Tuesday, May 3, 2022

Nehemiah 1 Devotions by Stephen Taylor

Nehemiah 1:10,11

"They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man." I was cupbearer to the king.

What a powerful yet merciful God we serve! Although He has every reason and all the power to crush us, He chose to lay it all upon His Son's shoulders that day on the cross! Thank You, Jesus, for paying what we could never afford. There is a phrase in this verse that the Holy Spirit really caught my attention with this morning: "your servants who delight in revering your name." To delight in something, by definition, is to have great pleasure in it. And to revere God is to honor, thank, and obey Him and all that He is.

The people in these verses took great pleasure in honoring Him, thanking Him for all that He is and all He has done, and obeying Him and His commands. Do we? Does our obedience flow out of a love for the LORD or a sense of duty and obligation? Do we thank Him because we are grateful or because we want more stuff? Do we honor God because it's morally the right thing to do or because He is God and worthy of all glory, honor, and praise?

The people in these verses were captives in exile, far from home, and oppressed. Yet there was a remnant that did not stop delighting in God but held fast to all that He is. Will we be a remnant like them? For we, too, are living in a land and a time that would be easier to forsake God and join in the wickedness around us. But in the end, that leads to death, and our King paid much too high a price for us to just give it away so freely.

If the people in these verses survived and even grew in the LORD in their captive and oppressed land, then so can we! Our God is not limited, as we are, but is fully aware and capable of sustaining us and leading His faithful remnant into His loving arms!

Romans 11:3-6- "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me"? And what was God's answer to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal." So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

God bless! I love you all, but His love is building a Kingdom! Glory, honor, and praise now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ our King, and the Holy Spirit!

 

 

 

No comments:

Post a Comment