August 6

Ezra 3:1-4:23, 1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4, Psalm 28:1-9, Proverbs 20:24-25 

Pray: David finds his strength in the Lord. It’s a wrestling match for many today. If we’ve accomplished much or had success in life, it is very easy to become prideful. We begin to think we are the source of our blessings and success. David was king and he knew that it was God who had given him everything. Is God your source of strength? Do you trust Him with all you are and all you have? As you pray, acknowledge Him and see if He will reveal to you anything of pride that you need to turn over.

Read: There will always be naysayers and gossipers. I think this is especially true when the people of God are doing the will of God. In fact, I think the closer we move to God’s good and perfect will, the more opposition from the enemy (and the people whom he chooses) we will experience. As the Jews were rebuilding the Temple, rumors were spread and letters full of lies were written to the King of Persia. This halted the rebuilding efforts of God’s people. We should not be surprised when we encounter resistance. In fact, it is in those moments that we should give praise to the Lord, because we may just be closer to His will than ever before.

Edify: The foundation was completed and the people celebrated. They gathered around, the priests blew trumpets, the Levites clashed cymbals, and the people “sang this song to the Lord: ‘He is so good! His faithful love for Israel endures forever!’” (Ezra 3:11) The Temple was not complete, but the people knew that God deserved praise and thanks for what He had accomplished and what He would bring to completion. We would do well to give thanks to God for the foundations He is laying in our lives, our marriages, our homes, our careers, etc., and to praise Him for what He is preparing to build in us!

Practice: If you’ve ever been around a baby, you know their diet consists of milk. That’s it! As an adult, it’s hard to understand how that alone can satisfy hunger. Yet, it’s true for 100% of babies…that’s all they need. As they grow up, more is added to the diet, providing more nourishment, more things needed for development and maturity. Christian living is paralleled with growing up from a baby to an adult, at least according to the Apostle Paul. When we first come to Christ, we can only take in milk, but as we grow in the Lord (IF we grow in the Lord), we need more. What prevents us from going deeper with our faith and growing in the Lord? Paul says it is being controlled by our sinful nature (jealousy, quarreling, living like the world lives, following anyone other than Jesus, etc.). It’s time to change our diets. Purge the sinful nature and receive the solid foods of faith.