Editor’s Note: The AMI QT Devotionals from October 18-24 are provided by Kate Moon who serves as a missionary in E. Asia.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

Ezra 9:3-6:  “When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard . . . And I sat there appalled until the evening sacrifice.  Then, 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 and prayed: ‘O my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens.’”

I remember the first time someone told me their favorite T.V. show was “Modern Family.”  They were describing it to me, and it just sounded so sad that this was what was being promoted as being definitive of what families are today.  Then I watched it, and I understood the point the show was trying to make, appreciating its depictions of warm moments between family members.  And I found myself trying to minimize what had been disturbing to me at first so that I could just enjoy the show for what it was.  At the same time, I also found myself wondering if this was the new standard to which I had to become desensitized in order to enjoy any kind of entertainment these days—and whether this was worth it.

Becoming more open-minded as a society has mostly been a positive change—we’ve come to accept one another’s differences more, embracing multi-culturalism, and fighting violence stemming from prejudice.  Yet in the name of tolerance and understanding, have our hearts become dull when it comes to looking at sin?  Ezra’s reaction to the discovery of sin among the people was a strong and emotional one.  When was the last time we got emotional about finding sin, in others’ lives or our own?  Not counting being angry or upset because someone has sinned against us, or depressed because we are suffering the consequences of our own bad judgments, but genuinely upset because God was being so wronged.

Ezra felt appalled, ashamed and disgraced, and we should take note.  When our hearts have grown so calloused to sin, seeing this man’s reaction is a refreshing reminder of what it is like when someone truly loves God first, taking His side before anyone else’s.  After all that He had done for his people, this was how they treated Him (vv. 8-10).  Ezra not only saw things the way God did, through the lens of His word, he felt them with His heart.  What is the state of our hearts today?

Prayer

Lord, I am kind of appalled at the state of my own heart.  There is much that I am not bothered by anymore, in my own life, in others’.  Forgive me and sensitize my heart once again.  In Jesus’ name I pray.

Bible Reading for Today: Habakkuk 1

Lunch Break Study

Read Ezekiel 11:19-20: “ I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. 20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.’”

Questions to Consider

1. When people receive a heart of flesh, what will this new heart cause them to do?
2. What does this say about what it means to have a “heart of flesh” in this context?
3. In contrast, then, what kind of heart is a heart of stone? On a scale of 1-10, how much would you say your heart is calibrated towards God’s standards and commands, moving you to live by His ways?

Notes

1. Move the people to live life by God’s laws.
2. A “heart of flesh” doesn’t just mean one that is “soft towards people” or “warm and loving.” In this context, it is related to responsiveness to God’s laws and His ways.
3. A heart that rejects God’s laws and does not move the people to live by them.

Evening Reflection

What values did I encounter in the world today?  If you felt any godly distress, take a moment to take this to the Lord in sincere repentance on behalf of others or even yourself, and receive His mercy and grace.

Editor’s Note: The AMI QT Devotionals from October 18-24 are provided by Kate Moon who serves as a missionary in E. Asia.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

Ezra 8:15-17:  “ . . . When I checked among the people and the priests, I found no Levites there. 16 So I summoned . . . [leaders and men of learning], 17 and . . . I told them what to say to Iddo and his fellow Levites, the temple servants in Kasiphia, so that they might bring attendants to us for the house of our God.”

Ezra 8:32-35: “So we arrived in Jerusalem, where we rested three days. 33 On the fourth day, in the house of our God, we weighed out the silver and gold and the sacred articles . . . 35 Then the exiles who had returned from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel . . . ”

If the church is the Bride of Christ, Sunday worship is the bride’s date time with her bridegroom.

It’s the time when, as a body, the church decides to set aside all other things and focus solely on building her relationship with Him. Just as each believer builds his or her own special relationship with God through individual Bible reading and prayer, I believe there is a special and unique relationship each believing community builds with God as they all physically come together as a group once a week, hearing the same message together, praying and singing the same songs of adoration together. The worship service, then, becomes the core of a church’s relationship with God; one could say it is the most important thing that she does.

