In Esther 2, God is getting everyone set in the exact positions He needs them to be in for His perfect plan to unfold to save the Jewish nation from extermination. God's sovereign hand is at work behind all the elements unfolding. Esther is crowned as queen, Mordecai is placed in an official role at the king's gate, and a plan to assassinate the king is revealed to the king by Mordecai - which was recorded in detail in the book of the king's history. God has a plan for salvation for all of us an...
Jun 11, 2024•16 min
John 3:16 tells us if you believe in Jesus, you will be saved for all eternity. James 2:19 tells us even the demons believe. The original Greek words used for believe are different in these two passages. So what does it look like to have the kind of belief that saves you for all eternity? Let's take a look....
Jun 11, 2024•17 min
In Esther 1, God sets everything into place for His mighty and sovereign plan to save the Jewish nation. The king is filled with pride and wealth and likes to show off his great wealth with banquets in the kingdom thus feeding his pride even further. He is having a merry old time enjoying all the food and drink at the banquet and gets too full of himself by asking his queen to come stand before all the drunken men so they can see how gorgeous she is. She rightfully refuses which ends up getting ...
Jun 10, 2024•15 min
Matthew 21:33-46 God chose Israel and Jesus came and flipped the tables making it possible for each and every one of us to choose Him. God made a way for us to be united with Him. Jesus' death paid for our sins and His resurrection proved death has been defeated. He desperately wants each of us to turn from our "selves" and choose Him - the Cornerstone - and live with Him, in Him, and through Him for all eternity. The choice is ours and the time to choose is now.
Jun 08, 2024•12 min
In Nehemiah 13, Nehemiah had returned to his duties as the king's cupbearer and after about a year, went back to check on the people in Jerusalem. He found the enemy was living in the Temple of God, they had compromised with the enemy and stopped worshiping God. They stopped taking care of God's Temple, they stopped honoring the Sabbath, and they gave the enemy a wide open door to the city. Compromise gives the enemy the crack he needs to enter our Temples. When we choose to submit our lives to ...
Jun 06, 2024•14 min
In Nehemiah 12, the wall is finished and complete so the people dedicate God's wall to Him. They joyously gather in praise and worship to God. The enemy said the wall wouldn't hold a fox, but now the people of the nation stand on the wall singing praise and worship to God so exuberantly that it can be heard from afar. They give God all the glory for the completed project and in doing so, offer witness of God's power and the reality of faith in Him.
Jun 05, 2024•11 min
In Nehemiah 10 & 11, revival has broken out in the nation. The Word is being read for hours as people stand with wide open hearts hearing and pouring through every Word. Hours of repentance and worship follow the reading of God's Word. It doesn't end there. The people don't just say "Amen", shut the door, and go on with their lives. They are wholeheartedly All In! They make a written vow to obey God. They vow to live out God's Word that is now being written in their hearts. When we catch a g...
Jun 04, 2024•17 min
In Nehemiah 9, revival continues to pour out through the nation as people stand before God's Word for hours and then repent and worship Him for several more hours. A passionate love of God and an outpouring of acknowledgement of His goodness, His greatness, His love, His mercy, His faithfulness, His power, and His devotion and care for His children is evident in the written prayer of His people. The Word of God will change our lives as you start to see - even just a glimpse - of Who God is and H...
Jun 03, 2024•15 min
The Pharisee vs the Tax Collector. Things are not always as they seem or as society tends to believe. Jesus is concerned about our hearts, not our social status.
Jun 03, 2024•10 min
In Nehemiah 7 & 8, the walls are now built and the gates are restored, but Nehemiah's work had only just begun. A city isn't walls, gates, and houses - a city is people. The people existed for the walls in the first step of the mission, now the walls must exist for the people. It was time to organize the community. At the Water Gate, Nehemiah calls on Ezra to read the Word of God. The Word is like water for washing our souls and drinking of the Holy Spirit. The Word is put first in the life ...
