Purity that leads to Purpose

Meditation from Nehemiah Chapter 13

God has called us with a Purpose & for His purpose.

Nehemiah establishes work for the priests & levies and just before doing that he says that he cleansed the people (13:30).

We who have been called to the holy & royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:5,9) are to be cleansed completely by His blood and through complete submission to His Lordship. Only then we can fulfill the Purpose for which we are called and like Nehemiah we will Provide everything for God's kingdom & His work (13:31).

From what do we need to be cleansed?

1. Ungodly Words & Intentions - Nehemiah says to the people to keep away from the Ammonite & Moabite because they hired Balaam to curse the people of God (13:1,2).

We need to cleanse ourselves from all kinds of unwholesome & ungodly words & intentions. We should only bless others and not curse. Our words should be seasoned with salt of grace (Col 4:6). Our intentions should be pure and pleasing unto God.

2. Discouragement & Selfishness - Tobiah attempted many times to hinder the work. He also used his influence to acquire a place in the temple and to use its provision because of his selfishness. (13:4-8).

We should cleanse ourselves from discouraging others, from hindering God's work and from using God's resources with selfish motives.

Even when we correct someone we need to exhort and encourage them.

3. Unfaithfulness - Nehemiah found that the allotted portions of the levites were not distributed and then he gives responsibility to a few people whom he found "faithful" (13:10-13).

We need to cleanse ourselves from all unfaithfulness; especially in handling God's money and resources. We cannot be lethargic.

How well we take care of the resources entrusted to us and the way we properly utilise time and fulfil responsibilities will demonstrate our faithfulness.

4. Unrest - Nehemiah exhorts people about the Sabbath and to not allow anything to compromise with the Sabbath (13:17).

Sabbath is a day of rest - to do away with all our unrest by being rest assured in God's presence. And to rest one's mind and body from all mundane works.

We need to cleanse ourselves from all unrest and should not leave the discipline of resting in God through personal "quiet time" and Sabbath worship.

5. Unequally yoked - Nehemiah warns the people to not get into marital relationship with unbelievers and to not defile oneself like Solomon (13:23-26).

The Bible warns not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers (2 Cor 6:14). And to keep one's marriage undefiled (Heb 13:4) meaning to not get into extra marital relationships.

We need to cleanse ourselves from all such relationships so that our relationship with God may be right.

These five areas are powerful enough to derail our life and to make us unfruitful. If we cleanse ourselves by God's word and His blood and are careful, we will be able to fulfil God's purpose and our whole life will be spent for God's kingdom and His glory.

Take time to introspect these and if you need to be cleansed, pray and ask forgiveness and take strong decision. Only one life and let it not go waste! Let it shine for God's glory!!

Have a blessed day!

Where is your Joy?

Meditation from Nehemiah Chapter 12

Joy in the world's perspective is relative. That is, what gives joy differs from person to person. But for a believer in Christ, it's necessary that our joy must be godly and biblical.

We cannot derive our joy from the world or the devil, that is, that which is ungodly; where lies the temptation.

This chapter of Nehemiah shows four reasons to rejoice.

1. Purity / Consecration - The Israelites rejoiced at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem. They not only dedicated the wall, but the priests & the levites purified themselves and the people.

To "dedicate" is to "consecrate" that is to separate for a purpose.

We should rejoice at the separation of our lives to be holy and only for God.

2. Sacrifice - They rejoiced at the great sacrifice they made (12:43). Sacrifice could mean at least four things for us,

a) Sacrifice of our lips which is praise unto God
b) Sacrificial living
c) Sacrificial giving
d) (living) Sacrifice, that is, committing our bodies to renewed life

In these we should rejoice.

3. Presence of God - God had made them rejoice with great joy (12:43).

Our joy will be in the Lord when we spend time in God's presence.

The verse says that children also rejoiced. We need to teach children also to spend time with God & to receive His strength.

4. People (Leaders) - The people rejoiced over the leaders (priests & levites) who were appointed to oversee. (12:44)

We need to rejoice over our leaders who perform the service of God. The people set apart offerings for the leaders. These leaders performed the service of God, service of purification and set apart (12:47) the offerings (they did not steal).

Where is your Joy?
-Is it in living a separated life for God alone?
-Is it in your joyful, willing & living sacrifices?
-Is it in the presence of God & not in the world?
-Is it over godly leaders?

Have a blessed day!

Where do you want to live?

Meditation from Nehemiah Chapter 11

This question may seem strange. At the end of this devotion you may want to answer it for yourself.

Jerusalem has been in ruins and uninhabited. People are invited to come and dwell there. To begin with three groups of people began to live.

One, the leaders lived in Jerusalem showing an example. (11:1)

Two, lots were taken and those on whom the lot fell they began to live. (11:1)

Three, some willingly offered to live in Jerusalem. (11:2).

