EZRA, NEHEMIAH, ESTHER

It is Sunday!  Yeah!  I love Sundays!  This morning, I read in Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, and I marked up many more items than I have time to share, but here are a few of them: 1) PREPARED AND PROSPERING- Ezra was a prepared scribe and because of that he was a man prospered by God.  Notice in Ezra 7:6 it says:  "and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses,".  This means that he knew his stuff!  He spent his time in God's Word and knew what it said.  He was prepared!  Also in verse 10, it says:  "For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments."  (He KNEW it, SHOWED it, and TAUGHT it!)  He was prepared and that brought the blessings:  vs. 6 "and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him."  When we are Prepared, God then Prospers us. 2) RALLY TIME- Nehemiah 2:18 says:  "Let us rise up and build.  So they strengthened their hands for this good work."  Nehemiah shared the vision and plan that God gave him, and the people stepped up in rally mode and got excited about the work!  For us Christians, it is Rally Time!  Let us all get busy for Christ! 3) GODLY LEADERSHIP- Nehemiah 5:16, says:  "Yea, also I continued in the work of this wall, neither bought we any land:  and all my servants were gathered thither unto the work."  Here we see a glimpse of Godly leadership.  Nehemiah participated in the work himself, as also his servants worked with him.  Then notice, he did not use his position to enrich himself.  He was not greedy of "filthy lucre".  He lead by working with the people he was leading.  That is godly leadership! 4) DON'T LET IT LOOK LITTLE!  Nehemiah is sharing his burdens with God, and in Nehemiah 9:32, he says:  "let not all the trouble seem little before thee,"  Here Nehemiah is saying:  "God, they may seem little to You, but they are BIG to me.  Please don't see my problems as being little in Thy sight."  All of our problems are little to God, but we need to pray:  "LORD, don't let my problems look little to You!"  Help us!  Hope you have a blessed Sunday.  Wish I had another thirty minutes to type because I got so much out of what I read this morning and I wish I could have even expanded on what I wrote about.  So much more to share!  May God bless!   Dr. Mike Mutchler, Pastor & Friend