Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #77

Acknowledge and Action

Ezra 10

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 11-12) "Now make confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers, and do His will. Separate yourselves from the peoples around you and from your foreign wives.' The whole assembly responded with a loud voice: 'You are right! We must do as you say." 

My Thoughts

How many times has it been that you know there is something that you must do or change, but you don't do it? I know I do that a lot with different things, but I try harder not to when it comes to a matter of right or wrong doing.

I understand it can be very hard to start doing certain things that you know need to be done. You've been meaning to go through your clothes to get rid of some stuff you don't wear anymore. That storage room is where all those family photo albums are and you just know it! Maybe your closet is starting to spill into your room. You feel overwhelmed by these things and they are quite daunting. Starting by doing a little bit at a time is a great way to start on it. Once you start, it will feel less overwhelming.

In matters of doing right or wrong or accounting for the wrongs, it is much more important, I feel. In other situations, it isn't unimportant, I just feel that right and wrong is more. If you know that you said something you shouldn't have to your friend the last time you spoke, but you decide not to apologize, you are in the wrong. You have hurt your friend and you choose not to make amends. How does that work?

What happened here in Ezra was that the Israelites had disobeyed God and intermingled with the nations around them. They had foreign wives, maybe husbands, and surely children by them. This was completely against what God had said. Ezra explained this to them and they responded saying, "You are right!" Not only did they acknowledge what had been done, but they also wanted to make it right and follow what Ezra was saying.

This is the kind of attitude we should all have about mistakes that we make. Once we have acknowledged our mistakes or our wrongs, our attitude should be one of wanting to make it right. The Israelites did just that, and they took action to do so. They were not only words, but they took action as well. This is what we need to do when we have done wrong. First acknowledge and confess, then plan to fix the mistakes or make amends amends and forgive yourself and ask God for forgiveness. Then, take action and actually do something to fix the mistake or make amends.

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #53

Remain Faithful to God

Ezra 8

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 21) "There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions." (v. 31) "On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he protected us from enemies and bandits along the way."

My Thoughts

Ezra led many people back to Jerusalem after 70 years in captivity. Jerusalem needed to be rebuilt and the neighboring people to Jerusalem were hostile. If the rebuilding was going to succeed, Ezra and the Israelites needed the help of God and they would have to remain faithful to Him. That is exactly the reason Ezra proclaimed a fast. He was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers to protect them because he told the king that God's hand was upon them.

Ezra and those he was leading were faithful to God and God in turn was faithful to them. God is always faithful to us and no matter what, He will never leaves us or forsake us. However, even though God is always faithful to us, if we deliberately disobey Him and we are far from Him and our hearts are against Him, God is not going to answer our prayers. He will hear them, but He will not answer. God is not a genie to grant our every wish.

When we are faithful to God, He works in us and through us powerfully. God will not always answer our prayers the way we want because He has something better in mind. God is God and we're not and there may be times when you don't understand something that God is doing. That is totally fine, just don't lose faith in Him.

When your journey or task is hard, don't rely on only yourself to make it or get it done. Don't worry to much about the time things take. Rely on God and remain faithful to Him because through Him, the journey will be completed in the best way possible, even if it takes longer than you wanted. The task will be completed with great effort and a job well done, even if it takes longer than you wanted.

When it comes to being faithful to God, we cannot worry about time or speed. God is eternal and He is patient and He is timeless. God has been around longer than the creation of the universe. People very early on in the Bible lived to be hundreds of years old, some got close to living for a millennium! Don't you think that God can allow the same thing to happen again? He may not, but why assume that He will not when you can not worry about it and possibly be surprised? God can restore any amount of time that we 'lose' doing what it is He asks of us. That time, by the way, is most definitely not lost.

Remain faithful to God always so that you can bask in His glory and enjoy all the best that God has in store for you. Stay close to Him and do not stray. You will be amazed at how much more joy you will have in life, even through tough times. God knows best what needs to get done and when, all you have to do is trust Him.

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Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #42

Devotion

Ezra 7

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 10) "For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel." 

My Thoughts

Ezra devoted himself to studying and teaching God's word. He was a leader in this field and King Artaxerxes looked up to him. Artaxerxes sent Ezra a letter telling him to continue to teach God's laws and he even gave Ezra permission to request up to a certain amount of valuable resources like olive oil and wheat. God's hand was on Ezra in this regard.

If you want to be recognized as a top (INSERT POSITION HERE) then you need to devote yourself to it. For example, to be a top athlete, you need to train and practice often. The point is that you need to work hard and put a lot of time into what you want you want to be. You need to devote yourself to doing what it is you want to ultimately do in your life. The more you work at something, practice it, and the more time you spend on it, the better you'll get with it and the more you'll be recognized for it.

Of course, your aim with any of that should never be for recognition or fame or wealth. When I said the more you'll be recognized, I mean only in the position. If you are a CEO of a company, that is what you'll be recognized as. Not all of us can be teachers of God's laws, though for some, that is their calling, but that doesn't mean that God can't use you as an artist or an athlete or anything else. Sometimes, what you choose to devote yourself to isn't anything to do with your career.

Make sure that what you devote your life to is really what you want and that you are diligent in it. You don't want to devote your entire life to something you are not truly happy with or that you never grow from. If it is totally a fruitless venture, then that means that your life was devoted to something that was a waste. I will not give any examples because one thing that works for one person may not work for another. God may call one of you to be a writer and use you spectacularly, while another may try that and fail to prosper in it because they are called to a singer. It is different for everybody.

All that being said, it is still very important that we learn God's word and keep reading and studying it. Always remember to make time to talk to God and to listen to His voice. Whatever it is that you are being called to do, start heading in that direction. It is still not too late, but one day it may be.

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Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #38

Respect God's Commands

Ezra 9

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 1) "...'The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices..." (v. 3) "When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled."

My Thoughts

The exiles had literally just gotten back to their home and they had already disobeyed God's command not to intermingle with the nations around them. They had wives, husbands, sons, daughters, and the leaders and officials had taken part in this as well. Ezra was appalled upon hearing of this. At the evening sacrifice, Ezra prayed for himself and all the Israelites because of their sins.

God is never happy when we sin, for any reason. Sin is sin, no matter what and sin keeps us away from God. It is disobedience to Him. None of us are perfect; every single person has sinned and will never reach 'perfection.' That word can only fully, accurately describe one person, and one person only: Jesus Christ. God does not expect us to be perfect, He expects our hearts to not cherish sin. We all have sinned and we all will again and again, but as long as we do not cherish sin in our hearts, that's what matters.

The love that God has for us will never diminish, no matter what. That doesn't mean that God never gets angry with us. There is a difference between being human and the mistakes we make sometimes and blatant disregard for God's commands. God has given us freedom of choice so that aren't mindless robots that always do whatever He says, without fail. He has also given us commands to live by. Not suggestions, but commands. These commands are there for us to live by so that our lives are the absolute best that they can possibly be.

God always has our best in mind and when we disobey Him, we stray from the paths that He has laid before us. When we stray form those paths, we fall further and further from God and the good things that He has planned for our lives. It's going to be impossible for us to never sin again, but God is happy with us as long as we repent and our hearts are sorry for it.

Always Obey God's commands. If you don't at least respect His commands. Do not blatantly disregard them because if you don't care, then your heart is not in the right place and you are cherishing that sin in your heart. Don't try to be perfect, but live abiding by the commands that God has given us. It is pleasing to God if we have a heart that seeks after Him.

Previous PostNext Post

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!