Make a Memory
“And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing” - Nehemiah 8:12
We don’t have too many details about this party that was thrown in Nehemiah 8. We know that they were told to prepare food and drink in excess, so that they would have enough to give away to anyone who had need. Ezra and Nehemiah basically tell the people, “Spare no expense!” Make this a party to remember. It was as if they wanted the abundance of good food and good wine to be a representation of the abundance of God’s grace to them. And so, this was quite literally a party of Biblical proportions. It was such an amazing party that it made it into the pages of Scripture.
It makes me think that there is a time to splurge. There is a time to provide more than is needed. Of course, there is a time to give away more than you can afford, when the Lord leads. There is a time to sacrifice more than you can bear, when the Holy Spirit puts it on your heart. But what I want to suggest today is that there is also a time to try to be an example of God’s abundance in someone’s life.
Did you read Jonathan’s devotional from yesterday? If not, you should stop right now and read it.
Ok. Now that you’re back, did you love the story of abundance? I love the fact that Jonathan’s parents bought the most choice steak to be prepared by their grandson. I don’t know about you, but if I were to pay that much for a steak, I wouldn’t let anyone touch it. However, the beauty of that story is that it is a story of an abundant gift, way more than what is deserved. And because of that, I’d bet that Ben won’t easily forget that story! He may forget the taste of the steak, but he’ll never forget the abundant gift.
This reminds me of a story in the Bible that I have often been curious about. It is the one about the woman who poured very expensive perfume on Jesus’ head in Matthew 26. If you remember, the disciples got mad and said, “Why this waste?” They were saying, “why this excess? This is too much!” However, Jesus’ response is telling. He says She has done a beautiful thing to me…Truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her. I have often wondered why Jesus said that until I understood it alongside Nehemiah's party. Sometimes, it is just good to make a memory. So, next time you have the occasion, don’t just throw a party, make a memory! A memory of abundant love. And in so doing, you might just be a representation of God’s love to those around you.
Pastor Josh Rose
Teaching Pastor
A Lot at Steak
Yes, the title of the devotion is a mix between a terrible pun and savory foreshadowing…I make no apologies. Hello family, in Nehemiah 8:9, after reading the law to the people, Nehemiah and company told them to quit mourning, weeping, and go feast, for that day was holy to God. Specifically, they were to eat the fat and drink the sweet wine. This reminds me of a family get-together we had this past New Year where we “ate the fat” and “drank the sweet wine”.
My brother Ben enjoys the pursuit of excellence in the steaks he prepares and my nephew, James, caught that itch when he stayed at their place a while ago. James honed his craft away at college and was eager to show off his particular brand of excellence when he came home for Christmas. My folks decided to double down on his abilities and supplied a prime ribeye steak. For those who don’t know, ribeye is a specific part of the cow and prime is a quality designation, usually meaning it’s top quality and most expensive. Everyone contributed their own best dishes to this New Years' dinner and it... was... GOOD! We had a veritable feast, the kind you skip breakfast and lunch for. Afterward, we played this game my family has been particularly fascinated with called Chameleon, which provided us with hours of fun. It was a really awesome time, so much so that I’m actually writing a devotion about it.
Nehemiah told the people to break out the good wine and eat the best food. Don’t just eat a bunch of everyday food, go get the best and enjoy it to the max. Break out the secret sauce, get that prime cut, and go back for seconds! God has blessed us with extravagant grace, calling us his own children, but he has also given us things specifically for our delight. It’s good, on occasion, to enjoy the good stuff of life and revel in our Lord’s bounty.
Jonathan Duncan
Joy in the Mourning
We see in Nehemiah 8 a perfect example of sorrow or mourning leading to the celebration and resulting in joy.
Nehemiah the governor, along with Ezra the priest and scholar, and the Levites who were teaching the people, said to all the people, “This day is holy to God, your God. Don’t weep and carry on.” They said this because all the people were weeping as they heard and understood God’s Law. The people felt sadness because they were aware of their own sin. Then Nehemiah said it’s time to stop crying and move on. v. 10 He continued, “Go home and prepare a feast, holiday food and drink; and share it with those who don’t have anything: This day is holy to God. Don’t feel bad. The joy of God is your strength!”
