“During his inauguration speech, the president stops, kneels on the floor, and begins to weep. “I am ashamed of our sins,” he cries out. The crowd is hushed, electrified. But no one dares to move. What will he do next? He continues to weep and then begins to pray, confessing the sins of the nation and begging God for forgiveness. He acknowledges God as the real leader of the nation. Everyone watching knows that their country is about to experience dramatic change.
The message made clear in the book of Ezra is that one leader can make a difference. Ezra – teacher, writer, priest – was filled with revival fire. His was the stuff from which true revival is made – weeping and confessing sin, begging God for forgiveness, and passionately presenting the Word of God to the people. Ezra was a leader determined to turn his people back to God.
Ezra took leadership in spiritual matters, reviving the people’s interest in the Word of God. Some think he wrote Psalm 119, the wonderful poem about the author’s love and passion for God’s Word. All great spiritual movements or revivals must be built on a love for God’s Word, the Bible, and a passion to live it and talk about it.
The book of Ezra is far from a stuffy old book about an almost-forgotten people. It is alive with the sweet music of a love for God’s Word, a passion for the Lord, a hunger for getting right with God. We need Ezras in our pulpits, podiums, and marketplaces today – men and women who truly demonstrate the characteristics of godliness.
As you read and study this book, let the fires of revival stir deep within you. You and I can have our spiritual passions stirred in the book of Ezra. As Ezra led a nation in response to his love for God’s Word, so also we can lead those we influence. (Yes!)
Lord, thank you for your Word today! Help us be on fire for you and your Word as Ezra was. Help us commit ourselves to you, and live each day striving to influence others around us to follow you. Lord, as we read the book of Ezra, inspire us to fall in love with your Word and use that fire to strengthen friends, family, and strangers. We love you!
May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
….AND MAY WE ALL PRACTICE THIS WITH ONE ANOTHER.
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