my servants to spend time working on the wall. ¹⁷ I asked for nothing, even though I regularly fed 150 Jewish officials at my table, besides all the visitors from other lands! ¹⁸ The provisions I paid for each day included one ox, six choice sheep or goats, and a large number of poultry. And every ten days we needed a large supply of all kinds of wine. Yet I refused to claim the governor’s food allowance because the people already carried a heavy burden.

¹⁹ Remember, O my God, all that I have done for these people, and bless me for it.

And then, the culmination of the reconstruction was encapsulated with the following two verses:

^6:15 So on October 2 the wall was finished—just fifty-two days after we had begun. ¹⁶ When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God.

March 12, 2010 (Esther 1-10)

I can't read the book of Esther without thinking of the "Veggie Tales" depiction of this story. I love that one!

In the beginning of the story, the king gave a BIG party....it went on for six months. And after that party, he gave a party for all his servants, I guess as a "thank you" for supporting the 'party to the masses', that lasted for seven days. The only rule at this second party was that you couldn't be forced to drink wine, but of your own free will you could drink as much as you wanted. So on the seventh day, when he was half drunk, King Xerxes called for his wife to be paraded in front of all the people. It says "He wanted all the men to gaze on her beauty, for she was a very beautiful woman."

Bottom line, the queen refused. (In Veggie tales, I think she refused to make him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, if I remember right...). The king banished her, because he couldn't have all the women follow her example of disobeying their husbands. So now the king needs another wife. They looked all over the kingdom for beautiful virgins and had them 'groomed' for a year, and then 'audition' for the king. Esther, a Jewish girl, who had never revealed her identity because of the advice of her uncle, Mordecai, was one of them.

^{Esther 2:10} Esther had not told anyone of her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had directed her not to do so.

Read this following verse:

^{Esther 2:15}When it was Esther’s turn to go to the king, she accepted the advice of Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the harem. She asked for nothing except what he suggested, and she was admired by everyone who saw her.

When I read this, I thought of her attitude of submission. She listened to her uncle and did what he said. She accepted the advice of the one in charge of the harem and did exactly what he told her. I also thought of this passage in I Peter 3:

³ Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. ⁴ You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. ⁵ This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They trusted God and accepted the authority of their husbands.

I think the beauty of her "gentle and quiet spirit" also made her admired.

So, Esther was the one the king chose. Her uncle was elevated to the position of palace official. Did her 'fame' go to her head?

¹⁹ Even after all the young women had been transferred to the second harem and Mordecai had become a palace official,²⁰ Esther continued to keep her family background and nationality a secret. She was still following Mordecai’s directions, just as she did when she lived in his home.

The story of Esther is a great story. If you don't know it, go read these 10 chapters or watch the Veggie Tales episode! I'll only bring attention to one more point.

A decree was made for all the Jews to be killed. Mordecai wanted Esther to use her position of influence with the king to change things. Here is what transpired:

¹³ Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. ¹⁴ If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”

¹⁵ Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: ¹⁶ “Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.”

Esther knew that if she approached the king without him calling for her, she could be killed. But she was willing to do so, and sacrifice her life if need be, but only after one thing. And that was after fasting and praying for a miracle, and really placing her life in the hands of God instead of the hands of the king.

I lied...one more point. I won't go into the background because it would make it too long, but the night before she was to have dinner with the king, the king couldn't sleep. So what would make him sleepy? Having all the minutes of "the historical records" read to him, of course! What are the chances of that? And what are the chances of being read of a time when Mordecai saved his life, and yet was never rewarded? Coincidence? I think not. God is in control of every circumstance of our lives.

March 11, 2010 (Zechariah 1-14)

Zechariah is another prophet warning the people of Israel to turn back to God. Here is the first call to repentance spoken to Zechariah:

^{Zechariah 1:3} Therefore, say to the people, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.’ ⁴ Don’t be like your ancestors who would not listen or pay attention when the earlier prophets said to them, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Turn from your evil ways, and stop all your evil practices.’

⁵ “Where are your ancestors now? They and the prophets are long dead. ⁶ But everything I said through my servants the prophets happened to your ancestors, just as I said. As a result, they repented and said, ‘We have received what we deserved from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. He has done what he said he would do.’”