He said it was time to celebrate. They could walk in joy because God was doing great work and he gave strength. Our emotions are not beyond our control; we can do God’s will even when we don’t feel like it. Because of their great obedience to God, they could rejoice. We can be deceived into thinking the path of gladness is in doing our own thing, but gladness and freedom come only through obedience. The truth in Scripture is worth celebrating.
As believers, we celebrate life at its conclusion, and at the same time, we mourn our loss. Where “funerals'' used to be very solemn events, today a celebration of life might include funny memories and pictures that make us smile. With God, mourning doesn’t have the final say—as Psalm 126:5-6 tells us: “Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy. He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him." And in Psalm 30 we are reminded “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”
Crying or feeling your emotions is not a sign of weakness. Jesus wept and Psalm 56:8 tells us that God collects our tears in His bottle…so not only does he know every tear that falls, but he keeps track of what makes you cry so that he can heal, comfort, and give you joy in a way unique only to you. James 1 also reminds us to Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds…
Jesus had to suffer; He had to endure the pain. He had to weep so that one day we wouldn’t have to. Revelation 21:4 encourages us in this hope: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Whatever trial or sorrow you are facing today; Jesus is right there with you and feels your pain. God is collecting your tears and he will restore your joy.
Deb Hill
Executive Assistant
Truth Be Told
It was June of 2020 that we started meeting outside for our worship services after two months of gathering online only. To say that meeting outside has been a challenge is an understatement. Each Sunday I look out on people who are cold, or trying to avoid the sun, and attempting to keep their kids from being too squirmy. It’s a far cry from the friendly confines of our Worship Center. And yet, there is something beautiful about being able to gather with the people of God amidst challenging circumstances and conditions. It reminds us that we are part of a long line of followers of Jesus who gathered in catacombs, and homes, and fields to hear the Scriptures and learn to practice the way of Jesus. Comfort hasn’t always been a characteristic of Christian worship.
One of the things that impresses me about the people of Jerusalem during Nehemiah’s time is their hunger for the Scriptures. Nehemiah 8 recounts that their ferocious desire to hear from God caused them to stand outside for 6 hours listening to the reading of the Scriptures. Listen to the way Nehemiah 8:3 describes their devotion,
And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.
I’m sure there were some who were staring into the sun. I’m confident that there were others who were cold. I’m quite certain that there were kids making a ruckus. However, they showed up, leaned in, and were attentive to the Word of the Lord. They postured themselves to hear and understand what God was saying to them.
The Jerusalemites were a people devoted to God and their devotion was displayed through their attentiveness to the Scriptures. They heard the Word and responded to it – both in celebration and repentance. I believe the same challenge is in front of us today. Whether we gather in person or online, the question we must wrestle with is: do we have that same kind of devotion to God and to Holy Scripture?
I want to challenge you to seek God through his Scriptures. I want to call on you to posture your heart before him just like the people of Jerusalem did. Remember, we are called not just to be hearers of the Word, but also doers of the Word. Spend some time today and think about how Jesus is inviting you to celebration and repentance through his Scriptures.
Pastor Ryan Paulson
Lead Pastor
Intentional Celebration
We feel entitled to our emotions. Someone cuts us off in traffic, we get angry. Our hard work is passed over by our bosses, we get vindictive.
We experience a break up in a relationship, we get sad.
The way we feel about situations, seasons, or circumstances is natural, understandable, even reasonable. And it seems equally unnatural, confusing, and unreasonable to us whenever we encounter someone who doesn’t seem to understand, empathize, or match our emotional energy.
How often have we snapped at a well-intentioned comment from a spouse, friend, or family member who only wanted to cheer us up or to remind us of the bigger picture? Despite their good-will towards us, our entitlement to our emotions chokes out the opportunity for encouragement and joy.
