First Baptist Church, Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Devotional: Ezra 3:1-7

Today’s passage: Ezra 3:1-7

Helpful thoughts:

  • Seventy years after the exile, the High Priest and the man who would have been king (Zerubbabel) led the people to worship the Lord again in Jerusalem.
  • In the midst of their fear (Verse 3), they offered sacrifices for their sins.  (Acts 5:29)
  • All that was needed to get started was the altar.  However, following the pattern of Solomon, the Jews sent money for skilled labors and materials from Sidon and Tyre (1 Kings 5).

Questions to consider:

  1. Why were the people who opposed Israel in the land in the first place?  How did they get there?  Why had there been land to inhabit over the last seventy years?
  2. What was the significance of beginning to offer sin offerings and being obedient to the Lord’s commands concerning sacrifices and festivals (Like the Feast of Booths/Tabernacles)?
  3. What had the kings in Jerusalem been doing prior to their exile?  How were they evidencing repentance?

Devotional: Ezra 2

Today’s passage: Ezra 2

Helpful thoughts:

  • We know that God moved in the hearts of His people to return them to the Promised Land.  Now we get to read who those people are.  (High-five for finishing that!)
    • Many in the genealogy are given by town as the people would settled into their ancestral towns once they returned.
  • Zerubbabel is listed in the line of Christ in Matthew 1:12-13.  He was the heir to the throne, though he would never rule as king (Jeremiah 22:28-30).
  • Jeshua/Joshua was in the High Priestly line.
    • How amazing that the Lord allowed these men to lead these Israelites back to the Promised Land!
  • The Urim and Thummim were used by the High Priest to determine God’s will under the Old Covenant (Exodus 28:30, Numbers 27:21).  Those who could not prove their Israelite ancestry had to wait until the High Priest (Jeshua) could ask God if they were truly a part of the nation.

Questions to consider:

  1. In what ways is this return a cause for celebration?  In what ways does it remain a sad reminder of all they had lost?  Is Judah called a kingdom or something else in verse 1?  Who remained their earthly king?
  2. How does the number in this voyage compare to their first journey to the Promised Land from Egypt? (See verse 64 along with Numbers 26:51 and note, these lists only include the men so there were more who came if you count the women and children.)
  3. Why would it be wrong for them to find or lose confidence because of their numbers?  Who had brought them “home”?  Who was their protection?  Who’s heart had God moved to bring about His will (1:1)?  How can the presence of God encourage us to move forward in obedience today?  (Matthew 28:18-20)

Devotional: Ezra 1

Today’s passage: Ezra 1

Helpful thoughts:

  • The books of Ezra and Nehemiah were likely written by the same person who wrote 1 and 2 Chronicles (Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, of course).  Many believe the human author to be Ezra himself.
    • The book, being written after the events, was probably written in the mid 400s B.C.
  • “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.” –  Proverbs 21:1
    • God stirred up the heart of a mighty king (Verse 1), and the hearts of His own people (Verse 5), to bring about His promised will. (Jeremiah 25:11)
    • One of the ways God could have stirred up the heart of the king of Persia was through the ministry and service of Daniel (Daniel 6:25-28).
  • God’s promises to the exiles included the restoring of their “fortunes” (Jeremiah 29:10-14).

Questions to consider:

  1. What do we learn about God in this chapter?  What does He do when He makes a promise?  Is there anyone who He cannot use to bring about His purposes?  How can this encourage us as we think about the promises we claim in Christ through the gospel?
  2. Why do you think God had to also move in the hearts of the Jews to return?  What might have been their comfort level with their current situation after seventy years of living there?
  3. How might God’s grace be more active in our lives than one would expect?  How could He use the ministry of His word today to encourage you in His grace?

Devotional: Philippians 4:21-23

Today’s passage: Philippians 4:21-23

Helpful thoughts:

  • Every saint is worth our time and consideration.  Not just “all the saints,” but “every saint.”
  • God used the ministry of the Apostle Paul and other believers in the city of Rome to reach people even inside of Caesar’s household.  The “household” would have included various people who served Caesar or his entourage in some way or another.
  • In these greetings and wishes, we see a people who, by the grace of God, have a new citizenship and comradery with others who they previously would not have felt any loyalty to.
    • The very people of Caesar’s household have greater things in common with a converted Jew than they do with any Roman politician.

