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So we've been studying Ezra for six chapters so far, and it's only here that Ezra enters the scene! It's quite an entrance too; the chapter begins with his heritage before describing his travelling companions, then goes on to detail the contents of a letter sent by Artaxerxes the king, before Ezra himself writes in the book! This is truly exciting stuff so I will try to contain myself and be as brief as possible, by summing up in four sections; two this week, two next week:

Ezra's genealogy (Ezra 7:1-6)

This passage begins with a long genealogy of Ezra - why is this so important…  ( Click for more )

This text (Ezra 6:13-22) seems at first glance to be a reasonably simple description of what took place when the Jews finished and dedicated the temple, and then celebrated the Passover. I was reminded, however, of the words of 2 Timothy 3:16: 'all Scripture is God-breathed, and profitable...' so we can rest assured that there are truths in this passage of Scripture which we can use 'for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.' The truth is that this passage is not merely a description of how the Israelites finished the work on the temple…  ( Click for more )

The passage for this week is Ezra 5:1-6:12, which can be found here, acts as a halfway point summary, which is partly how we will treat it - we will begin with an overview of this section of Scripture, then we will knuckle down to see what challenges lie within!

King Cyrus of Persia, in his first year as king decided as prompted by God to make a decree, commanding the Israelites to rebuild the temple, which had laid in ruins for generations. He intentionally put this in writing (Ezra 1:1) and in response the Israelites, led by Zerubbabel and Jeshua, stepped up to lead the…  ( Click for more )

In 516 BC King Cyrus of Persia was prompted by God to make a formal proclamation that the Israelites were to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple, which had laid in ruins since for the last seventy years. The Israelites responded by gathering in Jerusalem and, led by Zerubbabel and Jeshua, rebuilt the altar, began making sacrifices as was their duty, and rebuilt the foundations of the temple, which prompted them to praise God with almighty shouts of praise, and to weep in repentance and humility. We now join this account at chapter four of Ezra, in which the Israelites encounter…  ( Click for more )

There's something about the temple, isn't there? The word 'temple' appears nearly 300 times throughout the Old and New Testaments, and about half of the Old Testament laws specifically require the temple in order to be carried out; in fact, a Jewish organisation has been founded with a view to rebuilding the temple, because they have recognised that they cannot fulfil the law without it! The temple is where God dwelt with His people, and it is therefore important that we recognise the importance of the temple to the Israelites of Ezra's time - this was not just some building project!…  ( Click for more )

Are you ready for some good meaty action? Men being real men and building things? Ezra 3:1-7 is a great passage of worship to God; I'd really recommend you to read it in full because I'll only quote a few verses here. There are many wonderful truths in this passage, so let's work through it together:

'As one man' (v1)

I absolutely adore this phrase in Ezra 3:1, 'the people gathered as one man'. The display of such unity that all the people together can be described as 'one man' is quite stirring - just imagine the united movement of the thousands upon thousands…  ( Click for more )

At first glance Ezra 2 is just another long list of names and numbers - isn't the Bible full of these things? Boring lists? Irrelevant names and places? Inaccurate numbers? Can't we just read straight over these bits anyway? The answer is no to all of them, and I'd really encourage you to read this chapter in all its fullness when you get the chance, because God always uses His Word to challenge us!

Many names

The problem with a list of names like that in verse 2: 'Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah' is…  ( Click for more )

This week we start a study of the book of Ezra together! I do not know all that much about this Old Testament book, but I do know that 'all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness' (2 Timothy 3:16) so I know that these next weeks will be an exciting time of being stirred by the Word of God - I'm really looking forward to it, so I welcome you to join me so we can work through this together. Please do read Ezra 1, which is where our study is from this week; I will paraphrase it here: …  ( Click for more )

Mark Driscoll has recently finished preaching a series of sermons called 'Doctrine: What all Christians should believe'. It's very good, but nothing at all to do with this article. A few weeks ago a friend of mine posted a note on his Facebook profile, essentially saying 'I disagree with a lot of what Paul's letters say'. This concerned me, because in my mind being a Christian, yet boldly declaring 'I know better than the Bible' doesn't add up. I contacted my friend, and the messages we exchanged over the following week or so uncovered his beliefs, which differ from my own. Some of…  ( Click for more )