That people spend time with Him together, as a group, has been important to God from the earliest days of the Israelites’ history with Him as His people. In today’s passage, we see how central worship was to this community by how much attention it is given throughout the chapter. Ezra’s entire description of the journey is about everything they needed in order to worship God, whether it was the Levites (without them, how would the sacrifices be made?) or the temple articles and offerings, and how they made it safely from Babylon to Jerusalem. When they do arrive, after a few days’ rest, the first thing they do is gather at the temple and worship God. This was the most important thing for them to be able to do.

How precious is our church’s time of corporate worship to me? If I haven’t been as committed as I should, or if there is another activity that brings a time conflict this week, what decision do I need to make about this today? How can I prepare my heart, my offering, etc., even today, as I look forward to this weekend’s service?

Prayer

Lord, what a special example this heart of Ezra is for me today. Just reading about his preparations and concerns blesses my heart. Help me to have the same concern and passion for our church’s times of meeting with You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Joel 3

Lunch Break Study

Read Ezra 8:24-25, 28-29 : “Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests . . . and ten of their brothers, 25 and I weighed out to them the offering of silver and gold and the articles . . . 28 I said to them, “You as well as these articles are consecrated to the Lord. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of your ancestors. 29 Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the house of the Lord in Jerusalem before the leading priests and the Levites and the family heads of Israel.”

1 Peter 2:9: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

Questions to Consider

1. What is described as being “consecrated to the Lord” (v. 28)?
2. What did Ezra ask the priests and their brothers to do (v. 29)?
3. What conclusion can we draw from the answers to the two questions above? How should we consider those (including ourselves) who serve at the temple so that His people can worship?

Notes

1. Both material goods (temple articles & offerings) AND people (priests + brothers).
2. Guard the offerings carefully.
3. If material goods were to be guarded carefully because they were set apart for God, all the more the priests should also take care of themselves – not just so that they can protect the offerings but because they themselves are also set apart for God. As people set apart to serve, we are important and should take care to guard our conditions so that we are able to serve Him and His people well when the time comes.

Evening Reflection

The weekend is just around the corner. Do I have excitement and anticipation in my heart as I look forward to meeting Him with my brothers and sisters in gathered, corporate worship?

Editor’s Note: The AMI QT Devotionals from October 18-24 are provided by Kate Moon who serves as a missionary in E. Asia.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

Ezra 8:21-23:  “There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. 22 I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, ‘The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.’ 23 So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.”

Have you ever made a boast that you lived to regret? Or even simply said you could do something only to find out later that it was a lot harder than you thought, and now you’re stuck? If so, you have some idea of Ezra’s predicament here.

I love how honest Ezra is about his reasons for proclaiming the fast, how human he shows himself to be. Often, when we think about Bible characters declaring faith in God before people who believe in other gods, we think of bold stances taken: Elijah who challenged the prophets of Baal, having full confidence that God would come through; or Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who told King Nebuchadnezzar they believed God could rescue them from the fiery furnace, but even if He didn’t, He would still be God to them.

Ezra’s situation was somewhat different in that when he said what he did, it wasn’t in the immediate context of having God prove Himself. Ezra may have just been explaining about what God was like to the king. And yet now here he was, caught by his words, finding himself in a situation where he had to place his trust in God though it may not have been his original intent. When Ezra says that he was ashamed to ask the king for the protection of his army, we can imagine the subtext: “Ah, if only I hadn’t said anything, I totally could have asked him for the horses and soldiers!”

Our faith can be so unheroic, almost reluctant at times. Yet, it seems God can sometimes allow us to get ourselves into these situations so that He can prove himself, even when we had no intention of taking a leap of faith or making a stand so that He could receive glory. Is there an area of your life where you feel God is asking you to trust in Him today? Even if your faith feels as small as a mustard seed, turn to Him – turn and see what He can do.

Prayer

Lord, I confess that most of the time, I’m not in the mindset of taking these great risks for the sake of Your Name. Most of the time, I’d rather play it safe. Lord, help me to believe in You for greater things, in spite of myself. For your glory, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Joel 2

Lunch Break Study

Read Matthew 17:19-21: “Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, ‘Why couldn’t we drive it out?’ 20 He replied, ‘Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.’”  

Questions to Consider

1. How does Jesus describe the faith required to do a miracle (v. 20)?
2. What does this say about just how little faith the disciples had (vv. 19-20)?
3. What does Jesus say can be done if we have faith (v. 20)? Is there something that you’ve written off as impossible that God may be asking you to reconsider today?

