Sunday 13 Sep 2020

September 13: Nehemiah 9:1-3
 
Key Verse: Nehemiah 9:3
They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshipping the Lord their God.
 
Devotion:
I like the way Nehemiah talks about how those people who were direct descendants of the Israelites separated themselves from other people in order to complete their worshipping. This, to me, highlights how it is OK to be different in our churches. We do not all have to do exactly what the Israelites do because they were given rules and laws by God which were never given to the rest of the world.
 
What was given to the rest of the world was the gospel after Jesus had opened up ministry to the gentiles beyond the borders of the Jewish states. But, as a Christian from outside the Israelites, I want to know all about the Old Testament ways so I can understand God better and know just how much His love and Strength can accomplish when people allow them into their lives.
 
Another thing we need to take notice of is how Nehemiah shows the dedication of the Israelites. This has to be an inspiration to us all to seek God more in our own lives! They read from the scriptures for a quarter of a day, not just five minutes, not just a while... They were willing to spend time in God’s Word, reading, taking it in and understanding it.
 
But then comes the next step. Spending another quarter of a day in confession and in worshipping God! When we spend time in the Word, we also need to spend time in admitting we have failed to uphold everything we have read. We need to understand we do break God’s laws and for that we do need to confess things to Him. But we also need to worship Him in any ways we can... Just because we cannot all get into a church and worship together does not mean we cannot do this at all. The Israelites did this ‘where they stood’ and so can we!
 
Points to Ponder:
When was the last time you took time out to spend reading the bible?
 
When was the last time you took more time out to confess and worship?