My, Cyrus, Old Man Hankins

7-11-10

Ezra 7-8
Lesson 4a
“My Cyrus,
Old Man Hankins”

I knew him as “old man Hankins.” He was an elderly deacon in my home church that wore stark black suits, walked somewhat stooped over, and as long as I can remember, had walked with a cane. I don’t remember if I ever had a conversation with him until that day I sat in his living room as he discussed the terms of our agreement. He had decided to send one student from my small high school, to Louisiana College for one year, tuition and fees paid in full. My principal had called me into his office just a couple of weeks before graduation letting me know of this man’s offer. Of course, I was ecstatic, and although I had never knew of Louisiana College, I told Mr. Lilley, my principal, that I would take it. I had always wanted to go away to school, but I knew my parents would struggle to pay for my tuition and room and board fees. So, I had accepted the fact that I would commute to Northwestern. This was an answer to a young girl’s prayers and dreams though I wonder if Mr. Hankins fully grasped his involvement in my future life.

Mr. Hankins’ responding to God’s stirring of his heart to send a student to school, would forever change my life. I went on that summer to the orientation weekend where I would room with a girl that was to be on the Lady Cats Basketball team. Since she was always at the gym, I too hung around there and started playing “pick-up” games as we called them every afternoon that early Fall. I then decided that I would walk onto the team. I had played basketball all my life and was recruited by Northwestern, but that did not work out; so, why not try to play for this newly formed program? Well, I made the team and really enjoyed feeling a part of the school. But we all know what was fast approaching – the end of the full paid year. As the spring semester came to a close, I had resolved myself to transfer to Northwestern to finish out my schooling. Yet, wouldn’t you know that Coach Billy Allgood called me into his office and offered me a half athletic scholarship, and he told me with my good academics and my southern Baptist background I was eligible for enough scholarships that my schooling would be full paid. WOW! God had once again stirred a heart on my behalf.

I would go onto to graduate and play four years of basketball making some lifetime memories and friendships. A young girl from a graduating class of 15 students would graduate 10th in her class of two hundred or so. She would meet her husband her senior year and walk away from a high school relationship that was never right from the beginning. God had a plan and purpose the entire time and He always came through even if it seemingly was always at the midnight hour.

As I look back, it humbles me to know how God weaves His plan in the lives of those around us, some we know and some we do not, but none the less, He is sovereign over it all. I don’t like to play the "what if" game, but please allow me to do so to make a point. What if Mr. Hankins had not responded to the stirring of his heart to pay a student’s way to Louisiana College? What if Mr. Lilly had not chosen me to be the recipient of that scholarship? What if I had not been raised to be a good student to help with the future academic scholarships? What if I had not spent many hours playing basketball and practicing so to be good enough to make the team and help fund my schooling? What if God had not closed the door of the Northwestern basketball program? What if – what if – what if? Oh dear one, God is sovereign over the steps of our lives, but we are also responsible as men and women with free wills to choose the paths we take. We must, as we have seen in the book of Ezra, rise up and willingly obey the stirrings of our heart. Esther was obedient to the calling of God on her life – she resolved herself to rise up for “such a time as this.” “If I perish, I perish” was her statement before she approached the King. The Levites in the second return with Ezra had to willingly and obediently decide to return to Jerusalem to do the work. We must realize that obedience is NOT about not sinning – it’s about DOING the will of God and responding to the stirring of our hearts. The Christian life should NOT be obsessed with the drudgery of trying not to fall short, but should NOT WANT to fall short of the standard God has given us. Remember, “His yoke is easy, and His burden is light” Matt. 11:30

“This Ezra” was a skilled scribe and priest of the Law of Moses. He had set his heart to seek God through His Word and to practice and teach it so that others might also understand . As we saw in 1 Peter 2:9, you too are a kingdom of priests, a chosen race and royal priesthood, a people of God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” SO… you fill in the Blank –

“This _______”(your name).