So an angel appeared to Zechariah with more messages from God. He wanted this message from God shouted to the people - "My love for Jerusalem and Mount Zion is passionate and strong". As I read that, I think that message from God applies to His children today - His love for us is passionate and strong. And then there was another message from God - "Shout and rejoice, O Jerusalem, for I am coming to live among you". Again, I think this message applies to us. He does live among us...He lives within us! That truly should bring joy and peace to our lives. I think we are so brainwashed by the world, we don't even realize what we have.

In Job, there is a passage about Satan coming to God and talking about "His kids". Here is another reference that shows Satan's ability to "discuss" us with God:

^{Zechariah 3:1} Then the angel showed me Jeshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. The Accuser, Satan, was there at the angel’s right hand, making accusations against Jeshua. ² And the Lord said to Satan, “I, the Lord, reject your accusations, Satan. Yes, the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you. This man is like a burning stick that has been snatched from the fire.”

We are blameless before God. When we put our faith in Christ, we are like that 'burning stick that has been snatched from the fire'. And when Satan accuses us before the Father because of our failures, Satan gets the same message from God. Jesus Himself said that He did not come to condemn the world, but that the world through Him would be saved. In Romans it says "There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." When we acknowledge what He has done for us and submit our lives and will to Him, we are "in Him".

³ Jeshua’s clothing was filthy as he stood there before the angel. ⁴ So the angel said to the others standing there, “Take off his filthy clothes.” And turning to Jeshua he said, “See, I have taken away your sins, and now I am giving you these fine new clothes.”

The Bible tells us that we are now "clean" through and through because of what Christ has done for us. God removes the filth of our lives, and replaces it with His holiness.

⁶ Then the angel of the Lord spoke very solemnly to Jeshua and said, ⁷ “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: If you follow my ways and carefully serve me, then you will be given authority over my Temple and its courtyards. I will let you walk among these others standing here.

As I read the "if you follow my ways", it brought me back to the fact that I've been pondering Daniel and his status of being "precious" to God. I know we can't 'earn' salvation, it is a free gift from God. And I know because of Christ, we are all 'precious' to Him. I was beginning to type that with obedience comes a special blessing from God, but I have a different thought now. Perhaps it is only that obedience brings an 'awareness' of the special blessing from God. We say that salvation can't be earned. So, it goes to figure that blessing can't be 'earned' either. We are all 'seated with him in the heavenly realms'. We are all 'sealed with the Spirit of God'. We have all been made 'holy and without fault in his eyes'. For those that are 'saved', all these blessings are ours. We don't earn them. Perhaps it's just that if we are walking in disobedience, we aren't aware of or acknowledging all God has done for us. Cooper and I discussed this on the way to school this morning. As we talked, I had another thought, and that was that obedience brings 'privileges'. I love Cooper regardless of what he does. Because I have 'adopted him into my family' he is my son. That will never change. But he is granted 'privileges' based upon his choices (attitude and actions). He receives more 'privileges' and 'blessings' when he is obedient and submissive, than he does when he is rebellious. I'll still 'muse' on that thought.

⁸ “Listen to me, O Jeshua the high priest, and all you other priests. You are symbols of things to come. Soon I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. ⁹ Now look at the jewel I have set before Jeshua, a single stone with seven facets. I will engrave an inscription on it, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and I will remove the sins of this land in a single day.

The verse above is another prophecy as to the coming of Christ.

For the remainder of this blog I'm just going to copy verses that spoke to me without commenting on them:

Zechariah 4:⁶ Then he said to me, “This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

^{Zechariah 4:10} Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.

^{Zechariah 7:9} “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. ¹⁰ Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.

^{Zechariah 8:2} “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: My love for Mount Zion is passionate and strong; I am consumed with passion for Jerusalem!

⁶ “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: All this may seem impossible to you now, a small remnant of God’s people. But is it impossible for me? says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

⁷ They will be my people, and I will be faithful and just toward them as their God.

⁹ “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Be strong and finish the task!

¹² For I am planting seeds of peace and prosperity among you.

