November 20, 2023

Serve the Lord wherever you are.

Nehemiah 1

DeWitt Ray
Monday's Devo

November 20, 2023

Monday's Devo

November 20, 2023

Monday's Devo

November 20, 2023

Monday's Devo

November 20, 2023

Big Idea

Start with prayer.

Key Verse | Nehemiah 1:3

And they said to me, "The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire."

Nehemiah 1

Report from Jerusalem

1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.

Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, 2 that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”

Nehemiah's Prayer

4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5 And I said, “O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father's house have sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses. 8 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, 9 but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ 10 They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. 11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”

Now I was cupbearer to the king.

S2:226 Nehemiah 1

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Dive Deeper | Nehemiah 1

The Lord blessed me with this chapter because the book of Nehemiah represents something I strongly believe in—servant leadership. We can all learn from Nehemiah's devotion to the Lord.

Let's paint the picture. Nehemiah was a layman, not a priest or prophet. He was, however, a member of the last ruling family of Judah. He gave up a respected position as a cupbearer (wine taster) for Artaxerxes I, king of Persia. He was given permission to lead the Jews returning to Jerusalem after 79 years of exile in Babylon. The Jews had been slaves under the cruel king Nebuchadnezzar largely because they had forgotten the Lord God.

Nehemiah's humility before God provided an example for the people. He did not claim glory for himself, but always gave God the credit for his success; hence, his servant leadership. Nehemiah used his position to bring back order, stability, and proper focus on God. He partnered with Ezra (also the name of the book before Nehemiah) to solidify the political and spiritual foundations of the people.

How do we apply this today? Nehemiah shows us the impact one person can have on a nation. God uses all manner of people in all manner of places doing all manner of work. Do you feel you must be "in ministry" in order to serve God? Be encouraged. He is not limited by your vocation. God has placed you where you are on purpose. Have this attitude about work: "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Colossians 3:17)

I am neither an HR professional nor a recruiter, yet God called me to serve in Careers in Motion. He has a plan for you, too! I see examples of servant leadership every time I walk into CIM. Our team loves serving, and it is one of the ways we glorify the Lord. Our goal is to share the love of God by encouraging and leading each person who attends CIM.

This month's memory verse

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

– 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Discussion Questions

1. Where do you feel called to serve?

2. Whether you're leading or following, the Lord calls you to honor Him. Are you serving out of obligation or out of joy?

3. How can you serve the Lord at work? What does that look like?

Respond to Today's Passage

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HS

Hugh Stephenson

Good morning, Dewitt! Thank you for this excellent devo. I love your pull of Nehemiah as a humble servant leader. And also this- “How do we apply this today? Nehemiah shows us the impact one person can have on a nation. God uses all manner of people in all manner of places doing all manner of work.” ------------------------------------------------ Q1 - A friend taught me many years ago that God allows or causes all things. So it’s a natural progression that my bad choices and resultant sin yield a harvest of wild grapes, (Isaiah 5:2). But God, being rich in mercy, called Amy and I to Watermark and eventually to serve in the ministries through which He worked to turn our life around. For us, those ministries have been Prodigal, re:gen, and abortion recovery. Q2. Early on I served a lot in many ministries. After a while I got “Water-logged”. Then I heard this RTRQ http://realtruthrealquick.com/christian-priorities/. It brought great clarity to where God was calling me to serve. Since 2014 Amy and I have served in Prodigal. By allowing us to live with Prodigal chaos for over a decade he equipped us to shepherd and disciple others so that their pain might be less and their timeline be shorter. Q3. JP gave great message several years ago talking about this. As I recall, he used the example of his security card that let him in the office beyond the lobby. The idea was that he was probably the only one who had that card who was also a sold-out believer. So I look for opportunities in work conversations where the other person gives a key that they are struggling and have a need. To my surprise, almost everyone has an unhealthy coping mechanism and/or a prodigal. Amazing.
HS

Hugh Stephenson

How long to stay with a disobedient person before you release him to Satan? Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 5:5 “Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns.” Then this- 2 Thessalonians:3 (ESV) “14 If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. 15 Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.” Hmmmm. I am not sure what to do with all this. When is someone who is struggling and clearly in sin just like the greyhounds at the dog take chains the rabbit that they’ll never catch? They want a different life but not bad enough? I would ask myself what this Luke 15:16 moment looks like and how will I know it? One key I see in Nehemiah’s prayer in this passage. I note that he spends a lot so time in praise and gratitude. After all, if you don’t feel like God has done anything for you why would you be sufficiently grateful to come to your end and repent? So I see the sequence in Nehemiah’s prayers as: -Mourning the sin -Appealing to God in gratefulness and praise -Pray that he acts in mercy and grace -Remind yourself of His promises of judgment AND mercy in all His past wonderful deeds -Pray specifically and asking that all who can affect the outcome be called to do so. Then accept the reality that we are acting as a “committed minority”, (see below).
HS

