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The Book of Ezra is an amazing read. Ezra recounts the events of God bring the Israelites back to Jerusalem after 70 years of exile in Babylon. He shares of their struggles to not give in to pagan influences & practices, their determination to rebuild the Temple & dealing with sin in the lives of the people.

Ezra returns to Jerusalem & we are told that “the gracious hand of his God was on him.” (Ezra 7:9 NLT). In the next verse, Scripture tells us something so profound:

“This was because Ezra had determined to study & obey the Law of the Lord and to teach those decrees & regulations to the people of Israel.” (verse 10 NLT).

Did you catch it?

God’s favor was on Ezra’s life because Ezra had determined to do certain things – to study & obey & teach God’s Word. Doing those things consistently resulted in God’s favor being on him.

As a mom & now a Mimi, this has hit me deeply. I realized, that much like Ezra, I have three responsibilities in my life:

  1. to study God’s Word
  2. to obey what God says
  3. to teach my children & grandchildren

The things is…I can only teach them that which I have learned for myself. And to do that I need to apply myself to studying & obeying His Word. I need to let God’s Word change who I am & mold my character & behavior so that I can influence & teach them.

What a tremendous example for parenting Ezra has presented. The things I do each day will have lasting impact on those I leave behind.