- And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.” And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. Ezra 3:11 – You don’t have to wait, and shouldn’t wait, to praise God till the end comes. Praise Him every step of the way. Here the shouts of praise aren’t for the completion of the temple, but just the foundation. The part that once done probably won’t even be seen by any. The part that if you invited your friends over to see it they probably wouldn’t be too excited about because it’s just a flat rock in the ground. That though didn’t stop them from praising God for it because it was a sign things were moving. Celebrate the steps. Of course celebrate the end, but give praise for each step. Maybe you haven’t quit that addiction yet, but you’ve gone a full day without it, celebrate that! Maybe you haven’t overcome the depression yet, but today was a good day, praise God for that! Give God praise for every step of the way. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1275
- They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening. Ezra 3:3 – While the rebuilding of the temple was their primary project, we see one of the first pieces of the rebuild was the altar. This would have been the place where their sacrifices to the Lord could be made so they could finally be in step with God’s laws once again. We see though a chief reason why the altar was made so quickly in the rebuild, because the people were in fear of the nations around them. While given permission by the king, that doesn’t mean everyone is going to support to king’s decision. What we see happen here is a healthy move being made by God’s people when a threat of an enemy was near. They turned to God. They were aware that they had not been keeping with God’s law and commands, and as a result they were out of sync with God’s way. If then they wanted the protection and blessing of the Lord, they knew a change in pace needed to be made. From walking away from God to walking towards Him. Let’s have this be our first move to when fear strikes. When we have a struggle or enemy at our doorstep, let’s take a healthy look at our pace in life. Have we been walking faithfully after Jesus? If not, let’s make whatever changes we need to make in our pace to be rightfully following Jesus again. For Jesus is where we’ll find the help in our struggle and protection from our enemy. What move then today may need to be made in your story to find your steps more after Jesus? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2496
Daily DEVO 