What is your lineage? What forefathers or mothers are in your family history that have impacted your life? What “Mr. Hankins” do you have that totally changed the course of your life because they were obedient.? What is your journey like? Do you need provision or protection? Fast and pray as Ezra did. What successes have you had that you now realize God had His hand on the entire time! Though perhaps you were wondering if He had abandoned you – you now know that He was simply carrying you on His back.

I still have copy of the letter Mr. Hankins sent me letting the College know of my impending attendance and his plans to pay my entire first year. He signed the letter with His feeble hand and under it placed this verse reference:

“For my God shall supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Phil. 4:19

This verse has been my life verse since that day in 1978 when I received that “decree” regarding my future. Little did I know how many times I would recall and lean on this promise of God. Yes – He had supplied my needs and my very heart’s desire. And it all rested upon men responding with willingness and obedience to the stirring of their hearts.

I forgot to close today with the last verse of Ezra so I will do so now.

In 8:36, it says, “Then they delivered the king’s edicts to the king’s satraps, and to the governors in the provinces beyond the river, and they supported (furthered = KJV) the people and the house of God.”

The KJV word for supported is furthered – “nasa” – to lift up the face, the voice, the eyes, or the soul of another. Those that did not or were not willing to go obeyed the king’s edict and supported and furthered those that did go. Where are you today? If you decide to go and respond to the stirring of your heart, know that God’s hand of protection and provision is upon you, but you still have to do the work. If you cannot go, for whatever reason, please lift up and encourage those that do! Many of you are perhaps the “Mr. Hankins” to someone out there that needs to know that God’s hand is upon them. So, how is He stirring your heart today? The decree has been issued – arise and go up!


In the Name of our Lord of Hosts – the Sovereign Lord over all,

He Died to Make Men Holy

7-4-10
Ezra/Haggai
Lesson 3b
Haggai

"He Died to Make Men Holy"

Today's class met on July 4th, 2010 - some two hundred and thirty four years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence of this great nation. Freedom came to us all and continues to come at a cost. It has many times been said freedom never comes cheap. We, as Americans, can do and say the things we do because many others shed their blood on our behalf. Let's talk about another type of freedom - the freedom from eternal death because of our sins. That freedom was costly as well, but it would not and could not be paid by mortal men, but by the blood of our precious Savior, Jesus Christ.

As I sat in the pew of my home church, listening to the Battle Hymn of the Republic, that precious verse was sung: "He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free." Tears whelped up into my eyes as I truly reflected on the cost of freedom, both my national and my heavenly. Since Jesus has paid the cost of my freedom from the slavery of sin and death, I can truly live to make men free. I can lead them to the same Redeemer I encountered years ago - to the same Mount Calvary we must all go to if we are truly to be set free.

He died to make men holy - set apart. So too, in our lesson from Haggai, God speaks clearly to the people to consider their ways. He exhorted them to examine their lives and the focus there of, to become holy and clean before even one stone of the temple is put into place. Jesus died to make us HOLY not HAPPY! We must examine our own temples and do the work to restore the very dwelling place of our Lord. Yet, if we are to follow the instructions of Haggai, we should drop to our knees, confessing before our God any hurtful way in us. Don't even lift one stone of repair before we have set ourselves apart!

The word tabernacle means, to dwell. God wants to dwell with YOU! Yet, He is holy, and He desires for your heart to be holy as He is holy. Your body, His tabernacle, is His dwelling place, and if it needs some re-building, the writings of Ezra and Haggai are extremely beneficial to guide us toward that restoration. Here is a list of applications from the writing of Haggai which came in 520BC to a people who had STOPPED the repair of the temple for fourteen years. Have you stopped the work? Prayerfully read the list below and ask God to reveal to you any areas that need some repair.

Life Lessons from Haggai

1. When “droughts” come in my life – stop and remember two things:

a. God is sovereign over whatever the “drought” is and has you and the situation in His hands

b. Consider your ways = set your heart upon God’s Glory –Then confess it before Him

2. Am I a procrastinator? When God stirs the heart of His children, He is calling them to DO something. Like the story of Jonah, don’t make God ask you a second time to do the task

3. Am I a quitter when opposition comes? Do I use opposition as my excuse perhaps saying God has closed the door? [Opposition may mean that we doing something RIGHT... in God’s will]..

