From: August 15, 2020
From: August 15, 2020
From: August 15, 2018
From: August 15, 2017
From: August 15, 2016
David’s psalm invites us to worship the Lord with him. This is a wonderful call to worship. Are you part of a fellowship that will answer this call with you? This is a call that you cannot answer alone. You will need brothers and sisters who love the Lord as you do. Private devotions are life-giving, but they create a longing for worshiping together with others. Isn’t this the goal of the gospel? That there would be worshipers called out from every tongue and tribe?
From: August 15, 2015
After the rebuilding of the wall surrounding Jerusalem there was great enthusiasm for God’s Word and for the giving of tithes and offerings. The people willingly and joyfully entered into a covenant to be faithful in these things. Yet, before the walls were rebuilt, the people were filled with doubt and fear, resulting in neglect of God’s house. What was it about the broken down wall that caused their neglect? And what was it about the rebuilt wall that helped them refocus their priorities, putting God first?
From: August 15, 2014
Some have referred to this as the Pauline Principle, the strategy being to adapt methods to the hearer while maintaining the integrity of the message. When Paul was in Athens he used their monument to the “unknown god” to help illustrate the gospel to them. When talking to a Jewish audience he quoted the Mosaic Law. When speaking to the Greeks he quoted their Greek philosophers. Paul shared the gospel in the language and culture of his hearer, rather than expecting the hearer to adapt to his culture and language. The Gospel MESSAGE is never-changing and must be guarded. But Gospel METHODS should be flexible to reach this ever-changing world.
From: August 15, 2012
Like Paul, we preach an unchanging message to an ever-changing world. The message must stay anchored in God’s Word, but the methods may adapt to be culturally relevant. We desire to never add our traditions to the gospel, nor in an attempt to make it more palatable, subtract from its power. We will continually evaluate our methods to make sure everything we do is to spread the Good News!
From: August 15, 2011
The exiles who returned and rebuilt the wall also renewed their commitment to giving. We cannot say we have given everything to God and exclude our finances. The mark of trusting God for all things is the giving-back of the firstfruits He has given us.
From: August 15, 2009
Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, speaking through so-called prophets or using apparently “Christian” language to dissuade us from God’s true calling.Satan had already attacked from without, but now he attacked Nehemiah from within — through a fellow believer. But Nehemiah knew what God had told him. He was able to stand against this wile of the devil.Reminds me of the prophet (1 Kings 13) who was instructed by God not to eat or drink or return by the way he came. Then, another prophet lied to him and said that God told him it was OK to stop and eat with him. That prophet was killed by a lion. Nehemiah must have read 1 Kings.