Notes

1. As small as a mustard seed.
2. It wasn’t just “not enough;” if it wasn’t even as big as a mustard seed, it was next to none.
3. Anything. Sometimes, daring to believe in God for something makes you vulnerable as there is fear of disappointment. But take heart; He wants to do more in our lives than we think.

Evening Reflection

As a result of meditating on God’s word throughout the day, was your outlook more hopeful?

Editor’s Note: The AMI QT Devotionals from October 18-24 are provided by Kate Moon who serves as a missionary in E. Asia.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

Ezra 7:11, 14, 25-26:  “This is a copy of the letter King Artaxerxes had given to Ezra the priest and teacher, a man learned in matters concerning the commands and decrees of the LORD for Israel: . . . ‘You are sent by the king and his seven advisers to inquire about Judah and Jerusalem with regard to the Law of your God, which is in your hand . . . And you are to teach any who do not know them [=God’s laws].  Whoever does not obey the law of your God and the law of the king must surely be punished . . .’”

Recently, in my free time, I’ve been working on putting together a set of MP3s (in the olden days called “making a mix”) to give as a gift to my sisters this Christmas (shhh, it’s a surprise).  There were these songs that we used to hear on the radio when we were little – we never fully caught or understood the lyrics; all we knew was that we thought they were hilarious –  and we would sing along, dance around, and laugh and laugh:  “Fernando” by ABBA (we liked the name), “Abracadabra” by Steve Miller Band (“I wanna reach out and grab ya” was the rhyming line), and “Sandy” from the Grease soundtrack (“Why-ay-ay-ay…”).

While it’s been fun to reminisce, as these songs have started getting stuck in my head, sometimes playing on endless repeat throughout the day, I’ve also been reminded of how we are called to be in the world but not so influenced that we get lost in it.  In today’s passage, it is challenging to read these words of a Gentile king who seems more interested that God’s law be kept than the people of Israel themselves had been.  The people of Israel had lost their nationhood precisely because they had continually disobeyed God’s law.  The law’s intent had been to set this people apart from the nations around them, but when they failed to keep it and remain distinct, God allowed them to be conquered and absorbed into those very surrounding nations.

Even in exile, though, some, like Ezra, made an effort to stay set apart.  It must not have been easy, living in an environment where the majority had no reason to care (what reason would Persians have to eschew shellfish or not work on the Sabbath?), yet Ezra was devoted to preserving his people’s identity in this foreign place, making sure they didn’t forget who they were.  Our hearts today, are our antennas more attuned to signals from the world around for keeping up, fitting in?  Or are they set on receiving from the Lord as we remember we belong to Him?

Prayer

Dear God, it is such a privilege to belong to You, to be one of Your people.  Help me to value being set apart for You, to treasure the commands that ask me to live differently.  Help me to love Your word more, to devote myself to obey.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Joel 1

Lunch Break Study

Read John 17:14-17: I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

Questions to Consider

1. How can the world view those who have the word of God (v. 14)?
2. What comfort can we receive from how Jesus describes his followers (vv. 14,16)?
3. What effect does God’s word have on His people (v. 17)? Have you experienced this?  In what ways is it better than being affected by the world?

Notes

1. The world can hate us. Good to be reminded so that we are not caught off-guard when we encounter opposition as we try to live by the word God has given us.
2. In not belonging to this world, we are like Jesus. When we are rejected by the world, it is comforting to remember that it is only to be expected because we are not from here.  Why should we try so hard to belong to a place that is not our true home?
3. God’s word purifies His people, cleansing them from sin. God’s word is truth, and the truth sets us free from sin and the lies of the Enemy.  The rules of this world, on the other hand, bind and enslave us.  Let’s proactively seek the freedom there is in living according to God’s word.

Evening Reflection

How was it today, living in this world?  What ideas was I exposed to?  Are there any I need to conscientiously reject because they are counter to godly principles?  Do so at this time, rejoicing in the knowledge that by doing so, you are maintaining the freedom that is yours in Christ Jesus.

Editor’s Note: The AMI QT devotionals from today are provided by Kate Moon, an AMI missionary in East Asia.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

Ezra 7:9-10:  9 [Ezra] had begun his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was on him.  10 For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.

