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In some ways, this is similar to when Abraham had to send Hagar and Ishmael away for the sake of keeping unity in the family. A wife/mother with pagan influence would have had repercussions on the people of God for generations to come. A costly mistake required a tough decision to put away their wives; it was not an easy choice to make; just as it was a struggle for Abraham to put away Hagar and Ishmael. Today, it is a struggle for us to put away those precious sins, but through prayer and humiliation we can do all things through God who strengthens us.
Good point Pastor Mwansa about the people of God facing opposition from people in their own ranks. We ought not to be discouraged when we see our brethren oppose the message and practice of revival and reformation. Let us not let any obstruction separate us from God. Heavenly Father, let your will be done within our lives and if we are not willing, Lord make us willing. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Thank you Pastor Mwansa! We have to keep on going of the promise of God but following the way of reformation. We have to reform day by day. The God's hand is always to show us what to realize in our spiritual life. Thank u to the family!
What Now Lord?
Father of all creation, God of our salvation we acknowledge Your sovereignty and you matchless love toward us. You are indeed awesome and worthy of all our worship, praise, and adoration, and we offer them up to You freely.
Father, we also recognize our sinfulness, our hard-heartedness, and our frustratingly stubborn bent to stray outside of our will. Some of us have clearly made poor choices in those we are married to; others of us have cultivated sinful habits that are sapping every spiritual energy from our beings. We recognize that we are not only hurting ourselves, but we're hurting You with all this sinning and rebellion. We confess all our sins before you today (hating people, committing adultery, hooked on pornography, following the sinful leading of our spouses, abusive to our children, homosexual entanglements, backbiting, laziness, and many, many others Lord). Father you deserve better and deep within my heart I yearn to live only for your glory.
So what now Lord; where do we go from here? All these issues call for reform, but we can't do them on our own. Our most potent weapon is to pray for Your forgiveness, but after that comes action. Please tell us what to do; tell us how to break our addictions. Some of us who struggle with pornography must decide whether we give up cable and the internet, which means no access to RBHW and many other wholesome resources. There are illicit cyber relationships that take place through video calls, emails and other facilities. These must cease as well. Please show us what to do. What happens when we know a certain email address and a certain telephone number by heart (information we'd do well to forget)? The boundaries of many of our marriages must be redefined, and that is not going to be easy, but with You all things are possible - guide us Lord. Lord the days ahead are long ones, and the things to be accomplished are well beyond our human capability to handle, but please place Your love within us through the gift of the Holy Spirit. At length Lord, we desire a revival of no mean order, and we'll all experience a Church that is truly reformed; a gift worthy for an awesome God. In Jesus' name, amen.
Amen and amen
Good morning my RBHW family. Thanks for your comments Pastor Pardon. Reformation comes at a cost, not to God but to us who have disobeyed His Laws and have lived in a sinful state. Putting away the things of the world, and forsaking worldly attractions may cause pain and loneliness but in the end it is worth it all. My prayer today is that we will put away all the strange gods in our midst and return to true worship of the true God.
Amen,praise HIS Holy Name.
God forgive me, because I know my character all too well. I could not abandon my pagan wife, a wife who has born my children, a wife who has huddled with me in tents, with the rain and the wind howling around us, like some unholy spirit. Even now she waits for me, beyond the temple; even now she huddles, a mere bundle of rags, waiting for my return. I think I hear my children crying, caught by the wind, howling against the injustice of it all. I will rush to them, not turning around to see the temple diminishing, retreating, in the background but search for my pagan wife, my wife; yes, we will cling to each other, as darkness falls, and as we are consumed once more by the dust, an all consuming dust.
Today as I read the last chapter of Ezra, I am not sure whether I should weep or rejoice. Is this a glorious day or a sad day? Reformation is a wonderful thing, and this is most important. I could not help reflecting on the pain that must have been felt by the family members involved. Lord, please help us to always consult you in the choices we make and to follow your leading, even when we don't quite understand
Amen,help us FATHER.
Amen. Reformation certainly causes pain and sufferings, but in the end the reward that awaits us is more valuable.