And the people blessed all those who willingly offered to live there. Why?

1. Leave - Israelites lived together among their tribes and communities and to live in Jerusalem means to leave their friends and families. To leave their own and familiar lands.

2. Problems - Jerusalem has been in ruins and is not a place of comfort. It has it's measure of problems.

So to live in Jerusalem means to leave the comfort behind and to be willing to live with discomfort and difficulties.

3. Attacks - Jerusalem was prone to attacks by the enemy. So it means to always live alert and cautious.

Maybe many would not want to live in such a place; to leave one's friends & families & familiar places, to endure discomfort & difficulties and to be prone to spiritual attacks & to always be on the guard.

If Jesus would have thought likewise we would not have the privilege of being called the children of God. He chose to leave His glory and to come down to this world, to live among us, to be mistreated & to endure suffering of the highest degree, to give His life, so that we may be lifted up from the miry clay of sin and be saved & seated with Him in heavenly places!

When we look at the price that Christ paid for our sins, for our salvation, our sacrifices are no sacrifices, but only a privilege.

"I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light" - John Keith Falconer

If ten men are carrying a log - nine of them on the little end and one at the heavy end - and you want to help, which end will you lift on?" - William Borden

Though there might be challenges, he or she who answers this call is blessed, like the people blessed those who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem.

Many will testify on that DAY and will call you blessed for leaving your places, families and comforts and for demonstrating Christ to them!

C. T. Studd said, "Some want to live within the sound of the church or Chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell."

Where do you want to be? 

Where do you want to live?

Have a blessed day!

Make the Covenant

Meditation from Nehemiah Chapter 10

The Israelites made covenant with God and they wrote and signed them.

1. Separation - A covenant to separate ourselves from the world and worldly patters of life and choices) 10:28).

2. Commandments - Covenant with God to walk according to God's word, His statutes (10:29).

That is, to check whether our words, actions, choices, decisions, life is according to the word of God and to live by God's word.

3. Marriage - They made a covenant that they will not give their sons & daughters in marriage to gentiles (10:30).

As a believer, make a covenant to marry only a believer. If you have not prayed about your marriage, start to pray. Don't seek the person, seek God for the person.

4. Contribution - They made a covenant with God to give a series of offerings & tithes for,
a) The House of God
b) The priests & Levites who minister

Their covenant was to give the first fruit of everything. It teaches us that we need to give the first and the best.

With this covenant they declare that they "will not neglect the house of our God". That is we need to contribute to build God's kingdom.

Add these covenants to those personal covenants you wrote & made with God; that your life may be pleasing to God, Glorify His name and may fulfill God's purposes in & through you.

Have a blessed day!

Break the Loop

Meditation from Nehemiah Chapter 9

If we analyse our spiritual life do we find ourselves in a loop - bondage of sin, deliverance of God, experiencing God's goodness, sin again, bondage, deliverance, God's mercy and sinning again.

This is how the Israelites found themselves. When we are in such a seemingly unending loop what do we forget?

1. Covenant - We forget the Covenant that the Lord made with us. (9:8). The most important covenant that God made with us is that He will be our God and we will be His people.

If He is God & LORD, are all areas of our life completely under His Lordship?

2. Promise - When we sin, we forget His promises. (9:8).
God is faithful in His promises and we become unfaithful in honouring His promises when we don't obey His commandments.

3. Deliverance - We forget His deliverance, the way He delivered us from the bondage of sin and shame. (9:9,10).

In Christ, we forget the cost He paid for our deliverance.

4. Supernatural Wonders - We would have experienced a divine healing or some wonder from God and we forget that when we sin (9:17).

5. Protection - We forget God's protection on our life. (9:12).

6. Provision - We forget how God provided for us and we lacked nothing. How miraculously He met our needs! (9:20,21).

7. Instructions - We forget all His instructions. God instructs us through His Spirit (9:20), His word (9:13) and through people (9:26).

When we sin, we forget all these instructions.

8. Love & Grace - Above all we forget His abounding love and merciful grace (9:17b).

In the words of Ezra, we forget the "great goodness" of God in which we delighted ourselves. (9:25).

Even though we experience the consequences of our sin, God has been so merciful and gracious to deliver us once again and to give us rest (9:27,28a).

How do we break the Loop?

1. Fasting & Prayer - It's very essential to take time out with God to receive deliverance and His strength (9:1).

2. Separation - We need to separate ourselves from the people, relationships, place, objects, everything that are reasons for our shallow spiritual life and fall (9:2).

3. Confession - We need to confess our sins to the Lord (9:2b, 3a).

God doesn't want to hear our beautiful and elegant words in prayer, but our open and unhidden life. So that we may receive His forgiveness.

4. Worship - Not just corporate worship but private worship (9:3).
We need to worship the Lord in our personal prayers.

Worship also means to submit our bodies as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1).