We often relate to God in the same way! Our response to Him is often something like: “How could His Word command me to praise Him" (Psalm 103:1) we ask ourselves - especially when “My soul is downcast?” (Psalm 43:5).
Even though He has given us every reason to be joyful and to be full of celebration! We want to feel what we want to feel purely because it’s ours to feel. Our default entitlement sends us down to our subjective preferences and away from the reality of joyful celebration.
We observe the Israelites falling into this temptation in Nehemiah 8. In verse 9 we’re told that the people’s immediate response was to weep at the reading of the law. And yet, Nehemiah and the priests exhort the people to respond in joy - as is the right response to this beautiful reunion between God’s people and God’s covenant. But we all require that same reminder. Whether it’s proper joy or proper mourning, God often calls us to the response and posture that isn’t natural or easy. We are like the Jews of Jesus’ day who complained because: “We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn,” (Matthew 11:17).
God’s call for us is to intentional celebration - away from our human default of our own feelings - and towards the objective reality of His goodness and love.
Pastor Ryan Lunde
Young Adult Ministry
The Ranch
Nehemiah’s generosity in chapter 5 reminds me of family stories that I heard growing up. Nehemiah sacrificially gave of his time and resources. He had a heart to care for people in need and restore them to health. Similarly, my great-grandparents, Robert and Wilhelmina Nielsen had a passion to care for the needy, especially orphans, during the Great Depression.
Robert grew up as an orphan where life was hard, lonely and disconcerting. Wilhelmina was so impacted by the tragedy of prostitution in Los Angeles, that she took a job as a receptionist at a brothel where she prayed for each girl who entered and eventually led many of them to the Lord. When the couple married in 1918 they were determined to work as missionaries overseas; providing homes for orphans. After graduating from the “Bible Institute of Los Angeles”, they started their family and soon discovered that children were not allowed on the mission field. So they sought the Lord’s guidance and instead turned their energy towards caring for orphans in their own community.
In 1931, the Nielsen family, along with 8 or 10 kids (according to the Nielsen Family History Book) arrived at “The Ranch” in North Escondido. There was one small house, one old barn, and one well, but no electricity, telephone or in-house water. The boys slept in one of the barn rooms while the other was used for the schoolhouse. Robert, Wilhelmina and the girls all slept in the small house. Life was challenging but the family trusted in God’s provision and all worked the farm together to care for their ever increasing needs. As the Great Depression continued to devastate the country, one family after the next came to the Nielsens and asked them to care for their children just so that they could survive. By 1940, The Ranch had housed 51 orphans. The Nielsens taught their foster kids about God’s love, and took them to church, which eventually became EFCC. One Sunday they discovered that they only had enough gas to drive to church, so they prayed for God to provide a way home. Following church, they went to their car, hoping for a miracle, and there on the steering wheel was a $1 bill; plenty to buy gas for the drive home.
Evenings often involved a hike to the “Bear and Cub” which are large boulders that can still be seen on the west side of Interstate 15 when heading south into Escondido. The large family would hike up the hill, climb the boulders, lie on their backs looking up at the stars and sing out hymns of praise to God. Robert and Wilhelmina spent their lives giving generously. Life was simple and they didn’t have much, but they had all they needed and with that, praised the One who provided for their every need.
Lynette Fuson
Director of Counseling and Soul Care
Personal Response
Food insecurity, spiraling debt, unfair taxation, a poverty cycle that is leading to exploitation and slavery… cries to address social injustice are reaching Nehemiah. As if he didn’t have enough on his plate already! He is busy rebuilding the walls (and the people) of a ruined city, keeping everyone on task, united and safe, while outmaneuvering enemies who are working day and night to make him fail.
I don’t know about you, but when my plate is already full, I tend to become exceedingly good at ignoring everyone else’s needs. My eyes look but choose not to see. My ears listen but choose not to hear. The needs of others become unwanted interruptions, inconvenient and a potential drain on my finite time and resources. If someone asks for help, I might get “protective” or “deflective” and quickly rationalize away any responsibility to get involved. Usually in the name of “staying focused” or “maintaining healthy boundaries” or to excuse my own indifference I simply judge others in my heart. “Maybe they did something to deserve it? They should have planned better, tried harder… I didn’t create the problem, so why am I being asked to fix it?”
