Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of song and lyrics from the group Casting Crowns sining … Broken Together … poignantly singing how it is God’s will that we take our individual brokenness and come TOGETHER in Christ to rebuild the walls around our lives TOGETHER.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Nehemiah 3:2 [NKJV] … 2 Next to Eliashib the men of Jericho built. And NEXT TO THEM Zaccur the son of Imri built.
… Note how God’s people came together to rebuild the walls. [Note how many times “next to them” appears in Neh. 3:1-12]
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Highlight Passage [context]: Nehemiah 3:1-12 [NKJV] …USE THIS LINK …
… God’s people came together under Nehemiah’s leadership and rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem … side-by-side … working together.
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Reference Passage : … Ecclesiastes 4:9, 12 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Solomon, exhorts His people to WORK TOGETHER to serve Him as Lord.
Reference Passage : … Matthew 28:19-20 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus’ GREAT COMMISSION calls on all Christians to work together to rebuild His kingdom.
Reference Passage : … Romans 12:4-5 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Paul, charges Christians to come together - in one Body - to use our individual gifts along side other Christians with different gifts to rebuild God’s kingdom TOGETHER.
Reference Passage : … Hebrews 10:24 [NKJV] … 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, …
… Working together in Christ is so much more effective than being “Lone Ranger” Christians …
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Keila Ochoa, uses the biblical story of God’s people, led by Nehemiah, rebuilding the walls in Jerusalem to illustrate how God’s people must come together to rebuild Christlikeness into God’s kingdom today. The ODB author wrote: In ancient times, a city with broken walls revealed a defeated people, exposed to danger and shame. That is why the Jews rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. How? By working side by side, an expression that can well describe Nehemiah 3.
In Nehemiah 3, there is a detailed description, with family names documented, of God’s people coming together and not paying attention to differences involving gender, social, or financial status to simply work TOGETHER to fulfill God’s charge and task of rebuilding the walls in Jerusalem. And I think the word picture is quite obvious as to what we need to do NOW, in our times, to come TOGETHER as Christians to rebuild the walls of God’s kingdom in this divided/threatened world of ours.
We must come TOGETHER as the Body of Christ to carry our His great commission and work TOGETHER to rebuild the walls around our marriages, our families, our churches, and our communities (see reference Scriptures above). And we’ll never accomplish this as “Lone Ranger” Christians.
So, whom in Christ’s body can we work with today, to rebuild our part of the walls in God’s kingdom? Perhaps it’s best to just start in our marriages and our families to be “Broken Together” (hear the song) and work TOGETHER to rebuild the walls around our families.
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Lord, Jesus, … Abba Father … thank You for showing us that we must come TOGETHER as Your Body to serve You.
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My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Precious Spirit … Lord, show me what I can do - along side other Christians - to build Your walls today. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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