Youth Takeover: Youth Pastor Joao Pires

Youth Pastor Joao Pires Devotional Plan for: Week of May 31 - June 6 Monday - Read Nehemiah 1: 1-11 Nehemiah 1: 1-11 NIV: "The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah: In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem. They said to me, "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire." When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Then I said: "Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's family, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses. "Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.' "They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man." I was cupbearer to the king." This week, we focus on the book of Nehemiah, which recounts an incredible story of a Jewish man attempting to restore Israel to its intended glory before God. This book is autobiographical, considered historically accurate by secular and believing scholars, and was written about 500 years before Christ. Nehemiah was a cup-bearer to King Artaxerxes, was a high-ranking official position where one would, essentially, pour the drinks of the king. Now, this may not seem very high-ranking. But, as you've likely seen in some medieval movie, drinks were somehow prone to be poisoned in the ancient times. Someone like Nehemiah would ensure the safety of the drink, sometimes by way of tasting the drink before it reached the King. Though Nehemiah was doing quite well in his job away from Israel, he heard of Israel's tragic failures, as they were not following God and the requisite destruction of the city and its walls made news, eventually reaching Nehemiah. Nehemiah felt inspired to return to Jerusalem as a way to be a part of its renewal, which took a long time and much hard work. We can learn from Nehemiah and Israel's story of how we can return from "destruction", or perhaps return from times where we feel we've gone astray from God (be that a year, a month, a day, an hour). Here are a few tips: 1. Acknowledge the Grandeur of God When we come to God in our own brokenness, sometimes we can come to him immediately "asking" for things. That's fine. God wants us to ask him for things. But periodically we can think of ourselves as being "too big", meaning we overestimate our self-importance. In order to be humble before the great God, we need to stop and think about how Great he truly is. By entering prayer and first saying, "great and awesome God", we position ourselves as important but small creatures in this world, humbling ourselves, and asking from that place of humility. 2. Repent It's hard to acknowledge when you've done something wrong. And if you think you easily acknowledge when you do wrong things, it p