Genesis 11, Matthew, Ezra and Acts 10

It is hard for me to focus any comments on anything other than Matthew because that passage is so full of powerful teachings from Jesus. I really appreciate that Jesus sends his followers out with a clear understanding of what they are getting into. They will have power...they will do incredible things...but it is going to be very difficult. They will be persecuted...they will be hated...they will be rejected by family and friends. When Christians choose to boldly follow Christ wit their lives, there will be negative response from the evil forces of the world. The cost of discipleship is high...but the gain is absolutely priceless. Look at what Jesus says in 10:32ff...when we acknowledge Christ before the people of this world, we can be certain that Jesus will acknowledge and defend us before God the Father!!! That is incredible! It does not matter if our lives are hard...it does not matter if we experience physical and emotional suffering...we know how this story ends!

Genesis 9 and 10. Matthew, Ezra and Acts 9.

A question came to mind as I was reading today's passages. Why does Jesus jump all over the Pharisees for hating sinners, while the Israelites in the Old Testament are forbidden to have anything to do with people that were different than them? Doesn't that seem like a contradiction? Aren't the Pharisees basically living out a worldview that was given to them by God in the OT? What do you think about it? I think the big issue is not being around "sinners," the big issue is the purpose and outcome of the interactions. Jesus is meeting with sinners and tax collectors because he wants to bring life change to them...he wants to bring them into his kingdom...he wants to share a message of hope with them. They need to hear that - everybody needs to hear that! In the Ezra passage we see that the issue is not just hanging out with non-Jews...the issue is that Jews have been marrying pagans, who remain pagan after the marriage. The Jewish people have allowed their families and communities to be infiltrated and corrupted by pagan worship practices, which is what got them into the whole exile predicament in the first place...and that is just crazy!!! Jesus encourages his followers to bring everyone from the darkness into the light, and to do that...you have to sometimes go out into the darkest corners of the earth. The corrupted Jews were just interested in finding the hottest most exotic looking women around to marry, not caring if they ever became God-followers. That's the difference. What about you? It is fine to hang out with non-Christians as long as you know you are on a mission to influence them towards Christ. If you feel yourself being dragged away from God and towards corruption, then you need to find more positive community to grow as a disciple of Christ.

Genesis, Matthew, Ezra and Acts 8

There are four really great examples of the faithfulness of God followers in these passages. In Genesis, we see Noah immediately worship God after being brought through the flood...it is the first thing he does! In Matthew, the pagan Roman commander shows his faithfulness by understanding that Jesus had the power to heal with a word...he didn't try to make a production out of Jesus coming to his house - he simply had faith. In Ezra, the leaders of the returning exiles begin their journey back to Jerusalem with a time of fasting and prayer...they fully understand that their endeavor will be meaningless without God's blessing. And finally, in Acts Philip listens to the voice of God and gets the chance to share the Good News with the Ethiopian eunuch...then the eunuch takes the first step in faith and immediately asks to be baptized. Great examples to have on the mind today! Does faithfulness permeate every area of your life? Are you more focused on what you can do for yourself...or what you deserve...or the comfort of your life...or are you focused on faithfully following God regardless of what you are experiencing?

Genesis, Matthew, Ezra and Acts Chapter 5

Again, it seems that parallels between these passages seem to just jump off the pages (They also happen to really be greats texts by themselves as well!). For me these 4 chapters are really summed up by the words of the disciples in chapter 5 of Acts. They say in verse 29, "We must obey God and not men!" In Genesis we are introduced to Noah, who will be a man who chooses to listen to God even though everyone else thinks he is crazy. In Matthew, Jesus destroys cultural boundaries and false beliefs by showing what a God-following life actually looks like lived out. The whole Sermon on the Mount is basically saying, "Man has corrupted what God intended through the Law!" In Ezra, the returning Jews refuse to stop building the temple because they know that God wants them to continue construction. And finally in Acts, the apostles refuse to stop talking about Jesus because they know it is the truth. Very challenging passages for us...are you willing to follow God and live faithfully regardless of what people around you think? Regardless of persecution? Regardless of consequences?

Genesis, Matthew, Ezra and Acts 4

I find it interesting that each of these stories highlights conflict for those who are trying to follow God. Abel is killed because Cain is jealous of the offering that Abel makes. Cain resents the close connection Abel has to God because it magnifies his own separation from God. In Matthew, we see Jesus confronted face to face by Satan. Satan quotes scriptures, uses brides and temptation, and does everything he can to convince Jesus to act selfishly. In Ezra the Jews who have returned to the horrible living conditions of destroyed Jerusalem meet hostility and deception while trying to rebuild God's temple. Finally, the leaders of the growing church are brought before the Jewish council and told to stop teaching about Jesus Christ.

