In Nehemiah 13 Nehemiah returns after having been away for a time. He finds that the people are disobeying the law of God by allowing a man who is not a priest to live in the temple, working and doing commerce with foreigners on the Sabbath, not supporting the Levites so they have to work the fields, and marrying non-Israelites.

Nehemiah reestablishes the law of God and asks God’s forgiveness He makes certain that the gates of the city are closed during the Sabbath so no outside merchants can get in and punished those who married women outside of Israel.

It doesn’t take long for us to forget what the Bible has to say. We must try to be diligent in our study and practice of the faith. Sometimes that might mean a painful process of getting rid of bad habits or a changing of the way we do things, but while we will not incur the kinds of punishments the people in Nehemiah’s time received we will be hindering a full relationship with Jesus.

In Luke 10 Jesus expands his ministry by appointing seventy others to spread the gospel and do the things that Jesus has done. They are only to go to the towns where they are accepted. They return telling Jesus what they were able to do. Jesus rejoices that God has given his authority to those who are willing to follow.

A lawyer asks Jesus how to receive eternal life. Jesus tells a story of a man from Samaria, one who is rejected by the Jews, who takes care of a Jewish man who has been hurt. Jesus encourages the lawyer to treat others the same way the Samaritan did the man.

Jesus visits the home of a woman named Martha. She busies herself with the tasks of hospitality while her sister Mary sits at Jesus’ feet listening to him teach. Martha complains and Jesus tells her not to be so distracted. It is better to let things go and spend time with him.

Even those of us who follow Christ are prone to become distracted by life. We keep ourselves so busy that we do not spend time with him in prayer and study. Our priorities get mixed up. We may be doing good things but the more important part of our life of faith is spending time with Jesus.