Devotional Thoughts for God’s Family – 1

Nehemiah 8:9-12 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

Imagine the priests and the Levites finally being able to function once again in their God ordained roles. They begin to read the Word of God and to pray and all of a sudden, the “service” goes off track, what they had planned doesn’t have the desired effect.

People aren’t singing and dancing, they are crying. At closer investigation the people are sad, they realize they had long forgotten the practice of fellowship with their God. For generations they had missed God’s presence, they saw how the disobedience of their forefathers had been so costly to them. And they felt his presence, that which they were made for, and the sorrow overwhelms them because now they recognize how much they had missed God.

I am reminded by a passage in the New Testament that leans this way. 2 Corinthians 7:10-11 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! 

Godly sorrow is so important in our lives. Believe or not, it should be one of the first attitudes of worship when we approach God for any reason.

Imagine with me for a moment, a dad watches his young son fight with a younger sister over-powering her and taking her toy away and hiding it. Then that child having mistreated his younger sister, approaches dad in genuine love and wants to wrestle with dad. He wants to get close to dad.

On dad’s mind is righting a wrong done and in the child’s mind, he simply wants to go on, business as usual.

What do you think needs to happen? A good dad takes the boy to his sister and walks that boy through confession and seeking forgiveness.

You have a good dad. Your good Father is so much more interested in relational integrity and righteousness than you could ever imagine. I can’t imagine how it must have blessed God’s heart to see the people weeping. It was true worship.

Not because God was wanting the people to feel pain under the weight of punishment. Far from it, God wanted the people to be in right relationship to him. Yes, the Israelites generations back had broken the law, offended their God and God had enacted punishment on them. It was so severe.

The time of judgment was over and on the mind of God was now a restored relationship. The people came to their God with broken hearts. An important lesson for us to see and to live out with patience and understanding is that God was the one who chose the times.

How sweet it was to the Father’s heart that his people approached him with contrite hearts. They didn’t simply do their due diligence and go back to their busy life. They let the weight of what they had been through and their spiritual condition weigh on them.

That was a choice and it is a choice for you too.

Keep godly sorrow close to you at all times. Please stay in a habit of humility and surrender to the things of the Spirit. Chose today to be interruptible by the Holy Spirit, he will point to places in your life where you must linger.

What I mean by that is, think of times when you have hurt others. So often we want to fix it quickly and move on.

Friends there is great value in lingering, relational lingering. Thinking and feeling about the things you have done to God and others. You will find the presence of God so strong in those places. You will find the Holy Spirit ready to talk with you about your next move toward relational integrity.

Lord, you want a clean and pure relationship with us, and you will not settle for anything else. You want us to learn from you and apply the integrity of our relationship to other relationships too. Lord, we are so apt to take short cuts and dismiss what we don’t want to feel or do. Please forgive us and bring us to the place that the Israelites were. We want to stand before you and take account of the impact of our personal decisions and life styles on your heart. Lead us to integrity. In the name of Jesus.

Now for the stout hearted. Who among you is willing to take some time and think about the most recent of events in your life where you dismissed a person and did not do what was needed or right. Think about that situation –

1. Push guilt away, godly sorrow won’t come to pass if you think about you.
2. Push anger at the actions of others away, that won’t lead you to godly sorrow.
3. Look upon the face of God as you did what you did. There is no anger on his face for you or others, only compassion and eagerness to see relational integrity for all involved.
4. Now, can you join God in his endeavor to right a wrong? Your sins are forgiven, the power of God goes with you in love and blessing. Don’t be afraid, go and reconcile.
5. So so beautiful are the people of Israel as they stood before their God, and so are you.

Devotional Thoughts for God’s Family – 2

Nehemiah 8:13 (ESV): On the second day the heads of fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the Law.

A tell-tale sign that there is relational integrity between you and God is that there will always be a hunger for more of God. There will be a delight in knowing more about God and what he thinks about matters pertaining to your life. This hunger will not be based on fear, it will be based on love and appreciation. That hungering for the things of God will prompt you to act in faith.

The people of Israel were quick to see that they were in the middle of a holiday and they didn’t even know it until they got deeper into the Law of Moses. They were then quick to do what the law said to do.

Nehemiah 8:17 (ESV): And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing.

On a side note, which isn’t really a side note, we see the people of Israel eager to follow the law God set for them. It seemed to not make sense because the Feast of Booths, or the feast of ingatherings, was to be a time of great (double) rejoicing for all of the harvest of the land.

