The Passionate Pursuit of Purity | Nehemiah 13:23-27

GALATIANS SCRIPTURE JOURNAL HERE: https://bit.ly/devogalatians In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people. And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin. Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women? — Nehemiah 13:23-27 CALL OUT: Big call out today to Mark Beaver from Woodbury, MN. Thanks for your partnership in the Gospel. Don't forget Galatians begins on Monday, so get the Galatians Scripture Journal from the website. Nehemiah's concern in this text is that spiritual purity is persistently threatened by family relationships and economic interests. The entanglement of one will always lead to the entanglement of the other. What results from this entanglement is that the line, heritage, traditions, language, and interests of God are lost. Most care little about this at the moment. They fall in love and pursue sexual passions. They seek money and power, pursuing economic gain. Over time, the intertwining of these two will influence them more than they will influence it. Nehemiah was old, wise, and committed enough to see this. This is usually the case. Usually, the older generations see and realize the decline and make the connection. This is why Nehemiah responds like he does. He wants people to be more passionate in their pursuit of purity, in the same way he is passionately against impurity. Sometimes, the wise believers among us need to be passionate. We should stand up and passionately proclaim what we believe. Yes, what we have to say might sting and even come out wrong. But saying something about what we believe is right and righteous is better than saying nothing and letting the next generations suffer. So if you are older and wiser and see entanglements that need to be addressed in your church or family, speak out about them and address them before too much time passes and it's too late. #SpiritualPurity, #WisdomOfNehemiah, #LegacyGuardians, #SpeakOutForTruth, #ChurchLeadership ASK THIS: How can we proactively identify and address entanglements that threaten our spiritual purity, both in our personal lives and in our communities? In what ways can we effectively balance the tension between speaking out against spiritual compromise and extending grace and love to those who may be entangled in it? DO THIS: Be pure and speak about it. PRAY THIS: Father, grant me the wisdom and courage to discern and address entanglements that threaten my spiritual purity and the well-being of my community. Help me to speak out boldly against compromise while extending grace and love to those who need it most. Amen. PLAY THIS: Purify My Heart. Check out other all Vince Miller's videos and audios for small groups at: https://beresolute.org/ Get Vince's most widely read resources The Daily Devotional at: https://beresolute.org/mdd Check out more ALL IN products like the one Vince is wearing at: https://beresolute.org/product-category/all-in-hats/ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Connect with Vince socially: FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/millervince INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/vinceleemiller LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincemiller TWITTER: https://twitter.com/vinceleemiller