DAY 15: EZRA

“And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.” And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.” (Ezra 3:11)

Dear Christian,

Sing and give thanks to the Lord!

Do you ever pause and just ponder on God’s character? 

When I think of God’s character my mind always goes back to the scene in Narnia when Susan asks Mr. Beaver if Aslan is safe, to which Mr. Beaver replies, “Safe? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King.”

The Lord is not safe but He is good. 

God created the world and called it good. He created us, saw everything that he had made and called it very good. But when we desired to be our own gods and when we chose to live out our own truths instead of His, the world fell apart. Instead of flourishing, we fell into a downward spiral that resulted in decay, disease, and ultimately death.

But the Lord did not leave us on our own. 

In spite of our rebellion, God still sent us His only Son Jesus to save us from ourselves. He sent us Jesus, who not only defeats death itself, but also reconciles us back to God. We call it the great exchange. Jesus took all our sins upon Himself to the cross, while we take His place in Heaven with the Father forever as if we had not sinned at all.

It is an epic love story - not of man searching for God, but of God searching for and rescuing man. Praise the Lord!

Love,
Patsy

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Created as part of the Books of the Bible Collection where I meditate on God’s beauty and faithfulness from beginning to end for 66 days from Genesis to Revelation. Each painting will be accompanied by an envelope containing a personal reflection based on the text the painting is based on.

An 8x10 inch original watercolor painting on 100% cold pressed cotton paper, 2023.