don’t quit

Nehemiah still stays focused on the mission. He has already overcome much ridicule and opposition and it seems that the enemies will not stop. In chapter 6 Nehemiah is faced with even more.

Nehemiah and the people were just about done with the wall when out of desperation Sanballot and Tobiah started spreading rumors about Nehemiah, intimidating him, trying to trick him into sinning and would almost do anything to try to distract him from his mission. However, Nehemiah stayed focused on the rebuilding of the wall not letting these tactics stand in his way of completing the Lord’s will. His attitude is displayed in verse 9 “They [Sanballot and Tobiah] were just trying to intimidate us, imagining that they could discourage us and stop the work. So I continued the work with even greater determination.”

Wow. What an attitude Nehemiah had. How do you respond to constant attacks from the enemy? Are you tempted to just quit even if you are so close to the end?

The walls of Jerusalem had been torn down for 141 years because everyone who tried to rebuild them grew intimidated by the enemies and quit. Nehemiah stayed focused on the goal constantly praying to the Lord – in which his people followed- and they finished rebuilding the wall in 52 days. “When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God” (verse16).

Stay focused on what the Lord has called you to do. Be encouraged by the example of Nehemiah. Stay determined to finish and accomplish the great works of the Lord – for He alone will be glorified.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7

ponder first

When problems come that is when our theology is reformed-when our beliefs become practical-when our faith is carried out.

To this point, Nehemiah has faced some problems and it just doesn’t seem to end. Now you see in chapter five that he is faced with several new issues: the people are going against each other (even the wives. verse 1), people couldn’t feed their families, taxes had been increased, and the wealthy Jewish country men were taking advantage of the returned people. Those Jews would lend large sums of money out and when the people would miss a payment, they would take over the fields and so the families were forced to sell their children into slavery. Nehemiah was very angry with these Jews that were going against their own people to enrich themselves.

What is very interesting is how Nehemiah dealt with this issue. Verses 6 and 7 record, “I was very angry. I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials”

Nehemiah did not respond in his emotion. He did not respond right a way. He took time to think, in some other translations-took counsel, consulted with himself. Nehemiah’s faith was carried out in a practical way.

Anger itself is not bad, it is how you deal with it. Nehemiah had a natural response that anyone would have to this situation, but his anger would not solve the problem. He really thought about this and really pondered how he would approach this problem. He stepped away from the situation and waited until he cooled down, then collected his thoughts to make an action plan.

How well are you with handling problems? When you are angry do you respond quickly out of emotion or do you take time to cool off before you respond?

After he thought, then he spoke. He addressed the nobles and officials first, then he called a public meeting. His words were very purposeful and thought out.The people had nothing to say, for they knew they were wrong. Nehemiah kept addressing what they should do in response to these actions and the people obeyed. In the end they “praised the Lord and the people did as they had promised” (v.13).

Now, if Nehemiah would have spoken when he was heated, I do not think the people would have responded out of obedience. They saw how Nehemiah was angry about what was going on-but yet calm and collected. They respected his reaction and followed his direction.

Look at how you respond to different situations in your life. When things anger you, wait-pray-gather your thoughts and emotions then speak out.

Ponder before you express.

“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.” James 1:20

responding to opposition

I am still studying Nehemiah(the last 2 posts are from there)- each week or so I will be posting what I have learned from each chapter

So far in Nehemiah, everything is going great! This is when we need to be the most careful. Because in an instant opposition comes. In Nehemiah 4 we see there are 4 devices the enemies use to oppose the work of the Lord (ridicule, threats, discouragement and fear). However, the way Nehemiah responds to the opposition is the lesson we all need to learn.

Ridicule is the first tactic Sanballot and Tobiah use to get into the head of Nehemiah and  the workers. Sanballot did not want to see Jerusalem be built back up because it endangered his governor’s power and would rob him of influence and wealth. The first few verses are filled with degrading rhetorical questions just to undermine Nehemiah. They targeted the people as ‘feeble workers’, the work itself, materials and the product. We say that sticks and stones will break our bones but words will never hurt us– that is completely false! Words get into our head and cause us to believe lies about what is really happening in the purpose to make us crumble. It did not make Nehemiah crumble though. He responded with prayer and focused the people to keep moving forward for in verse 6 it says, “So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart” Nehemiah led the people in prayer and motivation and they responded with working on the wall with enthusiasm. wow.

Since that didn’t seem to work, four people groups from the surrounding areas who hated each other came together to fight against the rebuilding of the wall. The only thing these people had in common was they all hated the same thing. Crazy. The enemies were so focused and determined in destroying the Lord’s work that they threatened to attack the city. But Nehemiah responds by praying and guarding the city day and night. He took spiritual and physical action.

By this time the people were starting to get discouraged. The people were starting to grow weary and they started complaining. Their faith was starting to fade. To this Nehemiah responded with action. He “stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows.” (v.13).

Nehemiah was very observant and knew his people. So after he looked over the situation- he saw that the people were afraid- fear was overtaking them. He prepared them to be able to fight, so working with one hand and holding a weapon with the other. Nehemiah also responded by encouraging the people to look at the purpose and promises of God. “Our God will fight for us” (v.20). He directed their focus vertical instead of horizontal. He effectively communicated with them and united them together.

How do you respond to opposition in your life?

There is a lot you can take out of how Nehemiah responded to opposition. When things are going well, be ready for opposition. Satan does not like the work of Lord progressing. The Enemy becomes active when we become active [for the Lord].