5. Obedience - Instant obedience to His word and warning is what God expects (9:17,29).

We should never procrastinate in obedience and repentance.

6. Covenant - Finally and most importantly we need to make covenant with God and commit to live by it. The Israelites after listening to Ezra not just made a verbal covenant, but written covenant (9:38).

Practice:
# Can you take time now as you read, to take a paper or your phone (paper or journal is better) and write down your covenant with God - what you want to leave, how you want to be and live.

# Sign your name and write the date.

# Keep it in your Bible and see and pray over it everyday.

Forget not God's great goodness
Forget not the cost He paid on the cross
Forget not the covenant you made with God

Have a blessed day!

A Chapter A Day Keeps the Devil Away

Meditation from Nehemiah Chapter 8

The people asked for Ezra to read from the book of the Law, the word of God (8:1). It shows their love and priority to God's word.
This chapter teaches us four responses to God's word.

1. Attention : When the word of God was being presented they were attentive to it. (8:3)

At the railway station we become attentive to every announcement because we don't want to miss the train. When something is of utter importance to us we give attention.

How attentive are we to God's word?

2. Apprehend (Understand) : They not only heard the Word, but understood it. The word was "interpreted", to "make sense" and to give "understanding". (8:8)

There are so many tools available today which can help us to understand the Bible - Study Bible, Chronological Bible, Commentary, Bible Lexicon, Bible Atlas, etc.

Useful Apps

My Sword Bible (Study Bibles, Commentaries, etc) - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.riversoft.android.mysword

You Version Bible (Easy to take notes & to read various versions) - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sirma.mobile.bible.android

3. Weep : Hearing the word of God people wept so much that Nehemiah and leaders had to calm the people. They told them to rejoice. (8:9)

When we study the word there can be both the responses - we may rejoice at the promises & encouragement and weep at the exhortation.

When was the last time we cried reading the Bible?

The word of God is powerful to speak into our lives. We need to engage with it in a way that we allow God's word to speak to us.

4. Apply : The people immediately applied the listened word of God.
"And they found written..." (8:14)
"So the people..." (8:16)

If we don't apply what we read or study from the Word, it is of no use.

Ezra was called to teach the word of God. The book of Ezra shows us what kind of a person he was.

"Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach the statutes..." (Ezra 7:10)
Study
Do
Teach
What an incredible order!

Let the Word of God be our priority that our life may be fruitful and pleasing to God!

A saying goes, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away". Let me say,

"A (Bible) Chapter a day keeps the Devil away". You can also add 'distraction, temptation, lethargy, discouragement, wickedness... away".

Commit yourself now to study and meditate at least one chapter everyday for the rest of your life; will you?

Have a blessed day!

Open the Gates to Light

Meditation from Nehemiah Chapter 7

After the wall had been built Nehemiah gives the charge over Jerusalem to Hanani. His two characteristics are exemplary. He was Faithful & Feared God (7:2).

1. Faithfulness - We can understand faithfulness better only when we understand that we are "stewards".
That is, God is the owner and He has given to us time, talents, money, relationships, His Son, the Bible and everything.

When I understand that I am a steward and I need to give account to everything to God, I will be faithful in everything.

2. Fear of God - This fear is not fear based on 'fear of punishment' but on the fact that He deserves our fear, respect and it's out of love for God.

Fear of God is to acknowledge His undeparting presence and to live in conscious awareness of His presence all the time.

When we talk about faithfulness and fear of God one another person's life in the Bible that strikes chord is of Joseph in the Old Testament. Because he was faithful God put him in charge of responsibilities. Because he feared God he overcame the temptation and declared, "How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" (Genesis 39:9).

Even though the walls of Jerusalem are built, Nehemiah gives a warning to not open the gates until the sun is hot (7:3).

This teaches a beautiful truth to safeguard faithfulness & fear of God.

Jerusalem was under threat of attack by the enemy. That's why Nehemiah exhorts to not open the gates in the dark.

Likewise, even though the walls of our spiritual life are built in Christ, we are prone to the attack of the evil one and temptations. These attacks enter through the gates of the senses. 

We need to be very careful about what we see, what we hear, what we touch, etc. And we need to set a guard to our eyes, ears & mind.

It's must be a strong decision to not open the gates of senses to darkness but only to light.

When we are careful to set guard to our senses and to be faithful in everything because we fear God, He will set us responsible over more things for His glory.

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You

I want to see only that pleases You 

Today's Intercession:

# Pray for the General elections of our country India which begins on 11th April.

# Pray for smooth proceedings, clean and peaceful polling.

# Pray for all eligible citizens to vote. And to vote not for money but to elect right people and right government.

# Pray for the government to be elected according to God's will and that will truly work for people's development and eradicate all forms of evil in the society.

Have a blessed day!