“It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.”
5Then, at the evening sacrifice, I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the Lord my God 6and prayed:
“I am too ashamed and disgraced, my God, to lift up my face to you, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens. 7From the days of our ancestors until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been subjected to the sword and captivity, to pillage and humiliation at the hand of foreign kings, as it is today.
8“But now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm placea in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage. 9Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness in the sight of the kings of Persia: He has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.(9:5-9)
ACTS 1
12Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walkc from the city. 13When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
15In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty)
JOURNAL
The intensity by which Ezra mourns takes me aback. Do I really look at my actions and the actions of my family and my household with this level of scrutiny? Do I consider my actions and my ways and have I been faithful alone to God? Is my life consumed with seeking him...obeying him and being successful in doing all he leads me to do?
I am not...I do not...
Reading in Acts it is amazing that the followers of Christ numbered 120. God is successful in working through his believers. We are to be successful in doing those things he leads us to do and accomplish. The difference is that I have the spirit of God within me. That was made possible at Pentecost which is to come up in the next few chapters. That doesn't mean that my actions no longer matter. Rather it is simply a matter of perspective...operating for God as a slave vs. operating as a son.
Jesus made it possible that I would now be robbed in righteousness, no longer do I need to wallow in self-pity or scramble to feel justified. No longer must I feel shame for the past or experience the penance for past failures. I am justified, loved and made a son of prominence and privilege. That is the miracle of the gospel and the miracle of Jesus' death.
Watching some of the period dramas over the past few years...seeing the difference between those considered heir's and those considered slaves is a striking juxtaposition. The freedom is incomparable, but also the responsibility is undeniable, I think this is what God's intent is for us. To gain the sense of the responsibility we have as heirs. To embrace and own that sense of identity and power, but to use it in accomplishing his purposes. We are not here to make an easy life for ourselves...we are here to do great work. That work is building an outpost of God's kingdom wherever we are planted. In whatever time we have to live...we are to be the shining light on a hill. A place where those that are hurting, lonely and lost can experience the love and power of God.
2 CORINTHIANS 9:8
I am not...I do not...
Reading in Acts it is amazing that the followers of Christ numbered 120. God is successful in working through his believers. We are to be successful in doing those things he leads us to do and accomplish. The difference is that I have the spirit of God within me. That was made possible at Pentecost which is to come up in the next few chapters. That doesn't mean that my actions no longer matter. Rather it is simply a matter of perspective...operating for God as a slave vs. operating as a son.
Jesus made it possible that I would now be robbed in righteousness, no longer do I need to wallow in self-pity or scramble to feel justified. No longer must I feel shame for the past or experience the penance for past failures. I am justified, loved and made a son of prominence and privilege. That is the miracle of the gospel and the miracle of Jesus' death.
Watching some of the period dramas over the past few years...seeing the difference between those considered heir's and those considered slaves is a striking juxtaposition. The freedom is incomparable, but also the responsibility is undeniable, I think this is what God's intent is for us. To gain the sense of the responsibility we have as heirs. To embrace and own that sense of identity and power, but to use it in accomplishing his purposes. We are not here to make an easy life for ourselves...we are here to do great work. That work is building an outpost of God's kingdom wherever we are planted. In whatever time we have to live...we are to be the shining light on a hill. A place where those that are hurting, lonely and lost can experience the love and power of God.
4But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.b 6Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,cFather.” 7So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
GALATIANS 4:4-7
8And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
2 CORINTHIANS 9:8
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