Friends, I’m so glad Jesus didn’t take this approach with us! Neither did Nehemiah in his time. His response in chapter 5 is a great pattern for us to reflect on and follow:
- Nehemiah HEARD THE CRY for help (vs. 1-6). Am I ignoring an injustice or need around me?
- Nehemiah CHOSE TO CARE (vs. 6). In fact, he burned with righteous anger at the injustice. When was the last time I felt a righteous anger in response to injustice around me?
- Nehemiah PONDERED WHAT TO DO (vs. 7). Sometimes a compassionate heart alone is not enough to address systemic injustice. It takes reflection and strategy, as well as resolve to sustain the effort over time. What would justice look like? What is the right thing for me to do?
- Nehemiah CONFRONTED INJUSTICE (vs. 7-13). He spoke out against injustice, confronted the perpetrators and brought about a practical solution. It takes both courage and wisdom to stand up for what is right and actually make a difference. This is never simple, easy or without personal risk. Am I willing to do what is right?
- Nehemiah LED BY EXAMPLE (vs. 14-18). Embracing limitations of the situation, he deliberately chose to accept a personal loss, so that others may gain. So simple, yet so difficult and so rare in our world. Am I willing to accept the cost of helping?
Ok. Let’s bring it home… I suggest we all do a small experiment today:
1. As you start the day, ask God to reveal to you an injustice or a need in someone else’s life that you might have been blind to.
2. When God reveals something to you, follow Nehemiah’s example. Ask God how he wants you to respond and do it!
I know, it’s a little “dangerous” to ask open-ended questions of an unpredictable God. He might ask us to do something that is on His agenda, but not ours. Perhaps, something that makes us uncomfortable. But friends, that is exactly what putting our faith into action looks like in our everyday lives. This is how we follow in the way of Jesus with the heart of Jesus. This is how we join God on His mission to restore His lost children and bring every square inch of this world under the just reign of His kingdom.
Fortunately for us, a very big God who literally hears every single cry for help in our city and the world is the one sending us, His people, to be the answer. There is no limit to what He might do through us. Like Nehemiah in vs. 19, we can expect God’s favor to be upon us, along with the joy reserved for those who partner with Him.
Give a Little Bit
You might remember a long time ago when Covid first began and everyone was “in this together”. I remember being in line at Starbucks (of course the drive through, since things had shut down) and this car had cut in line! My response was to complain to my wife. The guy had his music loud, kept forgetting to pull forward, and I sat there thinking of the precious time that was wasting away behind this guy who cut me off. We pulled up to the window and it turned out the guy had paid for our whole order! I was in disbelief, apparently he had done this before, it was a normal occurrence.
Some people live generously. Some people tend to give a little more time, money, effort, care than others, and that is what we see in Nehemiah. He cared deeply for God and he cared deeply for his people. When he started working on the wall and seeing the destruction, he had to give everything he had into the project. While he was there he noticed how the people were broken spiritually/relationally just as the wall was physically (Nehemiah 5:1-6). He had to give all he had to fix the people as well as the wall. Not only did he manage the project, he coordinated an effort to right the wrongs with the leaders (Neh. 5:7-13). He also invited over 150 people to his table to take care of them during this rebuilding period (Verse 17). He did not take a tax or payment for any of it, even though it was his right. Nehemiah lived differently, he lived generously.
There is much we can learn from this part of the story, Nehemiah shows us that personal generosity can help reshape a culture. Maybe it is our turn to reshape the culture around us by listening to the Spirit and living generously. Maybe you have time to listen to someone, or you might have gifts or abilities that could benefit someone in need. Maybe someone needs their groceries or coffee paid for. By you giving, it can change the way someone else sees the world Take some time to ask God where you might need to live generously with what He has given you, then do it.
