The story in Ezra 8-10 connects fasting to humility, petition, prayer, confession, and repentance. Ezra orders a fast so that his people will humble themselves and “ask [God] for a safe journey” (8:21). Then Ezra prays in chapter 9. In that prayer he accepts responsibility for sin and recognizes God’s faithful goodness. The next chapter [...]
Archive for the ‘Ezra’ Category
Day 143: Ezra 8-10
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Ezra, Spiritual Disciplines, tagged confession, Fasting, humility, life, prayer, repentance, spirituality on January 21, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Day 142: Ezra 4-7
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Conflict, Ezra, tagged life, ministry, peace, Unity on January 20, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
The desire for recognition plagues human nature, but there is a better way. Today’s reading shows us some people who begin an important ministry task, and others want to participate. When they don’t receive permission to join the team, they start working against the mission. They try to discourage the workers and fill them with [...]
Day 141: Ezra 1-3
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Ezra, Leadership, tagged life, spirituality, the gift of leadership on January 19, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Responsible leaders credit God for their positions. They recognize that leadership is a gift. The book of Ezra begins with an example of this in the words of King Cyrus of Persia: “The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a [...]