Hugh Stephenson

From the notes - I like these short summaries of the passages in Chapters 1 & 2 and the short summary of Chapter 1. Neh. 1:1–2:20 Nehemiah Returns to Jerusalem to Rebuild Its Walls. This section recounts Nehemiah’s burden for and first efforts in rebuilding Jerusalem. He learns of Jerusalem’s decrepit condition (1:1–11), gains permission to rebuild the city, inspects its walls (2:1–16), and endures the first wave of opposition (2:17–20). Neh. 1:1–11 Nehemiah Learns of Jerusalem’s Dilapidation. Nehemiah hears of the distress of Jerusalem and Judah (vv. 1–3) and prays for God’s favor toward them (vv. 4–11). —————————————————————————————— Like Nehemiah, we Christians live in dark times. We too have to deal with indifferent multitudes. As in his day, there is widespread disloyalty to God's truth today. As then, there is lack of enthusiasm for God's plans and purposes now. Not many Christians want to devote their every waking moment to the task that God has commanded us to do (Matt. 28:19-20). Like Nehemiah, Christians need to walk by faith in these dark times (cf. Hab. 2:4). We need to be as sure of God as he was. We need to act with God, and for God, even though it means strenuous effort. We also need to decline all compromise with those outside and inside the church. We need to trust God, to do our day's work faithfully, and to leave the future to Him. May we all follow this great man's example of faith. May we live one day at a time (cf. Matt. 6:11). God always works through a committed minority. Only a few thousand Jews lived in Jerusalem, yet look what they accomplished! The 12 disciples of Jesus turned the world upside down.[8]
GJ

Greg Jones

Good morning Dewitt I loved this from your deeper dive. Nehemiah shows us the impact one person can have on a nation. God uses all manner of people in all manner of places doing all manner of work. Do you feel you must be "in ministry" in order to serve God? Be encouraged. He is not limited by your vocation. God has placed you where you are on purpose. Have this attitude about work: "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Colossians 3:17) Specifically I absolutely agree with “He is not limited by your vocation. God has placed you where you are on purpose. Have this attitude about work: Col. 3:17” I do think that God can be limited by negative examples of words and deeds done in the name of Jesus. Ezra/Nehemiah originally one book together they are one overarching narrative that covers three returns of exiles to Jerusalem. First is Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah Ezra 1:8. Then came Ezra a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses Ezra 7:1-7. Now Nehemiah cup bearer to the king is the third leg leading people back to Judah and Jerusalem. All is going pretty well. Overall the Israel narrative concerning this part of their story is developing as a peaceful one compared to an overall fairly violent narrative coming out of Samuel Kings. The world is developing into a kinder place. Nehemiah’s opening prayer is beautiful ending with him asking for a measure of mercy when he goes before the pagan king. You never can tell how a thing like that might go if you upset the king. But spoiler alert- I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. Nehemiah 13:25 When you’re doing Leviticus 19:1-16 with excellence it can be easy to be tripped up by Leviticus 19:17-18 when dealing with those below the 19:1-16 standards.
MS

Michael Scaman

Nehemiah was safe secure and set in his igh position in the royal court. He even had face time wit the king and was well liked. Yet he wept at the plight of his people and the dangers in Jerusalem He looked a little like the high serving the low with deep heartfelt care. "To be to men God's word made flesh again" as in the hymn "Declare His Glory" from the Urbana 76 confernce.
SB

Sue Bohlin

Thanks so much, Dewitt, and I am so very sorry to learn of your wife's homegoing. It's easy to blow past Nehemiah's prayer as "just another Bible passage" . . . until we remember how much trouble kings and others in authority got in by neglecting to turn to the Lord in prayer (see also the past few months of JTJ). Nehemiah didn't forget. That was his go-to response. What a godly man. I love the end of his prayer. In the NET Bible, Nehemiah asks God to "show compassion to me in the presence of this man." First, the Hebrew for compassion is "womb." That's the first character quality that God reveals about Himself to Moses in Exodus. As a woman, I looooooove that about God's heart!! Second, Nehemiah has his priorities straight. "In the presence of this man"--who is arguably the most powerful person on the planet in that day. But just a "man" compared to the God of heaven and earth! Way to go Nehemiah!
AL

Amy Lowther

1. I feel I am called to serve in areas that welcome guests to activities, encourage guests to participate in and value activities, and listen to guest needs as they arise. 2. I serve because it’s fun and it’s a learning experience. 3. I can serve the Lord at work by praying, by staying on task, and by not worrying about nonrelevant things. This helps me know what I have and what I need as a person.