I'm certain that my first thoughts in reading this passage wasn't the main theme, but they struck me and stayed with me throughout the reading. What a mess the leaders and people made in marrying outside of their faith. In hindsight, they're trying to rectify the wrong they've done, but look at the carnage left in the wake of their foolish decisions; families torn apart by this remedy. Some of the women returned, might not be accepted warmly in their families. The children will have to grow up without one of their parents. The fix may have cleansed Judah, but the turmoil it caused exacted a heavy price on the people.
It's no different today. When we marry outside of our faith, there are consequences. If a believer stays with an unbeliever, he/she risks being lured away from the truth. Leaving, or being left by an unbeliever, might result in children being raised in single parent homes, or as is the case these days; being raised in two separate homes a week at a time. What sort of split personalities must that cause.
God knew the damage intermarriage with pagans cause and warned His people against the practice of mixing with the inhabitants of the land. In these last and perilous days, he knows the danger that awaits couples who risk yoking themselves unequally with unbelievers believing that "love will conquer all." While God's true love does conquer all, there are still consequences for disobeying God's direction.
Thank the Lord that he is gracious and forgiving, but remember that He made us and knows what's best for us. We should avoid the pitfalls of disobedience and follow his will in the first place.
Blessings all!
Amen Sis,blessings to you also.
Amen. My sister a lot of us take God for granted, and we behave as if we have total control over our lives. When we do things contrary to the will of God, we must be prepared to pay the consequences. God is not slack concerning His instructions to us. All He ask for is obedience.
Today’s
Bible reading highlights how families are often ruined by ungodly decisions and by
disobedience to the will of God. Today there
are husbands and wives making decisions and involving themselves in actions that
are against the will of God; and the ones who suffer the most are the children.
Let every parent reading this today
determine in their hearts to turn back to God.
Let every parent reading this today decide that the will of God and
purpose of God must be fulfilled in their home.
There is a Ghanaian proverb which states that the ruins of a nation
begins in the homes of its people. Let us as Seventh Day Adventist determine by
God’s grace that our homes would not contribute to the ruin of a nation
Amen.
We are all leaders, and, like Ezra, we set an example for those within our circle of influence. Lord, help us all to be leaders who lead not just with our words but with our lives.
Amen and amen.
Let's have this same spirit as Shechaniah, and let's say to our godly leaders who lead the Remnant into revival and reformation: “We are with you, Ezra, so be of good courage, and do it.”
Recently we had a sermon at my church comparing the eagle and the chicken and the preacher mentioned that while the rooster will go from one hen to another, the eagle has only one partner for life. Marriage is not just to take a wife, or a husband so that we can fulfill our sexual needs and to have "someone" beside us not to be alone going through life. Marriage is to share everything and to become one. My kids will make their own decisions when they are adults but I pray that they will remember what I have told them over all their years about marriage, which is that you don't marry someone because you're happy now and because everything fits now. You marry someone because you'll be happy when you have kids and when you have problems, and when the guy starts losing his hair and starts to wonder about life. Marriage is a life long partnership where you will share everything and make decisions together. Therefore I keep saying "you can't marry someone who does not worship your God the way you worship Him". You will then become two separate persons, like a house with a crack in the middle. For us Adventist, it is very particular because we worship on Sabbath. So how does that work when you marry a Sunday person? And what do you teach your children ? How confusing. So marrying someone with a different religion, even a different denomination is just planting problems to happen in ten, twenty years. I keep saying, project yourselves in twenty years before you marry someone. Imagine where you will live, what job you will do and what happens when one gets a promotion. Imagine your children and their children, how are you both going to handle this on a daily basis ? Here at the conclusion of Ezra's book, it ends up in sorrow. How can I ask my wive and children to leave because I should not have married them? How do I explain to a child that he or she should not have been conceived ?? It's inhuman and by making the wrong choices, by not being diligent enough in the choices and decisions we make, we create inhuman situations and sadness without name. Children are treasures, and adults are tormenting these treasures because of their mistakes, because of their short thinking and their sexual drives. Lord forgive me for all the mistakes in my life that caused pain to my children and help me to be a good and strong father, and in some years grandfather, that I will never think of myself before I think of You and Your will and all the people who will be affected by the decisions and choices I make. In Jesus name, amen.