There is something that we must all remember as God followers - we are at war! Since the Fall there have been forces of evil working in opposition to the work of God in the world. When we choose to faithfully follow God, we do not get a free pass from trouble. In fact, these verses seem to show us that people who are doing God's work will often face the greatest trials, temptations and opposition! I might even be bold enough to say that you should probably be a little worried about the level of your commitment to Christ if you never face any persecution or trials. Those who sit back and do nothing for the kingdom of God are often left alone.

I love the prayer that the disciples pray after being accosted by the leaders of the Jewish council. Look again at Acts 4:29, it says, "And now Lord, look upon the threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness." That is their prayer...in the face of persecution and rejection from their own people, they want only to have the strength to keep on speaking boldly about their belief in Jesus. Is that what you pray on a daily basis? God no matter what happens today, let me be used to positively impact this kingdom...let me be used to tell people about your truth. Pray that prayer everyday and you will really start making a difference (And probably start experiencing some persecution).

Ezra 2, Acts, 2, Genesis 3, Matthew 3, Ezra 3 and Acts 3

I was on retreat and missed a few days of the M'Cheyne, so I did a couple extra chapters to catch up a little. It is a lot of reading, but also a great overall picture as you see God's story unfold before your eyes. The Fall in the Garden. The beginning of Jesus ministry with his baptism. The desire for the Jews to rebuild their temple and offer pure sacrifices once again. The beauty of Spirit filled followers of Christ living out their faith. These are all threads of the same story....we lost that beautiful intimate relationship with God in the Garden but were reunited with it once again through the sacrifice of Jesus. Like the beggar who is healed in Acts 3, we should live out each day in a celebration of the healing and righteousness that we have been given through Christ. Does your life reflect the newness you have in Christ every day?

Ezra Chapters 7-10

7:10 - Ezra was given an incredible opportunity to lead, because he was a man of God who had made it his mission in life to write the words of God's Law on his heart and live that out. He was non-hypocritical in the way he lived his life and because of his integrity, he was given the chance to lead his people.

7:23/25 - It is amazing to see God at work in the heart of Artaxerxes! In verse 23 the pagan king acknowledges God as the ruler of heaven, not just Jerusalem, placing God higher than his own hereditary gods. The king is willing to help the Israelites and do anything within his power (which is alot!) to make sure that YAHWEH is satisfied. Wow - God has really made himself knbown to Artaxerxes. In verse 25, we see the king offer power to Ezra that goes beyond anything a king would normally give to soemone within his realm. Ezra is basically given free reign to ruler and elect officials as God wills. This kind of freedom is unheard of in ancient times.

7:27 - Ezra has every opportunity to start believing that he has done something special - he has worked hard to live true to God's Laws, he has been given great power, he is traveling around with tens of thousands of pounds of precious metals...but his first reaction is to give all the credit to God.

8:21 - Before their great moment of triumph, Ezra once again shows that his heart is in the right place. He leads the people in a time of fasting and prayer before their journey to Jerusalem, so that everyone is spiritually prepared and focused on God. This is a huge event in the histroy of the nation of Israel that demands focus and faith. He sets a great example for Christians who are facing huge decisions.

9:2ff - The next couple of chapters raise some really tough questions for modern Christian readers? Why would God exclude people from His nation? Why are the Jews not allowed to intermarry? Why is this such a big deal. God singled out some specific people groups in Levitcus and Duteronamoy and that His people were not allowed to marry and it has nothing to do with their heritage...it has everything to do with their pervasive idolatry. Turn back to Ezra 6:21 and read what it says. It says that people from outside of Israel who were willing to worship God as the one an only God were allowed to become part of God's people. What this tells us is that the women that the Jewish leaders were marrying, were not followers of God...they were actually still practicing their cultural forms of idolatry. I would absolutely tell my children not to marry women or men who worship false gods - God is no different. The chocking part of this story is that it is the leaders of Israel who are first and foremost the ones intermnarrying with faithless pagans - that does not speak highly of their faith.

10:2ff - The Israelite men make a vow to "put away" the pagan women and children. This is harsh...there is no way around it...these women and children are exiled from the people of God. Any Israelite men who refuse to do so will also be exiled. Again we see the harsh and brutal consequences that come about when the people of God fail to follow His commands. If the Jewish men had not allowed themselves to marry pagan idolatrous women, then they would not have had to kick them out of the community later. We know nothing of what happens to the people who are exiled...we are just left with a bad taste in our mouth.

Ezra Chapters 4-6

4:3 - Why do they reject the help of these men who claim to be followers of God? They say it is because King Cyrus only told them to do it, but I believe that they do not trust the other men who have offered to help. I believe they think the men will actually try to hamper the rebuilding of Jerusalem. (Side note: These men are actually from Samaria, which gives you even more background information on the hatred that existed between the two groups)

4:4-16 - We see the true colors of the men who had offered to help. When they didn't get the response they wanted, they immediately set out to make the work for the builders as hard as possible. The quandary is - would they have hampered the work if the Jews had allowed them to help? The bible doesn't tell us.