¹⁴ “For this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: I was determined to punish you when your ancestors angered me, and I did not change my mind, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. ¹⁵ But now I am determined to bless Jerusalem and the people of Judah. So don’t be afraid. ¹⁶ But this is what you must do: Tell the truth to each other. Render verdicts in your courts that are just and that lead to peace. ¹⁷ Don’t scheme against each other. Stop your love of telling lies that you swear are the truth. I hate all these things, says the Lord.”

¹⁸ So love truth and peace.

²³ “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: In those days ten men from different nations and languages of the world will clutch at the sleeve of one Jew. And they will say, ‘Please let us walk with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’"

^{Zechariah 9:11} Because of the covenant I made with you,
sealed with blood,
I will free your prisoners
from death in a waterless dungeon.

^{Zechariah 10:1} Ask the Lord for rain in the spring,
for he makes the storm clouds.
And he will send showers of rain
so every field becomes a lush pasture.

^{Zechariah 12:1} “This message is from the Lord, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the human spirit.

March 10, 2010 (Ezra 1-10, Haggai 1-2, Psalm 137)

I kind of messed up with my chronological reading. I didn't realize I was supposed to stop at Ezra 6, so finished the book.

Ezra, the priest, was a descendant of Aaron, the high priest. God's hand was upon him, and because of that, the king gave him everything he asked for. Why was God's hand on him?

^{Ezra 7:9} .... for the gracious hand of his God was on him. ¹⁰ This was because Ezra had determined to study and obey the Law of the Lord and to teach those decrees and regulations to the people of Israel.

So because "the gracious hand of God was upon him", they were granted permission to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. And now it was time for Ezra to "put his money where his mouth was". He didn't want to ask the king for soldiers to accompany them to protect them, because he had told the king that God would take care of them. So here is what he did:

^{Ezra 8:21} And there by the Ahava Canal, I gave orders for all of us to fast and humble ourselves before our God. We prayed that he would give us a safe journey and protect us, our children, and our goods as we traveled. ²² For I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to accompany us and protect us from enemies along the way. After all, we had told the king, “Our God’s hand of protection is on all who worship him, but his fierce anger rages against those who abandon him.” ²³ So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer.
³¹ We broke camp at the Ahava Canal on April 19 and started off to Jerusalem. And the gracious hand of our God protected us and saved us from enemies and bandits along the way. ³² So we arrived safely in Jerusalem, where we rested for three days.

Fasting and prayer....again it is stressed, and again God shows up.

But when they arrive, Ezra learns that many of the people, to include the officials and leaders, had polluted themselves by intermarrying the foreign women. Ezra was more than troubled by this news. Here was his response:

^{Ezra 9:3} When I heard this, I tore my cloak and my shirt, pulled hair from my head and beard, and sat down utterly shocked. ⁴ Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel came and sat with me because of this outrage committed by the returned exiles. And I sat there utterly appalled until the time of the evening sacrifice.

⁵ At the time of the sacrifice, I stood up from where I had sat in mourning with my clothes torn. I fell to my knees and lifted my hands to the Lord my God. ⁶ I prayed,

“O my God, I am utterly ashamed; I blush to lift up my face to you. For our sins are piled higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached to the heavens. ⁷ From the days of our ancestors until now, we have been steeped in sin. That is why we and our kings and our priests have been at the mercy of the pagan kings of the land. We have been killed, captured, robbed, and disgraced, just as we are today.
⁸ “But now we have been given a brief moment of grace, for the Lord our God has allowed a few of us to survive as a remnant. He has given us security in this holy place. Our God has brightened our eyes and granted us some relief from our slavery. ⁹ For we were slaves, but in his unfailing love our God did not abandon us in our slavery. Instead, he caused the kings of Persia to treat us favorably. He revived us so we could rebuild the Temple of our God and repair its ruins. He has given us a protective wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
¹⁰ “And now, O our God, what can we say after all of this? For once again we have abandoned your commands! ¹¹ Your servants the prophets warned us when they said, ‘The land you are entering to possess is totally defiled by the detestable practices of the people living there. From one end to the other, the land is filled with corruption. ¹² Don’t let your daughters marry their sons! Don’t take their daughters as wives for your sons. Don’t ever promote the peace and prosperity of those nations. If you follow these instructions, you will be strong and will enjoy the good things the land produces, and you will leave this prosperity to your children forever.’
¹³ “Now we are being punished because of our wickedness and our great guilt. But we have actually been punished far less than we deserve, for you, our God, have allowed some of us to survive as a remnant. ¹⁴ But even so, we are again breaking your commands and intermarrying with people who do these detestable things. Won’t your anger be enough to destroy us, so that even this little remnant no longer survives? ¹⁵ O Lord, God of Israel, you are just. We come before you in our guilt as nothing but an escaped remnant, though in such a condition none of us can stand in your presence.”