4. Am I too busy with my own personal life and all its comforts to respond to God’s stirring of my heart? The remnant of Israel was “paneling” their own houses while God’s house was desolate.

5. God is a “with us” God = Immanuel. Two times in Haggai He reminds them saying, “I am with you.” Remember when He stirred Moses to deliver His people, and Moses was more concerned about opposition, and what the people would say and who he was to respond to the task? How did God deal with Moses? He reminded Him that: 1.He was God and 2.That He would be with Him, and 3.To tell them that Yahweh had sent him, and 4.He would equip him to do the job. In other words, IT IS NOT ABOUT US!

6. God is sovereign, but we are responsible to do the work. God stirred them to not fear and to rise up and do the work. David had to go down to the river and gather the stones and had to sling one of them in the name of the Living God. God parts the sea, but we have to be willing to walk through it!

7. Beware of temple comparisons. Sometimes, we like to live in the “glory” days and never move forward. We need to know that God is going to do something new among us. We need to know and remember that the latter glory will be greater that the former.

8. Do not fear. Take courage or be strong and do the work.

9. Better days are ahead – there is always hope in Christ and the future. His Holy Spirit is within us! He is not only WITH us, but He is IN US! SO……restore and rebuild your temple!

10. Obedience brings blessing! From Genesis to Revelation, we see this over and over! To obey is better than sacrifice.

11. Hanging out with holy people will no more make me holy than being ill and hanging out with healthy people will make me well!

12. BUT – when the well hang out with the ill – they will become sick. Uncleanliness and sin spreads like leaven within the bread. Be set apart, holy unto the Lord. Live in the world, but not of the world.

13. God is a promise keeper. He kept His promises to Israel and will keep His promises to us as well. He promised that the Lamp of David would never go out. Zerubbabel was placed in the lineage of Jesus Christ; though he never sat on the throne as a king, he is in the lineage of a King – King Jesus!

14. God’s plans will NOT be thwarted. He is sovereign over kings and kingdoms – over peoples and nations – over life and death – over the rain and the drought...and finishes his building projects right on time (70 years from it’s destruction)

15. Remember that opposition can bring discouragement. Comparing “temples” also brings discouragement.

16. Why did God want them to rebuild the temple? Because He wants to “tabernacle or dwell” with us! From Genesis 3, the story is all about a holy God who calls to Himself an unholy people. He provided atonement with death and blood, and He provided our atonement with the death and blood of Christ. He wants to tabernacle with you! His Spirit dwells within your body, His temple, when you invite Him to reside there and become Lord of your life. Have you done this? Maybe He is stirring your heart to become His child and rebuild your temple for His occupation.

17. Finally, Haggai boils down to two exhortations:

a. Consider your ways (Re-set your priorities, passions)

b. Take courage and be strong ...in order to FINISH the WORK that GLORIFIES HIM!


Those who know their God will display strength and take action! Daniel 11:32b



In the Name of OUR SOVEREIGN AND GREAT GOD,

Not a Random Summer

6-27-10
Ezra/Haggai
Lesson 3a
Haggai

It never ceases to amaze me how God will send me the same message over and over through different venues. Many times our lesson will correlate directly to my quiet time material, or a friend's comment, or our Pastor's message. For the past few weeks, our lessons in Ezra and Haggai have tied into Pastor Brook's summer series, "Not a Random Summer." He has implored us to make active choices that this summer will be a major deciding crossroad for the rest of our lives. He has urged us to stop procrastinating and do the things we never take the time to do like: watch a sunrise and a sunset, walk through the grass barefooted, go on a picnic, etc. Today's message, once again, coincided with our lesson from Haggai, a prophecy written around 520BC during the time of Ezra and Zerubbabel. Haggai wrote five messages over a brief four months of time. He strongly instructs and exhorts a stagnate people to:

1. Consider your ways (self examine your focus in life)
2. Take courage and be strong to do the work
3. Do not fear, for God is with you