Well, this is the last week in this series on Ephesians, and the classic passage from chapter six is the armour of God - I love it and think it's one of the most important passages for a Christian's daily walk - I thought it would be great to focus on one article in the armour, but here's the full passage because I think it's so great:

'Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness,…  ( Click for more )

The title for this article is intentionally ridiculous, because I am fairly confident that it will invoke one of the following three responses:

1. Mainly men will think, 'Too right! Women need to learn their place, and it's doing what I tell them to do!'

2. Mainly women will think, 'What a nerve! How dare you use such a patronising and abusive term towards wives?'

3. An approximate mix will think, 'I think I know where he's going with this...' and if that's you then you may be right!

The passage I have been looking at this week is in Ephesians 5: 'Wives, submit to…  ( Click for more )

This week, one of the most visited passages in my Bible, and always a challenge! The lead pastor in my church is famous for always finding a commentator in every sermon who has said that 'this verse is the most important in the whole Bible' - I'm going out on a limb and will say myself that in my opinion this passage is possibly the most continually relevant and massively important passage for the Church to hear.

'Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united…  ( Click for more )

In my quiet time the other day I read what is possibly the most challenging part of Scripture I have ever read, because it made me question whether I will be one who says 'Lord' but gets disowned because of my disobedience.

Matthew 7:21-23 [Jesus said:] 'Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?" And then will I…  ( Click for more )

This passage is well-known among Christians - as it should be, for the truths are unimaginably exciting! - but is always worth having a look at. The temptation is to lean on the second half (verses 18,19) but in the original Greek the idea comes all at once, so today we will try to look at the passage in its entirety.

Background

This passage is immediately preceded by an idea by Paul that reveals his calling, and his heart for God, and God's people. Paul states that even though he is suffering there is no need to mourn because he is in a relationship with God, and his suffering…  ( Click for more )

In reading Ephesians 2 I came upon a great deal of material that may be very familiar to a lot of us, detailing the gospel and God's saving grace. Although we can never be reminded of the cross too much I would love to look at the last few verses of this chapter, beginning at verse 19. This is the final passage after Paul has detailed how the Gentiles, who used to be 'outsiders' (Ephesians 2:11), were brought into the Kingdom:

'So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s…  ( Click for more )

Right at the outset of Paul's letter to the Ephesians he commends them yet instantly says they need prayer. I was struck that this addition that Paul was praying for (spiritual wisdom) is something we must not take for granted, or even aim for; rather, it is something that can be added only after we have become spiritually more mature. But why? Paul writes this:

'Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of…  ( Click for more )

Hebrews 6 is an idea that the author communicates that there are some who had experienced something of God and then actively chosen not to be included in His family. One could, as I am sure has been done in the past, use this chapter to argue against the Calvanist teaching of 'once saved, always saved' but I do not believe this to be the purpose of this passage; the author is clearly addressing some who have not entirely fallen away. Rather, they seem to have perhaps fallen victim to backsliding to a point where they have become 'nominal Christians', taking the title without living…  ( Click for more )

My church has just come to the end of a week full of prayer - I am filled with faith and joy for what God is doing, and what God will do, but as always it is good to grow in our prayer lives so I wish to share these thoughts.

'Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains. Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should.' Colossians 4:2-4 (NLT)

We are to pray . . .

Paul's words here are a…  ( Click for more )

I am currently reading through Genesis, and was absolutely blown away by a passage in which Lot commits incest with his two daughters - I have read this before but what shocked me so much this time was the speed at which this was recorded, with no description and seemingly no consequences. I therefore wanted to make sure I did not wash over this account, and I hope this study is as helpful and as challenging to you as it has been for me.

'Afterward Lot left Zoar because he was afraid of the people there, and he went to live in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters. One…  ( Click for more )

Recently I discovered for the first time two adjacent verses that contradict themselves:

'Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself.

Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.' Proverbs 26:4-5 (NIV)

Part of my faith is built on the infallibility of Scripture - how then ought we to respond to this discovery? It certainly ought not to be ignored - and I am so glad I have not, because the truth is that it is not actually a contradiction as we will discover, and praise God for that! Let's add the verse…  ( Click for more )