Thursday, January
26, 2017
But in spite
of this there is still hope for Israel.
Ezra 10:2b(NLT)
Then a proclamation was made throughout Judah and
Jerusalem that all the exiles should come to Jerusalem.8 Those
who failed to come within three days would, if the leaders and elders so
decided, forfeit all their property and be expelled from the assembly of the
exiles. Ezra 10:7-8(NLT)
We are continuing our look at
a nation that got a wakeup call and responded well. Part of the idea was to come together – to congregate with the sole
purpose of honoring God as a nation, to turn their hearts over to their Creator
and King.
But, can you imagine the
squabble over this bylaw change? The proclamation was like the church rule
that says if you don't come to church we sell your house and car (selling the
kids is optional at the discretion of the elders)! Well, the people did gather! Amen!
I do not think that it labors
the obvious to point out that many of today’s church-gooing people who claim to
be born again, and have an affiliation with a church, are simply avoiding the truth
that their membership
may be on some printed roll somewhere, but that roll is merely a figment of
their imagination. When you manage to
make it to the church-house to worship God who is the Sovereign Lord of the
universe only on Christmas or Easter because other things are too
important…like sleeping-in, going fishing, or because you have to cook for
company…well, a reality check reveals that you are more a fan of the idea of
being Christian; you’re not really a follower of Jesus. You are really a visitor, and visitors are
welcome at church, but members are expected!
There is a genuine Contriteness
in Repentance which God expects of His children:
Within three days, all the people of Judah and Benjamin
had gathered in Jerusalem. This took place on December 19, and all the
people were sitting in the square before the Temple of God. They were trembling both because of the
seriousness of the matter and because it was raining. Then
Ezra the priest stood and said to them: “You
have committed a terrible sin. By
marrying pagan women, you have increased Israel’s guilt. So now confess
your sin to the Lord, the God of your ancestors, and do what he demands. Separate yourselves from the people of the
land and from these pagan women.” Ezra
10:9-11(NLT)
The word
"trembling" means a violent shuddering. This wasn't all because it was cold and
raining; the first and foremost reason was the fear of God. These people had begun to recognize how badly
they'd failed the Lord. This is like
being found with your hand in the cookie jar.
When Ezra urged the people to
confess your sin to the Lord,
the word confess means to
raise the hand. In essence this is one more way of saying, take
responsibility for your actions.
Beloved, spiritual deadness
comes as a result of disobedience to God.
It doesn't have to be actions we do – it may be actions left
undone. It may be attitudes buried deep
within. John wrote to the early
believers and told them:
If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a
liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. 1 John 1.10(NLT)
If the church is to be
revived, resuscitated from spiritual deadness, it will be our confession before
God and man that we are indeed sinners, in need every day of the cleansing
power of the blood of Jesus Christ.
For You Today
If you have
hung-in with us sofar, in the past four days we’ve hit some pretty touchy
reality checks about our faithfulness.
Tomorrow’s final chapter will be the hardest yet.
Before you
lay your head on the pillow tonight it would be a good thing to pray for an
open mind and heart.
NOTES
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