The leaders and remnant of Israel had started out well - they returned to their demolished city and laid the foundation for the temple and celebrated with great joy. Then it happened, the "ites" and the naysayers showed up, leaving them discouraged. The word used here for discourage actually means "their arms fell limp." Of course, then after this opposition, they got distracted with the details of their everyday lives - busy-ness and the concerns of the world became their focus. Yet, according to Haggai one, they were toiling in vain for God was causing the fruit of their labors to literally blow away in the wind as He brought drought and withheld the rain. God was trying to get their attention. They were living in nice paneled houses while God's house lie in desolation. They had contracted a bad case of the Deadly D's - disappointed, then discouraged, then distracted, then disillusioned, then delayed, then disobedient, and then despaired, as life seemed to be like being on a treadmill, busy but going nowhere!


In today's sermon, our Pastor instructed and exhorted us as well. His title was "Realize The Necessary" by:

1. You need some necessary endings
2. You need some necessary beginnings
3. You need some necessary breakthroughs

Let's look at how these steps relate to Israel's dilemma and to ours as well.

1. Israel needed to STOP being disobedient and realize that God was judging them so to get their attention. They needed to STOP having their focus on their own lives. They needed to STOP being fearful of the enemies of the land. They needed some "endings" in the summer of 520BC. (Haggai's messages were actually written over a four month period ranging from August to December of 520BC)

2. Israel needed to take some actions. They needed to gather the wood for the temple. They needed to take courage and do the work, They needed to become clean and holy, set apart from their sin BEFORE they lifted even one stone in the construction of the temple. Because unholiness spreads like leaven, and God would not allow an unclean and unholy people to do His work. They had to have a new beginning in 520 BC in order to have a restored temple in 516BC. Is not that what I Pastor told us this morning? Don't just let the summer of 2010 be an ordinary summer - let it be so life changing that you look back and say, "In the summer of 2010, I _______________ and my life has never been the same." We are ALL the temples of God, both individually and corporately as the body of Christ. What do we need to Stop or Start in order to complete this project? I suggest we do the same things Haggai and our Pastor exhorted and instructed us to do.

3. Israel needed a Breakthrough - not a breakdown. They had to look beyond the failures of the past. They had to look past the monotony of lifting each stone and nailing each nail. If you do not breakthrough and keep your eyes focused on the ultimate goal of restoration - you will have a breakdown!!!


Now, we have just briefly touched on the messages of Haggai, and I hope to complete Lesson three next Sunday for those of you they plan to share your July 4th with us. Here are a few things to ponder this week as we continue to "NOT HAVE A RANDOM SUMMER."

Take some time this week and

1. "Consider your ways." Is there anything you need to STOP?
2. "Take courage, be strong and do the work" Is there anything you need to START?
3. "Do not fear, God is with you." Rely on these truths so that you can BREAKTHROUGH and not Breakdown!

Whatever it is that God is stirring you heart to do, I pray these truths, both exhortations and instructions, will be as fruitful to you as they were to Israel when Haggai penned them long ago. I close with the Pastor's key verse:

"The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." Jer. 8:20

In the Name of OUR SOVEREIGN AND GREAT GOD,

Hearing God's Yes When the World Screams No!

6-6-10
Ezra/Haggai
Lesson 2a
Ezra Ch. 4

What is God stirring your heart to do? You know it's Him, but you are scared, afraid of the response or rejection of others. Perhaps, you started the project, but because of opposition, you are now discouraged and wonder if you were ever suppose to do this at all? Yet, you have not completed the task, your hands have gone limp and your are discouraged just like the people of Israel were in Ezra chapter four as they tried to restore the temple. God had stirred their hearts, that was NOT the problem - the problem was the opposition they faced as they tried to follow the will of God. Listen, it's WAR out there and we need today's lesson more than ever. We have to learn how to hear God's YES when the world is screaming NO!

