Category Archives: Sunday

Together Individually

Posted on August 27, 2023 | Leave a comment

Acts 2:41-47
41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.  42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Just imagine that day. One day when “about three thousand souls” “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers,” to become a new body, the church. “And” because of their praising God with “glad and generous hearts”…together…the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” 

“Together” is the mystery of the “body of Christ.”  God has chosen that one word to reveal His purpose for the church; a place where the awe of Jesus’s Spirit in them individually is combined with the ordinary act of meeting…together…to provide for the needs of  “those who [day by day are] being saved.”  Hebrews 10:25 MSG says, “Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.”  

Leave a comment

Posted in Acts, Hebrews, Light, New Testament, Sunday

Tagged , , , ,

Conditions of the Cure

Posted on August 20, 2023 | Leave a comment

Acts 2:37 Now when they heard [“this Jesus whom you crucified” 2:36] they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” ESV

Jesus had said many times that “anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!”a  And with good reason! God’s truth demands more than a robotic response to powerful words and signs, even His own.  God had spoken that same challenge long before this day through Isaiah 6:10 “Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”  God made it clear “this people” was already in His sights.  His challenge was unless “this crooked generation” consciously chose to understand what their ears heard and their eyes saw of His truth it would never lead to their hearts being changed and an unchanged heart would never lead to His promise of healing and “the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  Peter stood before his brothers proclaiming God had satisfied His own challenge.  “Now when they heard” him say “this Jesus whom you crucified”…“they heard”…and “they were cut to the heart.”  

This Jesus/God, through His life and resurrection had done everything necessary to cure heavy ears, blind eyes and dull hearts.   Peter’s challenge to them was to “repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for forgiveness of their sins. God had provided the challenge and the conditions of His promise to remove those barriers and breathe new life into a dull heart with His Holy Spirit so they could “understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”  

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.b  And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in [me] will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.c”

a Matthew 11:15
b Galatians 2:20
c Philippians 1:6 [you]

Leave a comment

Posted in Acts, Galatians, Isaiah, Light, Matthew, Philippians, Sunday

Tagged , , ,

This Jesus God Raised Up

Posted on August 13, 2023 | Leave a comment

Acts 2:29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath[a] to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, 35 until I make your enemies your footstool.”’ 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” [b]

“This Jesus God raised up” is the whole point of Peter’s speech.  Some of the “brothers” needed to be convinced. Some of them had heard of, or seen the supernatural signs Jesus had done but they questioned if those were of God.  Some of them may actually have been in the crowd that had chanted “crucify him” and maybe were also part of the ghastly parade that followed Jesus to the cross.  Some of them having witnessed the spectacle of Jesus’s death by crucifixion would certainly eliminate any possibility of life for Him.   Some of them accepted Peter’s confident statement that what they had witnessed was the exaltation of Jesus “at the right hand of God.”  Some had recognized what they’d seen and heard was a new Spirit “from the Father.”  Very few of them would have expected to hear Peter’s words that accused them of crucifying Jesus.  Would you?

Some of the “brothers” response might have been to discredit Peter’s words because of that accusation.  But all of them needed to be reminded they had seen what “God had sworn with an oath” to their revered patriarch, come to pass. God’s choice was no longer a historical record, He had made this death personal…and Peter meant them to feel the sting of those words “whom you crucified.”  God had chosen “the one who would build a house for my Name” from David’s descendants to “establish the throne of His kingdom forever.” “This Jesus whom you crucified,” was made “both Lord and Christ” so you could be certain “this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing” is His Son’s Spirit, received from the Father and forever poured out as a witness to you.“And of that we all are witnesses.”

