Today’s Reading Ezra 4-7
Focal Scripture: 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.”
Being faithful to the Lord is not something that just happens. It is a decision that has to be made. To often people have the mindset that once they get saved the work is through. When in actuality it has just begun.
We see this with Ezra. He determined in his heart to study the law of the Lord, obey it, and teach it to others. The important part is that he determined. Set his mind on this task and made it a priority. He knew what his goal was when he followed the Lord.
To often in our American view of Christianity we make excuses for not being committed Christ followers. Excuses are made why people don’t know the Bible. Everything else becomes more important. The real issue stems from people who haven’t determined in their heart to make study and Bible reading important.
I do not want to make this sound legalistic. Things happen and sometimes days are missed. Life gets overwhelming and you just have a bad day. My encouragement to you today is that you determine in your heart to know God and how word above everything else. It should be a passion and people should know that about us.
Be weary of people who coast in their walk or have no desire to go deeper. For instance, I had a conversation with someone recently who stated that no teenager wants to read a book, even one about their personal faith.
The problem is not that teenagers struggle but that the expectations from adults are so little. You would never hear a parent say that 5 days a week for three hours is too much for practice in a sport. However, when it comes to godliness and expectation of a few minutes a day is legalistic.
Maybe the reason we see so much shallow faith is because we have shallow expectations. Nothing will change until we determine in our hearts to know the Lord and his word.
Tomorrow I plan on reading Ezra 8-10