There were many applications from the lesson and I plan to get them to you in letter form in an upcoming lesson. But for now, I want to focus on the major truth we can apply to our lives. We have to learn how to move from fear to faith. In our Matthew study we saw that faith fixes fear, but how do we grow our faith? Well, our lesson shows us - by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." (Romans 15:4) Have you ever been really down and discouraged and God sent messages to you throughout that day or week? Sometimes He will send me the same verse over and over; this reminds me that He is a God that is always with me, and like in says in Ezra 5:5 that "His eye is on me" just like it was on the elders of Israel. He sends me "Haggai's and Zechariah's" just like He did Israel. As a matter of fact, many of you have been used by God to bring me encouraging words many times; He uses you and perhaps you didn't even know that He was speaking through you!

God's Word is a sure Word and we can count on Him to do what He says. Our problem is that we wanted it yesterday - 20 years to re-build, is too long to wait! Perhaps it would not have taken as long if they had greater faith. So too, is our problem - FAITH. I don't know about you, but each week as I do my homework and study His Word, my faith grows. Then, we come together and corporately study, my faith grows more, and we are encouraged by the assembling of ourselves together. His Word and the fellowship with other believers is like a booster B-12 shot to my soul! I am renewed each Thursday - I am a better wife, mother, and friend because His Word has renewed my mind. This renewing grows my faith, as I not only drink in His truths, but I see that God has woven the tapestry of His covenant keeping ways throughout the Bible. I can count on Him - I can trust Him. The result - PEACE and confident Faith!

As I listened to the video, I was reminded of all of the nourishing verses we learned in some of the minor prophets. I went back and grabbed them from that letter and listed them below because they so relate to our lives as we face opposition from the enemy. I encourage you to pray these out loud over yours or some else's warfare and opposition:

When I reach a crossroad of distress in this life …

I will Remember…
The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble. And He knows those who take refuge in Him.
(Nahum 1:7)
The Lord is slow to anger, but great in power, but He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.
(Nahum 1:3a)

What I will Do…
“But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord, I will wait on the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy. Though I fall, I will rise. Though I dwell in darkness, the Lord is a light to me. (Micah 7:7-8)
I will stand on my guard post. I will station myself on the rampart. And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me. (Hab. 2:1)

Even though…
… the fig tree should not blossom.
And there be no fruit on the vine.
Though the yield of the olive should fail.
And the fields produce no food.
Though the flock be cut off from the fold,
And there be no cattle in the stalls.

Because I know…
The righteous man will live by faith. (Hab. 2:4) not by sight. If it was seen it would not be faith –
because faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things unseen. (Heb. 11:1)
And I know The Lord is in His Holy Temple ...(Hab. 2:20a)

Therefore ...
I will exult in the Lord.
I will rejoice in God of my salvation.
The Lord God is my strength.
And He has made my feet like hinds feet and has made me to walk on my high places.(Hab 3:17-19)
so…let all of the earth be silent before Him (Hab.2:20b)

So, what do I mean by hearing God's yes when the world is screaming no? In Romans 4:18, it says, "In hope, against hope, Abraham believed in order that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, "So shall your descendants be." In the next couple of verses it describes how he looked at his and Sarah's bodies - good as dead, but with respect to the promise of God, he did not waiver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith. Abraham's faith grew because he believed the promises of God rather that the screams of a world that would say NO WAY! The word here for hope literally means, in hope (God's yes) against hope (the world's no) to hear God's YES when the word screams No! Abraham knew that the world only saw the outer circumstances - they did not know that He had a promise keeping God. God promised Him that He would have a seed from whom ALL the nations of the earth would be blessed. The only problem was that it would be 25 years before it came about. Oh, if God would only beat to our drum? Maybe, we should learn to beat to His!

You know, the Christian's life is sort of like sitting in the middle of the LSU stadium - DEATH VALLEY (appropriately named) and trying to hear God's whispering YES while almost 100,000 are screaming NO! Now, listen closely for His stirring your heart, and perhaps His whisper of YES. You can do this! Why? Because He said you could - He keeps His promises! YOU ARE NOT TIGER BAIT! Arise, and do the work, and do it by faith!


In the Name of OUR GREAT GOD,

Have You Hung Up Your Harp?

