Nehemiah 9:1 Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them.

2 And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.

3 And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the LORD their God.

Introductory Thoughts

Any person who truly loves the Lord has a strong desire to worship Him. Yet, we frequently fail to realize the various opportunities of worship. The Bible closely connects worship to the word worth, much like the word praise is closely connected to the word appraisal. When we worship the Lord, we declare what we think about His worth to us. Perhaps, you never considered that true confession of sins to a holy God declares God’s worth to you. We see this in our passage when confession and worship are mentioned together (Nehemiah 9:3). When we confess our sins to the Lord, we are telling God that we desire His fellowship more than we desire the pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:25).

Devotional thoughts

  •  (For children):By confessing your sins to God, you are telling Him that you believe He is holy;  He is the true and living God, and the only One who can forgive sin. You are also admitting that only He knows all that you’ve done (Jeremiah 16:17). Confession is truly a very important part of worshipping God.
  •  (For everyone):Do you sufficiently love God enough to obey Him in the matter of confession of sins? Would you rather hold on to your sin rather than to enjoy unhindered fellowship that God so freely offers?
  •  What are the sins in your life that currently remain unconfessed? Are you willing to take that to the Lord right now and declare His worth by confessing those sins?

Prayer Thoughts

  •  Worship the Lord by confessing your sins.
  •  Ask the Lord to give you a deeper love for Him.

 

SONG: TBD

 

Quotes from the next volume

(VOLUME 3, WEEK 7)

Subject: Bereavement

Death takes place when the soul (Genesis 35:18) and the spirit (Genesis 25:8) leave the body.

When a loved one passes away, mourning serves as an important part of the healing process. Believers should never sorrow in the same fashion as the world (1 Thessalonians 4:13), yet mourning is acceptable and proper when grieving the death of someone.

Believers understand that the separation of death is only temporary. For this reason, believers should find great hope when losing a loved one who knew the Lord. This loss serves as another reason to look forward to the joys awaiting us in heaven.