May 31, 2024•19 min
In Nehemiah 6, Nehemiah continues to face opposition from the enemy as the enemy tries to personally attack and discredit him. Nehemiah doesn't waiver from the mission God placed before Him. He remains mission minded. Every attack that comes is given to God in prayer and brought to the Word of God. Nehemiah knows the Word, so He knows when false prophets or deceit is trying to whittle its way in. He didn't fall for it. He lived the Word out in his daily life, He prayed continuously, and He staye...
May 30, 2024•17 min
Our prayers are a sweet aroma to our Father. They fill the golden bowls and join in the 100s of millions of the heavens in worship to God. They rise to Him and encompass His glorious presence right at His Throne. Don't. Stop. Praying.
May 30, 2024•14 min
In Nehemiah 5, the people of Jerusalem bring Nehemiah a serious issue that has been going on in their nation. There was a great famine in the land and people were forced to sell their property, homes, and even their children to survive. Their fellow brothers and sisters in the nation who were wealthy were using the crisis to exploit their brothers and sisters by charging impossible interest to anything that was loaned. Righteous anger bubbled up within Nehemiah and He brought it straight to the ...
May 29, 2024•15 min
In Nehemiah 4, the enemy steps in to try to stop God's plan - God's mission. He has since day 1 and he will not quit. When God is moving and you are stepping faithfully forward in Him, expect opposition - be ready for it. Just as Nehemiah and the builders never took their clothes off and never took their swords off, we too are to keep the Armor of God on at all times. Nehemiah didn't argue, rebuke, or even answer the opposition that came. He didn't give it any of his time or energy. He simply pr...
May 28, 2024•16 min
When our Father sees us coming home to Him, He rejoices, He runs to greet us - He celebrates us, heart and soul. He is overwhelmed with love and compassion for each and every one of us. Nothing under the cosmos is too big for Him to forgive. It's already been forgiven - all of it. He's just waiting for us to realize His massive love and kindness and come home. He's arms are wide open waiting to embrace every last one of us.
May 25, 2024•15 min
In Nehemiah 3, the mission is moving. God's people are working and the wall is being built and the gates repaired. It was all done for God's great glory. Everyone had a different part and piece in the project and everyone did their part. The gates being repaired are all noted, beginning and ending with the Sheep Gate. Jesus is the perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and everything begins and ends with Him. He is the beginning and the end. The Valley Gate is mentioned, then t...
May 24, 2024•18 min
In Nehemiah 2, we see that one person can make a big difference in this world and communities if we are willing to know God and really trust Him, His Word, and His lead. Faith makes all the difference in our world to the glory of God. Nehemiah had the faith to wait on God and His perfect timing before moving into the mission God was stirring in his heart. When the opportunity came, he had the faith to ask. He was constantly in prayer with God - communing with Him - and God gave Him direction and...
May 23, 2024•18 min
In Nehemiah 1, Nehemiah picks up where Ezra left off. They are buddies in the mission of Jerusalem's restoration. He cared enough to ask how God's remnant are doing and found heard the dreaded report that all was not well. They were suffering greatly. He cared enough to mourn this news deeply and cries out to God in fasting and prayer for God's people - because he cared. God put him in this place and position for just this time to help His nation. He gives God every yes and responds to God's cal...
May 22, 2024•18 min
In Ezra 9 & 10, Ezra learns the devastating news that the remnant who returned to Jerusalem have intermarried with the pagan nations around them which would allow false god and false idol worship to seep in. It would also mean the priesthood of the nation was no longer pure. The news of this great sin devastated Ezra. Sin should devastate us. Nothing good comes from sin. Ezra cries out to God in repentant despair. Others see his sincere repentant heart and begin to join him. Conviction shoul...
May 21, 2024•18 min
In Ezra 7 & 8, Ezra arrives to Jerusalem with the hand of God on him as well as the mission God put before him. God even stirred the kings heart to send a letter with Ezra giving him permission to move forth in the mission and provided all that was needed in materials and workers to ensure the mission is completed. Ezra was humble, obedient and faithfully lived out the Word of God in his life. His main desire above all else was to glorify God in all he does. God honored that faithfulness wit...