[a] 2 Samuel 7:12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.
[b] Psalm 110:1

Leave a comment

Posted in 2 Samuel, Acts, Light, Psalms, Sunday

Tagged , , ,

They Should’a Known

Posted on August 6, 2023 | Leave a comment

Acts 2:22 Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 

Hear these words! Words to those law-less men to whom God provided clear evidence of who Jesus was.  According to God’s definite plan and foreknowledge… those men crucified and killed Jesus!  The crucifixion wasn’t what made them lawless, that was a grisly but legal process.  Their law-lessness was rejecting the signs of God in their midst they should’a recognized. They rejected those signs because their God inhabited the place of their choosing, acted in response to their record of His laws and then waited until they were ready to approach Him with a legal sacrifice.  Their law-lessness was blind unbelief in what God had already made known to them about His presence in their long and revered history.  

25 For David says concerning him, “‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; 26 therefore my heart was glad, my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. 27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

Long before Jesus, David knew[a] that God was always present with him and accessible.  He knew even when his sin was revealed God would not abandon him to destruction.  He knew death could not destroy the Holy One.  He knew the Lord had made known the paths of life.  He knew God’s presence filled him with unshakable hope that made his heart glad.  He knew because God had made it known to him.  Even the history of God’s presence that lived in David’s words from the past was not enough for the lawless men to believe God would be present with them, now!   Their law-lessness was that God had come into their midst and made Himself known to them and they rejected Him.  They should’a known!

[a] quoting Psalm 16:8-11

Leave a comment

Posted in Acts, Light, New Testament, Old Testament, Psalms, Sunday

Tagged , , , ,

Firsthand Opportunity

Posted on July 30, 2023 | Leave a comment

Acts 2:14-21 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.  16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
[Acts 2:17-21 quoting from Joel 2:28-32] “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.  29 Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. 30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

“Let this be known to you” is exactly what I look for as I study because I believe the Holy Sprit teaches the timeless truth of all God’s promises given long before Acts 2 and long before today.[a]   I want to know what I believe is really mine, firsthand, not truth that someone else learned and I accepted. I write hoping you may find truth here, but if something I write causes you to question, I want you to be compelled to search firsthand too.

Joel prophesied that God said “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.  I wondered about that “all flesh” in verse 17/28 enough that I read it in 30+  versions.  Here are the words I found following the “all” in them…“flesh, mankind, everyone, people, humanity.”  It doesn’t say all believers!  What if “all” is exactly what God meant!  I saw two promises here. The first was God’s Spirit in all as the promise of opportunity.  Please don’t be fooled by the inclusiveness of that “all.”  The first promise must lead to the second.  The second promise of salvation could only become reality because of the first and there was a requirement. Peter urges us to “give ear” to his quoting of Joel’s prophecy.  It’s our firsthand opportunity to wonder and ponder God’s truth because someone else’s truth is not going to save you.  Then I wondered about the “afterward.” 

Was “afterward” Jesus?  Was this prophecy the hint of a savior who would be destroyed, then restored to provide opportunity for all?  Did Joel see the last days as the promise of a level playing field created by God’s dedicated choice of His Spirit on all?”  The undetermined number of years of Kingdom life in the mysterious last days was going to be a seesaw of many good and bad events that would culminate in the “great and awesome day of the Lord” when the requirement would be fulfilled “it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
“When Joel looked into the future, God didn’t tell him how many years would separate the different parts of the last days that he was describing. He saw the last days as all one piece. Some of what he saw was nearer to the beginning of the last days, and some was nearer to the end of the last days.”[b]   

[a] John 16:12-13 I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 

[b] John Piper

Leave a comment

Posted in Acts, Joel, Light, Sunday

Tagged , , , ,

Firstfruits

Posted on July 23, 2023 | Leave a comment


Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.  5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

History: Pentecost has “arrived.” 
I was surprised to learn Pentecost has it’s roots in the Old Testament.  Long before Acts was written there were annual celebrations of the harvests of two grains, barley and wheat.  The first harvest, Passover celebrated the Jews physical deliverance from Egypt and their desire to refresh their lives by reminding themselves it was God that had made the difference in them.  Barley and wheat were both planted at the same time but wheat took longer to ripen.  The days between the ripening of those two grains ended with the Feast of Weeks, Shavuot.  Pentecost/Shavuot was the celebration of the wheat harvest meant to remind them the time of wandering was over. God had provided for them a spiritual deliverance too.  He’d given them His presence in the land, a time to plant and a time to harvest.