4:24 - This has got to be frustrating. The exiles have returned to their destroyed city to rebuild the temple of God. They are doing God's will - they are sacrificing and serving - yet they continue to face opposition and hardship. How many times do Christians go through similar experiences? There is spiritual war taking place in this world and the tides of battle go back and forth, but what we can see clearly through the biblical text is the faithfulness of God to pull His people through (Though not always on their timetable).

5:1 - Haggai and Zechariah prophesy reminding the people that they have lost sight of God's plan to rebuild the temple. The people have given up because of the decree of an earthly King and the prophets are calling them to action.

5:2 - The leaders of the Jews hear the voice of God through the prophets and decide to trust that the will of God is actually found int he original decree of Cyrus - so they start building again.

5:11-13 - I love that the Jewish people working on the temple just lay it all out there for the people that are questioning them. They boldly proclaim that they are servants of the God of heaven and earth (A huge claim in a world where most people thought gods were attached to certain earthly territories) - they say they rebelled against God and had everything taken from them and now they are trying to rebuild the temple to bring honor to His name. They offer no lies, no deception, just matter-of-fact truth. It seems like there are a lot of times in our lives where we try to downplay our faith and what it means to follow God, so we don't get embarrassed or look foolish in the eyes of others. But I want to be more like these Jews - I love the straight forward nature of their explanation of why they are there. Why am I here? What am I doing? Messing around with money and experiences and work - or am I living for a greater purpose?

6:8 - Wow! Talk about God at work! Darius not only approves of what the Jews are doing, but he also offers to pay for part of the rebuilding costs. It seems that his form of governing to keep the vast Persians Empire together was to allow people to hold on to some of their hereditary customs, which woks out well for the Israelites.

6:10 - We also see another angle on Darius' motivation for giving the Jews the help they need to rebuild the temple. He wants to be sure he has all his bases covered when it comes to receiving blessings from God. This isn't really faith...more like fire insurance.

6:22 - The picture we get from these chapters is that no matter what sort of obstacles and issues come up in the human realm, God just continues to roll His plan out.

Ezra Chapters 1-3

Sorry about the long hiatus! It's been crazy around the church.

1:1 - This decree was made by Cyrus around 538BC. King Cyrus boasts in the "Cyrus Cylinder" (an archeological find corroborating the bible - YAY!) that he will allow the people in his kingdom to restore their holy places.

1:2 - How cool is it that Cyrus refers to God as the "Lord, the God of Heaven?" We know for a fact that God is at work in the heart of Cyrus...in fact, the theme of the Book of Ezra is God's faithfulness to restore His people. Even after allowing the Israelites to be exiled from the Promised Land because of their rejection of God...He stays true to His promises and brings them back. Ezra is written by a Jewish scholar, so we don't know if Cyrus truly believed in the one and only God or if it was just written like this because the author knew God was behind it all. The "Lord, the God of Heaven" statement could just be a politically correct statement from the king so as not to offend any of the religious people he is sending back to their homelands.

1:3 - Here we see what I believe is Cyrus' real view on God. He holds to the ancient view that a cultures' gods dwell only in their own land. He refers to God as the "God who is in Jerusalem." What Cyrus doesn't realize is that the God he believes is only in Jerusalem is the one who has been working on his heart and the only God that actually exists.

2:62ff - The Jews start returning to their homeland and there are a lot of issues to be worked out. They have been in exile for 70 years and so everyone is trying to establish their lineage, which is important for land holdings and positions in the structure of the priesthood. Understandably, there are occasional gaps in the bloodlines and some of the people are put on hold as priests until they can seek out clarification from God. This is important to note, because they are trying to do everything the right way upon their return. They will not just accept anyone as a priest...they want a pure priesthood to lead in the worship of God. A Christians we can look back on this and understand how incredibly blessed we are - we do not have to prove our worth through ancestry, because we have been deemed the sons and daughters of God through the blood of Jesus Christ. We are a holy priesthood.

3:12-13 - Why are the older people weeping during this time of great celebration? I can assure you that they are happy to return and happy to be rebuilding the temple of the Lord, but they were around to see the glory of Solomon's Temple and they know this one will never be as amazing. They know the glory of the Israelite nation will never be what it once was. They rejected God and paid a steep price - though God restored them to Israel they couldn't take back what had happened and the consequences of those actions. Sounds like our lives, huh? No matter what we have done, God can bring redemption and restoration, but we often have to deal with the fallout of our sinful choices.