June 12, 2006 - Ezra 3-5 and John 20
I heard a good message Sunday morning at church in which the preacher urged all of us not to wait to do God's will, but to go ahead, trusting Him. That is the theme of these two passages. Therefore, I would ask you today, "Are you ready to go ahead and do God's will for you today?" The key is to not let anything stop you from doing what He has revealed to you. Sometimes, it can be a great challenge, but it is always the right thing to do.
In Ezra 3-5 the Israelites who had returned to Jerusalem went ahead in unity to restart the worship of God at the Temple. They built the altar, and then, they laid the foundation for the whole Temple. They did not wait until the whole building was built to begin the daily sacrifices and the feasts, because they knew God wanted them to worship Him continually. I am sure it was hard to do things in this construction zone, but it was important not to let anything stop them. How often do we make excuses for why we can't do God's will, and we say we will wait until the conditions are better? That is not right. That is Satan's lie to us. We must do God's will right now, no matter the conditions around us.
The people of the land caused them to have to stop for a while by writing a letter to the king, however, it was then that the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, came forward with God's message. They let them know that it was not God's will to stop the construction, so the work was restarted in spite of the opposition. Satan will always send opposition to God's work. We must not let that stop us from doing God's will, or we will never get anything done for Him.
Then, in John 20 we see a series of people who had to decide to trust the Lord and do His will. After Mary Magdalene found the empty tomb, she told Peter and John. They came to see, but they did not fully understand. (v.9) John believed even though he did not fully understand. (v.8) We must not let incomplete understanding keep us from trusting what we know God is saying to us. Then, Mary saw Jesus alive. She went and told all of the disciples. I am sure she could not answer all of the questions, but she gave her testimony to them. We must not let the questions of others keep us from doing God's will either. Finally, there is Thomas. He had to have his doubts cleared up by actually seeing the wounds of Jesus up close. He may have even had to put his hand on the wounds. However, Jesus said that He would bless those who had not seen that closely and had still believed. (v.29) We must not have to see all of the details to do God's will. We must move forward by faith on what we know so far. I would urge you today to go ahead and do what God has told you to do. Don't put it off for any reason.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezra 6-8 and John 21.
In Ezra 3-5 the Israelites who had returned to Jerusalem went ahead in unity to restart the worship of God at the Temple. They built the altar, and then, they laid the foundation for the whole Temple. They did not wait until the whole building was built to begin the daily sacrifices and the feasts, because they knew God wanted them to worship Him continually. I am sure it was hard to do things in this construction zone, but it was important not to let anything stop them. How often do we make excuses for why we can't do God's will, and we say we will wait until the conditions are better? That is not right. That is Satan's lie to us. We must do God's will right now, no matter the conditions around us.
The people of the land caused them to have to stop for a while by writing a letter to the king, however, it was then that the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, came forward with God's message. They let them know that it was not God's will to stop the construction, so the work was restarted in spite of the opposition. Satan will always send opposition to God's work. We must not let that stop us from doing God's will, or we will never get anything done for Him.
Then, in John 20 we see a series of people who had to decide to trust the Lord and do His will. After Mary Magdalene found the empty tomb, she told Peter and John. They came to see, but they did not fully understand. (v.9) John believed even though he did not fully understand. (v.8) We must not let incomplete understanding keep us from trusting what we know God is saying to us. Then, Mary saw Jesus alive. She went and told all of the disciples. I am sure she could not answer all of the questions, but she gave her testimony to them. We must not let the questions of others keep us from doing God's will either. Finally, there is Thomas. He had to have his doubts cleared up by actually seeing the wounds of Jesus up close. He may have even had to put his hand on the wounds. However, Jesus said that He would bless those who had not seen that closely and had still believed. (v.29) We must not have to see all of the details to do God's will. We must move forward by faith on what we know so far. I would urge you today to go ahead and do what God has told you to do. Don't put it off for any reason.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezra 6-8 and John 21.