5-30-10

Ezra/Haggai
Lesson 1b-2a
Ezra 1-4

Well, if you missed today - you missed a 45 minute overview of the entire Bible! (LOL) I do not exaggerate, and I literally came home and crashed after lunch as I'm sure those that were there did as well. Now, why did I feel it necessary to start in Genesis and briefly walk through a timeline of the entire Bible? Because if we are going to study a historical book like Ezra, we MUST place it into the context of all of God's story. Why? Because we want to see the BIG picture of how Israel got into this mess to start with and how God, through His sovereign mercy, has never removed His hand from upon them, And most importantly, we must see that same truth for our own lives as well. I propose that if each of us drew a timeline on a piece of paper, starting with our birth to now, we would see some of the same events as we see in the history of Israel. i.e.

1. times of great victory
2. times of great defeat
3. times of immense obedience
4. times of immense disobedience
5. times of freedom
6. times of captivity
7. times of joy and singing
8. times of sadness, regret, and silence

I think you get the point, as this list could go on and on with simple comparisons. Do we ever stop and realize that the God of Israel is OUR God as well, and that this same faithful God has crossed us through the "Red Sea" and the "Jordan River's" of our lives; He has been faithful and merciful and compassionate through every step of our wilderness. It is so important for us to sit and consider our entire life, looking back at the hand of God carrying us and guiding us through our days. This is exactly what the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles did for Israel in 539 BC. If you are going to get the courage to return home and restore your life, that courage is only found in a step back look at your life, sifted through faithful fingers of love and seen through His word manifested in your life.

As a broad application, I want to encourage each of you, no matter where this course has found you in your walk upon this earth to stop and consider:

1. How did I get here - to the place I find myself today?
2. Is there anything I should have utterly destroyed that has now begun to control my life?
3. Is there a giant "talkin' smack" that should have been put away years ago?
4. Have I lost my joy and my song -" Hung up my harp"(Ps.137) - because I have found myself in captivity?

Oh dear students, we have much yet to glean and learn from this beautiful historical narrative by Ezra, a scribe and priest. He better than anyone, knew the importance of looking at the big picture as he perhaps authored 1 and 2 Chronicles along with the book that bears his name. I would like to meet Ezra in glory; he was certainly a pioneer and not a settler as he encouraged a people that needed to return home and restore their lives.

And now, here we stand on the banks of God's word as inspired through Ezra's. These very words are timeless and useful to us as well. I admonish you this day to listen to them and consider coming home. In the book of Joel, God promises to restore their joy and the years the locust have eaten. He will do the same for you, BUT... you have to do the walking! And then you can take down your harp and sing for joy as you take each step of faith toward home!

Your Job:
Repent and Return

12 The Lord announces to his people,
"Return to me with all your heart.
There is still time.
Do not eat any food.
Sob and cry."
13 Don't just tear your clothes to show how sad you are.
Let your hearts be broken.
Return to the Lord your God.
He is gracious.
He is tender and kind.
He is slow to get angry.
He is full of love.
He takes pity on you.
He won't destroy you.   Joel 2:12-13

God's Job:
Restore

"Then I will make up to you for the years That the swarming locust has eaten" Joel 2:25
"For behold, in those days and at that time, When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem" Joel 3:1

Thank You Lord for not NEVER taking Your hand off my life. Though I have wandered away many times, You have never left nor forsaken me. Lord, I want to come home to Your loving arms. I want to restore Your temple, my heart and soul that houses Your very presence! Lord, I have lost my joy along the way, help me to take down my harp and sing again.

Lord, I realize You will be with me the entire journey, but I HAVE TO TAKE THE STEPS! We praise you for loving us enough to forgive us and allow us to come home - home to the God of again!

Thank you Lord for MERCY!