They really didn’t have much in the way of crops, they had just recently constructed the walls, homes were not built yet and only recently had they won the skirmishes against those who opposed the rebuilding.

The people were so eager and committed to following the law with no harvest to speak of. Fresh in the land without their homes even built, they recently finished the building of the temple and the walls. And they quickly erect booths for the eight days with great rejoicing for what they don’t yet have. FAITH!

This is faith living at its best. How this must have pleased the Lord.

“Lord, we do not have a harvest, but your law says to rejoice for what you have provided, so we are going to express thanksgiving and appreciation for what is coming!” In their heart of hearts they wanted to please the Lord, what a beautiful picture for you and me.

Nehemiah 8:18 (ESV): And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule.

How remarkable that the people of Israel were so teachable in this time. God was working on their hearts to transform them into those who follow the laws that he set for them. Before the captivity the hearts of the people, not all of them, but a majority, were stubborn and sinful. They had forgotten the laws that kept them in relational integrity with God.

I don’t believe it was a conscious decision to desert the things of God prior to the captivity. Like in our lives, other things are presented to us and we choose them over our devotion to the Lord. What slips away is the delight to do the things of God. Also, the hunger to be in his presence and to make sure that we are right with him.

Before long we agree to be involved in things that are the opposite of the heart of God. And before long we are making consistent choices that move us away from remembering the goodness of God.

The Feast of Booths was a reminder of the harvest that God brings into our lives. Sometimes it is an act of faith to celebrate what hasn’t yet happened. Can you see this? I am celebrating what hasn’t happened yet.

Perhaps the word to you this morning isn’t earth shattering. And perhaps it doesn’t have the weight as other things you have read or thought about. Be-that-as-it-may, please hold onto how easy it is for us to let our devotion to the Lord slip away. Especially during times of exile and captivity, which we are all facing right now.  

God is so faithful to place in our path times of refreshing and recommitment. He wants us to have his best, and at times we don’t even know we have let go of him until it is too late and we are trying to extricate ourselves from some form of woe.

This devotional intertwined two thoughts which will become more so in the next reading. The first is how we should celebrate by faith the harvest that God wants to bring into your life. And second, a call to remembrance of the slippery slope that exists right in front of captivity.

God, thank you for loving us. Thank you for the way you care for our souls. Thank you for the call to remembrance of your goodness. Lord, how frail we truly are. We need your guidance and the fullness of your Holy Spirit today. Hold us fast Lord, keep us in your arms of grace and mercy. We need you so much.  Thank you Jesus.

Devotional Thoughts for God’s Family – 3

Nehemiah 9:1 (ESV): Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads.

And it goes deeper.

The feast is over, the law is fulfilled, life is back to normal.

What does that even mean – there was a complete and total re-scripting of normal for these people. One thing that was apparent to all who were there, there was a draw from God for the people to come closer to him.

What happens next is nothing short of miraculous. You would think that after such a powerful time of rejoicing and fulfilling the laws and statutes of God that the people would be content, well – they wanted to go even deeper with God.

Take special notice, please.

Nehemiah 8:2 (ESV): So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month.

This gathering and reading prompted the Feast of Booths, this was an eight day holiday and it started on the 8^th day of the month.

Now it is the twenty-fourth day, the Festival of Booths is over, by a week. And we find the people re-gathered and hungry.

There was more than the holy religious acts that were required of them by the law. These people were hungry for their God. They found him in the gatherings. The Holy Spirit moved on them and they wanted more.

We find them in sackcloth and ashes. In that moment their hearts were touched with the weight of their sin, they contemplated how easy it was for them to let go of their devotion to God. God required of them to be different then the rest of the world.

They were required to live and act differently. God pronounced blessing upon them if they lived according to the standards that he set for them. It wasn’t their choosing. God told them flat out what they had to do.

Do you feel that? That small rebellious sand spur in your heart? “What right did God have to tell them what to be and do?” “Why does God have to control this people so?” Why can’t he just back off and let them be?”

God is sovereign. Do you know what that means?

It means he makes choices for you. He sets a way and the way he chooses is what will happen. He owns you and has complete entitlement to define your present and future. It means that inside of his master plan he gives you wiggle room to choose, and that choosing you do determines the ramifications of good and evil inside of God’s master plan.

