NEHEMIAH MOMENT – (29MAY19) Eliashib the priest had been
placed in charge of the temple’s storerooms. Instead of keeping the temple
pure, he emptied out a storeroom and allowed one of his associates and relative,
Tobiah, to have a room. This was not in keeping with the ordinances for the temple.
On top of that, Tobiah was one of the Jews who had brought trouble to Nehemiah
when he was rebuilding the wall. Therefore, when Nehemiah found out what Eliashib
had done, he had Tobiah kicked out of the temple, and told the priests to purify
the room where he had been staying as well as return the items that had been
taken out of it. Nehemiah had to restore order even with the priests who should
have known better.
Eliashib allowed his relationship with Tobiah to cause him to
do wrong. We as Christians must not allow our relationships with others to
cause us to do the same. God is separating the wheat from the tares and the
sheep from the goats. This is not the time for us to allow personal
friendships, family, or other associations to cause us to sin before God.
Sometimes, it can be tempting to mellow out when it comes to standing on truth
for fear of what others will say. Many of us watchmen are called doom and
gloomers, Bible thumpers, bigots, and an array of other condescending names
because we have chosen to sound the alarm in this final hour. And yet, we must
continue to do so because this is what God has called for us to do. The Bible
asks, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?” No
one is worth losing your soul over. We must teach the truth to the lost because
failure to do so would mean that their blood is on our hands. Friend, enemy or
other, we must remain steadfast and unmovable in the things of the Lord.
Although we may never be celebrated in this life for our stance, Heaven is
recording and one day, we will receive our eternal reward. Something to ponder…
QUESTION OF
THE DAY – (29MAY19) Nehemiah had to return to his job as a cupbearer for the
king and had been away for some time. Upon his return, he learned that Israel
had once again went back to doing some of the things that caused them to be
sent to exile to begin with. Therefore, Nehemiah had to reform them once again
to set things right with God.
Why is it
that we as humans can be so defiant when it comes to obeying God? Why do we constantly
try to have our own way regardless of the path it takes us? Why was it so
difficult for Israel to just do what was right? Why is it the same for us today
despite knowing what the outcome will be? The Bible lets us know that we
wrestle not against flesh and blood but against dark forces. The Apostle Paul
said it best that that things he knew to do that was right, he did not do, and
the things he knew that he shouldn’t do, those were the things he did. As long
as we are down here on earth, we will always be in spiritual warfare. The flesh
wars against the spirit and the spirit wars against the flesh. They are in a
constant battle. This is why it is so important to pray because we cannot fight
the flesh without having the Spirit of God. Only God can keep us and sustain us
in doing His will. Something to ponder…
NEHEMIAH
MOMENT – (29MAY19) Nehemiah had a lot to deal with when he returned from his
duties with the king. The people had once again began desecrating the Lord’s
Sabbath by buying and selling with merchants, and some of the men married
foreign women and had children with them who did not even know how to speak the
Hebrew language. Nehemiah rebuked them, called down curses and even became
physical with some of them. He had them to take an oath that they would not
give their daughters in marriage to the heathens’ sons, not take wives for
their sons from them. He reminded them that this is the sin that befell
Solomon.
It may seem
as if Nehemiah allowed his anger to get the best of him, but Jesus took a whip
to the merchants in the temple and said that His house would be one of prayer.
Sometimes, you have to get radical for God and allow a righteous anger to be
displayed. Many things are taking place in today’s society that the church is
failing to speak up about. Those who do are called unloving because they are
not going along to get along. When the church allows anything to penetrate its
ranks, it becomes compromised and unsuitable for growth. This is why we have
seeker-friendly and purpose-driven churches whose aim is to appease the crowd
rather than teach the unadulterated truth. A compromised church will only
produce compromised followers, and they will never learn to be
true disciples if there is no one who will stand on the true Word of God. God
is not looking for people to fill seats, He is looking for those who will fill
His kingdom in true submission to Him. Something to ponder…
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