Why do we pray for people when they travel?  Statistics say that a person is more likely to die in a car accident than in a plane crash; they also say that a majority of car accidents happen closer to home rather than farther away.  This seems to suggest that we’re in more danger when living our everyday lives than when we travel; yet still we pray, for our loved ones, for traveling mercies, because traveling is hard.

We ask God to watch over and protect traveling friends, and when we hear that they have reached their destination safely, we thank Him in acknowledgment.  Ezra does the same when he writes this account of his journey, attributing his safe arrival in Jerusalem to “the gracious hand of his God” being upon him (v. 9).  In the following sentence, however, he also interestingly credits a second contributing factor.

Verse 10 begins with “for,” meaning “because,” and the logical connection it seems to be making appears odd.  That Ezra had had a successful journey because God was with him is relatively easy to understand, but is verse 10 really going on to say that another reason his trip was successful was that he had devoted himself to studying and obeying God’s word?

If we were in Ezra’s shoes, it may have made more sense to us to credit God’s gracious hand and our careful planning—or God’s gracious hand and the help of friends.  Studying and obeying God’s word doesn’t seem all that relevant when it comes to ensuring a good trip; but what it is essential for is staying connected to God.  God’s gracious hand was the most important factor for Ezra, but the very reason that Ezra could experience this grace was his devotion to God’s word.

What are we devoting ourselves to knowing more?  The latest news in technology or sports?  A reality show star’s most recent escapades?  There is a pursuit more rewarding.  An abundance of God’s grace is available to us, but are we willing to devote ourselves to His word that we might experience it more?

Prayer

Lord, You are so willing to pour out Your grace.  Why am I so unwilling at times to position myself to receive it?  Help me to devote myself more to studying and obeying Your word.  I want to stay close to You and experience all that You have for me.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Lamentations 5

Lunch Break Study

Read Joshua 1:8-9: 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.  Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

Questions to Consider

1. In this passage, God is giving instructions to Joshua as he gets ready to go into and claim the Promised Land. What does God tell Joshua to do?
2. What will happen when Joshua does these things?
3. Why do you think God gives Joshua instruction on this topic rather than something more practical like battle strategies or leadership principles? Do you really believe that if you do everything God tells you to do, you will be successful in life?

Notes

1. To keep His word close to his heart, studying and obeying it carefully; He also tells Joshua to be strong, courageous, unafraid, and not be discouraged.
2. He will do well and experience success.
3. This is actually the most practical instruction. The true reality is the spiritual reality, and battles won and lost in this realm are what really affect our daily lives.  Sometimes we don’t obey because we don’t truly believe what He is saying here; we don’t take Him at His word.

Evening Reflection

As you tried to meditate on God’s word throughout the day today, obeying it carefully, did you experience success?  In what ways did you experience His grace today?  Thank the Lord.

Editor’s Note: The AMI QT devotionals from October 12-18 are provided by Cami King of Journey Community Church.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

Ezra 6:16-22

The people of Israel–the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles–observed the dedication of this temple of God with joy. ¹⁷ For the dedication of this temple of God they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and twelve male goats for the sin of all Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁸ They appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their divisions over the worship of God at Jerusalem, in accord with the book of Moses. ¹⁹ The exiles observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. ²⁰ The priests and the Levites had purified themselves, every last one, and they all were ceremonially pure. They sacrificed the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their colleagues the priests, and for themselves. ²¹The Israelites who were returning from the exile ate it, along with all those who had joined them in separating themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to seek the LORD God of Israel. ²² They observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, for the LORD had given them joy and had changed the opinion of the king of Assyria toward them, so that he assisted them in the work on the temple of God, the God of Israel.

I love dedications. As a little girl in church, I’d see parents parade their small bundle of joy, covered in white lacey frills, to the front of the sanctuary for pastors and congregation to pray for their newborn baby. I remember buildings being completed and huge celebrations ensuing with church leaders showing off all the new amenities that the generous fundraising campaign made possible (as some of our AMI churches are experiencing right now!). We’d gather together and praise God for the life He created and the house of worship He established.

As I get older, I see something similar in other spheres as well – when a friend purchases a new home or receives a promotion, there is an instinctive desire to celebrate. In moments of great accomplishment, it is natural to want to gather others around us to revel. The question then becomes, what exactly are we celebrating? Unlike building projects and newborns in church (with which it’s harder to fall into this temptation), success in our personal lives often brings with it a temptation to shout, Look at me! Look at me! Look what I’ve done, what I’ve purchased, what I’ve made! And we may slap God’s name on it somewhere in there, but our hearts desire is for a celebration of us.