May 20, 2024•19 min
Every person is created by God and God has a purpose and plan for every person He gives life to. When we see people how God sees them, loved and cherished and created by Him, we can also see the love they deserve. Regardless of any of our differences, every person belongs to God and deserves mercy, grace, and love.
May 18, 2024•14 min
In Ezra 5 & 6, the enemy had temporarily halted God's plan and God's will for the rebuilding and restoration of His Temple - for worship to be restored. But God. In these chapters we witness God's strength, God's promise keeping power, and God's superiority. God wins - every time. We can see any and every circumstance we walk through in the view of God's might and His faithfulness. He will bring us through anything and everything He brings us to. Not only was a decree issued to allow them to...
May 17, 2024•16 min
In Ezra 3 & 4, in spite of the fear of the people who had settled in Jerusalem while the nation was in exile, they move forward in sacrifice and worship of God together - unified. They joyfully praise God, His goodness, and His faithful love. They do not let fears quench their faith and worship of God. With great opportunity for the Lord to advance comes opposition from the enemy. The enemy tries to creep in as they proceed with the building of the Temple, but they do not buy it and the atta...
May 16, 2024•16 min
In Ezra 1 & 2, Israelites had been captive in exile for 70 years and the time had come for them to be released by Cyrus. It was prophesied that it would be Cyrus that would be the king to release them 200 years before Cyrus was even born. God keeps every promise. He is faithful. God knows our names and He has plans and purposes for our lives. It's up to us to trust Him and humble ourselves to His will and follow His lead in our lives. We can trust Him and His Word wholeheartedly. He is the A...
May 15, 2024•16 min
In 2 Chronicles 35 & 36, the chronicler walks us through the end of Josiah's reign as he brought worship and revival back to the land because he chose to seek the Lord and lead the nation under the authority of God. After his passing, 4 kings ruled and brought the nation further and further into sin and ultimately led them straight into exile. God sent warning after warning, but they refused to listen and heed the Words of God that were sent. They stubbornly refused God's Word and chose to d...
May 14, 2024•19 min
In 2 Chronicles 34, Josiah takes over as king at the age of 8 years old. He seeks after God and desires the Lord and His ways by 16 and shortly after, he works to restore the Temple of God so the Lord can be worshipped appropriately in the land. In the restoration process, the Word of God is found in the Temple and Josiah is repentant and heartbroken at how far the nation had fallen from God and His ways. He cleanses the land, rids the land of false idols and false gods and revival breaks out. T...
May 13, 2024•11 min
God has gloriously amazing blessings He wants to pour into our lives as we await Jesus' mighty return to be used for His glory and His great Name. He doesn't want us to settle for less in the wait. He wants us to be all in and not distracted by all the little cows of life.
May 11, 2024•16 min
In 2 Chronicles 33, Hezekiah's son, Manasseh, takes over as king. Despite the miracles he witnessed from God during his father's reign, he chose to oppose God and worship false idols and false gods. He corrupted the worship of the Lord in the land. God sent judgment of discipline his way and humbled him greatly. God broke his pride and brought him to his knees. He cried out to God in sincere repentance and God forgave him and set him free from captivity. He proved his heart change by cleansing t...
May 09, 2024•13 min
2 Chronicles 32, after revival had broke out in the land, the enemy came to try to halt it. We can always expect an attack from the enemy when there is revival in our lives. We need to be armed in prayer and in God's Word and ready for battle continuously. We never take the armor of God off. Hezekiah used great wisdom in preparations for the coming attack, but ultimately trusted in God for the victory. He told the nation to be strong and courageous and not be afraid or discouraged. The Lord God ...
May 08, 2024•15 min
Jesus came to earth and poured Himself out on the cross for each of us. He did it all just hoping we'd choose Him for life for eternity with Him. That's passionate love. He desires we know Him and experience Him personally. To do that, we need to allow space in our days and moments for Him. That's how roots grow - that's how our relationship grows - moment by moment in the presence of Jesus.
May 07, 2024•14 min
