King
James Daily Bible Study Devotional
Message Title: The Remnant
Date: Sunday May 20, 2012Today's Chapters: Ezra 1-2
Hello My Friend,
Have you ever seen a remnant? Remnants are a small piece of something much larger. God's people are remnants, some grew up in a strong Christian home and somehow never got into the world, some got into the world and returned to God, and some are still in the world. The majority of Christians are those whom came to know Christ after they lived in the world or religion. Regardless of which category we fall into we are and always will be God's people. While we cannot change how we lived in the past, we can change how we live today because Jesus is coming to claim His people.
“Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” - Revelation 3:2,3,5.
The Book of Ezra is the fifteenth book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains ten chapters. The author of the book is Ezra, the prophet, and it was written to the Jews that were in Babylon. The purpose of the book was to record the Jews return from exile after spending seventy years in Babylon, Their purpose was to rebuild Jerusalem and bring temple worship back to Israel. The timeline for these events are approximately 536 BC to 457 BC. What we are to learn from the book is the basic principles of repentance, returning to God and restoring our relationship with Him. “And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God,” - Ezra 9:5.
The Book of Ezra is a continuation of 2 Chronicles where it said, “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.” - 2 Chronicles 36:22,23.
The things that have not come to pass that are written in the Bible should never be taken lightly, as God says it, it will happen. Many already have come to pass, but it's only the beginning. Jesus said, “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows. But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. And the gospel must first be published among all nations.” - Mark 13:8-10.
Now, after seventy years in Babylon, God is ready for His people to return to Jerusalem and rebuild it and the temple. “Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem. Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.” - Ezra 1:3-5.
Message Title: The Remnant
Date: Sunday May 20, 2012Today's Chapters: Ezra 1-2
Hello My Friend,
Have you ever seen a remnant? Remnants are a small piece of something much larger. God's people are remnants, some grew up in a strong Christian home and somehow never got into the world, some got into the world and returned to God, and some are still in the world. The majority of Christians are those whom came to know Christ after they lived in the world or religion. Regardless of which category we fall into we are and always will be God's people. While we cannot change how we lived in the past, we can change how we live today because Jesus is coming to claim His people.
“Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” - Revelation 3:2,3,5.
The Book of Ezra is the fifteenth book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains ten chapters. The author of the book is Ezra, the prophet, and it was written to the Jews that were in Babylon. The purpose of the book was to record the Jews return from exile after spending seventy years in Babylon, Their purpose was to rebuild Jerusalem and bring temple worship back to Israel. The timeline for these events are approximately 536 BC to 457 BC. What we are to learn from the book is the basic principles of repentance, returning to God and restoring our relationship with Him. “And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God,” - Ezra 9:5.
The Book of Ezra is a continuation of 2 Chronicles where it said, “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.” - 2 Chronicles 36:22,23.
The things that have not come to pass that are written in the Bible should never be taken lightly, as God says it, it will happen. Many already have come to pass, but it's only the beginning. Jesus said, “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows. But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. And the gospel must first be published among all nations.” - Mark 13:8-10.
Now, after seventy years in Babylon, God is ready for His people to return to Jerusalem and rebuild it and the temple. “Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem. Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.” - Ezra 1:3-5.
Jesus is going to return and when He does He will bring all His people with Him to live in the new Jerusalem. Only those whom have accepted and received Him as their Savior will join Him. “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.” - Revelation 3:10-12.
An account was kept of the families that came up out of captivity, out of the hundreds of thousands of Jews only 42,360 remained with God and were willing to head back to Jerusalem. Most of the new generation of Judah had never been in Jerusalem and had no reason to leave Babylon except to rebuild the temple in the old, ruined city, about nine hundred miles away. “Now these are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity, of those which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city; And some of the chief of the fathers, when they came to the house of the LORD which is at Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God to set it up in his place: They gave after their ability unto the treasure of the work threescore and one thousand drams of gold, and five thousand pound of silver, and one hundred priests' garments.” - Ezra 2:1,68,69.
Only a few were willing to endure the hazardous, long and difficult four-month journey on foot, amazingly not one complaint is recorded, the first ever. Those who truly want Christ to be Lord of their lives are willing to step out of their comfort zones, maybe even go into unfamiliar territory, and follow Him where ever He leads them. “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.“ - Matthew 16:24,25.
As of the time I write this there are 7,014,368,166 people alive in the world, that's not counting the billions of people whom have died since God created man. Of those living and dead, only a remnant accounted for will join Jesus in His Kingdom. Those whom have died already are either in heaven or hell, I imagine those in heaven are awaiting the day Jesus returns to earth to reunite them with their families. Those in hell I can only imagine are not awaiting for His return because they fear a death much worse then hell, eternal death in the lake of fire.
“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” - Revelation 20:10,12-15.
No one has to end up in hell and the lake of fire, they can be saved, but they must personally accept Christ as their Savior. That is why Jesus hasn't come yet, He wants everyone to be saved, but it is up to each individual to receive Him. “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” - Acts 4:10-12.
Today's Psalm: 72:4 - “He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.”
Today's
Proverb: 20:22 - “Say
not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall
save thee.”
Today's
Prayer:
God, What a blessing it is to be one of Your remnants, not because of
any good that I have done, but because of my belief in what Your Son
has done. I am saved and redeemed because I am only trusting in the
death, burial, and resurrection of Your perfect Son, Jesus Christ who
gave Himself for me so I do not have to end up in hell and the lake
of fire. Thank You Jesus. While I can't do anything to get in Your
Kingdom, except believe in You, I can be a testimony and a witness
for You. Lead me and guide me, let me behave in a way that others see
You through me and accept You too. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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