In the Name of our Abba Father,

A God of Again

5-23-10
Ezra/Haggai
Lesson 1
Ezra 1-3
"A God of Again”

You did it AGAIN – you know, that thing you said you would never do AGAIN! We seem to circle the same places over and over AGAIN! We live a life of "déjà vu" moments; sometimes it’s a smell that reminds us or maybe a place, but none the less, we remember being in this very similar situation. Yet, here we are AGAIN, crying out to our God to get us out! So too, were the children of Israel, at least the southern kingdom of Judah, that is. They found themselves cycling through the same old sins over and over AGAIN. Nevertheless, God, through His mercy, lovingkindness, patience, and compassion, had warned them to return to Him through Isaiah, Jeremiah, and several of the minor prophets. The southern kingdom had an extra one hundred years to repent, yet even after seeing their northern cousins dragged away to a foreign land, they still continued to repeat the same old AGAINS. Nonetheless, God never turned His back on His people, but because He loved them and had promised them the blessings and the cursings in Deuteronomy, He had to judge them. But even in His discipline, He showed mercy by promising them it would be over in 70 years, allowing the land a Sabbath rest from their many years of idolatrous pollution. The land needed REST and the people needed a God of AGAIN!

I don’t know about you, but I, like Israel, also need a God of AGAIN! We sometimes call Him a God of second chances, but I dare to say I need a God of a hundred chances, for I seemingly find myself in a state of failure over and over AGAIN. Needless to say, this was also Israel’s plight, and our "AGAIN" God sought them out and did what He said He would do – He brought them home and forgave them AGAIN! This is what I call amazing grace in full throttle action. I did a Bible search on the word “again” and I was overwhelmed at the number of times it is used in the context of God promising to forgive and restore His people AGAIN. Below is a mere smidgen of the verses stating how God promises to restore and forgive His people AGAIN:

Psa 126:1
When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.

Psa 126:6
He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves [with him].

Isa 29:14
Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men will perish, And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed."

Isa 37:31
"The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward

Isa 44:26
Confirming the word of His servant And performing the purpose of His messengers. {It is I} who says of Jerusalem, 'She shall be inhabited!' And of the cities of Judah, 'They shall be built.' And I will raise up her ruins again

Jer 12:15
"And it will come about that after I have uprooted them, I will again have compassion on them; and I will bring them back, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land

Jer 24:6
'For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them again to this land; and I will build them up and not overthrow them, and I will plant them and not pluck them up.

Mic 7:19
He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins Into the depths of the sea.

Zec 1:17
"Again, proclaim, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.'""

Our lesson was filled with applications, NOT spiritualizations. We can apply these same truths to our lives because we are also His people. As New Testament believers, we too are in covenant with God through the blood of Christ, our propitiations (satisfaction) in God's eyes that the price had been paid for our debt. God has also promised us that we now have an advocate with the Father when we sin that intercedes on our behalf. We are a priesthood of believers, no Urim or Thummin needed, for we have the Holy Spirit within our breastplate of righteousness that God sent to indwell us, guide us into all truth, comfort us, teach us, and help us to discern the will of God in our lives. I have listed other page to the pavement apps below for you do REST in when you find yourself in the AGAINS of your life:

Lesson One Ezra 1-3 Applications

1. God is omniscient (all-knowing) Over one hundred years before King Cyrus of Persia was born, God named him and stated through Isaiah the prophet that Cyrus would be His appointed shepherd that would free Israel and declare the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple. (Is. 44-45)

2. God stirs the spirit of men to do His will, both those who know Him and those that do not. He is sovereign over kings and kingdoms AND your enemies! (Pr. 21:1 - "The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes."

3. Has God stirred your spirit lately? To do what? Do you support and encourage others as they strive to follow God’s leading? (Ezra 2)

4. God is a promise keeper. He promised through Jeremiah, the prophet, that He would restore the exiles, rebuild Jerusalem, and His house. He also promised that He would punish their captors. He brought Persia against Babylon at the end of the 70 year captivity.(Jer. 25&29)

5. God means what He says- both the blessings and the cursings. (Dt. 28-30)

6. He is patient, longsuffering, and companionate toward His people. He warned Israel over and over to return to Him. (all of the pre-exilic prophets)

7. Have you, like some of the Jews, lost your “ancestral records” proving your bloodline to Jesus? You do have the proof, the Holy Spirit within you bears witness with your spirit that you are a child of God. You are an adopted heir and joint heir with Jesus Christ. He is your great High Priest and you too are a Kingdom of priests, eligible and called to minister to a world that needs reconciliation. *Roms. 8:15-18 "For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, with Him."