The Harvest:
This beautiful passage begins by filling the “entire house where they were sitting.” Then the mysterious “tongues…”rested on each one of them.” I can’t help it I have to interject right here…Holy Smoke!  I read this and I thought this passage is the harvest!  These people are the firsfruits of the Bread of Life in the gathering place for those who remember the difference God has made in their lives.  The “one place“ where people can still hear a sound like a mighty rushing wind.  It’s the Church where we begin to hear the bewildering words of faith spoken by the Holy Spirit to each of us in the language we hear as our own.  We hear and finally understand “the mighty works of God,” have ripened in us.  The “day of Pentecost arrived” and we have become the firstfruits of the wheat harvest. “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” James 1:18

“Passover may have given them their lives, but Pentecost gave them the ability to provide life for others.”a

a More History

Leave a comment

Posted in Acts, James, Light, New Testament, Sunday

Tagged , , , ,

Not Forgotten

Posted on July 16, 2023 | Leave a comment

Acts 1:12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.  15 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, 16 “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” 18 (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. 19 And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms, “‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and “‘Let another take his office.’ 21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” 23 And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. ESV

There are many theories about why Jesus picked 12 men originally but this replacement event may be less about maintaining a symbolic number and more about their desire to honor the leadership structure Jesus had taught them.  The mission of that original team had been clear; spend time with Jesus, learn how to be messengers of God and go out in pairs to preach the truth about Him and His Kingdom to as many people as possible.  That team-building process had been fruitful — “the company of persons was in all about 120” but that leadership team was now one short.  The important task for this group now was to fill the gap betrayal had left them with and to “let another take his [Judas’s] office.”

Matthias’s name is recorded only twice in the Bible, both times in this short passage from Acts. He may only be one of the “about 120” persons, but his name is one of only two that has been “put forward.” He’s met the qualifications Peter identifies. Matthias is “one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us.”  God chooses an almost forgotten follower of Jesus to honor with the title Apostle. 

Matthias walked into his future knowing that God had not forgotten him.   That title, Apostle, was a great reward for a faithful man who’d spent his life learning how to live and speak as a messenger of Jesus, not building his own history.   Matthias’s achievements have been lost in the record of human history. But the title God gave him has preserved his life for all of divine history with another small testimony — “and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”  Jesus had died, been resurrected, and ascended to heaven. Matthias witnessed that resurrected Jesus with his own eyes and heard Him speak firsthand the words of the Great Commission that confirmed everything he’d done in the past and directed the future of his life to the end of the age — Matthew 28:19:20.  

 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all
that I have commanded you. And behold,
I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Leave a comment

Posted in Acts, Light, Matthew, New Testament, Sunday

Tagged , ,

Here, There & Beyond

Posted on July 9, 2023 | Leave a comment

HERE:
1 In my first book I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. 3 During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God. 4 Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. 5 John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
THERE:
6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” 7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  9 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!” NLT

BEYOND:
My first question might be yours too.  Why is Luke’s second book not right there after his Gospel?  About the second century when the church was arranging these writings into a collection we call the “canon,” the writings of Luke were separated into two parts but they didn’t become Luke 1 and Luke 2.  Luke, in his first book tells the details and events of God revealing Himself in recognizable human form of “new life.”  Jesus came into the world to be a visible example of life that was not trapped by separation from God but built on a relationship with Him. The major events of Jesus’s life happened in and around Jerusalem in that “first” book.  Those details were foundational to what Luke wrote in that “second” book.  It was that second half of his writing to the same man, that tells the story of how the God of Israel revealed his “Acts” beyond Jerusalem and beyond the Jews to reveal Christ in a new way that would offer new life to us beyond the limits of humanity.   New life within people through the Holy Spirit effectively recreating a “new body” for Himself — His Church.