Amen,indeed my selfish action has caused much pain but thank GOD for forgiveness and a new beginning.
Amen, it is because of these choices we make that so much sadness is present in this world. We are basically selfish in choosing partners, its never usually about thoughts of the long term nor whether the choice is being made according to God's design. Praise God for those who do otherwise. I join you in being extremely sorry for the mistakes I have made in making selfish choices.
Amen.
Denis,
There is a wonderful series by Pastor Henry Wright (SDA Pastor) called "The Holy Spirit and Choosing a Mate." Very good 6 part series.
Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
Thank you bro. Really happy you sent me this link. I also found these sermons on http://www.christianlifemediac... so I can download to my phone to listen while I'm driving. Have a blessed day.
Yes Eddie, I have watched these series, very enlightening!!
Well said Denis. Families are now broken. The children have lost their natural fathers. Wives have lost their husbands. Why? Simple - the consequence of not following God's laws/direction. So often we make decisions in the immediate, what feels good, relying on our own wisdom, forsaking God's law and directions because of the need for instant gratification. Then comes the natural consequences of sin that impacts on not just the individual but the children as well as the extended families.. Father God help us to be totally surrendered to your will. God bless y'all.
Amen.
Amen
Amen Brother Denis! As everyone knows, I recently married the person I prayed for. Judy, my wife, is a daughter of a retired SDA pastor and a long time SDA herself. But most important, she loves the Lord and has the same passion for His work as do I. Almost 2 years ago, we both were praying the same prayer for someone who could be our soul mate, but we were very particular about the person being a sincere SDA Christian.
I believe God will lead us to the right person if we let him. I will remember your children in my prayers. God bless and have a great week!
Amen. Praise the Lord!!
Amen ! Thank you and God bless. It's just tremendous to read your testimony.
Good morning Family ..I am just praising God for the fact that we still have chance to gain refreshing from the Lord as we respond to messages from Gods messengers ..even our latter day prophetess Mrs Ellen G white ..what a blessings her writings are for Gods people today ..We are living in very serious times and of course we are much more aware of the downward trend of society today because we are told via all the technology available to us and yes The enemy is causing people in Gods church to seemingly compromise greatly ..Lord we need individual revival so much ..I want SO MUCH to experience the FIRE I had in my heart to reach out when i was young ....Lord Jesus i come to you today with a heart of contrition and tears ..you know my weaknesses and i just ask you please help and strengthen me and show me anything that I am not aware of that is causing you turn your face away from me ..Particularly recognise my need for a more constant prayer life ...I struggle at night when I am tired to spend Quality time in prayer ...I am asking the RBHW Family for prayers please ...I suppose I had better pray in the evening BEFORE I get really tired ?? Lord have mercy on me ...Have a blessed day every one ..
Precious Sister Celia, I can so relate to what you are saying. And I will be praying for both you and me that our prayer life will become dedicated and sincere. I have no doubt that your prayers are sincere, but you, like me let the duties and responsibilities of the day tire you out so that when night dcomes, you are so tired you just mumer a few short words and then lay your head down to sleep. It is amazing how Satan can throw things into our lives that separate us from God. Extra duties, company, all kind of unplanned for events that flood our lives and push away valuable time with Jesus. I struggle with this all the time. And yet, when I don't take time to pray, my life is a shambles. I so need the strength and guidance of Jesus in everything I do and say, that I dare not let one prayer session go. So my solution is to stop in the afternoon before I get so tired and spend time with Jesus. It is easy in the morning, but mid-day is a challenge. Yet I am finding that I am much rewarded when I take time out to pray. God is my strength and without Him I am nothing. Last week our grandson was staying with us and it was a challenge to find time alone to pray. But I did it and I was rewarded immensely. That precious little 10 year old boy came and knelt down beside his Gramma and prayed with me. You cannot even imagine the joy I felt in my heart. So, Sister Celia, I will be praying for you and for me that we do not let Satan crowd our lives with insiginificant things that push Jesus out. But that we will instead be faithful in our prayer life. Won't it be wonderful to meet in heaven and rejoyce in our victory!!!!!