Questions to consider:

  1. How do we often find ourselves connected with others?  What characteristics appeal to us?  How do we make friends?
  2. Who are our people?  How does Jesus Christ and the gospel totally change our perspective on how we view ourselves and other people?  How does it change the way we view friendship, citizenship, purpose in society, political and cultural differences, etc.?
  3. Who could you reach out to today that perhaps you wouldn’t normally think of on any other given day?  How could you bless another person with the love of Christ?

Devotional: Philippians 4:14-20

Today’s passage: Philippians 4:14-20

Helpful thoughts:

  • After teaching on contentment and strength in Christ regardless of his circumstances, Paul does need to thank the Philippian church for their gift.
  • Their gift was not unnecessary.  He did need to eat.  But his desire was to allow the church’s giving to be an offering, a sacrifice pleasing to the Lord and fruit of their growth in Christ.
    • Paul’s encouragement to the church in verse 19 gives evidence that this gift was a sacrifice for the church.
  • We see the same heart in giving expressed to the church at Corinth in 2 Corinthians 9.

Questions to consider:

  1. Though we do not see anything about percentages mentioned in these passage, what principles do we find?  What characteristics are being encouraged in the heart of Christian giving?
  2. How does the gospel change our perspective on giving?  We do not give in order to earn righteousness or to buy a spot in heaven…  How does our giving reflect and show the fruit of what God has already done for us?
  3. Are you experiencing the joy of giving?  How have you seen that it is better to give than to receive (Acts 20:35)?

Devotional: Philippians 4:10-13

Today’s passage: Philippians 4:10-13

Helpful thoughts:

  • Paul is thanking the church for a gift they sent him to help meet his needs and further the ministry.
    • Paul’s contentment allowed the church to give out of love and not under coercion.
  • Contentment is found in Christ and Christ alone.  Anything this world could offer would never be enough, and anything this world could offer is truly God’s to give or take away.  We are stewards of all that is His.
  • Verse 13 is often used in a sporting context, or in some other way that speaks of success.  It is often used like a motivational rally cry.  In truth, taken in its context, this verse should encourage any athlete to be content whether they win the championship or lose every game all season.  They can do all things with contentment because Christ is their strength, not winning or losing.

Questions to consider:

  1. How does the comment above concerning verse 13 help us to learn how to read our Bibles better?  Where do words and sentences get their meaning?  What part does context play?
  2. How does Christ’s promise at the end of the Great Commission ensure us that we are always winning in this life? (Matthew 28:19-20)  Win or lose, rich or poor, does Christ’s love come and go?
  3. How does the Gospel and the promise of Philippians 1:6 confirm this hope and contentment in this life?  Why/When are you on the victory side?

Devotional: Philippians 4:8-9

Today’s passage: Philippians 4:8-9

Helpful thoughts:

  • Our thinking shapes our affections and desires, which results in our action.  In today’s two verses, we are encouraged to think and then to do.
  • Websites and social media apps make money by occupying and engaging your mind.  Christ has bought you (All of you) with a precious price.
  • Peace comes not from a resolution of hardships or physical discomfort, but after our right thinking brings about Christ-honoring actions.

Questions to consider:

  1. What kinds of ways can you saturate your minds with things that pass the test of verse 8?  What others things can you do in addition to Bible reading and prayer (Alone and with others) to continue to dwell on that which is true, honorable, just, etc.?
  2. How can you ensure you are using web-based or social media products as a tool for good instead of being used by them for their own interests?  How could your use of those products help others to grow in applying today’s verses?
  3. In verse 9, discipleship is being both taught and caught (What you have “seen in me”).  Who are you learning from by hearing and seeing?  Who are you teaching/discipling?

Devotional: Philippians 4:4-7

Today’s passage: Philippians 4:4-7

Helpful thoughts:

  • We can rejoice in the Lord always because the Lord and His promises remain the same always.
  • The Greek word translated as “reasonableness” in the ESV means to be gracious, courteous.  The idea is that Christians are not to be insistent that everything be just right when dealing with other people.
    • Christ is coming, there are bigger issues at hand than what many Christians can be prone to squabble over.
  • When we truly understand the sovereign power of God and set our hope on what is to come, we will readily go to Him in prayer and the things of this world “will grow strangely dim.” (Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus)

Questions to consider:

  1. When a church is focused on the Great Commission and the glory of God, what kinds of things fall by the wayside?  What things can churches argue about that ought never distract them?
  2. How does the command of verse 5 also correlate with what we read in verses 2-3?
  3. How does the promise of a guard over our hearts and minds give comfort?  What do we often want to happen before our hearts and minds can settle down?  How can dependence on God be better than the resolutions we desire?