My second question is about the “two white robed men” who “suddenly stood among them.”  I don’t know who they were but I feel certain their message was to challenge the focus of those “men of Galilee” who were straining to see beyond their understanding into heaven and the future.  Jesus was writing the second part of His book.  He had promised there was going to be something new…the Holy Spirit.  Here’s an interesting thing for us to ponder about that challenge.  Was their message meant to focus the apostles on the promise that Jesus would be with them again when He returned in the future?  Or was it to remind them the second half of the story was not going to be about Jesus in Heaven but about Jesus in them…“telling people about [Jesus] everywhere?

Leave a comment

Posted in Light, Luke, New Testament, Sunday

Tagged , , , ,

FREEDOM

Posted on July 2, 2023 | Leave a comment

Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

The phrase that got my attention this morning is “your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” It’s that word “hidden” that made me wonder – is it the old life, the new life, or both that’s hidden…And why?  Most of us would like at least part of our old life to be hidden. That’s where those “earthly things” before “Christ, who is your life” are. Why would that old life with those scars be worth hiding “with Christ in God?” Why not just throw them away?  Wouldn’t that be freedom?

How about that “new life?” We get to live with new realities and new options where our responses are based on transformation, not trapped in old information. Why would we want anything about this new life hidden?  Maybe God really does have a Safety Deposit Box where He keeps all the details of our progress toward freedom! It’s odd, but our scars may be part of the treasure that has been hidden by God “for” our future, not just “from” our past. God has found valuable purpose for our life even with scars.  

God’s Safety Deposit Box is where every proof of our inheritance, our treasure and our healing are hidden and protected from ever being lost. Freedom continues to grow and we continue to receive it’s dividends because God has kept every detail of our journey safe. This morning before July 4, 2023 here is the evidence of real Freedom to celebrate.

“-I have been  crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me, and the life I now live in the flesh I live by [the faith of] the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
-For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.
-So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.
-He who began a good work in you, will be faithful to complete it!
-For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”a

a “Galatians 2:20 [“the faith of” from the old KJV],  Romans 8:2, 2 Peter 1:12, Philippians 1:6, Colossians 3:3”

Leave a comment

Posted in 2 Peter, Colossians, Galatians, Light, New Testament, Philippians, Romans, Sunday

Tagged , , , ,

Preservation

Posted on June 25, 2023 | Leave a comment

THE STORY
7 And there went up also to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king, some of the people of Israel, and some of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servants. 8 And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. 9 For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was on him. 10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.
THE KING
21 “And I, Artaxerxes the king, make a decree to all the treasurers in the province Beyond the River: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, requires of you, let it be done with all diligence…23 Whatever is decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done in full for the house of the God of heaven, lest his wrath be against the realm of the king and his sons.
EZRA
27 Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem, 28 and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.

MY THOUGHTS
A long line of Persian kings have remembered the priestly history of the exiled people and the dramatic intervention of the “God of heaven” in their past.  What is remarkable is all those kings, who’ve revered many gods have kept a fearful reverence for the power of this God to act on behalf of His people in the present…and…Finally we meet Ezra himself.  Ezra is a descendent of Aaron the first High Priest and the son of the last High Priest before captivity. He was born in captivity.  That history has been the bookends of his life.  He has never personally experienced worship in a place filled with God’s presence but he’s “set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel” and the king has given him legal authority to act on God’s behalf.

Ezra’s heart is generous to the king.  “Blessed be the Lord, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king to beautify the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem, and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty officers.”

The king’s generosity has seen the value of his support for “the people of Israel” as the preservation of his kingdom.  “Whatever is decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done in full for the house of the God of heaven, lest his wrath be against the realm of the king and his sons.”

Ezra stands “before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty officers” knowing “the good hand of his God” is revealing God’s steadfast love and power that manages the heart even of a pagan king — for the preservation of His people.

Leave a comment

Posted in Ezra, Light, Old Testament, Sunday

Tagged , , ,