Life has many moments worthy of celebration. We will be promoted, collect a bonus, receive awards, complete projects, graduate, get jobs, buy homes, build churches, get married and bring life into the world. These are precious moments, and it is important for us to stop not merely to celebrate ourselves, but to acknowledge our Heavenly Father – not only in thanksgiving for our success, but also in commitment to Him in what we will do with it. Much like the dedication of the temple in our passage for today, there should be a dedication in the midst of all our accomplishments in joyous thanksgiving for what God has enabled us to do (we’ve seen all week that He is at work in providing for His people in various ways as we seek to do His will) and in steadfast commitment to use our newfound resources to His glory. Celebrating ourselves is great, but it pales in comparison to pointing our little glory to God’s great glory at work in us.

Lets us take time today to admire the works of our hands and celebrate the successes in our lives by acknowledging the God who made them possible and dedicating them to Him for His good purposes. And let us seek the Lord for how He intends us to use our accomplishments for His kingdom and commit in joyful obedience.

Prayer: Lord, in recognition of all that You have done for me, I celebrate Your presence in my heart. I thank You for continuous love for me expressed through Your abundant provisions in all areas of my life, including spiritual and physical. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Lamentations 4

Editor’s Note: The AMI QT devotionals from October 12-18 are provided by Cami King of Journey Community Church.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

Ezra 6:8-12

“I also hereby issue orders as to what you are to do with those elders of the Jews in order to rebuild this temple of God. From the royal treasury, from the taxes of Trans-euphrates the complete costs are to be given to these men, so that there may be no interruption of the work. 9 Whatever is needed–whether oxen or rams or lambs or burnt offerings for the God of heaven or wheat or salt or wine or oil, as required by the priests who are in Jerusalem–must be given to them daily without any neglect, 10 so that they may be offering incense to the God of heaven and may be praying for the good fortune of the king and his family.”

11 “I hereby give orders that if anyone changes this directive a beam is to be pulled out from his house and he is to be raised up and impaled on it, and his house is to be reduced to a rubbish heap for this indiscretion. 12 May God who makes his name to reside there overthrow any king or nation who reaches out to cause such change so as to destroy this temple of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have given orders. Let them be carried out with precision!”

One of my favorite words in Scripture is that God “is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think according to the power at work within us…” (Ephesians 3:20). After reading the passage above, I’m sure Israel was blown away by God’s provision for them!

A local pastor tells the following story:

A small congregation in the foothills of the Great Smokies built a new sanctuary on a piece of land willed to them by a church member. Ten days before the new church was to open, the local building inspector informed the pastor that the parking lot was inadequate for the size of the building. Until the church doubled the size of the parking lot, they would not be able to use the new sanctuary. Unfortunately, the church with its undersized parking lot had used every inch of their land except for the mountain against which it had been built. In order to build more parking spaces, they would have to move the mountain out of the back yard.

Undaunted, the pastor announced the next Sunday morning that he would meet that evening with all members who had “mountain moving faith.” They would hold a prayer session asking God to remove the mountain from the back yard and to somehow provide enough money to have it paved and painted before the scheduled opening dedication service the following week.
At the appointed time, 24 of the congregation’s 300 members assembled for prayer. They prayed for nearly three hours. At ten o’clock the pastor said the final “Amen.” “We’ll open next Sunday as scheduled,” he assured everyone. “God has never let us down before, and I believe He will be faithful this time too.”
The next morning, as he was working in his study, there came a loud knock at the pastor’s door. When he called, “Come in,” a rough looking construction foreman appeared, removing his hard hat as he entered.
“Excuse me, Reverend. I’m from Acme Construction Company over in the next county. We’re building a huge new shopping mall over there and we need some fill dirt. Would you be willing to sell us a chunk of that mountain behind the church? We’ll pay you for the dirt we remove and pave all the exposed area free of charge, if we can have it right away. We can’t do anything else until we get the dirt in and allow it to settle properly.”