As I read this, I again cannot help but think we take our lives and sin too casually. When Ezra heard this, he pulled hair out of his head and beard to show his distress. I have a hard time picturing that. Talk about upset! When you read between the lines, he must have fasted, because it says he just sat there, utterly appalled. And again, we see a man totally moved by his convictions, praying to God for mercy. Because of his leadership, others realized their sin:

^{Ezra 10:1} While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and lying face down on the ground in front of the Temple of God, a very large crowd of people from Israel—men, women, and children—gathered and wept bitterly with him.

Chapter 1o then goes on to name all those who had intermarried:

Priests - 17

Levites, singers and gatekeepers - 10

So 27 of the "church leadership" had directly disobeyed the commands of God. What about the people? It lists 84 names, saying each one had a pagan wife and some even had children by these wives.

All of these people decided, again because of Ezra's convictions and prayers, to separate themselves from these pagan peoples. One person, with morals and convictions, can make a difference.

March 8, 2010 (Daniel 7-12)

Daniel was given some visions that really disturbed him. Rather than going through all those and the meaning as well as the fulfillment I want to key in on something that I felt was more important. There are several things that struck me. And that is Daniel's devotion and prayer. Daniel identified with his people. All I saw was devotion to God through his life, and yet in his prayer below, as he is spelling out the sins of the people, he says "we", not "they". No matter how devoted to God we are, all of us come short in truly honoring Him as we should, and all of us need God's mercy. He recognized that. And he was asking because of God's mercy and for the sake of His name, and not because of their goodness. I've copied the entire prayer, but highlighted some specific things:

³ So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I also wore rough burlap and sprinkled myself with ashes.

⁴ I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:

“O Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands. ⁵ But we have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulations. ⁶ We have refused to listen to your servants the prophets, who spoke on your authority to our kings and princes and ancestors and to all the people of the land.
⁷ “Lord, you are in the right; but as you see, our faces are covered with shame. This is true of all of us, including the people of Judah and Jerusalem and all Israel, scattered near and far, wherever you have driven us because of our disloyalty to you. ⁸ O Lord, we and our kings, princes, and ancestors are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. ⁹ But the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him. ¹⁰ We have not obeyed the Lord our God, for we have not followed the instructions he gave us through his servants the prophets. ¹¹ All Israel has disobeyed your instruction and turned away, refusing to listen to your voice.
“So now the solemn curses and judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured down on us because of our sin. ¹² You have kept your word and done to us and our rulers exactly as you warned. Never has there been such a disaster as happened in Jerusalem. ¹³ Every curse written against us in the Law of Moses has come true. Yet we have refused to seek mercy from the Lord our God by turning from our sins and recognizing his truth. ¹⁴ Therefore, the Lord has brought upon us the disaster he prepared. The Lord our God was right to do all of these things, for we did not obey him.
¹⁵ “O Lord our God, you brought lasting honor to your name by rescuing your people from Egypt in a great display of power. But we have sinned and are full of wickedness. ¹⁶ In view of all your faithful mercies, Lord, please turn your furious anger away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. All the neighboring nations mock Jerusalem and your people because of our sins and the sins of our ancestors.
¹⁷ “O our God, hear your servant’s prayer! Listen as I plead. For your own sake, Lord, smile again on your desolate sanctuary.
¹⁸ “O my God, lean down and listen to me. Open your eyes and see our despair. See how your city—the city that bears your name—lies in ruins. We make this plea, not because we deserve help, but because of your mercy.
¹⁹ “O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen and act! For your own sake, do not delay, O my God, for your people and your city bear your name.”

