August 27: Nehemiah 1:5-11
Key Verse: Nehemiah 1:7
We have acted very wickedly towards you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.
Devotion:
How do you feel when you have to admit you have done something wrong, or you are simply wrong? It's not a nice feeling and sometimes we are filled with fear in case we are punished because of what we have done wrong. Many of those times we have admitted to being wrong, we have been forgiven by the other person and we look back and wonder why we were so afraid to start with...
This is the sticking point for many people who do not come back to God and who do not want to admit they have done anything wrong against God – they are too scared to say anything just in case God condemns them in some way... Well, the only one condemning us is ourselves! God has promised us He will forgive us and set us free from our worries!
God promised the Israelites they would have a place they could always call their own and He delivered on that promise. But here we have Nehemiah who is asking on behalf of all the people because too many are too scared to admit the problems! But Nehemiah remembered the promise and called on God to live up to His promise.
We can do the same. We can call on God to deliver our forgiveness because that is what He promised! We don’t have to be afraid because God has already promised! We just must take the first step and ask for the forgiveness – from then on it is all good! No matter what we have done, the promise still stands!
Points to Ponder:
Are you scared to take the first step?
Will you call on God to uphold His promise?
August 26: Nehemiah 1:1-4
Key Verse: Nehemiah 1:4
When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
Devotion:
I must admit to taking the idea of the next few devotions from talks the Rt Rev Jill Duff held on the United Breaks Out sessions this year for New Wine. This is something which has been playing on my heart for a while and has roots back to over a decade ago when Pastor Frank Thompson talked about Nehemiah’s mission.
The background is a country which has been devastated by the Babylonians and others and now is in a state of disorder and despair. Certain ruling parties wanted to be in control but were clearly not doing a particularly good job of things. Nehemiah was one of the cupbearers to king Artaxerxes I, a position where he would potentially be in a life-or-death situation with every meal! But God was able to do amazing things through him in his current predicament.
Nehemiah was distressed by what he heard of the people back home and the king noticed. Normally you would think the king would demand Nehemiah be taken away because of his attitude, but God changed the king's heart and allowed him to be moved by what Nehemiah told him. This is the king who had taken Jews as slaves and yet God softened his heart to want to do something for the Jews!
When we say God can do anything, we don’t always think of situations like this where God is using the enemy to bring about a change for the good! But when we show God we really do care and we really want change; He is going to make it happen one way or another! It is words like these which inspire me to move forward and do something in a community which is going to make a difference! One which would normally fill me with fear, but one I know God is behind.
Points to Ponder:
How often do you impose restrictions on what God will do?
Will you stop and listen to find out what God wants you to do?
August 25: Deuteronomy 18:15-22
Key Verse: Deuteronomy 18:19
I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.
Devotion:
No matter how much God does in your life, you may well still face temptations which you give in to or do things you should not be doing. “We are human” is the excuse we all turn to in these cases… We may be human, but we still do have a choice despite the peer pressure and despite all the temptations. We will be held accountable for the choices we make.
We can look throughout the bible to see how much God has supported us and how He has bent over backward to try and get us to obey Him – yet we still go astray like sheep walking off into the wilderness instead of staying with the shepherd. We do this because we make choices and we follow our own choices rather than the people God has put into our lives to guide us.
We may be scared by a God who is able to do anything and who has told us the wages of sin is death… but that same God has listened to our infirmities and has placed people into our lives to allow us to gracefully come back to Him by listening to those people. God has continued to do this throughout time and will continue to do this because of His great love for us! It is not God giving in to our wishes, but a God who is using everything and everyone to try and reach out to us and guide us back to His side!
He has given us His Word in the bible. He has told us He will put people into our lives to teach us because we are scared to listen to Him directly. He has told us we need to discern who is telling the truth by their actions in His Word. We have everything we need to make the right choice in our lives – but we do still have to make that choice for ourselves. Nobody else can make the choice for us!
Points to Ponder:
Do you listen to God’s servants?
Are you obeying God’s wishes in your life?
August 24: 1 John 4:16-18
Key Verse: 1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
Devotion:
This letter really does drill home the words God is love! But words are just words unless people listen to them and act upon them too. We could all speak the right words and go off and do our own things instead, making the words of little or no effect; meaningless!
As Christians we do need to fully rely on God’s love in our lives because it is central to being a Christian and central to our lives in general. If we do not love then we are meaningless vessels who are of no real use in any community. The more we realise God is love, the more we draw closer to Him when we do exercise love in our own lives. Focusing on what the love is for and not just that there must be love will help us to focus on God’s love in our communities too!
We do need to remember there is no fear in love! Notice I say there is no fear, not there should not be fear… If we bring fear into the equation then we are making an excuse where we will not have to love unconditionally. This unconditional love is the love God has for us and the love we need to spread in our families and in our communities. Good and wholesome love will drive out fear because the definition of love does not contain fear.
The basic concept of fear has to do with punishment in some form or another. Love does not include punishment… punishment is sometimes dealt out in the name of love because we would rather see someone punished now to stop them from offending than to face greater punishment after they are found out. Love did not cause the offence in the first place, love had to deal with the real-world problem after it has happened!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you bring fear into a relationship?
Are you ready to put it all on the line so love can make the relationship better?