The little church was dedicated the next Sunday as originally planned, and there were far more members with “mountain moving faith” on opening Sunday than there had been the previous week!  “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work in us, to him be glory” (Eph. 3:20, 21).

Prayer: Lord, may we remember today that we, with mustard seed faith and the Holy Sprit’s power within, can become mountain movers.  Help us to continue to trust in You and expect You to move in ways far beyond our wildest dreams in the face of our present struggles.  Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Lamentations 2-3

Editor’s Note: The AMI QT devotionals from October 12-18 are provided by Cami King of Journey Community Church.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

Ezra 6:1-6

So Darius the king issued orders, and they searched in the archives of the treasury which were deposited there in Babylon. 2 A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana which is in the province of Media, and it was inscribed as follows: “Memorandum: 3 In the first year of his reign, King Cyrus gave orders concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: ‘Let the temple be rebuilt as a place where sacrifices are offered. Let its foundations be set in place. Its height is to be ninety feet and its width ninety feet, 4 with three layers of large stones and one layer of timber. The expense is to be subsidized by the royal treasury. 5 Furthermore let the gold and silver vessels of the temple of God,  which  Nebuchadnezzar brought from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon, be returned and brought to their proper place in the temple in Jerusalem. Let them be deposited in the temple of God.’ 6 “Now Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar Bozenai, and their colleagues, the officials of Trans-Euphrates – all of you stay faraway from there! 7 Leave the work on this temple of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this temple of God in its proper place.

“God shapes the world by prayer. The more praying there is in the world the better the world will be, the mightier the forces against evil…” (E.M. Bounds)

When was the last time you prayed for your nation? More specifically, for the leaders of your nation? We all know the importance of prayer, but how often do we extend that conviction to praying for the people who hold the most power and influence in the world?

Today’s passage isn’t one about prayer. But it is one that reminds us how God can use the rulers over us to accomplish His good purposes. We know that every authority is somehow established by God (see Romans 13:1). Yesterday we saw King Nebuchadnezzar (Babylonian empire) was used by God to chasten His people. In today’s passage we see King Darius used by God to aid His people. Simply put: God can use those in power to His own ends and purposes (oftentimes without them even knowing it!).

When Israel was questioned regarding their attempts to rebuild the temple, the king ultimately held the power to support or thwart their mission. King Darius was a man of integrity, and because there was documentation from a previous king giving permission for the building of the temple, Darius supported their work. A lesser king may have made a different choice. God used King Darius (and the previous king as well) as instruments for His good purposes regarding the building of His temple.

As believers, we have the burden to pray for the world around us. We are those called to stand in the gap and call upon the name of the Lord for the salvation of humanity and the redemption of the world. When we pray for our leaders – that they be people of integrity, courage, compassion, with strong morals, God-honoring convictions, and the like – we serve our nation in a powerful way. And this has nothing to do with choosing political sides. Regardless of who is in power, we can pray that God uses them for His good purposes and ultimately for His glory.

Prayer: Sovereign Lord, thank You for the rulers and authorities You’ve established in my nation. Thank You for the ways You intend to work through them to accomplish Your good purposes. Stir in my heart a burden for my community, my nation, and the world. Teach me to pray for those in power to be used as instruments in Your hands for the blessing to the people under their authority and to the glory of Your name.

Bible Reading for Today: Lamentations 1

Lunch Break Study

1 Timothy 2:1-5
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

Questions to Consider

1. Why does Paul begin his instructions on prayer with “First of all…”?
2. How (or for whom) does Paul instruct us to pray? What names and faces come to mind as you reflect on Paul’s words?
3. Why does Paul say it’s important that we pray in these ways?

Notes

1. Paul is not merely saying that prayer should be the very first thing we do whenever we gather together (although that is not a bad practice). What he is stressing is that prayer is of chief importance in the life of the believer. “The ministry of prayer is the most important service that the Church of Christ can engage in… It is the most dynamic work which God has entrusted to His saints, but it is also the most neglected ministry open to the believer.” (D. Edmond Hiebert)
2. (1) For all people – we should not only pray for those around us, but for those around the world; (2) kings and all in high positions – as we learned this morning, it is important for us to pray for those in positions of power.
3. This kind of prayer is pleasing to God because His desire is that all be saved and to know His truth. As evangelicals, we know that God wants people to be saved and that we play a part in that. But the first step in our role is to pray for all people (then to speak and to act as the Holy Spirit leads – both prayer and action are necessary).

