February 11, 2023
Keep The Unity
Nehemiah - “The whole assembly responded, “Amen,” and they praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised. For the entire twelve years that I was governor of Judah-from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of the reign of King Artaxerxes-neither I nor my officials drew on our official food allowance. The former governors, in contrast, had laid heavy burdens on the people, demanding a daily ration of food and wine, besides forty pieces of silver. Even their assistants took advantage of the people. But because I feared God, I did not act that way. I also devoted myself to working on the wall and refused to acquire any land. And I required all my servants to spend time working on the wall. I asked for nothing, even though I regularly fed 150 Jewish officials at my table, besides all the visitors from other lands! The provisions I paid for each day included one ox, six choice sheep or goats, and a large number of poultry. And every ten days we needed a large supply of all kinds of wine. Yet I refused to claim the governor’s food allowance because the people already carried a heavy burden. Remember, O my God, all that I have done for these people, and bless me for it.” (Nehemiah 5:13-19)
DAILY DEVOTION
Nehemiah worked hard to keep the unity amongst the people. He treated the people with respect and refused to lay heavy burdens on them. He did not demand food and money from them. Instead, when he and his servants were not working on the wall beside the people, they fed the Jewish officials out of Nehemiah’s own pocket. Why did Nehemiah do this? Because he understood that it was important to keep the unity amongst the people.
Whenever God wants to build, Satan wants to battle. The devil wants to stir division, but it's absolutely essential that Christians be united, especially when we’re working on a great project together. There will be plenty of problems and difficulties coming at us from the outside. The last thing we need are people on the inside nit picking, causing problems, and causing dissention. So, when Satan tries to spread disunity, how should we respond? We should live out the words of Ephesians 4:3 where the Apostle Paul writes, “Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.”
Whenever you've got a group of people, internal differences are inevitable. When two people agree on everything, one of them isn't necessary. There are going to be differences. There is no such thing as a perfect church or organization. There are no perfect families. There are no perfect businesses or offices. Wherever you are, there is going to be conflict.
But God wants Christians to minimize conflict for His glory, especially within the church. The testimony of a church should not be the beautiful buildings, great sermons, and lovely music, but how the members love one another. Jesus said, "By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, that you love one another." (John 13:35)
FOLLOW UP ACTIVITY
Write out a prayer to the Lord, asking Him to help you love other Christians so much that everyone around you will know that you are a disciple of Jesus. If you’re leading your family through this devotion, dialogue with them about why unity is important. Then, ask them to share about how your family can be more united. Finally, pray as a family, asking God to help you show love to one another.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Lord, help me to always love my fellow Christians and help me to always strive for unity in all that I do. In the name of Jesus, Amen.