Author Archive for: meiling

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Ezra 3:1-13.  Let’s go!

On verses 1-6:  After settling into their towns in Jerusalem, the priests led by Joshua and the politicians led by Zerubabbel begin building the altar of the Lord, just as the law of Moses had prescribed.  They celebrate the biggest festival in their calendar, the Feast of Tabernacles (v4), and make regular and ongoing sacrifices to the Lord (v5).  There are two verses that especially stick out to me:
“Despite their fear of the people around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord” (v3)
“they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, though the foundation of the Lord’s temple had not yet been laid.” (v6)

Notice that the leaders of the Israelites built the altar despite their fear of the people around them (v3) and offered burnt offerings even though the foundation of the temple was not yet laid (v6).  In other words, the leaders of God’s people did not let fear or inconvenience stop them from building God’s house or giving their required offerings.   They did it anyways.

Likewise, don’t allow fear or inconvenience stop you from worshiping God and giving God a pleasing offering.  Push through, find a way and do it anyways.  That’s what separates the leader whom God uses to do great things from the one who just goes with the crowd. 

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Ezra 2:1-70.  Let’s go!

Ezra 2:1-2 (NIV) 
1  Now these are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken captive to Babylon (they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town, 
2  in company with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum and Baanah): The list of the men of the people of Israel

On verses 3-58, 64-70:   What can we learn from this long list of names of the 40,000 plus people who returned to Jerusalem? The fact that God’s Word lists by name the different families that went back to Jerusalem tells us that God remembers people for their faith. 

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Ezra 1:1-11.  Let’s go!

Ezra 1:2-3 (NIV) 
2  “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: “‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. 
3  Anyone of his people among you–may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem.

On verses 1-11:  For decades the Jews had been living in exile in the land of Babylon, away from their homeland of Jerusalem.  However, in 539 B.C. Cyrus king of Persia defeats the Babylonians.  In his first year as king, Cyrus is moved in his heart by the Lord and proclaims that all the Jews may return to their homeland and build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem.   The remainder of the chapter shows the Jews making their way back to Jerusalem.d covenant did not have.

Today’s passage is Hebrews 13:10-25.  Let’s go!

Hebrews 13:10 (NIV) 
10  We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.

On verse 10:  “Those who minister at the tabernacle” refers to priests who served under the old covenant and who would sacrifice bulls and goats according to the law of Moses.  Here the writer of Hebrews is saying that we as believers in Christ living under the new covenant have an altar – that is, we have access to God through the shed blood of Jesus – which the old covenant priests could not access by merely sacrificing the bulls and goats.  As Hebrews 10:20 says, “a new and living way [to God] opened for us” when Jesus died on the cross for our sins.  Once again it’s the theme that through Jesus Christ we have something incredibly special that people under the old covenant did not have.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Hebrews 13:1-11. Let’s go!

On verses 1-11:  While the book of Hebrews contains more doctrine than most of the New Testament, it also contains some of the most important teaching on how to practically live out your life as a Christian.  In these verses, the writer of Hebrews gives us 7 actions he wants his readers to take in light of all that Jesus has done for us:

Keep loving your fellow Christians as brothers and sisters.  Treat them as family (v1).
Show hospitality to strangers (v2).   As a motivating reason, the writer of Hebrews alludes to times in the Old Testament where someone entertained a stranger who turned out to be an angel (see for example Genesis 18 and 19).