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Deuteronomy 6:4-9

These are the ordinances and the judgments the Lord commanded the children of Israel in the desert, when they came from the land of Egypt: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. You shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart, from your whole soul, and from your whole power. So these words I command you today shall be in your heart and in your soul. You shall teach them to your sons, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and it shall be immovable before your eyes; and you shall write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

Personal Challenge

Where do we get our power and strength to make it through every day of our lives? From the word of God. What is the word of God and where do I find it? We can get a lot of the word of God from our written Scriptures, however, that is just a small portion of God’s word. God speaks to us through His creation, through His church, but most importantly, His Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. If we want to live a full and righteous life then we must pursue our God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit with our whole power, our whole heart, and our whole soul. Being a child of God means total surrender to Him and total immersion in His loving ways and commandments. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Genesis 15:6

And Abram believed God, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

Encouraging Words

Abram, later to be renamed Abraham, is recognized as the father of Judaism and Christianity. The Muslims also claim him as their father. In this simple verse we see that because he believed God, God proclaimed him to be righteous. This is where our life with God begins… believing. Glory be to God!

1 Esdras 9:54-55

Then everyone went on their way to eat and drink, to gladden themselves, to give gifts to those who were lacking, and to heartily rejoice. For they were inspired by the words which were taught to them, and they gathered together.

Personal Challenge

Finally, the people of Israel have finished rebuilding their temple. They have assembled together to hear the reading of their scriptures that they have not heard for many years. What was the result? They were brought to tears at what they had missed for so long. They were moved to celebrate the glory of their God and to share that celebration with those who lacked. They rejoiced and they gathered together as a community. Does the hearing of the scriptures today move us to behave this way or are our hearts hardened by the softness of our lives? Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

1 Esdras 4:59-60

“The victory and the wisdom are from You, the glory is Yours, and I am Your servant. Blessed are You who granted me wisdom, and I give thanks to You, O Lord of our fathers.”

Personal Challenge

Are we as willing to give God the praise that He is due as Zerubbabel was after God encouraged Cyrus to let His people rebuild the temple? God is always at work in our lives. His work is always for our good. Sometimes He works through us and sometimes He works around us. Are we willing to give Him all of the credit and trust that He knows what is best for us? I know that I do not spend enough time giving God the credit that He is due or blessing Him for the great works that He is doing in my life. Glory be to God!

1 Esdras 4:38-40

“But the truth abides and is strong forever. The truth lives and rules unto ages of ages. There is no partiality or prejudice with the truth, but it does righteous things, distinct from all wrongdoings and evil. All are pleased with its deeds, and there is nothing unjust in its judgment. For strength, dominion, authority, and majesty belong to it unto all ages, and blessed is the God of truth.”

Encouraging Words

We live in an age of lies. False news, fake news, has become more prevalent than real news. We have unlimited amounts of information available to us through the internet and yet we have lost the ability to discern between the truth and the lies. King Zerubbabel of the Old Testament reminds us that our God is the God of truth and that we must stay close to Him if we desire to know the truth. Glory be to God!

2 Chronicles 32:7-8

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid of the king of Assyria, nor before all the nation with him, for there are more with us than with him. With him are arms of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to save us and to fight our battles.” And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Encouraging Words

Once again we hear the charge to be strong and courageous given to the people of Israel. How many times do we need to see God’s hand at work in our lives before we believe that He is always with us? How many miracles does He have to perform for us to trust Him with every aspect of our lives? God is God and I am not. He has promised to be there for us and to guard and protect us. He has never faltered on His promises. What are we waiting for? There are more with us in our Lord than there is against us in the entire world, both physical and spiritual. Glory be to God!

1 Esdras 2:2 (Ezra)

“Thus says Cyrus the king of the Persians: Israel’s Lord, the Lord Most High, revealed and indicated to me, the king of the inhabited world, that I should build a house for Him at Jerusalem in Judea.”

Encouraging Words

It is easy to get the mindset that we, the Christians in our modern-day, are God’s elite and that He only speaks to us. Then as we hold onto this belief it grows and we begin to believe that He only speaks to our like-minded group, church, or denomination. This is not so, God chooses whom He wants to speak to and guide to do His will. In this scripture, He spoke to Cyrus, a Gentile and the king of Persia, and Cyrus heard His voice. Cyrus listened to the God of the Jews, rebuilt their temple, and set them free. We must stop acting like we are God and that we know whom He will speak to or not and let Him work the way that He chooses. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

2 Chronicles 33:12-13

Now when he was in affliction, he sought the face of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him. And the Lord received his entreaty, heard his cry, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.

Personal Challenge

Manasseh was one of the kings of Israel. Like so many of the other kings, he chose to disobey God and practice the religions of those around him. The result was that the nation of Israel was taken captive by the Assyrians and he was taken off in chains. It was this event that opened his eyes and led him to a point of humility before his God. At this low point he cried out to God and God heard his cry and restored him. Why do we do the things that we know will lead us away from God? Why do we choose to pursue the idols and false gods of this world? We do this because we, just like our Jewish brothers of old, are a stiff-necked and self-centered people. This is our personal challenge, to say “No!” to the world and “Yes!” to our Lord who is God. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

2 Chronicles 16:9a

For the eyes of the Lord look over the whole earth and strengthen every heart that is loyal to Him.

Personal Challenge

Loyalty has become an aspect of our lives that has dissipated. We have become a people who only care about ourselves and what we want. We no longer revere those who deserve it, such as our God. We choose to ignore those people whom He has put in authority over us, especially the leaders in our church. God deserves our loyalty and He rewards us by strengthening our hearts when we are loyal to Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!