Today’s Reading: Nehemiah 1; Nehemiah 2; Psalm 133; Luke 22
Today I will be sharing three short thoughts on portions of today's reading that spoke to me.
#1 The Conflict Of The Ages
Scripture: Nehemiah 2:19-20
Nehemiah 2
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. "What is this you are doing?" they asked. "Are you rebelling against the king?"
20 I answered them by saying, "The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it."
Observation/Application: The conflict we see here between Nehemiah and the remnant of Israel on one side versus Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem over Jerusalem is the same fire which burns in the Promised Land today. The verbal attacks from Israel's enemies has a similar tone today of accusations of lawbreaking (stealing the land of the Palestinians), and rebellion against authority (breaking UN resolutions) as it did then. In verse 20 Nehemiah correctly states the truth that God's covenant for the possession of the land is only for the Jews (the descendants of Isaac) and not for the Arabs (the descendants of Ishmael). (See Genesis 17:19-21).
#2 Unity Brings Blessing
Scripture: Psalm 133:1, 3
1 How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!...
3 For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.
Observation/Application: This beautiful scripture about unity among God's people has an important promise: God's blessing is given to His people through unity. If you want to get God's blessing, live in unity with your brothers!
#3 A Secret To Powerful Prayer
Scripture: Luke 22:41, 44-45
41 He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed...44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. 45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.
Observation/Application: Note the emotional state of both Jesus and His disciples as they go to the garden to pray: Jesus is "in anguish" and the disciples have "sorrow." These seem quite similar to me as both are draining emotional responses to great distress or loss. However while the disciples reaction is to fall asleep, "exhausted from sorrow," Jesus "prayed more earnestly." This tells me of an intensity which Jesus used to focus His emotional weakness upon the strength of God the Father, while the disciples allowed their emotional weakness to drain them to the point of exhaustion. The point of this is that we must press hard into God when we are at our physical and emotional low points in order to have prevailing prayer.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for speaking to me through Your word. I thank You that Your mercies toward me are renewed every morning and that You have new things for me to learn and do every day. Help me to be alert and tuned in to you to pick up on what You have for me and to do it will all my heart, and mind, and strength.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
1 comment:
Great post. I especially like the first one. We need to understand what's happening in the Middle East and the signs of the times that Jesus spoke about. His coming is nearer than we think, I think.
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