Give thanks to Him before the nations, O children of Israel, For He scattered us among them. Make known His greatness there; Exalt Him in the presence of all the living, For He is our Lord and God; He is our Father unto all the ages.
Personal Challenge
In the Old Testament, under the old covenant, God dispersed His people, the Jewish nation, throughout the other nations of the world. They were dispersed as a discipline for not following their part of the covenant. God’s expectation was that they would be beacons of light to these nations to draw people to Him. Today, we, as followers of Christ, are members of His heavenly kingdom under the new covenant. We are His ambassadors wherever we live in the world today. We are still tasked with being His beacons of light. This does not happen through striving to create a Christian nation or spewing hatred of those who are different than us or applauding the mistreatment of the foreigners amongst us. Our kingdom is not of this world. Our King is not of this world. Our neighbors and our enemies are those whom we are to love, pray for, and take care of. Lord, have mercy! Lord have mercy! Lord, have mercy!
Prayer is good with fasting, almsgiving, and righteousness. A few prayers with righteousness are better than many with wrongdoing. It is better to do almsgiving than to lay up gold. For almsgiving rescues one from death, and it will wash away every sin. Those who do almsgiving and are righteous will be full of life.
Personal Challenge
Raphael, the archangel continues his lesson on how to achieve full life and righteousness in this passage. If we desire for our prayers to carry more power, add to them fasting, almsgiving, and righteous living. This does not mean that by doing these things we earn God’s favor. We already have that in His grace and mercy. What comes from fasting, almsgiving, and righteous living is a discipline in our relationships with God and a cleansing in our lives. Because of this our prayers will be more aligned with God’s will. What happens here is that we are changed, not God. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lood, have mercy!
Then Raphael secretly called the two of them, and said to them, “Bless God and give Him thanks. Ascribe greatness to Him and give thanks in the presence of all the living for what He has done for you. It is good to bless God and to exalt His name. Make known the words of God’s works honorably and do not delay to give thanks to Him. It is noble to keep hidden the secret of a king, but glorious to unveil the works of God. Do good, and evil will not find you.”
Personal Challenge
The book of Tobit, an Old Testament apocryphal book, provides a very special story about how God works in the lives of those who not only put their trust in Him, but also live their lives according to His principles and precepts. In the end, Tobit and his son, Tobias, are reminded to bless God and give Him thanks in all aspects of their lives. The works of men, whether kings or presidents, mean nothing with respect to mankind and eternity, for it is the works of God alone that counts. Glory be to God!
From your bread, give to him who is hungry, and from your clothing, give to the naked. If you have more than you need, do almsgiving, and do not let your eye envy the almsgiving when you do it.
Personal Challenge
What a great verse to come up on this day where we celebrate giving. As followers of Christ, it is expected that we will give to those in need, and give generously and joyfully. Our society today has gotten caught up too much in receiving. And to make it much worse, our current elected leadership has chosen to take so much away from so many in desperate need, all in the name of Christian Nationalism. This is why we all must find ways to share of our wealth with those in need, again generousley and joyfully. We should also do what we can to turn around the direction that we are going as a country and a culture. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord have mercy!
My son, remember the Lord our God all your days, and do not desire to sin or to disobey His commandments. Do righteousness all the days of your life, and do not walk in the ways of wrongdoing. For if you walk in the truth, you will be successful in your works. Do almsgiving from your possessions to all who do righteousness. When you do almsgiving, do not let your eye be envious. Do not turn your face away from any poor man, so the face of God will not be turned away from you.
Personal Challenge
Tobit gives very wise advise to his son, and therefore to all of us who desire to follow in the footsteps of Christ. Remember the Lord all your days. Do not desire to sin. Do not disobey His commandments. Do almsgiving and do not do it reluctantly. Do not turn away from any poor person. Christianity is always other focused, if it is done right. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!
But I alone traveled frequently to Jerusalem for the feast days, as it is written for all of Israel in an everlasting ordinance. I would carry the firstfruits and the tithes of my harvest and the first-shearing.
Personal Challenge
Tobit is another one of those special books that you will not find in the Protestant Bible, even though it was in the Scriptures for 1,500 years before Protestantism sprung into existance. Tobit was another one of the exiles that had been removed from his home in Jerusalem and carried far off country. Even so, every chance that he got, he returned to Jerusalem to participate in the feasts that his Jewish faith had established. It was always an in convenience, but for him, it was part of his worship of his God. Christianity is the same for true followers of Christ. Our kingdom is not of this world. We are exiles here. In our commitment to our Lond, we have the opportunity to serve Him as part of our Christian worship. This is not about how many services we go to or how much we donate. It is about how much we are willing to do what Jesus asks us to do, with joy and thanksgiving. What does He ask of us? Here are some clear examples.
Matthew 5:43-48
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
and
Matthew 25:33-40
“And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”
This is our personal challenge if we are to proclaim to be followers of Christ. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!
And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.
Personal Challenge
In the passage before this, Nehemiah has led the Jewish exiles back to Jerusalem. They were able to rebuild the fortified walls around their sacred city in less than 2 months. It was truly a miracle and one that was recognized by their enemies and nations all around them. The personal challenge in this is to live our lives in such a way as we follow in the footsteps of Christ that those around us, whether friend or foe, recognize that God is doing the work and not us. He still does perform miracles. Glory be to God!
Therefore I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall in the sheltered areas, and I positioned the people by families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember our God, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”
Personal Challenge
As followers of Christ, we believe and proclaim that our God is all powerful. He will guard and protect us throughout our journey through life. However, our relationship with Him is synergistic. It is expected that we will work with Him on that journey. By working together we grow in the image of Christ. We cannot just expect God to do everything we want in our lives and we just go for the ride, basking in His mercy. That is why we proclaim the glory of this time of year as we call out Immanuel, God is with us! Glory be to God!
Verse of the Day 