Nehemiah 13:19 “It came about that just as it grew dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and that they should not open them until after the sabbath. Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates so that no load would enter on the sabbath day.”

NOT JUST ANOTHER DAY

I am not going to argue about whether the Sabbath is Saturday or Sunday. At the time of Nehemiah the Sabbath was from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday. The vast majority of Christians recognize Sunday as the day of worship. Enough said about that.

The reason I chose this verse was more about how we treat our Holy Day. I am not a Legalist. I don’t have a problem with people who have to work on Sundays. Society has changed since I was a boy in Pelham, GA. I remember on Sundays every store in town was closed. There was a “Blue Law” which required businesses to close that day. Our downtown was a literal ghost town on Sundays, except for church traffic. This allowed everyone a chance to rest and recognize that this day was different.

TEACHING MOMENT

We do need to teach our children that every day is holy to the Lord. However, there is a day we choose to meet with fellow believers to worship. Your day may be Saturday or Sunday, but whatever day it is, make it special. Set aside some time that day to gather with other believers. The Word tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. We need fellowship with other believers.

Your children will learn the joy and peace that comes from worshipping together as they watch you doing the same. Explain to them why you are going to church this Sunday. There will come a time when they will have to choose on their own whether church is important to them. But while they are with you in your home they need to know how important it is to be there.

Let God lead you this week as you seek to serve Him. He gets pleasure in seeing His children worship Him.

Acts 24:24-25 “24 But some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla, his wife who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. 25 But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, ‘Go away for the present, and when I find time I will summon you.’”

DID I OFFEND YOU?

Felix thought he knew what Paul was all about. He liked listening to him until…   When Paul started discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come he got scared. Was he convicted? Did the Word offend him? Did he think Paul was trying to convert him?

We need to be bold in our witness to others. There is no time to diddle daddle about the Gospel. People are dying and going to hell. That’s right. Right before our eyes a lost world is busting hell wide open. What can we do about?

TEACHING MOMENT

Teach your children to share the Good News by doing it yourselves. Look for every opportunity to witness. Witness at the ballpark. Witness in the line at the grocery store. Witness when you are behind the wheel of your car. Witness! Witness! Witness!

Equip your children, once they are saved, with the basic truths of the Gospel which they can share with their friends. Children love sharing good news. They love seeing their friends come to Christ. Why not help them prepare to share the best news ever?

If we will invest in the lives of our children by equipping them to be bold witnesses, they will be prepared to face the unknown. They will be prepared to take on the gates of hell with a water pistol if necessary. Encourage them to invite friends over to the house and make sure you plan some time to get to know them. Plant seeds in their friends’ lives.

Be like Paul was before Felix. He didn’t care whether he lived or died. He only cared about sharing the news Christ had given him.

Nehemiah 10:39b “Thus we will not neglect the house of our God.”

HOUSE KEEPING

Nehemiah and the believers in Jerusalem made vows that they would take care of the rebuilt Temple. It had gone so long in ruins that many had forgotten their responsibility to provide for the Priests and for the basics such as wood for the sacrifices and oil for the lamps.

Our children today normally do not get the opportunity to help clean or provide for the church in tangible ways. I remember earlier in my ministry when many church members would show up on Friday or Saturday at church to clean windows, sweep, vacuum and other basic duties. We have lost some of that today. That’s too bad. There are ALWAYS things that need to be done.

TEACHING MOMENT

In fact, why don’t you, Moms and Dads, ask a Pastor or the Facilities Director at your church what you as a family can do to help. I guarantee they have needs you can meet. Now, I must warn you. It may be cleaning toilets and mopping a floor. It may be setting a room for Sunday or cleaning out a closet. But these are all tasks around God’s House that need tending to.

Teaching our children to give of their time and energy is just as, if not more than, important as teaching them to give of their resources. Both are expected and both are needed. Ask your children tonight if they could help at church what they would want to do. Then find a way to get them to the church to do it.

There is just something about watching kids serve. They do it without expectation or reward. They just like doing it. How about you?

Acts 23:1 “Paul, looking intently at the Council, said, ‘Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day.’”

AIN’T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR DAT

You have probably heard the statement “I have a clear conscience.” Here in this verse we see Paul saying that very thing. But what does that mean? How can someone really have a clear conscience? Isn’t there something in everyone that they feel bad about?

Think of all the evil Paul did before he came to Christ. He stood by while Stephen was stoned. He pursued believers to jail and even kill them. But when he met Christ on the road to Damascus all those sins were forgiven. He was completely cleansed, not just his heart but also his conscience. The Lord gave him a new mind with instructions not to dwell in the past.