Evening Reflection

Spend some time praying for your community (local), your country (national), and the world (global). Pray for those in positions of authority, that God would use them for His good purposes. Pray for the Christians in these areas, that they would be light in darkness. Pray for those who have not yet come to know God, and that He would continue to pursue them and draw them unto Himself. Ask God to lead you as you pray for specific topics and people groups and even names through His Holy Spirit. End in thanksgiving for all God will do through your prayers.

Editor’s Note: The AMI QT devotionals from October 12-18 are provided by Cami King of Journey Community Church.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

Ezra 5:6-12

This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and his colleagues who were the officials of Trans-Euphrates sent to King Darius. 7 The report they sent to him was written as follows:
“To King Darius: All greetings! 8 Let it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the temple of the great God. It is being built with large stones, and timbers are being placed in the walls. This work is being done with all diligence and is prospering in their hands. 9 We inquired of those elders, asking them, ‘Who gave you the authority to rebuild this temple and to complete this structure?’ 10 We also inquired of their names in order to inform you, so that we might write the names of the men who were their leaders.11 They responded to us in the following way: ‘We are servants of the God of heaven and earth. We are rebuilding the temple which was previously built many years ago. A great king of Israel built it and completed it. 12 But after our ancestors angered the God of heaven, he delivered them into the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and exiled the people to Babylon.

Maria Augusta von Trapp, the woman whose story inspired The Sound of Music, once said, “It will be very interesting one day to follow the pattern of our life as it is spread out like a beautiful tapestry. As long as we live here we see only the reverse side of the weaving, and very often the pattern, with its threads running wildly, doesn’t seem to make sense. Some day, however, we shall understand. In looking back over the years we can discover how a red thread goes through the pattern of our life: the Will of God.”

One thing that is always easy to see in the stories of the Old Testament is God’s hand in the circumstances of His people. They don’t attribute their rise and fall, successes and failures, plenty and want, merely to their own efforts or to chance. They are able to see God’s hand at work through it all (or at least the writers of the narratives are able to point it out retrospectively). When the Israelite rulers recounted their story to those inquiring of them in the passage above, it’s interesting that they mention God’s work in it all. Their being conquered by the Babylonian empire wasn’t mere coincidence or misfortune or even their lack of military prowess, but it was God at work to punish them for their rebellion (in His infinite love He was disciplining them).

So often we attribute our circumstances merely to things that can be seen or causes and effects that we can calculate and measure in human terms. But as we learned yesterday regarding spiritual battle, there is a spiritual realm where God is at work in and through our lives. And as His people, we are part of a greater story He is writing – the redemption of the world. May this give us great encouragement today as we live our lives, remembering God is at work in every moment and writing an amazing story not only for us, but for the world.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I acknowledge You as the sovereign Lord who, in ways I cannot always see or understand, is at work in my life and in the world. Thank You for Your will, which is good and perfect. Thank You for Your work in my life and Your plan of redemption for the world. May I have eyes to see Your movements today and everyday.

Bible Reading for Today: Daniel 12

Lunch Break Study

Psalm 121:1-8

This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

Questions to Consider

1. Jeremiah 29:11 is a well known verse, but what does today’s passage teach us about the context surrounding God’s word  in verse 11? What might this teach us about God’s activity in our lives?
2. What are God’s promises to His people in these verses? How might they encourage us today as we think about His will and plans for our lives?

Notes

1. This famous promise of God is given in the context of punishment. He has allowed His people to be taken captive by Babylon to discipline them in response to their sin and rebellion. This teaches us that sometimes God uses difficult things to chasten us. Not to suggest that every bad situation is God punishing us for wrong. Absolutely not. But in every season, good and bad, God is certainly at work, and sometimes it’s to discipline us as a loving Father.
2. First, God has a plan. That in itself should be a great encouragement. Our lives are not random or haphazard – God has thought about us and planned for us. Second, His plans are good. We don’t have to worry whether God will give us the best – He wills good for us and will give us nothing less. He longs to prosper us, give us hope, and give us a glorious future. Finally, God promises to listen to us when we call Him and to be found by us when we seek Him. With all of this in mind we should be encouraged to persist in the things of God knowing that He is bringing forth His good plan for us through every circumstance in our lives.

