day no. 13,034: study, obey and teach‏

Ezra 7:10

 

Now Ezra had determined in his heart to study the law of the Lord, obey it, and teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel.

 

Study the Word.

Obey the Word.

Teach the Word.

 

These are the things Ezra had determined in his heart to be about.

 

STUDY:

 

What does it say and what does it mean?

 

OBEY:

 

What must I change about what I believe and how I behave in order to do what it says?

 

TEACH:

 

How can share what I’ve learned and what I’m doing with others?

day no. 13,031: the proof is in the provision‏

Acts 17:30-31

“Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent,³¹ because He has set a day when He is going to judge the world in righteousness by the Man He has appointed. He has provided proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”

God is commanding people to repent.

He will judge the world by the standard of righteousness.

Those who do not have Jesus as their righteousness will be found wanting and will be judged guilty forever.

Those who have Jesus have the standard of righteousness God requires and will be welcomed into His eternal presence.

 

The proof is in the pudding.

 

*if by pudding you mean "resurrection," which I don't suggest you begin doing because that would be unnecessarily confusing.

day no. 13,030: open-mindedness = eagerness to hear and diligence to examine‏

Acts 17:11

The people here were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, since they welcomed the message with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

 

These people were commended by Paul for not taking his word for it.

 

He was encouraged by their devotion to God’s Word, not his words.

 

Their diligence did not quench their eagerness.

Their eagerness did not ignore diligence.

 

But don’t take my word for it, take His Word for it.

 

Examine the Scriptures daily.

day no. 13,029: when, where and why‏

Acts 17:26-27

 

From one man He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live.²⁷ He did this so they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.

 

God has had much to say about when and where you were born.

 

These variables were taken into consideration and choreographed by Him SO THAT you would reach out to Him and FIND Him since He is not far from us.

 

By faith in Jesus, the vast gulf between God and man is bridged easily, effectively and eternally.

day no. 13,028: there is no use trying to make your whites whiter

Acts 15:8-9

⁸ And God, who knows the heart, testified to them by giving the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us.⁹ He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.

Nothing but faith in Jesus cleanses our hearts before God.
And that faith in Him cleanses us completely.

Nothing else can add to it or make you more clean.
If you are in Him by faith you are as clean as He was, is and evermore will be.

day no. 13,027: the proud divvy the plunder (for now)‏

Proverbs 16:19

Better to be lowly of spirit with the humble
than to divide plunder with the proud.

 

The proud divide their plunder.

They devour and destroy for the sake of gain.

 

They would rather have a share of the plunder acquired by wickedness than to in humility and righteousness be plundered.

 

If it is dog eat dog, they want to be the first dog, avoiding at all costs being the second dog.

Matthew 5:5

 

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

 

The reward of the lowly in Spirit is that they inherit the earth.

 

They may not be found dividing plunder here in the corners of this world, but they will one day be found frolicking in the pastures of the world they own.

James 4:10

 

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

 

You aren’t humble for the sake of gaining things per se, but rather the humble will be those surprised to be receiving anything for doing what their regenerated hearts desired to do for Jesus’ Name.

Luke 14:11

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

 

You can make a dash for the cash along with those who mock meekness, but you will be dead broke and devastated forever under the just hand of God.

 

Better to be lowly and exalted by God than to strive to be much here only to be made humble by God’s firm rebuke.

day no. 13,024: and you, when you have turned back‏

Luke 22:31-32

³¹ “Simon, Simon, look out! Satan has asked to sift you like wheat.³²But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

 

I love Jesus’ Words, “And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

 

Here is Matthew Henry’s take on it.

 

The charge he gives to Peter is to help others as he should himself be helped of God: “When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren; when thou art recovered by the grace of God, and brought to repentance, do what thou canst to recover others; when thou hast found thy faith kept from failing, labour to confirm the faith of others, and to establish them; when thou hast found mercy with God thyself, encourage others to hope that they also shall find mercy.” Note, (1.) Those that have fallen into sin must be converted from it; those that have turned aside must return; those that have left their first love must do their first works. (2.) Those that through grace are converted from sin must do what they can to strengthen their brethren that stand, and to prevent their falling; see Ps. 51:11-13; 1 Tim. 1:13.

 

Those who have been brought back from sin to reconciliation should make it their business to seek sinners so that they might receive and embrace that same reconciliation.

 

You who have failed, be restored by the grace of God in Christ and then make it your business to speak boldly about your failure and His favor found in Christ alone.