Student Devotion Week 48: Nehemiah: Rebuilding the Wall of Jerusalem

Key Verse: 2 Timothy 3:12, "In fact, everyone wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."

Have you seen the television show during which a whole house is completely torn down and rebuilt from scratch? Viewers love to see the transformation that takes place during a rebuilding process.

Nehemish was the original extreme makeover man, but instead of rebuilding a house, he tackled an entire city wall. A Jew living in exile in Persia, Nehemiah served as the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes I. He not only checked the wine for poisons, but he also served as confidant to the king. When Nehemiah heard the walls of Jerusalem had been torn down, he wept, morned, and fasted. Then he spent the next four months praying about the situation. During that time God formulated a plan in Nehemiah's mind for rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem. God also began molding Nehemiah into a spiritual leader.

Prayer played an important part in Nehemiah's life during the rebuilding of the walls. When he was given permission to return to Jerusalem, enemies of the Israelites mocked Nehemiah's plan. But his response was to pray. When those enemies threatened to attack the workers during the rebuilding process, Nehemiah prayed again about the situation. Then when rumors created discouragement among the workers, Nehemiah once more took the matter to God in prayer.

Nehemiah's passionate vision for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem led him to discover a new level of trust in God. His spiritual leadership was stretched thin as he dealt with problem after problem, but each difficulty seemed to give him new strength. The real secret to Nehemiah's success was the thing his journey started with and centered on: Prayer.

Student Devotion Week 47: Esther: For Such A Time As This

Key Verse: Esther 4:14, "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"

Pageants are a big deal. The winners receive scholarships, cars, or even modeling contracts. Have you ever heard of a pageant to choose a queen? While in exile with the Jewish people in Persia, Esther took part in such a pageant.

King Xerxes of Persia had given a banquet that lasted six months. At its conclusion, he called for his queen to come to the party wearing her crown. When she refused his command, the king became furious and banished her from his presence. the king's attendants suggested that a search be carried out for the most beautiful women in the kingdom. These women would be presented to the king and the one who pleased him most would become the new queen of Persia.

Esther hid her Jewish background and was chosen as the new queen. Haman, the king's Prime Minister, hated Esther's uncle, a Jewish man named Mordecai. Haman conceived a plan to wipe out all the Jews. When Queen Esther was informed of Haman's plan, she determined to stop him. She risked her life by entering the presence of the king and telling him about Haman's plan. Mordecai and the rest of God's people were saved, while Haman was hanged.

Esther's part in the rescue of the Hebrew people could be seen as one great circumstance after another, but God was in control of every event in her life. Your life isn't about being in the right place at the right time. Your life-like Esther's-is a testimony to the sovereignty of God.

Student Devotion Week 46: Daniel: Humble, Bold Pray-er

Key Verse: Daniel 9:19, "O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake. O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your name."

Daniel faced a den of hungry lions because of his commitment to God. The king recognized Daniel's powerful prayer life when he said, "May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!" God did rescue Daniel, and as his story continued to unfold, Daniel continued to pray and fast.

Daniel was grieved to learn of Jeremiah's prophecy that 70 years of desolation for Jerusalem would come to pass in Daniel's lifetime. Daniel started praying and fasting to God's people. First, he acknowledged God as a keeper of promises and confessed his sin and the sins of the Israelites. Next, Daniel recognized that the people of Israel were getting exactly what they deserved because of their disobedience and lack of trust in God. Then Daniel asked God to show mercy and turn his anger away from the sinful Israelites.

While Daniel continued to pray, a most amazing thing happened: The angel Gabriel appeared before him. The angel told Daniel his prayer had caused God to issue a message concerning one of Daniel's visions. God was also pleased with Daniel's devotion to prayer. And Gabriel even told Daniel that God loved him very much. Literally, Daniel was an object of God's delight.

Daniel was a humble man, and that meek spirit came across in his times alone with God. He was quick to repent, and he had a strong desire to seek God in all situations. Daniel was known for his character and integrity, and those qualities were strenghtened through his prayer life. Daniel's pryaers stirred the heart of his heavenly Father, who expressed both love and delight for his humble servant.

Student Devotion Week 45: Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego: Standing in the Furnace

Key Verse: Daniel 3:17-18, "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were Daniel's friends. In fact, all four of them were exiles from Judah living in Babylon. During King Nebuchadnezzar's three-year training period. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were with Daniel. While Daniel got in trouble for his prayers, it was their failure to bow down to a gold statue that heated things up for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

King Nebuchadnezzar had a huge gold statue built. At the dedication ceremony, he declared that when people heard the music, they were to bow down to the golden idol-except Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. When Nebuchadnezzar heard of their refusal to bow down, he was furious and gave them one last chance to submit or face a painful death in a fiery furnace.

