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Ezra 6:13-22!

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  Introduction Ezra 6:13–22: Following the completion of the Temple, it is dedicated and those who had returned from exile celebrate the event. The reading concludes with a description of the people celebrating Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. Today’s Key Verse: Ezra 6:16 GNT The people of Israel—the priests, the Levites, and all the others who had returned from exile—joyfully dedicated the Temple. Read 13  Then Governor Tattenai, Shethar Bozenai, and their fellow officials did exactly as the emperor had commanded.  14  The Jewish leaders made good progress with the building of the Temple, encouraged by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. They completed the Temple as they had been commanded by the God of Israel and by Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, emperors of Persia.  15  They finished the Temple on the third day of the month Adar in the sixth year of the reign of Emperor Darius.  16  Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levite...

How to Score Points for Eternity!

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  How to Score Points for Eternity Scripture: Luke 16:9, NIV “ I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. ” (Luke 16:9, NIV) We had better listen carefully to any words Jesus Christ uttered. They are just as applicable today as they were when he walked the earth. We have seen how he brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. He also brought to light the perishable and the imperishable. Everything we can see and touch is perishing: “ For this world in its present form is passing away. ” (1 Corinthians 7:31b, NIV) Paul said, “ And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. ” (1 Corinthians 9:25, NKJV) The KingdomNomics practitioner is incentivized by the imperishable values held dearly by almighty God. Jesus tells us to use worldly wealth to gain friends for eternity, so that when w...

This Is The Victory!

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  For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 1 John 5:4, ESV This Is the Victory You may be in a battle today, and things are coming against you in your health, your finances, or a relationship. You feel outnumbered. Thoughts will tell you, “It’s never going to change. You’ve been dealing with this for way too long.” It’s tempting to start complaining, living discouraged, talking about how you can’t overcome it. Don’t fall into that trap. Now more than ever you need to have a battle cry of faith. God is looking for people who speak faith in the midst of doubt, people who praise when they could be complaining, people who declare His favor in a famine. Don’t magnify the problems; magnify your God. Talk about His greatness. That’s how you’re going to reach your full potential. You have to go through the battles to become who you were created to be. Now, sound the battle cry of victory, of faith, of praise. ...

The Spirit Factor!

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  The Spirit Factor Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:9–11, NIV “ However, as it is written: ‘What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived’—the things God has prepared for those who love him—these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ” (1 Corinthians 2:9-11, NIV) If we hope to be effective in practicing the principles of KingdomNomics, we must experience a continuing and growing relationship with the person of Jesus Christ. This can only happen when the Spirit of God performs his functions within the heart of the believer. In the above passage, concentrate on the words “prepared,” “revealed,” “searches,” and “knows.” These are all functions performed by the Spirit of God for the people who love God. God has prepared things for those ...

What Is He Saying!

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  Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” Hebrews 3:15, NIV What Is He Saying? Sometimes we hear God speaking to us, but we put it off. We know we should forgive, or eat healthier, or deal with the addiction, but we tried in the past and failed. Are you putting something off, waiting to be more disciplined, waiting to treat your family better, waiting to get out of your comfort zone? There’s power in being prompt to obey. The longer you wait to do what God’s asking you to do, the more difficult it’s going to be. There’s a window of grace opening to you where you’ll have the strength and the favor to do what He’s telling you to do. He’s not holding against you the fact that you haven’t done it, but this is the time to make things right. This is the time to act on it. God didn’t just give you the desire; He gave you the power to obey. This is a destiny moment. If you will make that move, God will step in and help you do what you couldn’t do. Don’t talk yourself out ...

The Holy Spirit Seals, Reveals and Deals

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  The Holy Spirit Seals, Reveals, and Deals Scripture: Ephesians 1:13–14, NIV “ And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. ” (Ephesians 1:13-14, NIV) The Spirit of God  seals  us at the moment we believe and trust in the gospel of Jesus Christ for our salvation. This is the guarantee of our inheritance in heaven that is being kept for us imperishable, incorruptible, and unfading. This assurance of salvation sets us free to be of service to the King in the time we have remaining in this temporary world. This gives us time to invest our  time, talent, and treasure  in the imperishable values of the world to come instead of spending our  three Ts  on what is perishing in this world. After ...

Preparations!

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  By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. Hebrews 11:24–25, NIV Preparations Moses was taken from his home as a young child and raised as royalty by Pharaoh’s daughter. It wasn’t fair to be separated from his family, but he had an amazing upbringing. As Moses grew into a young man with all the privileges of the royal court, something didn’t feel right. He was a Hebrew living as an Egyptian. He could feel God’s calling on his life. Deep down, he knew he was supposed to deliver his people from the oppression of the Egyptians. At a crucial moment, he took his stand with the Hebrew slaves, but it forced him to flee to the wilderness for forty years. All that could have seemed like a waste, but God was preparing Moses for the day when he would return to the royal court, with which he was completely familiar, and confront Pharaoh, ...