Reading your Bible for today September 13

September 13: Nehemiah 9:29-31

KJV Key Verse: Nehemiah 9:31
31 Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.

Devotion:
I look back at some of the things the people of Israel got up to and I wonder why God would ever want to forgive them! I look back at some of the things in my own life and I wonder the same! Unless we are willing to admit to the problems we have had in our own lives and not always try to blame other people or our history or our pasts, then we are never going to quite get just how much God is willing to forgive.

I know there are issues in our lives, and I know they continue to hound us and trap us- but God is always here, waiting, willing to forgive and put things behind us. God wants to move forward in a stronger relationship with us. Unless we are willing to start the ball rolling by admitting to our issues int eh first place, God cannot make that difference in our lives – He said He would give us the choice and He has to stand by that promise.

I am amazed at how many times I have put the blame on someone else, or allowed other people to take the blame for me… But that is history, and I hope I have put most of that behind me. God knows these things and He has chosen to allow His Son to die on the cross for my mistakes. He made that decision before I knew I was making mistakes and sinning against Him; but He was still willing to continue forward with that decision so I could spend the rest of eternity with them in heaven! That is what I find most awesome about our God.

I am not one to bring pomp and ceremony into my life. I admit to forgetting about birthdays on multiple occasions, but that does not change the fact I do love my friends and family. I spend time stopping my work, stopping what I am doing and praying for them because I know I fall short of the mark – but I know my God is always there for them and always willing to do things when I cannot! I know God continues to watch over each person and waits for that special day when they too will come forward and invite Him back into their lives. I don’t like following the crowd because I know that is far too easy. I don’t go against others just to make my life difficult. I do try to follow Gods will in my life – because I have come to know that is the righteous thing to do!

Points to Ponder:
Do you have bad memories of your past?

Are you willing to give those memories for God to take care of?