Today’s Mark has Jesus under attack from the Pharisees because he heals a man on the Sabbath. Some say he is from Satan, others say he has an unclean spirit; even his family seem to join the throng against him.

Jesus utters the immortal lines:”A house that is divided against itself cannot stand” ie why would he be casting out demons if he was from Satan?

He also rebukes his family, and says “those who do the will of God are my brothers and sisters and mother.”

Ezra is about the children of captivity’s return to Jerusalem after an edict from Cyrus, King of Persia, who said: “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build him a house at Jerusalem which is at Judah.”

How the King of Persia comes to such a stunning conclusion is not outlined here in any more detail than that Jeremiah told him the word of God. It is amazing though, and raises the question in my mind about God’s relationship with other peoples in Old Testament Days.

Anyway, the captives are returned home, but their enemies set the next king of Persia against the Israelites, and get an edict from King Darius saying work on the temple must stop.

Still, the Jewish elders defy the ban, and the enemies of the Israelites write another letter to Darius, this time outlining that the elders were told to do it by Cyrus. Darius looks through Cyrus’s old decrees and finds that he has indeed said that the Lord God has ordered him to build a house for him in Jerusalem.

Darius then tells the Israelites’ enemies to stop harassing them and indeed to start giving them money to help their building.

Dear God, Thank you for the lovely session on healing we had at church last night. Thank you for the women there, who go into prisons to pray with prisoners, who serve you faithfully Lord. Please help me to serve you faithfully and humbly too. Please forgive the times when I am not humble, or faithful, or when I think mainly of myself. Please forgive me when I forget You. Please help me look and listen for Your will all time time. Please help me teach my children Your ways, and please continue to watch over my marriage. In Jesus’ name, Amen