Making it clear ...

Hear the word of God:

Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them and as he opened it, the people all stood up. Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, "Amen! Amen!"

Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. The Levites--Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah--instructed the people in the Law while the people were standing there. They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read.

Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, "This day is sacred to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep." For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.

Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
Nehemiah 8:5-10

How does reading the Word of the Lord make you feel? Do you find yourself so excited to read it that you are practically crying the entire time? Do you feel so overcome with joy at the knowledge that is pouring out of the scripture?

So many of God’s people had come back from being away from home for so long. They hadn't had the ability probably to read the word of the Lord. They did not have much knowledge of the Word of the Lord. They were just a people without a home.

The Word was read by Ezra and lives began to change. The Israelites were so excited they fell to their faces and worshipped the Lord. When was the last time you felt that?

I pray that in our time of study together, you have felt the urge to be in the Word more and to allow the Words of the Father to pour over your soul. The people in this story felt like a people without a home and a God. Yet when they came back home, they were reminded of their love for God’s word by Ezra reading scripture most of the day, and by their just standing there, listening and taking it all in. Hopefully we can all be this way. Hopefully we can all have the same attitude as we approach our God through scripture.

Read through this passage in Nehemiah. Read through Nehemiah and imagine yourself there in that crowd, building those walls, rebuilding the city, hearing the Word of the Lord read aloud for the first time in years, and maybe for the first time ever. We will dig into more of this scripture tomorrow, but for now, take the time to let his Word bring you to your knees. Ezra and the Israelites stood there the whole time dwelling in the Word and taking it in. Can't we spend a little more time ourselves? I wonder what would happen?

Jason

What are you listening to?

Yesterday, Joshlynn went around the house singing a song. If you are a parent you have heard this song. “We’re going on a trip in our favorite rocket ship, zooming through the sky, Little Einsteins…” It is the theme song to Little Einsteins, a children’s cartoon on the Disney channel. It was so cute. She was singing the words as well as a 2 year old can, and what great tone and pitch. The problem was, she sang it over and over and over and over and over! She was playing on her scooter and singing it, she was pushing her baby dolls and singing it, she was “reading” a book and singing it. She had repeated this song so much, she knew it by heart. Could you imagine what might happen if she watched some of the other cartoons that are a little more teenage appropriate, or even older? What if she was sitting in there and liked the beat of a song on the radio? Do you think that she could remember the songs? The more we as humans repeat things and watch the same things over and over again, the better we remember them.

This is why it is so important to fill their minds with Godly things and less junk. This is why it is important for parents to keep track of what goes in their children’s heads and hearts.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”
Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Why is it so important for the Israelites to impress the commands on their children, talk about them all the time, and tie them on doors and foreheads? The more something is repeated and taught to a child and an adult, the better they remember. I mentioned some about this in yesterday’s devotional. We were created to know and worship our God with an all-consuming passion. Are we living that way? Are his commandments repeated in our hearts to the point where we can’t help but live for him daily?

What are you repeating in your life? What are you watching? What are you listening to? What are you doing so much that you could repeat that event or song or line from a movie? It is a sad day when we know more lines from movies than we know scripture. I know I do not want that to be said about my family.

Again, what is overflowing from our lives?

Jason