My Companion,
We all travel through life in a very hurried pace. Sometimes we can
attend religious services, sometimes, we cannot. However, we can
always take a few minutes to thank God for allowing us to be here, and
to serve our respective Grand Bodies.
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Scripture Lesson
Read Nehemiah 5:6-19
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Thought
Nehemiah was stunned by the cries of the people. He called the people together and accused some of them, including some of the priests, of taking unfair advantage of their desperate and needy fellow citizens. They had made loans for people to buy food in a time of famine, and they were seizing their property and selling their debtors' children into slavery. He challenged them to return both the property and the money.
Nehemiah did not exempt himself. He too had loaned money and grain to some of the people and charged them interest. Nehemiah had never taken advantage of some of the allowances that were due to him as a governor, but he did not believe this justified his usury. In effect, he said, "I'm making a change, and I call on you to do the same."
Today people of faith are still called upon to stand up against evil. Like Nehemiah, we are to do so prayerfully and without self-righteousness. Nehemiah could see his own weakness and sin. He stood in repentance with those he accused and was an example in doing even more than the Law required.
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