Top of the morning my RBHW family. I pray we all had a blessed sabbath & weekend. Thought on today's passage/reading....10 And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, ................ 11 Now therefore make confession unto the Lord God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves ............this is what we are to do and encourage others to do-realize we have sinned, confess & follow the will of God (which is for our benefit anyways). He is almighty an willing that none shall perish but that all should come to repentance & live. Bless the Lord. Thank yo all for your thoughts & inputs. May we continue steadfast in our Lord or His coming is near. Blessed day to all.
God's people were in danger of losing their identity by intermarriage with the pagans. If their identity was lost, then their purpose would be lost. About 400 years later, they were to be entrusted with Messiah. But these intermarriages would produce children with a different philosophy from Scripture, or who would vacillate between paganism and Judaism. If the next generation grew up not knowing that they were to expect Messiah in their midst, how could God's great plan of Salvation be accomplished among His people? Thus the Spirit of God moved upon Ezra to deal with this problem. Although this problem resurfaced, all hope was not lost because God preserved a faithful group. As Adventists, we are to not lose our identity. We are not to form alliances in this world that contradict Scripture. We are to be careful not to have this precious message entrusted to us diluted, or mixed with the other messages around. God's purpose of proclaiming His end-time message is destined to be fulfilled among His Advent people and He calls us to be faithful like Ezra. May we mourn like Ezra making confession for our mistakes, while we look to our God who reminds us that "there is hope in Israel in spite of" our mistakes.
Father of glory and light, Righteous Abba, we have sinned constantly before You. We humbly pray for a daily reformation in our lives so that we can be on the path to Canaan's land. May we be mindful of the mistakes that those gone on before us made and cause unpleasantness to You, and shun them. Open Thou our eyes to see the wiles of the enemy and steer us from its wicked path into Your everlasting way, we pray in the precious name of Jesus, amen.
Thank you, Jas, for that wonderful prayer. I will use it today as well. God bless you!!
Amen
Amen! Reading Ezra has reminded me yet again that these things were "written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come."
Goodmorning to one and all, firstly I would like to ask each one of you to pray for me and my family in need of prayers at all times...As I read this chapter, I realize that in order to follow God we will have to be radical. Radical in context that we will need to forsake all that brings separation between us and God. It could be work related, friends, sports, wife, husband, children, whatever else that can fall under this category. Hence why Jesus says, and I paraphrase 'whosoever loves mother, father or family above me is not worthy of being my disciple.' My prayer today for us is....Lord help us to be radical in worshiping you, whatever we need to put aside, Help us and give us the strength to put it aside so that we can be one with you at all times, in Jesus name. Amen
Praying for you all that God will give you the desire to follow His will and the strength to obey His commands. His love is all encompassing and He will reach down and touch the hearts of each one of you to bring you closer to Him. Let the Holy Spirit touch these precious hearts, Father. Guide them, go before them and make the crooked pathes straight. You have the Power, Lord Jesus, to bring radical changes into the lives of this family. Thank You for hearing and answering this prayer, as I ask it in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Amen Pastor Mwansa. May God help each and every one of us to "go and sin no more." Lord, please bring us rain for our souls in the time of the latter rain so that the bright clouds of thy presence will water every heart in which the seed of thy truth has been planted. We ask for this refreshing today and hereafter oh Lord, amen. "Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.
(Zach 10:1)
Amen, Brother Rod! Lord Jesus, prepare our hearts to receive the latter rain. We know that we must be ready, we must fully reflect Your character before that latter rain can come. Please, please Father, give us the desire to reflect Your life completely.
Amen.
Amen & God bless
Brother Pardon Mwansa,
All too often we tend towards running ahead of God. All too often we take our lead and our incentive from suggestions that come to us based upon our feelings in consequence of some serious words spoken to us by a man of God. That is, our feelings are given the upper hand. What we ought to have done instead is to bow ourselves, each one of us, before our Maker while seeking His instruction through His written word. Consider carefully the exact words within the king's proclamation, words spoken in consequence of God's message as recorded for us per Jonah 3:8! Words that did have the intended effect!