Evening Reflection

Henry Blackaby, in his famous workbook Experiencing God, says that God is always at work around us. By this he means that God is always up to something in the world, and as believers, we are called to get involved in what He’s doing. In a similar way, God is always at work in our lives – in each circumstance we face, God’s will is laced through our lives like a thread, weaving together a beautiful story and abundant life for each of us. What are some ways you can connect the dots of God’s movements in your life in the past. What are some ways He is at work right now? Spend some time looking at the story God is writing in and through your life. Thank Him for the good plans He has for you and the hope and future He is preparing for you.

Editor’s Note: The AMI QT devotionals from October 12-18 are provided by Cami King of Journey Community Church.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

Ezra 5:1-5

Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them. 3 At the same time Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and their associates came to them and spoke to them thus: “Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?” 4 They also asked them this: “What are the names of the men who are building this building?” 5 But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by letter concerning it.

This week we’ve read about the opposition the Jews faced at every step in their efforts to honor God first in the rebuilding of the temple and then in the building of the city walls. Today’s passage takes us back to before the temple was actually completed. The Governor, Tattenai, of the region where Jerusalem was located questioned the Jews on their rebuilding efforts. He wanted to know who gave them permission to rebuild and on whose orders and authorities were they acting. The answer is clear in these verses – God alone had given them the authority and the orders to build His temple and His city. Through His prophets, God called His people to rise up and rebuild what, at that time, lay in desolation.

Today’s passage reminds us of two important things. The first is that as believers, we take our orders from God. Not that we don’t submit to the governing authorities over us (see 1 Peter 2:13-14), but our lives should be guided and directed by the Lord – His will, His efforts, His mission. Too often we settle for orders from lesser authorities. We take our cues from the world when it comes to what kind of life we should have, what kind of work we should do, and how we should spend our time and resources. We allow culture to be our authority, often without even being aware. But as believers, we are called to operate based on a higher authority, and we have to intentionally turn and submit to Him if we desire to do His work.

The second reminder in this passage is that God’s eye is upon His people. When the Israelites were being questioned and when they faced opposition, God was with them and was aware of all their struggles and their needs. And He was not only aware, but He also protected them and aided them in the work He called them to do. When we become God’s possession, we are not only guided through the directives of God, but we are also guarded by His protection and led by His aid into the fullness of what He has for us. In this we should find great encouragement.

Prayer: Almighty God, I submit afresh my life to You this morning, remembering that You alone are Lord. You are the one who guides my life and orders my steps. Help me to submit to You will alone today. May I not be guided simply by the culture around me, but by Your Holy Spirit within me. Thank You for constantly watching over me and aiding me in all You call me to do. May that encourage my heart today. In Jesus’ name.

Bible Reading for Today: Daniel 11

Lunch Break Study

Psalm 121:1-8
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Questions to Consider:

1. Why might the psalmist mention that the Lord is the “maker of heaven and earth” (v. 2) who “does not slumber” in this passage (vv. 3-4)?
2. What are some ways that the Lord is our help according to these verses? How does this encourage you today?

Notes:

1. In a time of need, it is important to remember just how powerful God is. He made the heavens and the earth – there is nothing out of His reach, nothing greater than His power. God is the ultimate help and the best possible ally. Not only this, but He is always alert and always aware and always looking out for us. He doesn’t need to close His eyes to rest (and potentially leave us unaided).
2. (1) He does not allow our foot to slip – in our pilgrimage through this life, God will keep our feet steady and our way straight; (2) He watches over us – God is intimately involved in the details of our life because He loves us and cares for us; (3) He is our shade at our right hand – He protects us from external dangers by day and by night; (4) He keeps all harm at bay and preserves our life; and (5) He does all these things not only now but forever. Praise be to God!

Evening Reflection

Psalm 33:18 tells us that, “…the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love…” God’s protection over us and our fear of God go hand in hand. When we revere God for who He is and, in response, surrender our lives and yield ourselves to Him, He becomes our sole protection and aid. In some sense, we get what we hope for (or who we hope in). Are there any areas in your life where you’re forgoing God’s protection and aid because of a refusal to surrender to (or fear) Him? Spend some time being honest with God about those areas, surrendering them to Him and asking the Holy Spirit to help you to truly fear the Lord.