TEACHING MOMENT

Our children sin. Let’s admit that. Most of us see them make bad choices daily. Usually their sins at an early age are “little” sins, like lying or hitting their brother. But sin is sin, and the devil wants them to feel bad about it. So bad in fact, that they can’t forgive themselves sometimes.

But if your child is a believer, every sin they have committed in the past and all those they will commit in the future are under the blood of Christ. What a conscience clearing statement! Moms and Dads, you have to teach your kids that. They need to know that no matter what they do, Christ loves them and has died to forgive them.

That doesn’t give them (or us) the license to do as we please though. You have to make that distinction with them. As a believer, the Holy Spirit will convict them when they have sinned to drive them to repentance, not to guilt. We are free as believers to do AS WE SHOULD.

The next time your child sins and you have to correct them, afterwards celebrate the fact that the guilt is gone once they repent. There is no burden to bear. Hallelujah!

Nehemiah 4:3 “Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him and he said, ‘Even what they are building-if a fox should jump on it, he would break their stone wall down!’”

NAME CALLERS

Get the picture! Nehemiah had returned to Jerusalem from exile and was leading the people to rebuild the walls around the city. They had worked hard for days and were seeing progress. However, the enemies of God did not want to see this accomplished.

Tobiah mocks them by saying even a fox could knock down the wall. If I had been Nehemiah I may have said, “I’ll show you what a fox can knock down!” But not Nehemiah. He was a humble servant, bent on doing what was right on behalf of his God. He was patient and deliberate. He simply prayed that God would take care of them.

TEACHING MOMENT

Our children are going to encounter people who will make fun of them. Kids can be cruel at times. They make fun of people’s hair, nose, glasses, weight – you name it. Teaching our children to not take these insults personally is a skill every parent must have.

So what do you say? Use the Word. God made each of us in His image. So any remark against them is an insult to God’s creativity. That is your child’s comeback, if you want to call it that. They need to be reminded, time and time again, that they are perfect in the eyes of God. He made them just like He wanted to. God does not make junk.

Now, I realize that sounds awful easy. But when the tears come after they have been ridiculed or insulted, you want to show that other person “what a fox can knock down.” Don’t! Instead, like Nehemiah, let God handle it for you. Pray for the other person. Better yet, lead your child to pray for them. Now that’s power!

Acts 21:13 “Then Paul answered, ‘What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.’”

NO LOOKING BACK

After Agabus prophesied that Paul would be bound in Jerusalem, the people he was with begged him not to go. They were weeping and distressed, but Paul simply says, “I am willing to die for Christ.” That’s what I call being totally sold out for Christ. No regrets! Total surrender!

Have you ever completely sold out to something? Years ago I worked at a Children’s Home in TN that had a Ropes Course. This course was used to build teamwork and self confidence in the children and staff. I was privileged enough to be one of the staff who ran the course. I loved it.

We had one station on this course called the Pamper Pole. It was so named because you needed a diaper once you got up on top. Lol It was a 30 foot telephone pole that you had to climb and then gingerly stand on top of. All the time you are hooked to a harness and people below are belaying you, so you are safe. You just don’t feel very safe. Hanging in front of this pole was a trapeze handle. It was just far enough out that it required you to jump straight out to grab it. There was only one way to get to it. You had to sell out. You could not reach that trapeze with a half hearted jump.

TEACHING MOMENT

In the same way, we need to dive into Jesus with everything we have. Our children need to see us abandon everything to follow Him. They need to see us walk the walk with no regrets. They need to see us jump toward Jesus whenever anything in our lives causes us fear. They need to see us, well, sold out for God.

Total surrender is costly. But the benefit of surrender is perfect peace and rest. I cannot tell you the feeling I got when I dove off that Pamper Pole and was able to grab that trapeze. But even when I dove and missed, I knew those below holding the rope would keep me safe. Jesus will keep you safe. Just let Him hold the rope!

Ezra 9:5-6 “5 But at the evening offering I arose from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn, and I fell on my knees and stretched out my hands to the Lord my God; 6 and I said, ‘O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads and our guilt has grown even to the heavens.’”

WOE

Ezra begins a prayer in these two verses that continues the rest of the chapter. I encourage you to read chapters 9 and 10 to get the whole story. Bottom line – the Jewish people had intermarried with the pagans of the land against God’s commands. And this wasn’t just done by the ordinary people. The religious leaders had been some of the worse offenders, thereby leading by example, poor example. Ezra is grieved at the sins of the people and greatly fears God’s wrath.

Have you ever been grieved for the sins of others? When you see those whom you love err on the side of direct disobedience to God’s Word, how do you feel? We should be just as grieved as Ezra was for them. I am not advocating tearing your clothes, but I am saying we should fall to our knees and stretch out our hands to the Lord.

