Chester ARP Devotional Podcast

Esther is a story for the exiles living away from their homeland. It's a story of survival. It's as applicable to us as it was its original readers. 

Nehemiah concluded his book with a list of reforms that he brought to Jerusalem while serving as the leader during the rebuilding of the wall. All reforms were meant to restore the worship of our true God among the people. Our call is similar in our day. 

Nehemiah brought religious and societal reform to the Jews when he led the work of rebuilding the wall. These changes were to purify Jerusalem. 

We praise the Lord for his good work in and through us. He deserves all the credit. 

The Judeans took practical steps to help them follow the Lord more faithfully. We can learn from them. 

God deals with his people faithfully, so we walk with him in faith. Recommitting our lives to him is the call on our hearts when he brings us back from wandering from him. 

God pursues his people in his grace. The story of the Judges reveals his great love for us. 

The Judeans found comfort in God's grace and faithfulness as they confessed their sins to him. We can know the same comfort when we confess our sins before the Lord. 

The Jews gathered to confess their sin to the Lord corporately. They had sinned as a people and needed to confess it as a people. We are to do the same. 

Nehemiah told the Israelites not to mourn, but to celebrate God's glory and grace. He had been kind to them, and they weren't to get lost in the darkness of their own self-pity. Neither are we. 

Recommitting to the Lord is a necessary thing for faithful followers of the Lord. We are to learn from the Jews and respond to God's grace in faith and repentance. 

Nehemiah and the Jews completed the work God had given them to do. We must stay the course and complete the tasks God has given to us. 

Nehemiah remained strong in his conviction that he was going to complete the work God had given him to do. We should do the same. 

Christians don't have to dignify every opposing person or view with a response. Just keep your head down and pursue the Lord while working for his glory. Nehemiah is a wonderful example. 

Like any good leader, Nehemiah demonstrated to the nobles how they should be generous to the poor. We are to follow his lead. 

Nehemiah had to deal with a host of problems while leading the effort to rebuild Jerusalem's wall. One of them was social injustice, as the rich oppressed the poor by taking too many resources and charging exorbitant interest on loans. 

Nehemiah told the Judeans to build the wall while remaining vigilant, anticipating an attack from their enemies. We are to do the same as we serve the Lord. 

The Jews faced opposition from the locals when they began rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. They prayed to God and prepared to defend the city and its people from attack. We can learn from them. 

Nehemiah divided the work of rebuilding the wall into parts. The families had the responsibility to build parts of the wall. We are to use our gifts and participate in the ministry God has given us. 

Nehemiah wisely returned to Jerusalem quietly, evaluated the work needed, and prepared the plan before he told anyone about his work. 

Nehemiah told King Artaxerxes that he needed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city's wall. The king agreed because God was with Nehemiah. 

Nehemiah prayed when he received the bleak report about the situation with the Jews in Jerusalem. He confessed sin and expressed his confidence in our gracious and powerful Lord. 

Nehemiah received a report from Jerusalem regarding the situation the Jews faced after they rebuilt the Temple. It was bleak. 

The Judeans decided that obedience to God was more important than anything else. Therefore, they took the necessary steps to return to the Lord for his glory and grace. He forgave them of their sins and restored them to the land of promise. 

The Judeans understood they had messed up when they intermarried with the Canaanite women, with all their idolatry and abominations against the Lord. They confessed and repented of their sins. 

God had been good to the returning exiles by giving them the opportunities and resources to build a new Temple and reinhabit their homeland. They had sinned against him with intermarriage. Something had to give. 

Ezra found that the returned exiles had intermarried with the Canaanites and embraced their abominable practices of religion. 

Ezra leads a band of exiles returning to Jerusalem and calls for the Levites to guard the vessels as they rest in the provision and protection of God. 

The king sent Ezra to Jerusalem to teach the people how to live in a relationship with God. 

The Jews had a renewed vigor in their celebration of the Passover after the Temple was completed. God had been faithful, and they knew it.  

The Jews celebrated God's goodness when the Temple was rebuilt entirely. 

Our Lord always provides everything we need to accomplish his purposes in our lives. The Jews who rebuilt the Temple are yet another example of his gracious provision. 

The Jews continued working on the Temple while they waited for King Darius's response to the governor's letter. They wisely appealed to the truth and faithfully trusted the Lord. 

The local governor challenged the Jews when they were rebuilding the Lord's Temple in Jerusalem, but God's eyes were upon them. He enabled them to continue the work. 

King Artaxerxes sent word to Jerusalem to tell the Jews to stop building the Temple immediately. THey had to listen. 

The locals sent a letter to King Artaxerxes informing him of the Jews' work to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem because they were afraid of losing their homes. 

Nonbelieving people oppose the God of the Bible and the people who seek to do his will. 

Our God remains faithful. He was as faithful when the exiles laid the foundation of the second Temple as he was when Solomon laid the foundation of the original one. We must learn to trust and rely upon him. 

The Judeans devoted themselves to God in worship when they were afraid of the inhabitants of the land. We are to do the same. The answer to our fear is to devote ourselves to God in public worship and self-sacrifice. 

The returning exiles gave of their resources to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. We are to do the same. We give to serve the Lord. 

God didn't call every Judean to return to Jerusalem when Cyrus decreed for them to rebuild the Temple. But those whom he did call accepted it. They returned with everything they needed to rebuild the Temple and reestablish the worship of God. 

God brought about a change in foreign policy through the end of the Babylonian empire and the beginning of Cyrus's reign, enabling the Judeans to return home and rebuild their Temple. He still does the same. 

Paul concluded 2 Thessalonians with 3 final commands: pray for us, avoid idleness, and never grow weary of doing good. We are to follow his commands as we live for Christ's glory. 

Paul challenges us to stand firm in the faith and traditions we have received by faith in Christ. The old paths will lead us home. 

We are not to be dismayed when thinking about the return of Christ. Rather, we are to walk with him, trust him, and wait on him. He will make him unmistakably known when he returns. 

God will judge unrighteousness in due time. At present, we are walking with him in faith and trusting him to accomplish all things for his glory and grace. 

As we grow in our faith, we become more loving church members. Our faith works itself out in our love for one another. 

Paul concludes his first letter to the Church of Thessalonica with practical wisdom and instruction. We'd do well to follow it. 

We must remain ready for Christ's return because we do not know when he will return. He could come at any moment. We must not be caught off guard. 

We don't grieve as those who have no hope. Rather, we grieve in the Lord, knowing we will see our loved ones again and we will always be united with our Lord. 

Paul instructs us to remain sexually pure and to mind our own business as we strive to live for the glory and majesty of God. It's our Christian duty to follow these instructions.