Pastor Jeremy Johnson
Family Pastor
Kingdom Convergence
Just as the Christian movement was getting launched, a heretical spin-off arose threatening to overshadow the “good news” of the Gospel. Gnosticism taught that the body and anything physical was inherently sinful, whereas the spirit was inherently good. In this perspective, Jesus came down to the world to save us from the physical world and transfer us to a purely spiritual one.
While there was Scriptural precedent for this heresy, (such as Romans 8:3: “For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering,”) gnosticism missed the bigger, redemptive purpose God had in creating mankind and the world itself!
God didn’t provide His Son to rescue us from our bodies or the physical realm. Rather, he came down to provide the resurrection power of His Son in order to rescue us, our bodies, and the entire world from the power of death!
This “good news” is glimpsed in this chapter, by how Nehemiah addresses the situation facing Israel. He doesn’t offer a purely spiritual solution to the brokenness - at least not at first. Faced with the grim reality that Israelites are selling their daughters into slavery (Nehemiah 5:5) he attacks the social, economic, and political causes first by “accusing the nobles and officials” (Neh. 5:7) and bringing together “a large meeting to deal with them.” He demands that they “give back to the people immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the interest you are charging them,” (Neh. 5:11). It’s only after they agree with his demands that he calls the priests into the assembly, and introduces an overtly religious element into the solution (v. 12).
In light of all of this, Nehemiah governs his people “out of reverence for God” (v. 15) and “devotes himself to the work” (v. 16) that is needed by his followers in every dimension of human life.
Christ came to “make all things new” (Revelations 21:5). Christians have a tendency to focus on the spirit to the detriment of the body. But both are incorporated in Christ’s new Kingdom (1 Corinthians 15:42-44).
May we be the conduits of that Kingdom today in our community: addressing the spiritual evil all around us - and rooting it out of every economic, political, and social facet of human existence.
Pastor Ryan Lunde
Young Adult Ministry
Learning to Listen and Understand
When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials.
The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King was headed towards the climax of his greatest speech when he uttered a simple phrase that sealed his place in history. Most people can recall what the cameras caught: King declaring “I have a dream,” but it was a moment that almost didn’t happen. King, wrestling with how to end his speech that day, heard the gospel legend Mahalia Jackson shouting at him, “Tell them about the dream, Martin! Tell them about the dream!” This moment, a moment that would change history, all made possible by a simple act in one of the most important moments of Dr. King’s life. A simple act of listening.
As we remember Dr. King this month and as we read through Nehemiah 5, we see two men who are upset at the injustice and iniquity that they see around them and desire to effect change. In Nehemiah, people are coming to him who have sold their children into slavery and working fields that they don’t own. There are great injustices happening all around Nehemiah. What does he do? Scripture says that he “heard their outcry” and that he “pondered them.” Ultimately, he was angry. There’s a lesson for us in here that I would implore us not to miss. As we look at just the past year and we hear the outcry over the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and so many others in the black community over many decades, have we truly listened to the pain felt by those in those communities? When we hear “Black Lives Matter,” what is our first response? Is it to listen and ponder? Is it to sit with things I feel uneasy or uncomfortable with and seek understanding? Nehemiah heard the cries of the oppressed and he listened and pondered. There’s a challenge here for me to ponder. To sit with things that may make me deeply uncomfortable. To listen to voices and people’s experiences that I can hardly fathom. To sit with them, listen, and weep with those who weep, as we know the Lord Jesus did.
In his Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. King said this, “Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.” My friends, we live in a cultural moment where many people are content with shallow understanding. This results in us continuing to talk past each other and not to each other. We have a desire to be heard, but not to listen. Nehemiah could have heard the cries of the people and moved on, “That’s just the way it is!” Instead, he didn’t just hear, he listened. His anger drove him to healthy action towards justice. Let's be people that commit to listening, especially to our brothers and sisters of color, and working towards justice. May the Lord give us His heart to defend the weak and the fatherless and uphold the cause of the poor and oppressed.
Finally, Dr. King, ends by quoting Isaiah 40: “I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.” Together starts with listening.
Pastor Seth Redden
High School Ministry
