Be Intentional In My Walk With Christ
(Gordon Tan, Associate Lay Leader)
READ:
Ezra 2:1, 2 (NLT): 1 Here is the list of the Jewish exiles of the provinces who returned from their captivity. King Nebuchadnezzar had deported them to Babylon, but now they returned to Jerusalem and the other towns in Judah where they originally lived. 2 Their leaders were Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.
Ezra 2:68, 69 (NLT): 68 When they arrived at the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, some of the family leaders made voluntary offerings toward the rebuilding of God’s Temple on its original site, 69 and each leader gave as much as he could. The total of their gifts came to 61,000 gold coins, 6,250 pounds of silver, and 100 robes for the priests.
Psalm 3:1-4 (CEV): 1 I have a lot of enemies, Lord. Many fight against 2 me and say, “God won’t rescue you!” 3 But you are my shield, and you give me victory and great honour. 4 I pray to you, and you answer from your sacred hill.
OBSERVE:
When I picked up my Bible to read Ezra 2, my first reaction was to skip through the whole chapter. But then as I read Psalm 3, it struck me that God’s people had endured the humiliation of being conquered, having their best deported to a foreign capital to serve their enemies. Psalm 3:1, 2 would have been a frequent cry to the Lord for the Israelites in captivity.
God’s grace is evident in the opening verses of Ezra 2 – they were now being returned to Jerusalem and the towns in Judah, to which they belonged. This reflects God’s faithfulness in fulfilling His promises. It reflects God’s justice in punishing their sins but restoring them because of His mercy and grace. It gives me confidence to proclaim, “I pray to you, and you answer from your sacred hill.”
As I come to the end of Ezra 2, I observe that the response of God’s people was to make offerings in gratitude for the deliverance. They gave out of the willingness of their hearts, and they gave as much as they could. It struck me that if I truly pray “But you are my shield, and you give me victory and great honour”, my response should be one of worship. A worship that is mindful of God’s faithfulness, God’s justice, God’s promises. A worship where I am grateful that I was not left to be condemned to die but that His mercies restored me and gave me new life.
APPLY
In my walk as a disciple of Christ, I must remain obedient by fixing my eyes on Jesus, and run with perseverance (Heb 12:2). If I should stray or fail to obey, I may suffer the consequences of my disobedience. But I need to remember that God is faithful and just to restore me when I confess and repent. The most important thing for me to understand is that it is not my failures that count but my willingness to be restored to God that makes the difference. Jesus died for my sins, my past, my present and my future failures that I know I will surely face.
DO
And so, I need to be aware of being intentional in my walk with Christ. Restoring my relationship with Him when I fall. And returning in humility and reverence, I must worship Him for His grace and faithfulness; and love Him with a grateful heart.
PRAY
Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you that you are a just God. You never take sin lightly. And yet in your love for me, you have made a way for me to return to you. I pray that you search my heart and reveal to me my sinful ways. I pray that you help me trust in your grace and mercy as I bring every anxious thought to you, every guilt and shame before your feet.
Thank you, Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of my faith. As I step forward into my day, my week, dear Lord, remind me of your guiding hand, remind me of your presence whilst I go about my day-to-day activities. In your name I pray. Amen.