It’s not a partnership relationship. God is sovereign, he has no partners. And while we are on this topic, do you know how to tell if you are in a relationship based on mutual agreement or submission? Take note of this because this will determine what happens in your future, just as it did for the people of Israel.

What do you do when there is a disagreement? Inside of a submitted relationship, when there is a disagreement, you do what the other one says, because that is what submission demands.  

How you handle disagreement is the tell tale sign of whether you are in agreement with God or you are submitted to him. You will always have disagreement with God, because he is holy and sovereign and you are sinful. When you and God disagree on a matter, what you do will speak volumes of where you stand with him.

How many foolish christians today agree to disagree with God, as though their relationship with God is based on mutual agreement?!  They assign sovereignty to themselves.

“Lord, because I have been hurt, I am going to hurt others.”

“Lord, since the church let me down I am going to leave.”

“Lord, because you haven’t given me what I want, I am going to go get it myself.”

“Lord, because you haven’t changed me yet, I am going to just give in to this.”

When I choose differently with someone that I have an agreement relationship with, we can agree to disagree. But when I am submitted, I do what I am told, I do not have a say.

Standing before their God with sack clothe and ashes, the people of God came, emptied of themselves as if to say, “God you are sovereign. We have sinned against you. We have no say. We ask for your mercy and kindness. We and our forefathers have forsaken you.”

The Word of God is the supreme source of truth for all mankind. There is no wiggle-room, none. You can act upon what it says by faith and it will never let you down, that is, turning out to be false. It will cause you pain to do it, count on it, because it wars against every sand-spur in your heart, until you come fully, under the sovereignty of God.

This is the act of submission we see in the people of Israel. They threw dirt on their heads, so-as-to indicate how low they were before their God.

Lord, this is a tough word for us, we are so accustomed to being the boss of our own lives. We choose personal preference, almost every aspect of our being. You are teaching us through a gentle captivity that you are sovereign and holy. We are so apt to drift from you. Lord, have mercy on us the way you did with your people. Draw us back into a submitted relationship with you. Break any thought that we have where we believe that we are in an equal relationship with you.

For the stout hearted, meditate on this passage and investigate if Joshua might have asked God if God was in “agreement” with him, and did God help Joshua capture a quick and needed lesson on sovereignty? There seemed to be a short disagreement, did Joshua do the right thing? And, how did that look like the people of Israel in Nehemiah’s time?

Joshua 5:13–15 (ESV): When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” 14 And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” 15 And the commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.   

Devotional Thoughts for God’s Family – 4

Nehemiah 9:5 (ESV): Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.“

After the people had made themselves low, as low as they could, they were challenged by the service leaders to stand and bless the Lord.

What they did was to recount all that the Lord had done. From verse six to verse thirty-seven they praised God for all he had done to love, protect and preserve them. They together, announced for all to hear how the mercy and goodness of God sustained them beyond, way beyond, their ability to provide for themselves.

It wasn’t necessarily a story of their experiences, it was more of ascribing to God, his power in their lives to bring them to where they were.

Please pay close attention here, this is faith building at its best. To look back and see how God has brought you through. To give him glory for guiding and directing is a powerful spiritual discipline. And to take that same view of God and cast it forward, into your future is where faith comes alive.

I encourage you to read that passage today, verses six through thirty-seven. Listen how they ascribe to God.

And then, pray over your past, ascribe to God today his loving guidance and provision. There is no need to bypass the broken places – pattern your ascribing to God like the people of Israel. They visited some disasters and how God redeemed them. Well, he has done the same for you, hasn’t he?

We have all walked in disasters and God has been, and is with us in every place.

Once you have done this – [you will really need to go back a read those verses or this next part will fall flat] look out into your future and ascribe to God the same guidance and provision. Ascribe to God the same power and mercy. Ascribe to God the same love and protection.

For our God never changes. His love will never fail. He will never turn his head from you or lift his hand from you. He will always be with you –  for the great work of redemption has been completed by Jesus.

You are grafted into the very family of God and now you are his child. And he loves his children well. Come under his loving sovereignty. Look at your future and feel peace under the sovereignty of God. He has you just like he had (has) the people of Israel.

Go further in your future – ascribe to God everything you can, by faith.

Lord, we are blessed to be your children. You are good, and I wish there was a stronger or better word than that. I can’t find one so I will gladly use my life to show you where my words fail. Look upon our commitment to you. I pray that our lives would be a blessing to you, through and in the wonderful name of Jesus.

