“Nevertheless in your great mercies you did not make an end of them or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.”
--Nehemiah 9:31
The book of Nehemiah contains the longest recorded prayer in the Bible. In that prayer, we see what kind of God we serve and how his people responded.
Nehemiah 9:16 says, “But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their necks and did not obey your commandments.”
Isn’t that amazing? They had a God who had given them so much… a faithful, loving, merciful, forgiving, and patient God. You would expect that the people responded in obedience to Him. But rather, the children of Israel ran off to serve other gods!
But, you know, this really is a picture of all of us. Because in spite of God’s love and manifold mercies, we all have rebelled and broken His commandments.
Every one of us has a personal history. And when you look at your past before Christ, and maybe even after you came to Christ, you may wonder, “How can God love and care about me when my life is checkered with failure, sin, and rebellion?”
God has every right to toss you and me aside and say, “That’s it! No more rebellion! I’m finished with you!”
But in his mercy, God keeps on offering his love and forgiveness. He hasn’t forsaken you. Even when you have not been faithful, he remains faithful!
God offers you complete forgiveness today, if only you will come to Him in brokenness and humility, and simply ask Him.
IF YOU’VE BEEN SAYING NO TO GOD, IT’S TIME TO MAKE A CHANGE. ACCEPT HIS FORGIVENESS TODAY AND START SAYING YES TO HIM!
Thursday, July 18, 2019
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.”
Acts 20:28-31
Missionary Isaac Headland told of a poor Chinese woman who came to visit his wife. “Miss Kan, I’m so tired. I’ve walked fifteen miles today because I heard that you were going to the city soon, and I have not learned the Lord’s Prayer yet.” The missionary asked the exhausted woman holding a small child in her arms, “Why did you not wait till I came back again?” The woman replied, “Who knows whether I shall be living when you come again, I want to learn it now.” Dr. Headland said the woman would not allow his wife to go to bed until she was able to recite the Lord’s Prayer from beginning to end.
One of the tragedies of the church in our day is the casual way in which we approach spiritual things. When we read of Paul trying to reach people in Ephesus for Jesus both day and night while weeping, and doing it for three years, it seems strange to us instead of normal. The only day we know for sure we have to work for God is today. Jesus said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4). Rather than carelessly approaching life, we need an appreciation for the urgency of the work God has called us to do.
Today's Growth Principle:
Recognizing the importance of eternity, we should live our lives with urgency in what really matters.
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