Free From Bondage
King James Bible Study Daily Devotional
Message
Title: Free
From Bondage
Date:
Monday June 06, 2011
Chapters:
Nehemiah 1-3
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Details
of Today's Chapters:
Nehemiah
learns of the distress in Jerusalem, his prayer for the people,
Nehemiah’s visit to Jerusalem by permission of king Artaxerxes, and
the wall of Jerusalem is built.
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My Friend/Guest,
“And
yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will
not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them
utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their
God. But
I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom
I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen,
that I might be their God: I am the LORD.”
- Leviticus 26:44,45.
Every person born has been in bondage to
something in their lives, whether it be a person, place or thing.
Those who call on the Lord Jesus Christ have been freed from the
bondage of sin. Does it mean that we will never sin again? No. Does
it mean we will never find ourselves in bondage again? That is up to
us. Jesus has set us free, what we do with that freedom is up to us,
should we remain living in bondage to what sin has brought is up to
us, but regardless God has never forgotten the covenant or commitment
that He makes to all who put their faith in His Son. “For
by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it
is the gift of God:”
- Ephesians 2:8.
The
Book of Nehemiah is the sixteenth book of the Old Testament/Bible and
contains thirteen chapters. The author of the book is Nehemiah and it
was originally written to the Jews. The time line for these events
are approximately 446 BC to 434 BC. The purpose of the book was to
continue showing the history of Israel and the rebuilding of
Jerusalem. What we are to learn from the book is that there is no
opportunity without opposition and without faith works is dead. “And
our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come
in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to
cease... And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was
known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we
returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.”
- Nehemiah 4:11,15.
When Nehemiah's relative Hanani arrived
in Persia from Jerusalem, he told Nehemiah of the pitiful conditions
that existed there. Nehemiah who knew the Scriptures and the power of
prayer and fasting, went before God, reminding Him what He promised.
“And
said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible
God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and
observe his commandments: Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine
eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I
pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy
servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we
have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned...
Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant
Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the
nations: But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do
them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of
the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them
unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.”
- Nehemiah 1:5,6,8,9.
God does not need reminders of what He
promises, what God does need is to know that we are faithful to
reading His Word, believe His Word, and are paying attention to what
we are reading. When we remind God what He did for those we read
about and believe that He can do it for us too that encourages God to
give us what we are asking Him for. We must ask, in faith, believing
if we want God to hear us and answer our prayers. “And
all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall
receive.“
-Matthew 21:22.
Nehemiah
led a group of people from Babylon to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls.
He left all the luxuries of home, and by faith headed for Jerusalem,
still desolate and in ruins. Soon after Nehemiah they began
rebuilding the walls, he faced opposition from Sanballat.
“But
when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite,
and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and
despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel
against the king? Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God
of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise
and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in
Jerusalem.”
- Nehemiah 2:19,20.
Nehemiah knew that God was on his side
and that as long as he was in His will he had nothing to fear. Of
course, the we do for God the more opposition we will face from the
devil, but God gives us the power to stand up and continue to do His
work without fear. “For
God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love,
and of a sound mind.”
- II Timothy 1:7.
Letting go of the things we are held
bondage to are dependent upon three things, faith, confession, and
commitment. We must have faith that we can do all things through
Christ, we must confess that we have sinned, and we must honor our
commitment to God. Now, breaking a commitment to God does not forfeit
our salvation, but it will cause some suffering. “Yet
if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him
glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must
begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall
the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the
righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner
appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God
commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a
faithful Creator.”
- I Peter 4:16-19.
We can live in the will of God in any of
the circumstances we face, we can all get out of bondage in any of
the circumstances we face too, the first step, Jesus. Jesus said,
“Come
unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly
in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is
easy, and my burden is light.“
- Matthew 11:28-30. Jesus is our peace, comfort, and He truly will
set us free, but unless we come to Him nothing will ever change.
Trust in Jesus and He will set you free.
God
Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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