Tuesday: Lessons From the Past
Read Nehemiah 9:9-22. How does this part of the prayer differ from the first part?
The prayer transitions from praising God for His faithfulness to recounting the contrasting unfaithfulness of the Israelites in their Egypt and wilderness experiences. It outlines all the different things God gave the Israelites; but unfortunately, the response of the “fathers” to those gifts was pride, stubbornness, and disregard of God’s gracious acts among them.
The acknowledgement of human failure and lack of true devotion to God is an important step in confession and repentance. And even though these texts are talking about people long removed from us, no one can deny that every single one of us has a problem with those same issues.
Of course, here is where the gospel comes in for us as well as for them. Confession of our sins does not save us; only Christ’s sacrifice in our behalf does. Confession, along with repentance, is central to our own acknowledgement that we must be justified by Christ alone. “When through repentance and faith we accept Christ as our Saviour, the Lord pardons our sins, and remits the penalty prescribed for the transgression of the law. The sinner then stands before God as a just person; he is taken into favor with Heaven, and through the Spirit has fellowship with the Father and the Son” – Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 3, p. 191.
At the same time, because His goodness causes us to confess our sins and repent of them, we must be determined by God’s power to forsake them as well.
The bottom line is that Israel had been stubborn, and God had been loving. Looking back at what God did for the Israelite nation reminded the people that because God had done so much for them in the past, He would continue to take care of them at the present moment and in the future. That was why it was so important for the people always to remember how God had acted in their history. When they forgot, that was when they got into trouble.
| Think back to times when you were certain that God had been working in your life. How can you draw comfort from that for yourself the next time you face struggles? How can you better learn to trust in the goodness of God amid times when you feel completely discouraged, let down, and fearful for the future? |
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The Children if Israel and later the Kingdom of Judah went had a “boom and bust” spiritual cycle right through their history. Sometimes they were very spiritual and at other times that were quite the opposite. The prayer of Nehemiah 9 reflects this. They came out of Egypt miraculously and took the promised land of Canaan against the odds. During that same period of time right after the delivery of the ten commandments, they went about breaking them. And when things got tough, they started complaining. Why were they so spiritually fickle?
Fast-forward to today, if we were to look over the 160 years of Seventh-day Adventist history, have we behaved any differently? Are we spiritually fickle?
Here is something that bothers me. I have seen far too many Seventh-day Adventists who some people would classify as “On fire for the Lord” become disappointed and disillusioned and leave the church and in many cases leave Christianity altogether. It is as if they have burned out spiritually.
I was involved in a spiritual revival when I was living in another city in my early life. The young people became enthusiastic about street preaching in the city centre, and for a while they were out every Saturday night preaching and talking to anyone who cared to listen. Then just as suddenly as it started, it stopped and looking back now some 45 years later many of those young people lost their way spiritually. Why do so many spiritually rich experiences ultimately fizzle?
If we were doing Nehemiah’s prayer today, how similar would our prayer be to his?
Remember the parable of the sower and the seeds. The race is not for the swift but for those who endure to the end.
Nehemiah, Paul, Stephen in the bible - when they began testifying for God, they began with the past history of God's leading of the nation.
How many stories have you shared with your kids about the leading of God?
“Our confession of His faithfulness is Heaven’s chosen agency for revealing Christ to the world. We are to acknowledge His grace as made known through the holy men of old; but that which will be most effectual is the testimony of our own experience. We are witnesses for God as we reveal in ourselves the working of a power that is divine. Every individual has a life distinct from all others, and an experience differing essentially from theirs. God desires that our praise shall ascend to Him, marked by our own individuality. These precious acknowledgments to the praise of the glory of His grace, when supported by a Christ-like life, have an irresistible power that works for the salvation of souls” (Desire of Ages 347).
“As witnesses for Christ, we are to tell what we know, what we ourselves have seen and heard and felt. If we have been following Jesus step by step, we shall have something right to the point to tell concerning the way in which He has led us. We can tell how we have tested His promise, and found the promise true. We can bear witness to what we have known of the grace of Christ. This is the witness for which our Lord calls, and for want of which the world is perishing” (Desire of Ages 340).
Some of us by protecting our children have neglected the teaching of faith anchored in Christ.
It is imperative that we teach our children to stay course corrected in the midst of storm.
Let us do our part in testifying to the love of God in our life.
Although God gave all to Israel, what make them to be pride, stubbornness, disregard and unfaithful to God?
Yes. Remembering what God has already done for us is essential. With this reality in mind we might get the strenght we need in order to face our daily challenges with more confidence! Humbly we must recognize that success and defeat are in the hands of God, and whatever is best for us He will provide. Trust and work. May we all get aligned to God's daily plans for today!
Remember the parable of the sower and the seeds. The race is not for the swift but for those who endure to the end.
The story of the children of Israel is evidence that our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked. Generations after generations had evidenced of the faithfulness of God and the consequences of serving and not serving God faithfully. Yet, for the most part, this did not make them choose to serve God.
I had mixed feelings as the story of people was being recounted. I was impressed with the love and patience of God and angry with the unfaithfulness of the people. I wonder how much different are we today.
Being guided by the Holy Spirit.
God is great, his works are excellent and magnificent(for lack of words to praise my God). By now everyone who have been on this site can testify about me. I am not ashamed to say who I was was/am. I like the reading from Mrs White's writing quoted above. She also stated when people asked us about our faith in Christ, they do not want to hear what he had done for the men and women of old, but what has God done lately for his people, that' when our own testimonies comes into play.
Sometimes I will take my children back to my childhood days and show them the marks of my skin and explained to them how I got them.
As mentioned before, I grew up poverty stricken, things were hard and tough, I/we moved several times as a child. But did not understood it then.
It is said education takes people out of poverty. One thing was good for me among the few material things was "free" education and I held on to that. The great Lord was guiding me all the way until now. Looking back I can write a book about how the Lord guided, protected, had compassion on me even when I went astray, provided, etc etc for me.
I still have trials in my life today. Many times at my job people tried "throwing me to the lions", but the same God who stopped the mouths of the lions in Daniel' time, keep stopping the mouths of the lions today,and after, lets say, four hours myself and the lions become talking buddies and friends. God is good. I now try to help others who are less fortunate in life. People are stuck in the mud spiritually, mentally, psychologically and need a helping hand, and a listening ear.
Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Some people says people boost about things, but looking back in the bible we read stories and stories about people like you and me who were written for a reason. The goodness of God and the evilness of men.
Christ blood- to forgive sinners
Words of their testimonies- our everyday life, the struggles and joys, the mountains and valleys experienced but we cont to travel this spiritual road.
Some people are evil and Christians cant join with them. Ps 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the council of the ungodly. We have a mission on this earth to fulfill. Ezra-Nehemiah and the others were letting the people knew who the Lord protected them from but their waywardness was always letting them go a straw.