This devotion was previously published on September 23rd, 2009

Read Nehemiah 13:23-30

In case you’re just joining us in our reading of Nehemiah, you need to know that Nehemiah has just returned to Jerusalem for the second time, and although he found the wall standing as strong as ever, the people were facing moral, social, and spiritual ruin.

So he took action. Extreme action.

Two particular sentences especially stand out to me. “I rebuked them and called curses down on them.  I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair.” (v. 25)

I’d say someone was passionate about God, wouldn’t you?

It almost reminds me of Jack Bauer. Doesn’t that sound like something he would do?

Now, I’m not sure I’m recommending that anybody go out and apply this to their current context, but I do think a case can be made that the church needs more people who are passionate about God’s vision and bold enough to take action to protect it and advance it.

What do you think?

This devotion was previously published on September 22nd, 2009

Read Nehemiah 13:10-22

Some people never learn.

After Nehemiah had spent 12 years of his life investing in the people of Jerusalem, you would think they would have listened and learned a little bit about God’s expectations for their behavior.

But as soon as their leader leaves, they quit supporting the workers in the Temple, and they start treating the Sabbath like any other day.

They completely forgot everything that Nehemiah asked them to do. And as a result, they completely ignored God’s wishes for their lives.

But before we start bad-mouthing the citizens of Jerusalem, let’s make sure we take a long, hard look in the mirror.

It’s true that some people never learn.

But unfortunately, I’m often one of them.

This devotion was previously published on September 21st, 2009

Read Nehemiah 13:1-9

Leadership is absolutely necessary.

In fact, when leadership is absent, it’s amazing how quickly things can fall apart.

Nehemiah, at some point, returned to his job as the king’s cupbearer. He told the king he would come back and he did.

But he didn’t stay away from Jerusalem forever.

And when he returned, Nehemiah noticed that although the walls were still stable and solid, the people were falling apart. They were drifting away from God’s truths and making some really bad decisions.

Perhaps the worst decision was made by the priest, Eliashib, who decided to let Tobiah, an outspoken opponent of Nehemiah, to use some space in the Temple for storage.

Nehemiah was having none of that and promptly kicked him out.

And I love his leadership. Nehemiah did something that should have been done long before he ever came back. He saw the need and met it with speed.

And that’s what leaders do.

“God, give our church and our country, men and women who will see the needs around them and meet them with diligence. Wake us up to what’s wrong and give us the strength to do what needs to be done.”

This devotion was previously published on September 20th, 2009

Read Nehemiah 13

I love a good party.

There’s nothing like getting together with friends and family and having a great time.

And if anyone in the world has a reason to celebrate, it’s God’s people! Isn’t that true?

I love how much fun Nehemiah and the people had dedicating the walls of Jerusalem.

The Bible says they celebrated “joyfully” with lots and lots of music. Not only that, but large groups of people got on top of the walls and sang at the top of their lungs to celebrate the completion of the project.

Finally, I especially love how the text says, “the sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away.” (v.43)

I think we have something to sing about too, don’t we? So, let’s make some noise!

This devotion was originally published on September 19th, 2009

Read Nehemiah 11

I love volunteers!

Seriously, I cannot communicate how much I love and appreciate volunteers.

More specifically, I love the 600-700 volunteers that serve at Southside. These people are amazing! And without them, we couldn’t do what we do every Sunday.

Volunteers have always been a part of what God is doing.

Even in Nehemiah’s day, a wall would have never been built, but more than that, a community would have never been reestablished.

For instance, Nehemiah needed some people to volunteer to move into the city (verse 2), to work in the temple (10-12), to help rule and govern in the city (15-16), and to lead the people in a time of prayer (17).

They were all crucial to God’s plan for Jerusalem, and each one of these volunteers was important and necessary.

And what was true for Jerusalem is true for the church today. At least, it’s true for Southside.

Every volunteer who serves in the nursery, greets guests, invests in middle school students, and sings on the worship team, is crucial and important, and plays just as much a part in seeing men and women come to Christ as the staff and pastors do.

So, thank you volunteers at Southside and anyone who might be reading this from another church. Keep up the good work!

This devotion was previously published on September 18th, 2009

Read Nehemiah 10

Israel is once again in a situation where they turn back to God.

They decide that this time they are going to say all the right things to their Heavenly Father, and make some serious promises to Him as well.

And it appears that they’re really going to obey God this time around.

Of course, we’ll see in a couple of days that their promises didn’t last long. They didn’t do what they said they would.

But isn’t that the story of our lives as well?

We make promises to God. We commit to doing what He asks us to do. And we forget about them five minutes after we made them.

This post was previously published on September 17th, 2009

Read Nehemiah 9:7-31

I love history.

I almost majored in it I loved it so much.

History is so much more than just people, places, and dates. History consists of events that we can genuinely look back on and learn from.

Nehemiah took some time to reflect on Israel’s history, remembering the good days and the bad ones, and how God had been present, even if Israel didn’t act like He was.

He painted a picture of a loyal, faithful God who never stopped loving His people even when they stopped loving Him.

And as I read Nehemiah’s words, and as I look back at my past,  I can’t help but think how God’s wonderful patience and amazing love have been a constant for me as well, even when I wasn’t as focused on Him as He was on me.

Father, thank You for being so patient with me. Thank You for not giving up on me, even when I’ve been incredibly stupid at times.

This devotion was previously published on Septebmer 16, 2009

Read Nehemiah 9:5-6

I don’t tell God enough how awesome He is.

I really don’t.

I don’t take enough time out of my day to just acknowledge how great He is.

In fact, so many times, I act and live like I’m the one who is so awesome.

This is why I love the example of the Levites in our passage today. They just acknowledge how amazing God is and encourage and lead others to do the same thing.

That’s what I need to do today and every day.

This post was previously published on September 15th, 2009.

Read Nehemiah 9:1-4

It is so important to approach confession of sin seriously.

God sent His only Son, Jesus, to pay for our sins, wo when we shrug off our failures and fallenness, it’s an insult to God’s love and mercy.

We should be genuinely sorry for our sin.

Half-hearted, off the cuff prayers just don’t cut it when it comes to confession time.

There needs to be sorrow, grief, and heaviness of heart.

The people of Israel, in Nehemiah’s day, took confession seriously (at least on this one occasion!)

They fasted, humbled themselves with the wearing of sackcloth, and more than that spent a quarter of their day “in confession and in worshiping the LORD their God”

I think we could all benefit from confessing our sins a little more seriously.

Maybe you can’t spend six hours most days, but I think most of can spare six minutes.

This devotion was previously published on September 14th, 2009

Read Nehemiah 8:9-18

I don’t think we celebrate enough.

I know I don’t.

I don’t rejoice enough. I don’t celebrate God’s goodness enough. I don’t make a big deal out of how blessed I am often enough.

God is so good, so how can I be so quiet?

I need to celebrate more and complain less. I need to rejoice more frequently and grumble significantly less.

Nehemiah noticed that the people of Israel were grieving when they clearly needed to be rejoicing, and then challenged them to celebrate.

And that’s exactly what they did.

And that’s exactly what we need to do more often as well.