KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Friday, September 28, 2018
Chapters: Nehemiah 8-10
Message: The Joy of My LORD Is My Strength
Hello My Friend,
I hate when I am trying to rush doing this by copying and pasting from a past message, and God tells me, “That is not what I want you to talk about.” Then I spend more time going back and doing what He says, and then I wonder why I am so late getting out the door sometimes. I get like this when I start getting weary with life, it is not that I have not heard from God or that I am being chastened or something, it is that I take on so much that I start tearing at the seams. The truth is, Christ does great things in my life, I have seen Him working in me so much this year, He mercies and grace are so amazing, but I am weary and tired spiritually and mentally, and it is affecting my physical body as well. Let me tell you, my only strength to get up and go is Christ, He lifts me up, He rescues me, He restores me, He calms me down, and make me new again. The world cannot say that, they cannot possibly understand that the Joy of my LORD is my strength. “Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about. Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.” – Psalm 32:10-11.
Joy; To enjoy; to have or possess with pleasure. The second we receive Christ as our Saviour we are His and He is ours, that means we have pleasure in knowing that wherever we go He goes, whatever we face He faces with us. Life truly is exhausting sometimes, especially when we are serving God. There is another great joy we get when we know Christ as our Saviour, we get to read His words every day, there truly is something comforting in them. For seventy years Israel had no word from God, they knew He existed, but they did not have the law to guide them. Why? They did not have the access to the Law, it was also written in Hebrew, which the new generation did not speak anymore, very few knew the language so they could not read or understand it. Fortunately, Ezra did know how to read the Scriptures, he along with Nehemiah, Zechariah and some of the other faithful prophets gathered the entire congregation together, a special pulpit was made so that everyone could see and hear, Ezra stood at the pulpit, and read the Law to them for the first time.
“And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up: And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground. And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” – Nehemiah 8:2-3,5-6,9-10.
“and when he opened it, all the people stood up:” Oh, to be so respectful of the Word or God that the second it is opened we stand, raise our hands up in the air, and bow down our heads. There truly is great joy in hearing Scripture read, but there is also great conviction, they began to feel deep sorrow for having gone against God’s commands. God’s mercies are so great that the second we receive Christ as our Saviour we do enter into the joy of the LORD, and can enjoy this life knowing that we are, in fact, forgiven, we have nothing to be sorry for, we need not weep or feel sorrowful anymore because we belong to Him. Praise God! “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” – Romans 5:10-11.
The ultimate purpose God had for His people returning to Jerusalem was more than just the restoration of the temple and to rebuild the walls, it was to restore their relationship with Him so they too can see the joy in knowing Him as their LORD. These were man-made structures, powerless to protect them from their enemies unless they knew God and His Word. As Ezra continues reading from the Law, he tells of the journey of their fathers, how God chose Abraham, from the time they left Egypt, were rebellious of God, yet He was still merciful to them.
“But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not. Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations; Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go. Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst. Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.” – Nehemiah 9:16-21.
“but thou art a God ready to pardon,” For forty years Israel walked the earth headed for the promised land, during that time they forsook God over and over again, even made their own gods when He would not answer them right away, they always had food and water provided to them, their clothes and shoes never even got tattered and worn the entire time. They fussed, complained, doubted, disobeyed, and yet God was right there to help them when they cried out to Him. There comes a time in our lives when the things of this world are meaningless and we discover that there is no joy in them. That is when many discover Jesus, Jesus is the sure covenant, the only one who can give us hope beyond this world, the only one to give meaning and joy to our lives in this one and the one to come. Many stood up that day, gladly choosing to follow the Law.
“Now those that sealed were, Nehemiah, the Tirshatha, the son of Hachaliah, and Zidkijah, And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinims, and all they that had separated themselves from the people of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every one having knowledge, and having understanding; They clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes; Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God; For the shewbread, and for the continual meat offering, and for the continual burnt offering, of the sabbaths, of the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings to make an atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.” – Nehemiah 10:1,28-29,32-33.
“and entered into a curse, and into an oath,” In a sense, the second we choose Christ we too enter an oath and a curse, an oath being that our souls are saved for eternity solely upon our faith in Christ, a curse being that once we have tasted salvation we cannot go back to the life we lived before Christ. You see, Christ changes us as we learn and grow in Him, to go back into the world only brings pain because we do belong to Christ. And since we belong to Christ nothing gives Him greater joy than to see us living through Him, after all, we do have much more waiting for us. “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.” – Hebrews 6:4,7-9.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” – Nehemiah 8:10
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, Thank You for the sacrifice You made by giving Your life so that I can have hope of a better life, one with You face to face with me. You shed Your blood so that I did not have to spend eternity in hell, I believe in all that You are and that You alone are the only one who can save me. I am sealed by Your blood and am forever grateful for what You have done for me. Forgive me for the times I become lose sight of what You have done for me and continue to do in my life. Help me to stay in Your Word and follow it so You continue to reflect Your Light off me. Fill me with Your joy for You are my strength and the only one who can carry me through this life and into the next. I love You and pray in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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