May 23, 2010

The Hand of God was Upon Ezra

Ezra Reads the Law

Following the Babylonian captivity, the Jews were allowed to return to their homeland and, with the blessing of the king of Persia, rebuild the temple. Ezra, a priest and scribe, was sent back to the land after the temple was completed. During this time God was with him. The Scriptures also explain why He was with Ezra.

“For on the first of the first month he began to go up from Babylon; and on the first of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, because the good hand of his God was upon him. For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel” (Ezra 7:9-10).

This passage contains four reasons why Ezra found favor with God. We would do well to learn from Ezra’s example here. These are the same things we must do today to find favor with God.
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May 9, 2010

Seeking God

Man at Night

When Paul was in Athens, a city full of idolatry, he found opportunity to teach them about the one true God. He was to them “an Unknown God” (Acts 17:23). God does not want to be unknown to His creation, but has instilled in us the desire to seek after Him. Paul explained this to the Athenians:

“He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:26-27).

God wants us to seek for Him and He is not far off. But does this mean we can seek after God in whatever way we wish, doing what seems good to us and expecting that God will be pleased? There are many who think this way, but it is not what God wants from those who would seek after Him.
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March 9, 2010

Choose Life

Life

Shortly before Moses’ death and the Israelites journey into the promised land, Moses spoke to them about the choice they had before them. This choice was so important that it was literally a matter of life or death.
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February 11, 2010

Four Contributors to Our Salvation

1 Peter 1:2

Peter wrote his first epistle to Christians that were scattered throughout Asia Minor. He addressed them as ones who were “chosen” (1 Peter 1:1). For what were they chosen? Salvation. They were “born again to a living hope” in order to “obtain an inheritance […] reserved in heaven” (1 Peter 1:3-4). They were waiting “for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5).

How had these individuals been chosen? Peter said it was “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood” (1 Peter 1:2). Here the apostle mentioned four contributors that make salvation possible for us:
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January 25, 2010

Crucified with Christ

Crosses

Paul told the Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20).

These statements Paul made about himself ought to apply to every Christian.
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December 23, 2009

Submit to God, Resist the Devil

“Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

The two words James used to admonish Christians in their walk – submit and resist – both involve action. This should not be surprising. Earlier in the letter he commended an active faith while condemning a passive faith.

Regarding the active faith, James wrote, “Show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2:18). Further on he said, “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24).
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November 3, 2009

Keywords in the Prophecy of the Coming Kingdom

Matterhorn mountain

Isaiah prophesied of a kingdom that was to come “in the last days” – the age that was ushered in following the coming of Christ into the world (cf. Hebrews 1:2). There are several keywords in this prophecy that we must understand if we are to appreciate what the passage teaches.

“Now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all nations will stream to it.

“And many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths.’ For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

“And He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war” (Isaiah 2:2-4).

Let us briefly consider each of these key terms:
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