Daniel was serious in his walk with God and his faith was evident. Not only did he fast and pray, he wore rough burlap and sprinkled himself with ashes. I think they did that to show their mourning and repentance. How can we translate that into today's language? I'm stabbing in the dark here, but let's try this.... So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I also turned off the TV and logged off of the computer, and sought Him through His word.

So what happened next?

²⁰ I went on praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people, pleading with the Lord my God for Jerusalem, his holy mountain. ²¹ As I was praying, Gabriel, whom I had seen in the earlier vision, came swiftly to me at the time of the evening sacrifice. ²² He explained to me, “Daniel, I have come here to give you insight and understanding. ²³ The moment you began praying, a command was given. And now I am here to tell you what it was, for you are very precious to God. Listen carefully so that you can understand the meaning of your vision.

God sent an angel to answer him. Why? Because he was very precious to God. Are we 'precious to God' because of our devotion to Him?

Then Daniel has another vision, and this time the vision came while he was with other people. I'll copy the details below.

^{Daniel 10:1} In the third year of the reign of King Cyrus of Persia, Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar) had another vision. He understood that the vision concerned events certain to happen in the future—times of war and great hardship.

² When this vision came to me, I, Daniel, had been in mourning for three whole weeks. ³ All that time I had eaten no rich food. No meat or wine crossed my lips, and I used no fragrant lotions until those three weeks had passed.

⁴ On April 23, as I was standing on the bank of the great Tigris River, ⁵ I looked up and saw a man dressed in linen clothing, with a belt of pure gold around his waist. ⁶ His body looked like a precious gem. His face flashed like lightning, and his eyes flamed like torches. His arms and feet shone like polished bronze, and his voice roared like a vast multitude of people.

⁷ Only I, Daniel, saw this vision. The men with me saw nothing, but they were suddenly terrified and ran away to hide. ⁸ So I was left there all alone to see this amazing vision. My strength left me, my face grew deathly pale, and I felt very weak. ⁹ Then I heard the man speak, and when I heard the sound of his voice, I fainted and lay there with my face to the ground.

¹⁰ Just then a hand touched me and lifted me, still trembling, to my hands and knees. ¹¹ And the man said to me, “Daniel, you are very precious to God, so listen carefully to what I have to say to you. Stand up, for I have been sent to you.” When he said this to me, I stood up, still trembling.

¹² Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. ¹³ But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia. ¹⁴ Now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future, for this vision concerns a time yet to come.”

¹⁵ While he was speaking to me, I looked down at the ground, unable to say a word. ¹⁶ Then the one who looked like a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing in front of me, “I am filled with anguish because of the vision I have seen, my lord, and I am very weak. ¹⁷ How can someone like me, your servant, talk to you, my lord? My strength is gone, and I can hardly breathe.”

¹⁸ Then the one who looked like a man touched me again, and I felt my strength returning. ¹⁹ “Don’t be afraid,” he said, “for you are very precious to God. Peace! Be encouraged! Be strong!”

As he spoke these words to me, I suddenly felt stronger and said to him, “Please speak to me, my lord, for you have strengthened me.”

²⁰ He replied, “Do you know why I have come? Soon I must return to fight against the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia, and after that the spirit prince of the kingdom of Greece will come. ²¹ Meanwhile, I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No one helps me against these spirit princes except Michael, your spirit prince. I have been standing beside Michael as his support and defense since the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede.)

I am assuming "the one who looked like a man" was a pre-incarnation of Christ. But I'm not sure since he needed the angel Michael's help. But in the last verse he says that he has been standing beside Michael as his support and defense. So I am assuming it was Christ, and His touch strengthened Daniel. From the very first day that Daniel prayed, He heard and came to answer. But the spiritual battle that rages in the heavenly realms held Him up.

Three times in these verses he was told he was "precious to God".

I read this yesterday, but am just now journaling about it this morning. This will be my "reading" for today. I need to really get my head around this section as I meditate on it today. I'm not sure if I would ever need to read anything else actually. There is so much in these short chapters to ponder.