TEACHING MOMENT

Our children can learn much by observing our prayer life. There are times when it is appropriate to pray alone. Those are my special times when it is just me and my Father conversing. But when we pray with our children they learn to articulate their own prayers. I don’t been we should pray in King James language (there is nothing wrong with the KJV, by the way). But we should allow them to observe us praying.

During this time in our country they need to hear us praying for our national, state and local leaders. They need to hear us praying for our military and law enforcement officers. They need to hear us praying for their teachers and principals. They need to hear us praying for our Pastor(s) and Sunday School teachers.

Our children need to learn to pray for others first, especially those in authority. In our anti-authority world today, we parents must be the ones to teach them respect for authority and what better way than to pray for them. Amen? Amen!

Acts 19:16-17 “16 And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 This became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified.”

RUNNNG NAKED

The sons of Sceva were trying to cast out demons in the name of Jesus without knowing Jesus. They wanted some attention. Well, they got it. The possessed man jumps up and whips them all and they run out naked. Don’t you know for the rest of their lives whenever they went to town people would point and sneer? They got more attention than they bargained for.

Have you ever had an embarrassing moment? Most of us have. Sometimes we are lucky enough that only a few close friends witness it. Other times it seems the whole world knows. It’s one thing to be embarrassed over an innocent mistake. It’s another when it happens while we are caught doing something we shouldn’t have. The sons of Sceva (notice we don’t even know their names) were trying to do something they had no business trying. Their motive was all wrong.

TEACHING MOMENT

Our children must learn to rely on the Holy Spirit for their guide. He is the One who will lead them safely through life’s challenging moments. As parents, we have to help them finetune their hearing. Listening to the Spirit is something that requires sacrifice. We must die to ourselves to hear from the Lord. When all we think about is self, the Spirit’s voice is drowned out.

When your children come to Christ, their hearing is adjusted by the Spirit. He begins to speak into them the truth of the Word. He begins to direct them in life’s choices. When they learn to trust the Spirit, those embarrassing moments are avoided. They aren’t caught in situations that bring shame and reproach.

Won’t you today give your children a hearing test? Won’t you make sure they know the importance of listening to Him? How about you? How is your hearing?

Ezra 4:1-3 “ 1 Now when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a temple to the LORD God of Israel, 2 they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ households, and said to them, ‘Let us build with you, for we, like you, seek your God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.’ 3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers’ households of Israel said to them, ‘You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us.’”

WOLVES IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING

Notice a couple of words in these verses. Verse 1 says these were “enemies” and verse 2 they say they wanted to “seek your God.” Don’t believe anything you hear and half what you see. Do you really think these “enemies” had it in their minds to help them build the Temple? It was more likely that they were intent on sabotaging their efforts.

TEACHING MOMENT

As your children grow in their faith they are going to encounter people who may seem loyal to the Lord but really aren’t. The only way we can know is by the Holy Spirit. We all have, as believers, all the gifts of the Spirit. Sure, we all have a more prevalent gift that God has given us, but I truly believe when we are saved we get ALL of Jesus, which means we have Him working through us to exercise those gifts.

The gift of discernment is a gift that the Lord gives us to help us recognize other believers and whether something is of the Lord. We cannot judge a person’s salvation, but we can observe the fruits of the Spirit in their life. Zerubbabel and Jeshua recognized that these were enemies of God, not friends.

As you see things in your spiritual walk that they Lord discloses to you, point them out to your children and teach them how you “knew” that. As they see you using the gift of discernment, they will learn to develop that gift also.

Acts 18:5 “But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.”

TEAMMATES

Silas and Timothy came along and gave Paul the freedom to devote “himself completely to the word.” Up until then, Paul had been working as a tentmaker to provide for himself. Silas and Timothy obviously helped Paul in this trade so he could study the word.

As a Pastor, nothing gives me more pleasure than to dig into the Word of God and mine those golden nuggets to be able to share with others. The reason I study is to share, not just to gain the knowledge. Paul was studying to testify to the Jews about Jesus. Why do you study God’s Word?

TEACHING MOMENT

Our children can learn a lot by studying God’s Word. There is no better education that one based on God’s Word. But gaining all that knowledge and not sharing it is unacceptable. We need to look for opportunities for our children to share what they learned.

Perhaps your child is an artist. Help them portray God’s Word that way. Maybe they love to witness. Let them share the Word with other boys and girls through a day camp at your house. They may be musically inclined. Give them the tools (piano, guitar, etc) to share the Word in song.

And how about you, mom and dad? Are you sharing what you are learning? Are you looking for others around you who could benefit from the knowledge you have gained through the last Bible Study you took? We tend to study, study, study and never share, share, share. Don’t hold those precious truths you have learned too closely. God gives them to us to share, not hoard.

I pray you will find a way this week to enlighten someone else of at least one truth God has taught you. Share it!