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Today is Wednesday June 2, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Ezra, chapters 3-5. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this link onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-june-2

Title: Bible Study: In God's Hands
You can be sure that once you start serving God obstacles will come your way to try and get you to stop. The amazing thing is that everything is in God's hands and once He sets you on that journey to do His work He will stop at nothing to get you to do it. He knows we will face obstacles, He allows them to strengthen our relationship with Him as well as determine whether or not we are truthfully with all our heart following Him. We are going to have ups and downs, I heard an evangelist once speak on how God gets you to the top of the mountain, but you better be prepared because you are going to fall real quick. As soon as we see God do the impossible we are on the top of that mountain, praising Him and rejoicing, but it seems as soon as we reach it Satan is right there to knock us down and he is, but praise God. The more Satan is on us the more we know we are right with God. The ideal is to keep praising Him even when we are falling off that mountain. Of course, we are going to get discouraged from time to time and wonder why all this is happening, but it's all in God's hands, He will take care of it as long as we remain faithful to Him and even if we are not, He will get us back on track.

Israel was in ruins, most of the Jews from the Northern Kingdom were scattered all over the world, while the Southern Kingdom was held captive in Babylon, for seventy years not a thing was done to restore the land once promised to God's people. Now that king Cyrus set the Jews free they were able to return to Jerusalem and begin rebuilding. After four months of traveling they finally arrived to a desolate, abandoned land, full of wickedness. “And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem. Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God. And they set the altar upon his bases; for fear was upon them because of the people of those countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and evening.” - Ezra 3:1-3. Every Jew came together as one and the first thing they did was set up an altar to God as it was written in God's Word. This would be the first time that many of the Jews even knew of the feast of the Lord, but they followed every command written in the law of Moses. They were scared, but they knew God was with them and knew they needed to get right with Him and put Him first so they could be prepared for the huge obstacles they were about to face. We are going to face some big obstacles, but as long as we put God first He will keep us safe and prepare us for them. Our fears should drive us to our knees seeking God's repentance and help in every obstacle we face.

Every attempt to revive true religion will stir up the opposition of Satan, and of those in whom he works. As soon as the Jews laid the foundation, they faced opposition. “Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the LORD God of Israel; Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither. But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us. Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.” - Ezra 4:1-5,24. As the Jews began rebuilding the Temple the people of the land were set out to get them to stop one way or another and they did. First, they tried to confuse them by offering to join them and when that did not work they hired wicked counselors to frustrate them and they stopped completely. Their lack of faith caused them to lose sight of God in the midst of their obstacles instead of seeking Him for help. The amazing thing is that they were doing God's work and yet they still lost their faith. Sadly, we too can lose our faith in God when we are serving Him and doing His work. Thousands of men and women of God have left the church and God all together because they lost their faith in God while doing His work. We must hold on to our faith, the second we feel the urge to walk away that is when we need to get in our prayer closet because Satan is right there pulling and tugging at us to leave the comforts of God so he can take control of our lives.

For fourteen years the Temple remained unfinished while the Jews attended to rebuilding the city. It took the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to remind them that they had not finished the Temple and it was time to get it done. “Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them. Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them. At the same time came to them Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shetharboznai and their companions, and said thus unto them, Who hath commanded you to build this house, and to make up this wall? Then said we unto them after this manner, What are the names of the men that make this building? But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease, till the matter came to Darius: and then they returned answer by letter concerning this matter.” - Ezra 5:1-5. This time God was with them and nothing would stop them. While many say that the people were selfish for putting their needs first and not finishing the Temple, I think that God intended for them to rebuild the city first. Strangely enough we must get to the point that we are completely away from God before we realize we need Him. It is the only way God can get us to return to Him and serve Him faithfully. Moses, after killing a man, ran from God and for forty years he thought he was completely away from Him, all the while God was preparing him for the biggest challenge and job of his life. Life is not easy, it takes the strong power of God to get us through the obstacles without going crazy. Most of us have gotten away from God at one point in our lives, but we are still in God's hands and He will get us to see that we need Him one way or another and it is usually when we hit rock bottom that we realize that. I too had gotten away from God and it took about ten years for me to find my way back to Him, it took me losing everything I owned before I found Him again.

God's hands are in every part of our lives, from the good to the bad, He allows everything in order to grow us, prepare us, strengthen us, and bring us to the point that we realize we are nothing without Him. It's great to praise Him when things are going well, but it's time to praise Him when things are not going as well. The more we praise Him through the obstacles the quicker we reach the mountain top and are prepared for the fall once again. “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:4-7. Praise God!

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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