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Nehemiah 8; 9:32-38; 10:28-33; 13:1-3 — Israel committed to revival

Some sixty years had passed since the temple had been rebuilt in Jerusalem. God’s people had grown careless and cold in some critical aspects of their calling as children of the covenant. God had been at work among them, fanning the embers. He needed certain men to be in Jerusalem to guide Israel further toward revival. But those men were in Babylon.

That was no great obstacle to the Almighty, of course. He had two men in mind to lead them back to Judah. Both of them were strong yet humble leaders. They each had a heart for God and for His people. God gave them a passion, a vision, and a plan for renewal and restoration. He used them as a team for righteousness and revival, building on the foundation laid by Zerubbabel and Jeshua in the first return.

Though He didn’t send them to Jerusalem at the same time, God eventually had them there together. God called and used Ezra and Nehemiah to accomplish His work among the repatriated Jews. Read it all

Psalm 51:1-17 — confession and a prayer of repentance for cleansing

How do you respond to sin and failure in your life? So often (it seems) I recognize my sins and shortcomings, but I can explain to you quite well why I sinned and failed. And interestingly enough, those reasons have a way of trying to excuse my sin.

True repentance grieves over sin…regardless of what factors supposedly contributed to it. True repentance deals with sin in all its ugliness, and does not try to shed personal responsibility for it. True repentance says, “I sinned this way. It is my fault. I am sorry. Please forgive me.”

Repentance is surrender — a surrender of my will, my ego, my excuses, my self; a surrender to God and His discretion in what it will take to purify me. Repentance is a surrender to cleansing. I do not believe that verses two and seven speak of something quick, light, easy and painless. The flesh does not want to give up its sin. The flesh may go along with this business of asking forgiveness, but it reserves the option to indulge in sin all over again. Repentance yields to the washing, cleansing and purging required to bring us back into harmony with God’s ways. Read it all

2 Samuel 7:1-16 — God’s covenant with David provides Israel and the world with the promised Redeemer, the everlasting Son of David

Set in a time of peace for David and Israel, this lesson exalts the everlasting God’s generous grace. This Bible passage records God’s unconditional covenant with David, promising him an eternal seed and an eternal throne. In it, we are reminded that God exerts His power, wisdom, and knowledge for the good of His people. His people are those who love Him with their all and live in faithful obedience to His will. In other words, God commits Himself to do great things for those who will love Him, cleave to Him, and live for Him. We can have full confidence that this sovereign, omnipotent, eternal God always works everything “together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). That is divine grace!

When the LORD chose to institute a covenant with Abram, He did so because He is a gracious God. In that covenant, He established the chosen family for the Redeemer promised to Eve. He also provided a choice homeland for the family to grow into a nation. And He gave them their identity and their connection with God, anchoring their hope and vision for the future.

In His covenant with David, God established Israel’s royal family for the Seed of Abraham. He also provided the throne of the coming Redeemer King. And He extended Read it all

Proverbs 31:10-31 — Where to find a virtuous woman. An imperfect Proverbs 31 husband praises his imperfect Proverbs 31 wife.

Can you find silver Mexican peso?

You won’t get one going to a bank, even a bank in Mexico. Neither will you find one in the change you receive from purchasing something at a store, even a store in Mexico. And I doubt you would find one by going to any major city in the world, standing on a busy street corner, and asking 50 passersby if they have one in their pocket. (You probably wouldn’t find any by asking 50,000 passersby!)

But I can find one!

It’s all in looking in the right places. for a virtuous woman

But never mind a silver Mexican peso. What about this next “item”?

“Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies” (Proverbs 31:10).

I can!

And again, it’s all in looking in the right places. Read it all

Proverbs 23:17-35 — strong drink may not be your delusion, but what about other sin?

What is temperance? And does it apply to strong drink…or any other sin?

In scrounging through my cranial thesaurus for a synonym for temperance, I quickly came up with moderation. I queried my computer thesaurus and it agreed. Upon a bit further reflection, though, I concluded that “exercising moderation” is an incomplete and potentially misleading definition of temperance.

Let’s look at two extremes. Indulgence allows me to be unrestrained in what I think, speak, and do. Abstinence causes me to avoid certain thoughts, words, and deeds. Indulgence requires no self-control; abstinence requires lots of it. Few things in life should be indulged. Quite a few things in life should be avoided. However, many things in life require something other than indulgence or abstinence. That’s where moderation comes in.

Moderation allows me to think, speak, and do things in a measured and limited manner, not overdoing them. In some ways, that may require even more self-control than abstinence. For example, it is far easier for me not to eat sweets than it is for me to eat sweets in moderation. If I don’t get started, I don’t have to try to stop. If I mean to eat only one cookie, it is difficult for me not to have a bar or a cinnamon roll or a marshmallow while I’m at it. So doing something in moderation may require huge quantities of self-control.

Is Temperance Moderation?

So where does temperance fit into the picture? Read it all