Read: Ezra 1:1-2:70; 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5; Psalm 27:7-14; Proverbs 20:22-23
The book of Ezra is amazing to me. God put it on the heart of a non-Jewish king to send God’s chosen people back to their land to build their temple for God. He even told the people living in their towns to support them with silver, gold, goods, livestock and offerings. Cyrus brought out of his treasury all the articles that had been taken from the temple Solomon had built so they could carry them back. Almost 50,000 people responded and went back to rebuild Jerusalem. Talk about a life change!
To me, this means that during this time in our history there is a major shift in the church. The interesting thing is the outside world is going to fund this next move of God. The things that have been stolen from us like authority, the Holy Spirit, tongues, healing, deliverance, miracles, revelation, holiness, worship… the treasuries of God are going to be restored. We are living in exciting times!
Paul continues to teach the people of Corinth that it is not the wisdom and eloquent speech that has power but the simplicity of the gospel. Paul himself was not an eloquent speaker but he came demonstrating the power of the Spirit and teaching the truth. They needed to get back to the basics.
This is a good reminder to us. Because we have lost the demonstration of power, we have come to rely on people who can entertain us and speak well. I pray for less of that and more of the demonstration of God’s power.
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