8. There can be no worship without an altar. Before you build a temple, you must build the altar that sits within the only doorway. There can be no worship before a holy God without first cleansing and sanctification through sacrifice. The burnt offering is a complete, totally consumed LIVING sacrifice that was tied to the four horns of the altar.(Lev. 1) You too are to present your body as a living sacrifice before the Lord which is your spiritual act of worship. (Rom. 12:1-2)

9. Jesus became our burnt offering – totally consumed – He put on our fleshly skin so that we could wear His spiritual skin. His skin is our atonement – NO MORE SHAME! (Lev. 1)

10. Is God calling you to go home and restore the ruins of your life? Do you need to forgive someone? Do you need your hope restored? Do you need a purpose in life? He will restore the years the locusts have eaten! (Joel 2:25)

11. YOU COUNT – YOU HAVE A PURPOSE – YOU ARE IN THE FAMILY – YOU ARE A PRIEST! (1Pet. 2:9)

12. Have you "hung up your harp?" (Ps 137) Are you in captivity - you have lost your joy and your songs? Remember, He is a God of again. (Ps 126) And He will do great things for you as He did for Israel! BUT........you have to GET UP AND DECIDE TO RETURN HOME! Yes - it is a mess! But you can be restored - one stone at a time while you SING, SING, SING! Need some help? Let other's support you as Israel did as they joined together to do the work!

13. S0----ARISE AND LET’S GO UP AND REBUILD OUR TEMPLES AND THE RUINS OF OUR LIVES! (Ezra 1)

As I close, I recently watched and listened as a broken man, Tiger Woods, apologized to his family, friends, and a nation for his recent unfaithful indiscretions. He explained that he kept finding himself in that same old place of AGAIN. Comparatively, as we look back at the nation of Israel, how fitting to see a real life example of the troubles of going down a road called AGAIN. Like Israel, Tiger wants to go home and rebuild his ruins. I am sad to report that he openly stated that he is a Buddhist, and consequently, does not know the forgiving Savior that we know. Oh, how we should pray that God would stir Tiger's heart like he did that of King Cyrus causing Tiger to know that it is the God of heaven and earth that has given him his abilities and all the things of this earth. Oh, how ugly are the results of the destination called AGAIN. Yet, that is why we so desperately need the God of Again.


Thank You Lord for not only being the contractor of new construction, but also of re-model jobs where we have made the utmost mess of our lives. We praise you for loving us enough to forgive us and allow us to come home - home to the God of again!

Thank you Lord for AMAZING GRACE!

In the Name of the Lord Jesus, our burnt offering,

Welcome to My Bucket Blog!

Hello Everyone:

Welcome to my Bucket Blog and Precept class information page.  I hope this will serve our purposes for both classes and for my friends and colleagues throughout. 

Each Precept lesson's review letter will be posted by course and lesson number.  You will just have to go to those criteria to find the letter.  Also, each class as a header link that brings you to info just for your class.  The most recent letter review will always be at the center of the page under the HOME link.

Only two letters are in the archives.  I am not planning to go back and post ALL of the old letters, but I AM planning to post the Ezra letters as I teach those to the Sunday Class in May and June.

Announcements for both classes are also along the left side of the page.

A great feature for this page will be the fact that you all can post comments about:   the lesson, my letter, insights into what God is teaching you, prayer requests, questions about the homework, etc.  Not only can I respond, so can others in the class!

Now - in order to post comments - you can just scroll down to the end of the text and click on POST A COMMENT. You can post anonymously, but I would love for those of you that can to sign up as a follower so I will know who you are.  Simply follow the instructions to the right of this segment called FOLLOWERS to establish your blogger user name and password.  You will be a member of my site, and if you wish, you can also download a picture of yourself got your blogger window. (See mine as an example) Hold the cursor over the headshots, and the person's name appears.  Each time you want to post, you will sign in using your name and password.

Looking forward to using this new arena of communication with you all.

Blessed be the Name of Jesus,