Ezra Devotionals

Waiting and Wondering

By Devotionals: Christmas

“And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple.” (Luke 1:21) Bible Reading: Luke 1:21-25 Luke shifts our attention from Zechariah and the angel Gabriel as he brings this story to an end.  He turns it to the people gathered outside, who had been praying while the aged priest was burning incense (Luke 1:10). He was taking so long that they were beginning to wonder what had happened to him. “And the people were waiting for Zechariah and were wondering at his delay in the temple” (v. 21). Clearly, his encounter with […]

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When Unbelief Wins

By Devotionals: Christmas

“How shall I know this?” (Luke 1:18) Bible Reading: Luke 1:18-20 The sudden appearance of the angel and the specific nature of his promises should have been enough to convince Zechariah that what he said was true. But they were not. Instead, he said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years” (Luke 1:18). His words reflect not simply confusion over how such a thing might happen. They express unbelief that it could. “How shall I know that these things will come to pass,” he asks. He […]

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A Powerful People-Influencer

By Devotionals: Christmas

“And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God…” (Luke 1:16) Bible Reading: Luke 1:15b-17 From the good news of the birth of a child, the angel describes for Zechariah his father-to-be what he will be like. He says something about his character, and then his work. First, this child to be born must be kept from “wine or strong drink” all of his days (Luke 1:15). This is an echo of the ancient requirement of someone who took the vow of a Nazarite, a vow of consecration to the Lord (Numbers 6:3). Zechariah’s […]

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When God Speaks

By Devotionals: Christmas

“Now while he was serving as priest before God…” (Luke 1:8) Bible Reading: Luke 1:8-15 Yesterday, we noted who it was that the Lord chose to be the parents of the forerunner of his Son, Jesus. Today we look at the circumstances in which he revealed his plan to them. Zechariah, we have already seen, was a priest of the Lord (Luke 1:5). Luke tells us how he was visited by an angel “while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty” (v. 8). The large priestly family had been divided by King David into […]

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Human Vessels

By Devotionals: Christmas

“But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren…” (Luke 1:7) Bible Reading: Luke 1:5-13 In his works of salvation, God commonly uses people. This was so when it came to the greatest act in saving history, the sending of his Son into the world. He chooses a young woman (Mary) to provide the human nature his Son assumes. But even before that, he chooses a couple to give birth to the one who would go before him and prepare his way (John). Luke tells us three things about this man and woman, Zechariah and Elizabeth. First, they are of […]

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Testimony to God’s Grace

By Devotionals: Acts

“….they declared all that God had done with them…” (Acts 14:27) Bible Reading: Acts 14:24-28 Paul and Barnabas are on the homeward leg of their first missionary journey. Along the way, they have strengthened and set in order the churches they had seen come into being. Now we read of their reunion with the church in Antioch, Syria. But before we do, it is worth noting that as they were leaving Asia they “spoke the word in Perga” (Acts 14:25). We read earlier of them passing through this city, but the only thing noted on that occasion was that John […]

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Through Many Tribulations

By Devotionals: Acts

“…through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22) Bible Reading: Acts 14:18-23 There is a popular saying, “From hero to zero.” It refers to people who crash from the heights of fame to the depths of disgrace. That’s how things turned out for Paul and Barnabas in Lystra. One minute they were being heralded as gods come in human nature, the next, Paul is being stoned and dragged outside the city and left for dead (Acts 14:11, 19). Having “scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifices to them” (v. 18), they face the hostility of the […]

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A Living God

By Devotionals: Acts

“…that you should turn from these vain things to a living God…” (Acts 14:15) Bible Reading: Acts 14:14-17 We left Paul and Barnabas in Lystra facing the prospect of being worshipped as “gods… come… in the likeness of men” (Acts 14:11). What would they do? When they heard of this, “they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, ‘Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven […]

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Two Kinds of Faith

By Devotionals: Acts

“…seeing that he had faith to be made well…” (Acts 14:9) Bible Reading: Acts 14:8-13 We have noted how Paul and Barnabas’ preaching ministry was reinforced by signs and wonders (Acts 14:3). We have a case of one such miracle happening in Lystra, the city to which the missionaries fled after being forced out of Iconium. It was connected with a man who “could not use his feet” (v. 8). He had been “crippled from birth and had never walked.” Somehow he came to hear Paul speaking and obviously drank in the teaching about Jesus in a way that gave […]

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A Repeating Pattern

By Devotionals: Acts

“But the people of the city were divided…” (Acts 14:4) Bible Reading: Acts 14:1-7 Having fled Antioch and made their way to Iconium, Paul and Barnabas followed the same pattern of ministry that they had established in Cyprus. They went first to the Jews (to the synagogue) and from there, the word of the Lord spread to the Gentiles in the city. When they entered the synagogue in Iconium, they “spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Gentiles believed” (Acts 14:1). I recall a godly pastor referring to this verse as he was teaching […]

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