The confrontation between the king and these three young men was nothing short of classic. Nebuchadnezzar asked them what god could protect them in a blazing furnace, to which not just one but all three of them basically said, "The God we serve is able to save. But even if he doesn't, your majesty can be sure we'll never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you've set up."

They were willing to put their lives on the line for God. Why? Because obeying God and being faithful to him were more important to them than life itself. God did rescue Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from certain death in the burning furnace. And the bold stance by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego caused the king to issue a new declaration: "There is no other god who can rescue like this!" (Daniel 3:29, NLT).

Student Devotion Week 44: Daniel: Firm Convictions

Key Verse: Daniel 6:10, "Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before."

Daniel's life was good. He was blessed with good looks. His family was well off. He was well educated. Then the Babylonians took over his country, and he was forced to live in exile. Daniel learned to make the best he could out of a bad situation.

Daniel was selected to go through special training in Babylon. He studied the language and culture of the pagan Babylonians, but Daniel never turned his back on God. Daniel kept his faith in God and his integrity, yet he still gained favor with the Babylonian rulers. That's when the trouble started.

King Darius was fond of Daniel, and he made Daniel his second in command. Some jealous peers decided to use Daniel's devotion to prayer to bring him down. The princes and administrators appealed to King Darius' vanity by having him sign a decree stating people couldn't pray to anyone except the king for 30 days. But Daniel kept on praying to God three times every day, just as he'd always done.

King Darius was trapped and forced to sentence Daniel to spend a night in a den of hungry lions. The next morning, the king raced to the lions' den and asked if God was able to deliver him. Daniel called out that he was fine because God had shut the mouths of lions. Darius issued a new decree that everyone in the kingdom should worship Daniel's God.

Student Devotion Week 43: Ezekiel: Sent To Warn

Key Verse: Ezekiel 33:9, "But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself."

Don't people frustrate you when their words don't match their actions? One celebrity campaigned against sport utiltity vehicles because they use too much gas, yet he flew in a private jet and rode in limousines. Are you ever guilty of speaking God's message but not living it? God instructed Ezekiel to live what he preached.

God chose Ezekiel to be a prophet five years after the babylonians took Judah into captivity. He was called a watchman by God and was given the task of speaking about God's judgment and the future hope for the restoration of God's people. God described Ezekiel's audience as hard-hearted and stubborn. God also warned Ezekiel of the danger of becoming like his audience. By simply "practicing what he preached," Ezekiel could avoid that danger.

Ezekiel used unique ways to present God's message. Once God told Ezekiel to lie on his left side for 390 days to represent 390 years of Israel's sin. Then God told him to lie on his right side for 40 days to represent 40 years of Judah's sin. Ezekiel spent more than a year lying on his side.

God called Ezekiel to minister during some of the darkest days of Israel's history. His message was that God's glory had departed from his people but would one day return. Ezekiel offered the hope of restoration and future blessings from God. While Ezekiel spoke to hostile crowds, God called him to live what he preached. If he did, God promised to protect Ezekiel.

Student Devotion Week 42: Prophet Habakkuk: Live By Faith

Key Verse: Habakkuk 2:4, "See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright - but the righteous will live by his faith."

Do you remember Job? He was a man who suffered and wanted God to answer his questions. Habakkuk is another Old Testament character who tried to question God. Job asked why God was punishing him; Habakkuk wanted to know why God hadn't punished the nation of Judah.

Habakkuk was a prophet during the closing days of Judah's history, probably during the reign of King Jehoiakim. The prophet watched as people violated God's laws without shame. The Israelites were living as if the God who miraculously delivered their ancestors had never existed.

The first part of the book of Habakkuk records two dialogues between the prophet and God. The conversations went something like this -

Habakkuk: God, how can you let the sins of Judah go unpunished?

God: I'm preparing the Babylonians as a way to Judge and punish Judah.

Habakkuk: God, why would you punish sinful Judah by using the pagan Babylonians?

God: I will punish both Judah and the Babylonians because sin cannot go unpunished.

The book of Habakkuk concludes with a beautiful prayer of praise sung by the prophet. Habakkuk acknowledged God as his source of strength in times of trouble. Habakkuk's questions caused him to experience God's wonder in a powerful way.