Finishing Well

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Nehemiah 6:1-16


TO CHEW ON: "So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God." Nehemiah 6:15,16

The wall was nearly done. There were no more broken gaps and only the gates were missing. But instead of the opposition getting less, it got worse. One day Nehemiah got another message from Sanballat and Geshem. “Come to a meeting in a nearby village,” it said.

Nehemiah smelled trouble. He was sure these men were planning to harm him. He sent back word, “I’m busy on a big project.”

They didn’t give up easily. Three more times they called him to a meeting. Finally on the fifth try, the messenger showed Nehemiah another letter from Sanballat. It said, “We know that you and the Jews are plotting a revolution. You’re planning to become king. If you don’t want this reported back to Artaxerxes, you’d better meet with us.”


Still Nehemiah refused to be distracted. “These are all lies,” he wrote back. “You’re making this up out of your head.”

But now even some people inside the city tried to get him away from the job. “Rebuilding the wall isn’t what God wants,” said some of the prophets.

Another man said,“You should go into the temple and hide from the people who are trying to kill you.”

Through all this Nehemiah stayed on the job. When things looked bad, he prayed and kept right on working. It took fifty-two days in all to finish rebuilding the wall. When the nations around saw that Jerusalem was again behind a wall, and that the wall had come up in such a short time, they were frightened. For they knew this could have happened only with God’s help.

We can learn a lot about finishing well from Nehemiah. He planned the work and then didn’t let himself get pulled away from the job by teasing, threats, discouragement or danger. Instead, he prayed about these problems and then kept right on working.

Next time you’re in the middle of a big project and feel like quitting, remember Nehemiah. Say a prayer to God for help, and then keep working till the job is done.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to finish projects well. Amen.

MORE: Working on Projects
When projects are big and take a long time, it’s easy to feel like giving up before they’re done. Here are some hints about tackling projects. Try them on your next one whether it’s making a science fair exhibit, sewing an outfit or whatever.



1. Beginning
a] Get your idea.
b] Gather your materials.
c] Decide on the order or steps of the project.
d] Start on step one.

2. Middle
a] Divide the project steps into small tasks
b] Do a little bit of your project every day.
c] Take a break when you get tired.
d] Pray when there is opposition or you get discouraged

3. End
a] Complete everything, even to the last detail.
b] Clean up after you’re done
c] Celebrate!

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Temple Cleaning

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Chronicles 29:1-11

TO CHEW ON: "He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side and said, 'Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of your fathers. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary.'” 2 Chronicles 29:4,5

What are you most likely to do when your room gets messy?
- clean it up
- nothing

When Hezekiah, Uzziah’s great-grandson became Judah’s king, one of the first things he did was a clean-up job, even though the mess wasn’t in his room and it was a mess he hadn’t made. In the first month of his reign King Hezekiah called together the priests and Levites and told them to clean up the temple.



The reasons for cleaning it up were more than that Hezekiah was a neat-freak. After thirty two years of being ruled by evil kings (his father Ahaz and his grandfather Jotham), Hezekiah knew there was a connection between worshiping God and having His blessing. He wanted God’s blessing more than anything. And so he told the priests and Levites to take everything that didn’t belong in the temple out so that they could again worship God there.

We could compare what Hezekiah did in the temple with the house cleaning that sometimes needs to be done in our hearts. If you don’t feel close to God and you’d rather not talk to Him every day, maybe it’s because there’s a mess in your heart. And how would you clean up such a mess?

You could take a pretend walk with God through every ‘room’ in your heart. As you go through each room – the home room, the school room, the friends room, the TV room, the computer room – ask Him to show you if there is anything that needs cleaning up. If there is, ask Him what you need to do to clean it up.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to clean up the messes in my heart. Amen.



MORE: A Clean Room
What is the state of your bedroom right now? Does it need a cleaning? Here are some hints to help you get and keep a tidy room.


30-Minute bedroom clean-up
1. 10 minutes: Straighten your bed. Now put everything that is out of place on your bed.
2. 10 minutes: Set an oven timer for 10 minutes and see if you can beat the clock at putting everything away.
3. 10 minutes: Dust flat surfaces with a feather duster. Vacuum the floor (or get it ready for an adult to vacuum).

Keep it tidy
1. Keep a laundry hamper in your room and throw dirty laundry in it instead of on the floor.
2. Hang up all clothes once a day.
3. Return dirty dishes, pop cans and juice boxes to the kitchen every day.
4. Organize your shelves and desk so there is a place for each thing. Return everything to its spot once a day.

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Human Towers

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Read Genesis 11:1-9



TO CHEW ON: "Then they said, 'Come let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.'” Genesis 11:4

God was displeased with the people’s plan to build a tower. It wasn’t so much the building which displeased Him, but the attitude it showed. This tower plan showed pride. It was as if these people were saying, “Making this tower will prove we humans can do anything we are determined to do.”

God stopped the project. Which method did He use?
1. Sent an earthquake
2. Sent a plague of sickness
3. Confused the languages so people could no longer understand each other.
4. Caused the workers to go on strike.

In this way God reminded people of their human limits. We humans may be creative and ambitious and energetic and determined. But this story reminds us that God is greater than any human scheme or idea. If something is against His plan, He can shut it down in an instant.

PRAYER: Dear God, I want to honor and serve You with my life—not human pride and ambition. Amen

SECOND HELPING: Modern Babel
After years of trying, there are still some human goals people have not been able to reach. Some are:
1. Explore all of space.
2. Create life.
3. Keep people from dying.
4. Stamp out disease.

- Pick one of the human goals that interests you, above, or name another.
- Find out from books, magazines and the internet some of the steps made to reach that goal.
- What do you think—will people someday achieve it? Explain why you think as you do.

Answers

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.