Ready

Ezra 7:6 This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him.

In this passage we learn that Ezra was a “ready” scribe. The Hebrew word translated as “ready” is a word that carries the meaning of quick, prompt, and skilled. It is found four times in the Hebrew text and is translated in the King James as ready (2 times), diligent (1 time), and hasting (1 time). The obvious implication is that Ezra was a scribe that was able and willing to serve in the capacity in which God had called him.

The question we have to ask ourselves is “Are we willing and able to serve in the capacity that God has called us?” First, it should be noted that God has never called anybody to serve in a way that he did not then give them the ability. So we should not focus on the ability question, but rather on the willingness question. Second, what capacity has God called on use to serve. Certainly, there are some special callings that do not extend to all of God’s people. For instance, not all are called to preach. However, there are some things to which we are all called.

We are all called to be “ready” students of God’s word. The question is not whether we are able, but rather are we willing? We are also all called to be “ready” servants of God’s people. Again, are we willing to serve?

May we all be blessed to be ready students and servants. If we are, then we will be “ready” to give an answer for our hope.

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Footnote: Pastoral Notes is a devotional and spiritual series published by Elder Marty Hoskins, pastor of the Zion Primitive Baptist Church of Brunswick, Georgia. This series is published on a sporadic basis expressing thoughts that may be useful for devotionals or family worship. These devotionals and articles may be freely distributed so long as they are distributed in their entirety and this footnote is attached. These devotionals can also be read in the Pastor’s Journal at http://zionpbc.org. Any comments, questions, or request for addition or removal from this email distribution can be directed to Elder Marty Hoskins at pastor@zionpbc.org.
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