Last Sunday's preaching was given by Bro Jeff from the Word of Life Fellowship. It was a very enlightening preaching which made us focus on what really counts in life. As an introduction he gave a general description of biblical history especially on the promise of God to His people, as well as His warning. And throughout history we could see how true God's words were, and are still true up to this day. The exiles and the returns of God's people to their home were also discussed to give a background on where Ezra was in all these happenings. The main bible reference we read is Ezra 7:10, which told of Ezra's passion for the word of God. He studied it, practiced it in his life, and taught others to follow it.
And so we were encouraged to look at Ezra as a model for our lives to have a revival in loving the word of God. In this life with all the distractions it is not surprising that God's children would neglect His word. But since we are living a different life from the world, we live according to a different standard. God's standard. So high we could not achieve it on our own, but only by God's presence through His Holy Spirit. So we need to keep close to Him day by day, moment by moment.
Here are Ezra's examples which we can emulate to have more zeal and passion for the Lord and His word:
1. He set his mind to study God's word. He focused his mind on God, he had passion and thought of His word always. What or where does my mind dwell on every day? We were reminded that the only eternal things in this world are the word of God and the souls of people. Let us be passionate and be consumed with God's word and the souls of people. Verses to read also include Matthew 6:20-21 and Joshua 1:8. The success mentioned in Joshua 1:8 is not the world's standard of success (more and more expensive material possessions and status) but rather God's standard which is knowing God's will for us and then doing it. So what is the focus of our lives? We should daily study and read His word, seeking the Lord. spending time with Him in prayer and meditation.
2. He practiced what he learned from God's word. There is a saying that "You only believe as much of the Bible as you live." For e.g. in 1 Peter 5:7 which talks about casting all our anxieties on the Lord for He cares for us...How true is this verse in our lives? Do we give all our worries to the Lord or do we hold them back from Him? We should give our worried to God and let Him take care of them, as He has promised and desires to do. We should give it to God and once we have done that we should not allow it to burden us.
Another example is 1 Corinthians 10:12 on temptations. Have we really acted on this verse and its promise? In fact God has given us the ability to withstand temptations everyday and in every situation. There is always a way out that He provides, we just have to claim it or ask for it.
3. He taught others to do the same. In 2 Timothy 2:2 we could see that teaching can be in many ways - big & small groups, one on one. It is everyone's responsibility to teach. And in Titus 2:3-4 the more mature in Christ should teach the younger ones.
All in all the preaching was very refreshing and it reminded us to still go back to the basics of spiritual disciplines to please God and grow in our relationship with Him. And as we meditate on what Jesus has done during this holy week, and looking forward to celebrate easter this Sunday, it is indeed a tribute to our Savior to live our lives fully committed to Him.
And so we were encouraged to look at Ezra as a model for our lives to have a revival in loving the word of God. In this life with all the distractions it is not surprising that God's children would neglect His word. But since we are living a different life from the world, we live according to a different standard. God's standard. So high we could not achieve it on our own, but only by God's presence through His Holy Spirit. So we need to keep close to Him day by day, moment by moment.
Here are Ezra's examples which we can emulate to have more zeal and passion for the Lord and His word:
1. He set his mind to study God's word. He focused his mind on God, he had passion and thought of His word always. What or where does my mind dwell on every day? We were reminded that the only eternal things in this world are the word of God and the souls of people. Let us be passionate and be consumed with God's word and the souls of people. Verses to read also include Matthew 6:20-21 and Joshua 1:8. The success mentioned in Joshua 1:8 is not the world's standard of success (more and more expensive material possessions and status) but rather God's standard which is knowing God's will for us and then doing it. So what is the focus of our lives? We should daily study and read His word, seeking the Lord. spending time with Him in prayer and meditation.
2. He practiced what he learned from God's word. There is a saying that "You only believe as much of the Bible as you live." For e.g. in 1 Peter 5:7 which talks about casting all our anxieties on the Lord for He cares for us...How true is this verse in our lives? Do we give all our worries to the Lord or do we hold them back from Him? We should give our worried to God and let Him take care of them, as He has promised and desires to do. We should give it to God and once we have done that we should not allow it to burden us.
Another example is 1 Corinthians 10:12 on temptations. Have we really acted on this verse and its promise? In fact God has given us the ability to withstand temptations everyday and in every situation. There is always a way out that He provides, we just have to claim it or ask for it.
3. He taught others to do the same. In 2 Timothy 2:2 we could see that teaching can be in many ways - big & small groups, one on one. It is everyone's responsibility to teach. And in Titus 2:3-4 the more mature in Christ should teach the younger ones.
All in all the preaching was very refreshing and it reminded us to still go back to the basics of spiritual disciplines to please God and grow in our relationship with Him. And as we meditate on what Jesus has done during this holy week, and looking forward to celebrate easter this Sunday, it is indeed a tribute to our Savior to live our lives fully committed to Him.
To live with passion for Him.
2 comments:
He suffered, died, and was buried... but Hallelujah after 3 days He rose again so that all who puts their trust in Him will inherit the abundant life in Christ Jesus!
Let the wind blow and cause the rain of revival to fall on the earth!
Hi, thanks for this beautiful thought. Really inspiring.
by the way i appreciate you for leaving a comment in my post:)
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