What personal commitments can we make to honor God like in Nehemiah 10:12? Setting the scene in Nehemiah 10 • After hearing God’s word, the leaders, priests, Levites, and the rest of the people “bound themselves with a curse and an oath to follow the Law of God” (Nehemiah 10:29). • Nehemiah 10:12 simply lists three Levites—“Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,”—but their names appear on a covenant document that signified wholehearted, public commitment to honor God. • Their signatures remind us that honoring God is more than emotion; it is choosing concrete, observable actions. Commitments we can make today 1. Publicly identify with God’s people • Baptism, church membership, and unashamed confession of Christ mirror the way the signatories attached their names (Matthew 10:32). 2. Submit to Scripture as the final authority • “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15) • Decide that every area of life—thoughts, relationships, finances, entertainment—bows to the written Word. 3. Pursue personal holiness and separation from sin • “Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 6:17) • Proactive accountability, filtered media choices, and repentance the moment sin is exposed. 4. Guard the Sabbath principle and corporate worship • “Let us not neglect meeting together.” (Hebrews 10:25) • Set apart weekly worship, protect family devotion time, and refuse habits that erode rest and reverence. 5. Give generously to God’s house • “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse.” (Malachi 3:10) • Budget firstfruits giving, support missions, and volunteer talents just as Judah pledged wood, grain, and silver (Nehemiah 10:32–39). 6. Cultivate unbroken prayer • “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) • Integrate sentence-prayers through the day, keep a prayer journal, and join or start a prayer group. 7. Practice mutual accountability • “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17) • Meet regularly with trusted believers who ask hard questions and encourage obedience (Hebrews 3:13). Living it out daily • Start with one area above, make a written pledge, date it, and share it with a mature believer. • Review the covenant weekly, asking, “Am I still honoring God in this commitment?” • Celebrate progress, confess lapses immediately, and keep pressing forward until each commitment becomes a holy habit. |
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