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October 10 - Nehemiah 1 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's Thursday, it's the 10th of
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  October and thank you for inviting me into your day.
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  I wonder what you've been up to? Has it been a busy one for you?
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  Have you been achieving great things or have you been
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  frustrated by something you just can't seem to get past, whereas
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  your day just beginning and there's a whole lot of potential
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  ahead wherever you are? However, this finds you so glad
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  that you have chosen to pause for a moment, open up God's Word
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  together with me, and hear what it is that He has to say to us
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  as we today open a new book, which is just a continuation of
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  the story that we have been reading.
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  We finished reading Ezra, Ezra written in the first person
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  voice of Ezra the priest as he returned to Jerusalem.
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  And now we continue in Nehemiah as we hear in the first person
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  voice of Nehemiah, who was a governor appointed in that time
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  back in their homeland of Jerusalem as they are attempting
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  to rebuild the Old City. And you will hear some overlaps
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  in the story between the last book and this book, but this one
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  and the last one, they are not trying to capture a
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  chronological history of this period, but they are capturing
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  the significant and momentous events from a theological
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  perspective about how God and His people were travelling
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  together in this time of re establishment in this place
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  which would continue to be the home of God's people all the way
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  through to the New Testament. So join me as we continue this
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  same story, different voice reading together.
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  Nehemiah chapter 1. These are the memoirs of
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  Nehemiah son of Hakaliah. In late autumn, in the month of
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  Kislev, in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes reign, I was at the
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  fortress of Susa Han and I, one of my brothers, came to visit me
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  with some other men who had just arrived from Judah.
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  I asked them about the Jews who had returned there from
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  captivity and how things were going in Jerusalem.
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  They said to me, Things are not going well for those who return
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  to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and
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  disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been
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  torn down and the gates have been destroyed by fire.
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  When I heard this, I sat down and wept.
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  In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of
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  heaven. Then I said, O Lord God of
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  Heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of
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  unfailing love with those who love Him and obey His commands,
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  listen to my prayer. Look down and see me praying
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  night and day for your people. Israel, I confess that we have
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  sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I
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  have sinned. We have sinned terribly by not
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  obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us
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  through your servant Moses. Please remember what you told
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  your servant Moses. If you are unfaithful to me, I
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  will scatter you among the nations.
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  But if you return to Me and obey My commands and live by them,
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  then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will
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  bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be
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  honoured. The people you rescued by your
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  great power and strong hand are your servants.
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  O Lord, please hear my prayer. Listen to the prayers of those
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  of us who delight in honouring You.
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  Please grant me success today by making the King favourable to
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  me. Put it into his heart to be kind
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  to me. In those days I was the King's
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  cupbearer, Our Lord. In Nehemiah's prayer we hear
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  this impossible balancing act between justice and mercy.
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  And we see in your words to Moses so long ago that when your
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  people turn their back on you, there are consequences, and you
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  will scatter them through the nations.
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  But then if they just turn back to you, you gather them up and
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  return them back into your fold to glorify your name.
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  Our Lord, thank You that it doesn't matter how many times we
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  face the wrong way and we end up scattered amongst the ways of
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  this world. That all we need do is turn back
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  to you with a repentant heart. And you wrap your arms around
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  us, and you draw us back to You. Thank you for your kind and
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  faithful forgiveness. Thank you for your unwavering
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  favour for us. We don't deserve it, but yet you
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  give it to us anyway. Thank you Jesus, for coming and
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  for saving us. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for
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  living in our hearts and bringing you, the God of the
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  universe, so near that we can feel your presence, a triune
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  God. You are amazing and we lift you
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  up and we worship you and we praise you and it's in your holy
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  name, 3 in one that we pray. Amen.