OUR DAILY BREAD : RESOLUTIONS

[cimi]

January 1 2008
Tuesday

READ:
Nehemiah 10:28-31
________________________________

[They] entered into...
an oath to walk in
God's Law,... and to
observe and do all the
commandments of the
LORD our Lord.
__ Nehemiah 10:29
________________________________

In 1772, Jonathan Edwards drew up a list of 70 resolutions, dedicating himself to live in harmony with God and others. The following resolutions give a picture of the serious purpose with which Edwards approached his relationship with God. he resolved:
. To do whatever is most to God's glory.
. To do my duty, for the good of mankind in general.
. Never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.
. To study the Scriptures steadily, constantly, and frequently.
. To ask myself at the end of every day, week, month, and year if I could possibly have done better.
. Until I die, not to act as if I were my own, but entirely and altogether God's.

In Nehemiah 10, God's people made an oath, vowing to follow all the commands, laws, and regulations of the Lord. This oath was so serious that they were willing to accept the curse of God if they failed to keep these commands.

Our resolutions need not be so serious as that. But any resolution to follow God is not a casual promise. Rather, it is a solemn and serious declaration that--with the help of the Holy Spirit--we can renew every day. __ Marvin Williams

~~~~~~~~~~~~MY RESOLUTIONS THIS YEAR ARE:~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~1.___________________________________________~~~~~~
~~~~~~2.___________________________________________~~~~~~
~~~~~~3.___________________________________________~~~~~~

Act on your resolutions!

************Today's Bible Reading __ Nehemiah 10:28-31***********

28 Now the rest of the
people--the priests, the
Levites, the gatekeepers, the
singers, the Nethinim, and
all those who had separated
themselves from the
peoples of the lands to the
Law of God, their wives,
their sons, and their
daughters, everyone who
had knowledge and
understanding__ 29 these
joined with their brethren,
their nobles, and entered
into a curse and an oath to
walk in God's Law, which
was given by Moses the
servant of God, and to
observe and do all the
commandments of the
LORD our Lord, and His
ordinances and His statutes:

30 We would not give our
daughters as wives to the
peoples of the land, nor
take their daughters for our
sons; 31 if the peoples of the
land brought wares or any
grain to sell on the Sabbath
day, we would not buy it
from them on the Sabbath,
or on a holy day; and we
would forgo the seventh
year's produce and the
exacting of every debt.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

The book of Nehemiah is one of the Old Testament books that deals
with the return of Judah to Jerusalem following the Babylonian
captivity. Nehemiah, a captive Jew, served as cupbearer to king
artaxerxes, who commissioned him to return to Jerusalem with a
group of Jewish exiles to rebuild the walls of the long-neglected city.
The work was challenging, and the exiles often faced opposition,
but their efforts proved to be the beginning of the end of the exile.
__WEC