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• Jonathan Sakala

  Amen and Amen! Showers of blessing we need!

• Tree of Life ©

  Pardon Mwanza,

  I value your words, as quoted below, most especially the last ten of them, albeit within the context of all:

  "As people read the word of God new discoveries of the things they are supposed to engage in for God’s glory will be revealed to them. It was thus that these “Word-Seeking” people rediscovered the importance of the feasts of the seventh month."

  What a blessing it would be if we too, even we as are here today, were to listen and to heed those very words of yours! Cf. Deuteronomy 5:2-5! If and when we do, I have no doubt but that the showers of blessing, that latter rain, for which our people have been praying so long, shall come upon us in abundance...

  I am convinced that one of the foremost blessings inherent in keeping the one true Seventh-day Sabbath, is each our recognition of the reality of the timeline provided for us in the Holy Scriptures. Most especially, that realization has most certainly helped our people to accept and to value the realities of the creation week. That is, the reality inherent within the events of those very first seven days recorded for us in Genesis Chapter One.

  Without that particular blessing, sprung out of true Sabbath keeping, How could we, as a people, have withstood the peer pressures inherent in those secular teachings that come to us under the word "evolution?"

  What a blessing that is! Praise the Lord of Hosts!

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  But why should we stop at that? Is not God, the Ancient of Days, the God of Daniel, here to teach us ever so much more re the exact dates provided to us throughout the Holy Scriptures? Consider Isaiah 28:9-14!

  But how can He do that so long as we are unwilling to listen and to heed His instructions in full?

  How can we learn and experience the wealth of blessings inherent in true Sabbath keeping if we do not make Sabbath keeping a part of each our life? We cannot. Can we? So also re "the importance of the feasts of the seventh month." What blessings are we as a Seventh-day Sabbath keeping people yet to experience, if and when we begin to realize that those words apply likewise to us, me and you, even here and now, and as per the words of Moses recorded for us in Deuteronomy 5:2-5?!!!

  Allow me to quote, please, the last verse from today's reading, from Nehemiah 8:18..

  "18 Also day by day, from the first day until the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day there was a sacred assembly, according to the prescribed manner."

  Did you notice, in that verse, that that "sacred assembly" of the Eighth Day is a thing outside of, that is, yet another portion of time that is being cut off by the Maker of Time? Yet another feast event for the people of God to commemorate and to heed. That is, a marker of time beyond the seven days defining the Feast of Tabernacles?

  May I have the privilege of sharing with you a foretaste of some of the unexpected discoveries that I have felt blessed by discovering under the tutorship of my Maker, and under Him whom our Savior promised to send His people as recorded for us in John 15:26...

  "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:"

  Please study and enjoy whatever blessings you may treasure within this link: http://tinyurl.com/cxkea6s

  Praise the Lord of Hosts, the Ancient of Days!

• charock01

  Thank you Pastor Mwansa. I'm picking some ideas for revival from the text.

  Prerequisites for a Revival

  The chapter climaxes with the Israelites sitting under booths - something they had not done since the days of Joshua the son of Nun. Before this however, a couple of things are noticeable:

  1. Unity of Mind and Purpose

  From the get go in verse 1 they came together as "ONE MAN." This suggests unity of purpose; a singleness of mind. This is reminiscent of the Day of Pentecost, "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place." Act 2:1. A key background to Acts 2:1 is Acts 1: 14, "These all continued with one accord in PRAYER and SUPPLICATION...." (emphasis supplied).

  2. Godly Sorrow From the Conviction of the Word

  Conviction When the law was read by Ezra the people wept when they heard it. But they were told not to weep, but to “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” When the law works as it should - revealing our sinful state before a holy God, it should bring conviction and godly sorrow (2 Cor. 7: 10). This is not a sorrow of hopelessness however, because we have a forgiving God of grace whose heart was made plain through the life and ministry of Jesus and was hardly more beautifully testified of than through the story of the woman caught in the act of adultery. The proverbial pronouncement of Jesus, which continues to echo with unfading resonance into our day is, "Neither do I condemn thee." John 8: 11. Is it any wonder that Jesus would say in Matt. 5: 4, "Blessed are they that morn, for they shall be comforted?"

  Father in Heaven, thank for the assurance of forgiveness and reconciliation with You. But more than the assurance of this forgiveness do we need the cleansing of the Holy Spirit so we shall not have need for any further pardoning, but shall constantly live in accordance with Your divine will. This is our desire through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.

• Tree of Life ©

  Brother Charock01,

  Thank you for those words of yours re the blessings of Pentecost!

  Perhaps, by digging deeply and carefully, you will find some added treasures of the Holy Spirit of God within such as I have also been blessed by re Pentecost? May I have the privilege of sharing with you this link: http://tinyurl.com/o7oobsa

  And, BTW, per my current understanding, today happens to be the 46th day of the counting of Omer and Pentecost. Yes, I know, that is quite different from the reckoning of the Jews, isn't it?! Did you ever notice that John, the one whom our Savior loved, is referencing "the feast of the Jews," "the Jews' feast of Tabernacles," "the Jews' Passover," etc.? That is, in contradistinction to the calendar and feasts being observed by our Savior, and as referenced in the first three gospels? Today, as I understand our Maker's calendar, is the 1st day of the third month, the Third Day of the week (in the 5925th year since the beginning of the Creation recorded in Genesis 1...)

  Praise the Lord of Hosts, the Ancient of Days!

• Sikana

  Thank you Pastor for the encouraging words. I hope you had a wonderful time in Kenya. We met at the airport in Lusaka. God bless you

• John A. Lockley

  Below is quote from the New American Commentary ( Vol. 10): Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, p. 224 on Neh. 8:2 -

  " The Old Testament emphasizes that God's Word is to be known and used by all people, not only the priests and leaders. Early Christians adopted this same principle. This changed as time went on as fewer and fewer people had acess to the Bible. The Protestant Reformation , with its emphasis on 'sola scriptura' (on the Bible as the sole authority for faith and practice) returned to the biblical principle that every believer should read Scripture as God's Word for their lives".

• ClaraDiane

  I find it most encouraging to see that they were told not to mourn - so often we too can forget that the "Joy of the Lord is my strength" v10. David's prayer too was "Restore to me the Joy of Your salvation". We need to show the world that while we are in the middle of a raging battlefield - we have the "Joy of the Lord" to sustain us. God bless you

• Regis

  Father, I give thanks for accepting me as I am..Father, empower me & RBHW family of your Holy Spirit..to study your Word..Amen.

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