Stand Up and Bless the Lord!

SCRIPTURE

Nehemiah 9:1-15 (NRSV)
God's care of the people

Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads. Then those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors. They stood up in their place and read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a fourth part of the day, and for another fourth they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God. Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the stairs of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice to the Lord their God. Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, "Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise."

And Ezra said: "You are the Lord, you alone; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. To all of them you give life, and the host of heaven worships you. You are the Lord, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham; and you found his heart faithful before you, and made with him a covenant to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite; and you have fulfilled your promise, for you are righteous.

"And you saw the distress of our ancestors in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea. You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for you knew that they acted insolently against our ancestors. You made a name for yourself, which remains to this day. And you divided the sea before them, so that they passed through the sea on dry land, but you threw their pursuers into the depths, like a stone into mighty waters. Moreover, you led them by day with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire, to give them light on the way in which they should go. You came down also upon Mount Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven, and gave them right ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments, and you made known your holy sabbath to them and gave them commandments and statutes and a law through your servant Moses. For their hunger you gave them bread from heaven, and for their thirst you brought water for them out of the rock, and you told them to go in to possess the land that you swore to give them.


DEVOTION

I love the Levitical call to worship in today’s scripture reading which says, “Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.”

Hallelujah! Isn’t it wonderful when God’s people take the time to read the Holy Word of God, become convicted of sin, and then fall into the love, grace, and mercy of our forgiving God?

This, my friends, is why the Word of God is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path! (Psalm 119:105)

As we read The Word, we often see the error of our ways. We remember the wonderful things that God has done for us and we notice the ways in which we have taken God for granted.

Isn’t it grand that God loves us so much that God gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life? Isn’t it miraculous that Jesus did not stay dead, but was resurrected just as He promised?

This good news is so wonderful we cannot possibly keep it to ourselves! Just as the Israelites gathered to share the good news of their miraculous rescue, so too must Christians gather to share our salvation stories with others as well.

I don’t know about you, but when I think of the goodness of Jesus, and all that He has done for me, my soul cries out “Hallelujah! Thank God for saving me!”

Indeed, thank God for the manifold ways that God saves us every single day! Someone was sick and couldn’t get well, BUT GOD healed them! Someone was broke and couldn’t pay the bills, BUT GOD provided for them! Someone was in danger and feared for his/her life, BUT GOD rescued them! All of us were sinking deep in sin, BUT GOD redeemed us!

I know that I could go on and on about the good things God has done for others; but I know you have your own stories to tell! So, come on somebody, let’s celebrate Jesus!

I have found that as we begin to recall and retell our testimonies, we are compelled to confess our sin to God who is faithful and just to forgive our sin and cleanse us from all righteousness; and as we receive God’s forgiveness and grace we are propelled to share the good news with everyone that we meet!

Today, I say to us, “Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.”


Will you share your good news testimony today? If so, please pray with me:

Holy God, I confess to you that I have sinned and fallen short of Your great glory! Please have mercy upon me. I thank you for the free gift of salvation that sent Jesus to the cross to save me from my sin and gift me with eternal life! Thank you for your extravagant love and amazing grace toward me! I am so in love with you; please help me to share our love with others. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.





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