Individuals in Community: Year One Day 273 Devotional

Passage: Nehemiah 9
Psalm and Proverbs: Psalm 87

Nehemiah 9:1, 5, 38

Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel assembled with fasting, in sackcloth and with dirt upon them.

⁵ Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said, “Arise, bless the Lord your God forever and ever!

May Your glorious name be blessed
And exalted above all blessing and praise!

³⁸ “Now because of all this
We are making an agreement in writing;
And on the sealed document are the names of our leaders, our Levites, and our priests.”

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The return to God’s Word resulted in three things: repentance, worship, and commitment. While each is a personal act, God’s people did it in the context of being a community together. They repented together, worshiped together, and covenanted together. Local churches must submit themselves to God’s Word by repenting, worshiping, and covenanting to obey God together.

Father, bring our churches to experience this sort of renewal.

Psalm 87:4 (NASB)

“I shall mention Rahab and Babylon among those who know Me;
Behold, Philistia and Tyre with Cush:
‘This one was born there.’”

Approaching God’s Word: Year One Day 272 Devotional

Passage: Nehemiah 8
Psalm and Proverbs: Psalm 86

Nehemiah 8:1-6

And all the people gathered as one person at the public square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel. ² Then Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month. ³ And he read from it before the public square which was in front of the Water Gate, from early morning until midday, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. ⁴ Ezra the scribe stood at a wooden podium which they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right; and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left. ⁵ Then Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. ⁶ Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” with the raising of their hands; then they kneeled down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

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How we approach God’s Word shapes our response. The people came with a desire to hear God, and as a result, His voice moved them to worship. As we read further, we see them mourning their sin and celebrating God’s relationship with them. Additionally, they obey what God says.

When we approach the Bible only to get knowledge or a proof text, that is what we get and nothing else. However, when we come to hear God, we find Him.

Father, keep my heart toward Your word as it should be. Remind me that to read it is to encounter You.

Psalm 86:5 (NASB)

For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in mercy to all who call upon You.

Basic Qualifications for Service: Year One Day 271 Devotional

Passage: Nehemiah 7
Psalm and Proverbs: Psalm 85

Nehemiah 7:2

then I put Hanani my brother, and Hananiah the commander of the citadel, in charge of Jerusalem, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many.

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Different roles and tasks in God’s kingdom have different qualifications. Basic to all is a fear of God and faithfulness. If one must choose between the expertly qualified who doesn’t fear God nor is faithful and someone who does and is, the wise choice should be clear. We must all seek to fear God and be faithful.

Father, help me not cease to fear You and remain faithful to You.

Psalm 85:4-6 (NASB)

Restore us, God of our salvation,
And cause Your indignation toward us to cease.
Will You be angry with us forever?
Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?
Will You not revive us again,
So that Your people may rejoice in You?

Leading by Serving: Year One Day 270 Devotional

Passage: Nehemiah 5-6
Psalm and Proverbs: Psalm 84

Nehemiah 5:14-19

¹⁴ Furthermore, since the day that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, for twelve years, neither I nor my kinsmen have eaten the governor’s food allowance. ¹⁵ But the previous governors who were before me laid burdens on the people and took from them bread and wine besides forty shekels of silver; even their servants domineered the people. But I did not do so because of my fear of God. ¹⁶ I also applied myself to the work on this wall; we did not buy any land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. ¹⁷ Moreover, there were at my table 150 Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us. ¹⁸ Now that which was prepared for each day was one ox and six choice sheep; also birds were prepared for me, and every ten days all sorts of wine were provided in abundance. Yet for all this I did not request the governor’s food allowance, because the forced labor was heavy on this people. ¹⁹ Remember me, my God, for good, in return for all that I have done for this people.

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Others had taken advantage of their power and the weakness of those around them. They used their power to take what little others had. Nehemiah was different. He had a legal right to demand more but did not. He didn’t want to increase the hardship that others were already under. Just because one can doesn’t mean that one should. Nehemiah served as a leader for others and not for himself.

Father, raise leaders who serve—both in our churches and in our government.

Psalm 84:11 (NASB)

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord gives grace and glory;
He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.

Focus: Year One Day 269 Devotional

Passage: Nehemiah 3-4
Psalm and Proverbs: Psalm 83

Nehemiah 4:4-15

⁴ Hear, O our God, how we are an object of contempt! Return their taunting on their own heads, and turn them into plunder in a land of captivity. ⁵ Do not forgive their guilt and do not let their sin be wiped out before You, for they have demoralized the builders.

⁶ So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

⁷ Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry. ⁸ So all of them conspired together to come to fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.

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The enemies tried to mock, discourage, and threaten the Jews as they rebuilt the city walls. In response, the people prayed, prepared for the worse, and remained on task. In other words, they relied on God while acknowledging the hard reality. So, they were able to keep their focus on what God wanted them to do.

Father, when things get complicated, help us to remain focused on Your calling.

Psalm 83:16-18 (NASB)

Fill their faces with dishonor,
So that they will seek Your name, Lord.
¹⁷ May they be ashamed and dismayed forever,
And may they be humiliated and perish,
¹⁸ So that they will know that You alone, whose name is the Lord,
Are the Most High over all the earth.