Thurs.’s Devo - The House of the Lord

Read: Nehemiah 9:22-10:39; 1 Corinthians 9:19-10:13; Psalm 34:1-10a; Proverbs 21:13
Nehemiah went over thei history of their nation and instead of blaming God for all their misfortune he concluded with, “In all that has happened to us, you have been just; you have acted faithfully, which we did wrong.” Nehemiah took responsibility for the sin of his nation. What a great response. We want to blame everyone but ourselves but this is how to get God’s attention because he knows the truth.
Nehemiah and the people made a new covenant with God, wrote it down and all the governmental and spiritual leaders sealed it. The people bound themselves with a curse and an oath to follow the Law of God. They promised not to give their daughters in marriage to foreigners, not to let merchandise be sold on the Sabbath or holy days and to let the land enjoy its sabbath every seventh year. They also agreed to cancel all debts every seventh year, give the sanctuary tax annually, keep shewbread on the table for the priests and attend all the feast days and bring the appointed sacrifices. In essence, they promised not to neglect the house of the Lord.
We have many “houses of the Lord” that we need to keep up. The first one is in our own bodies which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. We have to nourish it, and keep it holy. The next one we are responsible to is our family. We have to raise it up to honor God. We are to pray and not lose heart or give up on our families but love them. The third is the local church that we attend. It is the heart of God and the Body of Christ so we need to love it and serve it with our gifts. Our nation is also the Lord’s so we need to pray for our leaders and the laws that are made.
Paul’s life was an example to the people and us of how our lives are not our own. We are not here to enjoy our own pleasure but to die to our own pleasure and do everything for the sake of the kingdom. Paul gave everything for the sake of other’s salvation. That is easy to say, hard to do. He does give us some great hope. Paul left us with the promise that no matter how strong our temptation may be, God is stronger and can give us the power to stand firm and not fall.
Lord, help us to take responsibility for our own deeds and stand firm when tempted. Help our lives to count for your kingdom.