365 Reflections

We have finally come to the other side of Israel's exile in the historical books. Ezra marks the beginning of righteous revival for the people of Israel who returned to the land of Judah 70 years after Nebuchadnezzar's brutal conquest. Just as Chronicles ended, Ezra begins, with the Lord stirring the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia to commission the rebuilding of the Jewish temple: Ezra 1:1-1 (ESV) In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: 2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. At this decree, the heads of Israel's tribes begin the long process of heading back to the land with the instruments and utensils necessary to re-...

Leviticus 6:8–9 (ESV)   The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 9 “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering. The burnt offering shall be on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it....  Leviticus 6:13 (ESV)  Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out. The fire on the burnt offering was to never go out. That is a lot of responsibility for the priests. I have a stove in my house that requires constant attention in winter. Yet even on my best days, it eventually goes out. God mentions several times that this fire was to never die. What does this point to in our relationship with Christ? First, we must remember that it was the priests responsibility to keep the fire going. This was not the job of an average Israelite. God says, "Command Aaron and his sons!" However, as we will observe in Israel, eventually the priests would fail in this resp...

What does revival look like? Psalm 85:6 (ESV) Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? Some believe this Psalm was written shortly after Israel's return from exile. They had been commissioned to rebuild Jerusalem and their Temple but the process was hard and they met several obstacles along the way. One of which was their walls being burned shortly after having rebuilt them. The task seemed impossible. How could they once again be the glorious nation of the past if they couldn't build a wall? The answer was prayer. When we think about the Church in America, the task seems impossible. To stop the secularization of our nation and bring Christianity to bear in the public square once more seems like an improbability. More churches close per year than open and thousands of Pastors leave vocational ministry every month. Will you not revive us again? What is revival? Revival is three things: 1. When God's Word is preached with absolute con...