Stay Frosty

Oct. 25

Read: Ezra 8:26-30

Stay Frosty

“And I said to them, “You are holy to the LORD, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the LORD, the God of your fathers. Guard them and keep them…” (v.28)

What have you been given to “guard”? What has God called you to protect? Just as here in Ezra, you too are “holy to the Lord”. You have been made into a “royal priesthood” and set apart according to 1 Peter 2:9. God entrusts those who are “holy” with “holy things” to watch over and care for. These things are not only material goods, but people and relationships as well. The “world” is opposed to “holy things” and seeks to destroy them…The “enemy comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.” (cf. John 10:10) Part of being God’s people is to guard what has been entrusted to us… so what are YOU guarding?

Some of what we “guard” is entrusted to us by God through others. Notice that these priests carried “freewill offerings” from the people of God as well. These were resources entrusted to the priest to be brought / delivered to the Lord. Carrying any real weight in leadership will mean “guarding” the gifts of others as well… making sure they are not lost or stolen. The crazy thing is that just like these “freewill offerings” what we carry / guard will one day be “handed over”.

“Guard them and keep them until you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of fathers' houses in Israel at Jerusalem, within the chambers of the house of the LORD.” (v.29) We carry what we carry… we guard what we guard … throughout this life knowing that one day we will “weigh it out before the chief priest”. Jesus is OUR “chief priest” or “high priest”.(cf. Heb. 2:17, 4:14, etc.) One day we will weigh out before him what we were given to guard. It will be weighed because it must be accounted for. We are accountable for guarding and preserving those things given to us.

What or who is it that we hold most closely? What are we “guarding”? What are we “protecting”? What has God entrusted to you to carry on this challenging journey called life? The good news is we do not walk this road alone. God is with us as well as our brothers and sisters in Christ. God has set us apart and made us holy… holy and fit to carry holy things for holy purposes. I believe EVERYONE has been entrusted with valuable things to care for and bring through to the end of the journey. We will all have something to hand over in worship to the chief priest Jesus. DO not allow these things entrusted to you to be robbed from you, snatched, or destroyed… this is the goal of the enemy and he is relentless in his hunt! Keep your head on a swivel… stay frosty! Love you guys. - JDP