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 #11

Learn From Mistakes

Jeremiah 3

(v. 8-10) " 'I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. Because Israel's immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,' declares the Lord."

My Thoughts



Israel had committed idolatry and God's judgement on them was that they were to be destroyed by Assyria. Judah knew exactly what Israel had done. Judah also knew the punishment that Israel had suffered and that it was God's judgement. Despite knowing this, Judah did not care. It mattered none to them because they followed in the same footsteps, committing idolatry, worshiping idols made of stone and wood.

Judah could have, and should have, learned from Israel's mistakes. They knew the punishment Israel had to suffer, and still they did the same thing. When you know of a deed someone has committed and you know of the consequences of that deed, why would you want to follow their example? Usually you try to avoid doing the same thing. When the consequences are severe, you want to avoid the same consequences even more. People seem to think "Oh, that won't happen to me!" People would be wrong.

When you screw up, the best thing to do would be to admit that you screwed up, and then learn from your own mistakes. If you're trying to learn to back-flip and you land on your head, bad things will happen. If you are still alright afterward, you're not going to want to do that ever again. That's a good thing. Don't let it stop you from trying to learn to back-flip, but learn from your mistake to avoid the consequences in the future. Once you've learned to back-flip, you can teach someone else how to do it. That person will have a teacher; one who already made the mistakes and knows how to avoid them. So the student learns from the teacher's mistakes and completely avoids the same consequences all together. This is how it should be for everything.

Don't make the same mistakes that other people have made. Rather, learn from their mistakes and you won't suffer their consequences. Don't follow the sins of other people, even if they are friends or family and they try to entice you or convince you or pressure you. It is always better not to make the mistake in the first place than to experience the consequences fr yourself. Their are many examples in the Bible of people making huge mistakes, and even smaller ones. Read carefully when you read and learn from them. Follow Jesus' paths and stay off of the paths that lead to destruction.

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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. Thanks for reading, Godbless!