June 13, 2006 - Ezra 6-8 and John 21
God has a way of accomplishing His ultimate will and still allowing us to decide to trust Him without forcing us to do His will. God has a way of working in the hearts of men to accomplish His will, but He decided a long time ago that He values faith, so He gives us the room to exercise faith in Him, and He responds to our faith. As you read these passages think about how this works.
Ezra 6-8 tells us that God's hand was on them to complete the Temple. He worked in the heart of Darius the way He had worked in the heart of Cyrus to allow the Israelites to rebuild the Temple, and he even paid for it. However, did you notice that it doesn't say that Cyrus or Darius became a believer? God led them to do His ultimate will without forcing them to believe in Him. This was true when it came to Ezra and his group that returned to Jerusalem, too. The king gave them everything they needed, but God did not force them to return. They had to choose to trust Him and to go back to Jerusalem to serve Him. I know that God is working out His ultimate will in your life, but you still have to choose to trust Him today. If you don't trust Him, He will lead someone else to do what you should have done, and that person will receive the blessing instead of you. Let's decide to follow the Lord's leading today.
John 21 tells us a lot about Peter and the disciples before Jesus ascended back to heaven. Jesus encouraged Peter to trust Him and to serve Him. He did not force Peter. It was God's will for Peter to become a great apostle, but He did not force him. Peter had to decide to present himself to the Lord for his use. The same is true for John. He lived longer than Peter. He saw a vision of Jesus while on the prison island of Patmos. However, all of that came about because John chose to trust Jesus like Peter did. What does God want you to do? Please, don't miss it. Don't think God will do it anyway, so why do it. No, what you do matters. If you don't follow the Lord, some things won't happen. His ultimate will is still done, but the details are left off if we fail Him. Let's be faithful to Jesus.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezra 9-10 and Acts 1.
Ezra 6-8 tells us that God's hand was on them to complete the Temple. He worked in the heart of Darius the way He had worked in the heart of Cyrus to allow the Israelites to rebuild the Temple, and he even paid for it. However, did you notice that it doesn't say that Cyrus or Darius became a believer? God led them to do His ultimate will without forcing them to believe in Him. This was true when it came to Ezra and his group that returned to Jerusalem, too. The king gave them everything they needed, but God did not force them to return. They had to choose to trust Him and to go back to Jerusalem to serve Him. I know that God is working out His ultimate will in your life, but you still have to choose to trust Him today. If you don't trust Him, He will lead someone else to do what you should have done, and that person will receive the blessing instead of you. Let's decide to follow the Lord's leading today.
John 21 tells us a lot about Peter and the disciples before Jesus ascended back to heaven. Jesus encouraged Peter to trust Him and to serve Him. He did not force Peter. It was God's will for Peter to become a great apostle, but He did not force him. Peter had to decide to present himself to the Lord for his use. The same is true for John. He lived longer than Peter. He saw a vision of Jesus while on the prison island of Patmos. However, all of that came about because John chose to trust Jesus like Peter did. What does God want you to do? Please, don't miss it. Don't think God will do it anyway, so why do it. No, what you do matters. If you don't follow the Lord, some things won't happen. His ultimate will is still done, but the details are left off if we fail Him. Let's be faithful to Jesus.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezra 9-10 and Acts 1.