Devotional Thoughts for God’s Family – 5

Nehemiah 9:38 (ESV): Because of all this we make a firm covenant in writing; on the sealed document are the names of our princes, our Levites, and our priests.

Here we go…

As if to say…

“Lord, because we want to make sure that we stay right with you we are going to make a covenant with you and prove that we mean what we say, we are a better people now.”

“Lord, we are going to show you this time, that we mean what we say, we are different now.”

“Lord, even though every generation before us has blown it, we are not going to blow it, we will prove to you that we love you!”

…

“Lord, you know that I hate this sin, I am going to prove my love for you and I am going to beat this thing.”

“Lord, look, I am going to do better next time, I promise.”

“Lord, I know I haven’t done it yet, but tomorrow is a new day, I will show you what I am made of.”

Do you feel it too? That knot in your stomach as you scour your life looking for some way to be a better person? You and I are not the only ones.

Romans 7:22–23 (ESV): For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.

As much as we would like to be good for God…we can’t. As much as we would like to say that we cleaned up our lives to become presentable to God…we can’t.  

Trust me, it won’t be long for the people of Israel to revert back to sin, and for you and me it is the same as well. This is so important to understand. 

We need to talk about Jesus and the grace his sacrifice offers to all.

It is so hard for humanity, all humanity, to let the truth that we haven’t been, aren’t and never will be…good. All we have are our intentions, without one single way to back them up behaviorally.

We are good only because God says we are through the lens of Jesus. We are so accustomed to judging things between right and wrong and granted, in the book of Nehemiah there is so much riding on good and bad. And we find the people desperately trying to make things good again – spoiler alert!

We even feel as though we should be doing what they are doing. In our day it might sound like this, “There has got to be a way for me to be righteous and therefore worthy of God’s extreme love demonstrated by Jesus!”

There isn’t one and I am so thankful – what if God said, “Ok, if you can go one week with no sin I will count you as righteous by your own hand, you are righteous and deserve access to heaven by your own works.” First of all, none of us can go a week without sin, but the deeper concern is that even if we did somehow make it a week without sin, we would be in heaven and by our very existence, we would show that we do not need God. Since the currency of heaven and eternity is our need (meaning, all of heaven and eternity is available only to those who possess a need for it) you would stand as one who does not need from God.

By-the-way, the devil started something similar to that ions ago – it didn’t go well for him, and it wouldn’t for you either.    

The most deadly attitude a human could ever have is… “I got this.”

God’s grace, that exists through Jesus, allows you to be sinful.

That is so hard to grasp. It almost sounds sacrilegious. But it is true.

You are sinful – so am I, the grace of God covers all of your sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Therefore, you can sin all you want to. You are free to sin! Go ahead, go on…what are you waiting for…

Ok, let me tell you why you think I am nuts right now.

Jesus fulfilled all the law, he did it. He followed the law perfectly, he beat it. No one could have done it, but he did it. And not only that, where the law required someone to pay for your breaking it – he did, not for himself, for you. He beat the law by and for himself and then he beat it for you.

So, you are no longer held to the standard the law heavily places on all people. The sin issue is null and void, so you are free to sin, but you do not want to sin and it doesn’t have anything to do with the law. It has to do with the heart of God. God demonstrates his love for us through Jesus and that love has changed us, now we choose not to sin because we want to love God back from a free heart.

Romans 5:6–11 (ESV): For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

We will never be good enough to deserve God’s forgiveness, so stop trying.

Accept the forgiveness of God and rejoice because in the receiving of his great gift comes the power to live a transformed live, something the people of Israel in Nehemiah’s day knew nothing about. They were left to gut it out and when they blew it, they had to sacrifice more.

Jesus is your complete sacrifice and it is finished.

Now you are filled with the Spirit of God who changes you, if you will let him. You can rejoice and lay down your will worship. Lay down your good intentions and ask God to change you on the inside, he will for sure. You will learn to live a righteous life by the power of the Holy Spirit, you have what the prophets of Nehemiah’s time only dreamed of.

Lord, we don’t have anything to bring to you. We don’t possess any gifts fit for you. Our hands aren’t even capable of putting something together that would be fit for your courts. But Lord, we can offer you our hearts, which bring to you worship and adoration. Our hearts have value because you died for them, therefore we know we are of value. What you value we turn around and offer to you. Thank you God. Thank you for loving us. May we be humbled more and more as we investigate your great love for us through Jesus.

Blessings

Pastor D