In this case, Ezra 10, I believe that we have a situation similar to the time when Moses, upon the suggestion of the people, sent twelve spies into Canaan. You know the story. Only two of the twelve spies stood up on God's side. The others were afraid, and you are well aware of the consequences.
Likewise, I find that the two named men of verse fifteen were the only ones standing up in defense of family commitments that had been made and which had been receiving the seal of God, even by receiving sons and daughters designed and formed by the Creator Himself. Consider our Savior's words per Matthew 19:6! Also please consider Paul's words per 1 Corinthians 7:13-17!
God has never given any man, nor any society of men, the authority over any family created in the image of its Maker. Genesis 1:27! God, our Creator, is forever retaining that authority unto Himself. Man's trusteeship is defined to us per Genesis 1:28. That definition does not include any two-legged creature among men. Now, does it?
If you look carefully at the names of these two men who had the courage to stand up even in the face of the general feelings aroused in consequence of the realization of the bad choices that had indeed been made, you may notice that those names are in themselves an indication of the characters of these two men.
It behooves us, even us here today, not to run along with the consensus of the mob. Please consider, in this connection, also Moses' words per Deuteronomy 5:2-5!
And then there is more to this story than at first meets the eye... If I may, please share with me some additional blessing as available under this link: http://tinyurl.com/ksd74ae
Here is a thought to consider. If these marriages, which these two men stood up for "received the seal of God," then Ezra's confession and that of the people was vain. There would have been no need to offer sin offerings. Satan oftentimes disguises his agents to appear in a similar light to God's servants in days of old. Korah, Dathan and Abiram and their small group in Numbers 16, appeared to be a "remnant" seeking the good of God's people, and almost appeared like martyrs, but their mission was led by the spirit of the evil one.
Danny,
The sin was very real. The confession was most appropriate. It was not a vain confession of the people. There was a need for sin offerings.
Nevertheless, the Word of God is not teaching us to add one sin on top of another in order to correct our ways by our own means. The error consisted in choosing spouses from among foreign people not trained in the ways of God. Yet, the Bible is filled with examples teaching us that our Creator God is the God of Covenants. The covenant between husband and wife, which is the basis for every family, is the very foundation for the very image of God. The Scriptures makes it utterly clear that God's People are to honor and to live up to their promises made and to the covenants and agreements they have made themselves part unto. Indeed, that is very much the essence of the Ninth of the Ten Commanments: "Thou need not break a promise." "Thou need not bear false witness." On top of that you have the Seventh Commandment: "Thou need not contribute towards breaking your family covenant asunder..." "Thou need not commit adultery..."
God has taught His People over and over again the evil consequences of choosing our spouses to be, unwisely. We need to teach ourselves and our young ones, while there is yet time, ahead of those choices of ours and theirs, the importance of choosing wisely and in accord with the principles of God. We need to implement ways and means towards that end. Yet, we must refrain from running away from God, when in panic we begin to suffer the consequences of our own making. We are much better off if and when we turn to God in humble prayer while each listening to that still small voice, the voice of our loving Father who is by no means having a wish or a desire for us to ever cut our tiny babies, or any one among our sons or daughters, in half, as by the sword of Solomon. That is, by severing any of their parental families! God has much better remedies than that! It is for us, each of us, to listen and to learn!
I agree with you re Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Likewise we also have Nadab and Abihu who "offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not." It behooves us to look carefully at these things, lest we run ahead of our Maker and Savior. That is, while adding one sin unto another...
As to the sin offering to be made: Please consider carefully the words in Exodus 34:20 and Numbers 18:15: "the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem..."
I am convinced that every word of God must be properly understood and applied. This requires careful consideration and sufficient time. Remember Revelation 14:12!
Good morning blessed of my father and thanks pastor p for today 's blog There is hope in every situation and God himself gives us that assurance in his word ; Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Amen sister
Amen Pastor. by his grace may we receive total revival and reformation.
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