- And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing. Nehemiah 8:17 – Apparently this practice had not been verbally shared with the people in the past so it was just forgotten with the times. Yet here, after reading God’s Word, they learned about it and moved forward with practicing it. What we learn is that just because you haven’t served God in a long time doesn’t mean you can’t start serving Him today. Here in our passage generations of God’s people hadn’t served Him in this way, yet that didn’t keep them from gathering the wood and making the tents. Maybe you haven’t served God in awhile, or maybe there are some ways of serving Him that you have let slide for longer than you meant to. Start today for there is nothing holding you back. God’s not holding it over your head that you haven’t, He’s inviting you and encouraging you to start anew! How then can you serve God in a new way today? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1290
- Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. 8 They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. Nehemiah 8:7-8 – This passage is currently taped to the back of my phone as my current memory verses, and yes even with all the difficult names, which has been a challenge. Why? We see in our passage Ezra got up and read aloud God’s law to everyone that could hear and understand what he was saying. What’s so special is what these levities did as well, they gave sense. Maybe the congregation there could understand the language of Ezra, but fully understanding what they heard coming from God’s law wasn’t fully happening. These men took time to make sense of it all for the people, breaking it down and explaining it however needed, so they fully understood what was being taught to them. My aim now is to be just like that for my brothers and sisters in Christ, and it should be an aim of yours as well. To help make sense of scripture so they understand what they are hearing and reading. That when they hear a pastor say something they don’t understand, or they read a passage that just doesn’t make sense to them, we step into their story to help make sense of such things. Does this mean we have to have all the answers first? Not at all, but we should have a heart to help them understand. We just need to be willing to step into the confusion and be willing to walk with them to understanding, however that path leads. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2511
Daily DEVO 