Holy Rambo

Unit 18, Session 3, Day 3 Nehemiah 10 As an expression of the delight at both being restored to the land and being restored in relationship with the God of their fathers, the Israelites committed themselves to obedience. They gathered together, signed a compact and swore an oath to be obedient and provide for God’s temple as they had been commanded in the law. Interestingly, in a class I am currently taking, there was a discussion this week about whether obedience to God was intended to be a duty, or whether it served a purpose in and of itself. Wesley taught that, while there was an “ought-ness” to our obedience, its primary purpose was to act out the change in us that God works in us through our sanctification. This is not to suggest that we in any way sanctify ourselves. Rather, obedience puts us in a posture that allows the Holy Spirit to work His will in our lives by conforming us to the image of Christ. I encourage you to consider that as you complete today’s daily devotional ...

Unit 18, Session 3, Day 2 Nehemiah 9 October 4, 1997 was a remarkable day. Over one million men met on the National Mall, not to protest, but to repent. Gathered in Sacred Assembly, we did something that was similar to Nehemiah 9. Based also upon Nehemiah, the event was called "Stand in the Gap." Sadly, it did not usher in the revival many of us hoped for. We can speculate about what did or did not happen that day, but it may give you a glimpse of what happened in Nehemiah 9. If you wonder what that looked like, Here is a link to the first 90 minutes of the event:  Promise Keepers - Stand in the Gap - Part 1

Unit 18, Session 3, Day 1 Nehemiah 8 I promise, I did not read today’s Daily Discipleship Guide (DDG) before I wrote my sermon, but I think it takes my 37 minutes and shrinks it down to about two. If you missed it, you may find it here:    Riverview Christian Ministries Sermon Page I haven’t had the courage to listen to it, but I look forward to all of you repeating it back to me. I learn so much from what you hear that I don’t remember saying. The main point comes from the lesson and not from my sermon, though. There is a rhythm to our interactions with scripture. As the DDG says, “ Their posture and practice are a pathway to be considered and followed as we read and hear God’s Word.” There is a rhythm and a cycle that should end in rejoicing. Do the devotional. It should challenge you to discover those rhythms in your own life.

Unit 18, Session 2, Day 3: Nehemiah 3-4 Sometimes, God takes us through hard places. Even though He has blessed and directed, difficulties may present. Today’s devotional includes one line I especially like (honestly, because it is something I say and the validation is always nice), “God is not intimidated by our emotions or prayers, and when we withhold these visceral parts of our hearts from the Lord, we actually keep ourselves from intimacy with the Lord.” God providentially made the building of Jerusalem’s walls and gates possible, but there was violent opposition. We do have an enemy. When we step out in faith to accomplish the things God desires, there will be opposition. It may feel like a time to cry, but it is actually a time to cry out. If it is God’s will, He will make a way. We will likely still be required to engage our minds and our passions. We will need to stick to the goal, but may need to be flexible in the methods. Nehemiah didn’t start out with armed men on th...

Unit 18, Session 2, Day 2 Nehemiah 2 Those who attended on Sunday will remember that we discussed that in Ezra, we learn that Artaxerxes had ordered the building of the wall around Jerusalem halted about a year before So, Nehemiah prayed and fasted and went to work. When the king saw he was sad, he asked Nehemiah what made him so sad. Nehemiah stepped up in faith in his great God and told the king of the awful condition of the city of his ancestors. God moved through another Persian king to provide for the restoration of Jerusalem and her people. And when Jerusalem was frightened by her neighbors who wanted to keep the walls from being rebuilt, Nehemiah reminded the people who great God is and all he had done to make the project possible. Check out today’s devotional and ask yourself, “Where in your life do you currently need the grace-filled hand of God to strengthen you?”

Unit 18, Session 2, Day 1 Nehemiah 1 There are days when prayer time comes and you are just driven straight to your knees and you just want to cry out “GOOOOOOOOD! I NEED YOU!” Then there are other times. Today’s devotional includes to examples of a model for prayer. The first is the prayer Nehemiah prayed in chapter one, when he learned of he condition of Jerusalem. The next is the prayer Jesus taught us to pray. Some clever soul summarized this model with an acrostic Adoration Confession Thanksgiving Supplication Prayer isn’t just about giving the gift giver your wish list like God were some giant vending machine. Prayer is a time to intimately approach the Great God who created the universe. The same God who raised Jesus from the dead. Dig into the devotional and consider today’s question: “How are you cultivating a growing view of God as your Father in heaven?

Unit 18, Session 1, Day 5 What a beautiful song of praise is presented to us in Isaiah 26. There are several phrases in this chapter that have become familiar to us through preaching and song. "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you." (vs. 3) "My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you." (vs. 9a) Not so commonly expressed, but a personal favorite: "We were with child, we writhed in labor, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth, and the people of the world have not come to life.