Title: The Easy Fall/ Topic: Spiritual Disciplines

Today’s Reading: Nehemiah 13; Malachi 1; Malachi 2; Acts 4

Scripture: Nehemiah 13:4-5, 7-9, 11, 23-27
4 Before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was closely associated with Tobiah, 5 and he had provided him with a large room formerly used to store the grain offerings and incense and temple articles, and also the tithes of grain, new wine and oil prescribed for the Levites, singers and gatekeepers, as well as the contributions for the priests. ...
Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. 8 I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah's household goods out of the room. 9 I gave orders to purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense. ...11 So I rebuked the officials and asked them, "Why is the house of God neglected?" Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts....
23 Moreover, in those days I saw men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. 24 Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or the language of one of the other peoples, and did not know how to speak the language of Judah. 25 I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath in God's name and said: "You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for yourselves. 26 Was it not because of marriages like these that Solomon king of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was led into sin by foreign women. 27 Must we hear now that you too are doing all this terrible wickedness and are being unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women?"

Observation: After repenting and following up with drastic actions and promises to never neglect the house of God or marry foreign women, it doesn't take long for the Israelites to go back on their promises and engage in all their former sins and disobedience. Nehemiah had left for awhile and returns to find the gatekeepers giving rooms in the temple to the enemies of God's people, everyone breaking Sabbath rules and lots of intermarrying with unbelievers. Notice the severe punishment he metes out to some of the men involved in this. Today people get offended if a pastor has the audacity to insinuate himself into their lives to point of suggesting they might have sin in their lives!

Application: Promises to God are a good thing, but in order to keep them we have to have accountability with others and we also need strong leadership. We simply cannot keep strong in the Lord on our own. There are no successful "Lone Rangers" in the Body of Christ. Therefore, I must stay in accountable relationships and submit to the spiritual leadership God places in my life.

Prayer: Father, help me and my brothers and sisters to keep actively pursuing you by engaging in all the spiritual disciplines we need in order to grow strong in you. Help us all to embrace meaningful accountability in our lives as well.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.