We have to be able to recognize the tactics of Satan. They are always the same- ridicule (lies), threats, discouragement and fear (holds you back). They are all things that go straight for your head. When you look at anyone and the opposition they have faced, it is always in one or all or some of these areas. Look at the life of Jesus. Mark Driscoll (a pastor in Seattle) said “There is no progression without pain.” It will be tough to go through opposition- but if you recognize it soon enough you can combat Satan with your Armor of God (Ephesians 6).

Also, we can really learn to respond as Nehemiah did. Prayer with Action. He stayed focus but he dealt with the spiritual and physical side of the situation. Obstacles can either make us work smarter and live wiser or make us give up our purpose and way of living. Live for God and opposition will fail.

Opposition means you are accomplishing what God has called you to do- being fruitful.

Be encouraged, remember God’s purpose and promises and He is fighting for you because if you are His child- you belong to Him.

ordinary people

I am continuing to study the book of Nehemiah and just got done with chapter three. When you look at chapter three you are tempted to just glaze over it because it is just a lot of names and who was rebuilding each section of the wall around Jerusalem. However, if you take a closer look at it, these people were just ordinary people building this wall for the glory of God. God took Nehemiah, a normal guy to rise up and lead the people of Jerusalem to rebuild the wall. The people consisted of priests, rulers, daughters, goldsmiths, merchants, perfume makers and families. Each started rebuilding the part of the wall right outside their house or area so that they would take ownership and want to build it right. Every area of the wall was covered! This just shows that everyday people can make the biggest difference. God doesn’t call the equipped he equips the called. God called these people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and even though they were not “wall builders.” They still obeyed and took action.

What has God called you to do?

Even if you feel inadequate for the job, God will equip you to do his work.

When God calls us we are to take action. I love this one guy, Baruch because Nehemiah says he “zealously repaired” (Nehemiah 3:30). Are you doing what God has called you to do with zeal and enthusiasm? Remember 1 Corinthians 15:58 “Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”

[God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things.]

pray then act

“The king said to me, “What is it you want?”  I prayed to the God of heaven, then I answered the king…” Nehemiah 2:4-5a

I am studying Nehemiah right now and just who he is has amazed me so far and I am only in chapter 2. Nehemiah was a cup bearer to the King at that time and also was of Jewish decent. His brother had come to tell him that there was great distress in the province of Judah- the walls of Jerusalem had been torn down. Nehemiah was utterly heart broken which led him to pray and fast for months. Even though he was disconnected he had compassion on the people.

The thing to remember here is that Nehemiah is a very trusted individual to the King, being a cup bearer he has to drink before the King to make sure it is suitable and not poisoned. Nehemiah risks his life every time he takes a sip before the King. Another important aspect of Nehemiah is that he is a man of prayer. His prayer in chapter 1 is so sincere and such an example of how we should pray (look at it!).

Through his prayers Nehemiah realizes that God has called him to the be the answer to his own requests by making the King favorable in his eyes so he could go restore the walls of Jerusalem. “Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.” (Nehemiah 1:11). He prayerfully planned for opportunity.

This is where we come back to the verse at the beginning. Months later, Nehemiah was still troubled and broken for Jerusalem that the King noticed. The King asked what Nehemiah wanted, and he prayed before he spoke.

Nehemiah prepared. He thought before he spoke. He prayed to God before he gave an answer.

Are you a pray-er in all circumstances?

How many times have you been quick to speak and you regretted it? This is such a valuable lesson to pray before you speak…God blesses it.

the last half of verse 5 and 6 goes “and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it. Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.”

God answered Nehemiah’s prayer for him to have favor with the King. Nehemiah saw the opportunity he had prayed for and took action.

God was the center of this whole circumstance. Nehemiah sought God deeply for months. God granted favor on the situation because he asked with a prayerful sincere heart. He prayed and went to God before anything or anyone else. However, Nehemiah turned  his prayer into action. When the opportunity arose, Nehemiah acted upon it.

Prayer prepares you for the opportunity God will give you to act upon.

[Pray like everything depends upon God, work like everything depends upon you.]

don’t just talk, live.

It is another year! Hard to believe that 2009 is over and 2010 is here. So much happened this past year and God completely changed my life. I am so thankful for who He is and what He has done and where He has placed me in life. I look into this year with anticipation to see how He will reveal Himself more and more.

As this new year starts this verse has really penetrated my heart and want to live this out everyday.

1 Corinthians 4:20 “The Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk, it is living by God’s power.”

Living by God’s power is living in Him in every situation, having every thought captivated by Christ. It is not living on what you think you can do, or by living your expectations or by selfish motives, or by just living for yourself. It is choosing God, it is obeying God’s commands, it is loving God and each other, it is including God in your life- and when the seemingly impossible comes around, God’s power will intervene. It is an inward change that produces outward expressions and actions.

This takes me to the passage  Matthew 19:16-26

Jesus is talking about the rich young ruler who comes to Him and asks what he must do to gain eternal life. Well, Jesus replies to keep the commandments. And the man replies that he has kept them, what else must he do? Jesus then says, go sell all your possessions, give your money to the poor and come follow Me. The man walks away sad, because he does not want to give up his wealth. Jesus’ disciples were astounded and asked, then who can be saved? Jesus said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible” (Matthew 19:26).

Now to understand what the Kingdom of God truly is, it must be truly lived out, not discussed. It is living a life that reflects God. We must love and obey Christ, but that does indeed come with some sacrifice. It is giving up what we cling to the most in this world and giving it to Him so that we can only cling to Christ and gain eternal life with Him. There is beauty in the let go, and God will be able to use you more when you are completely His and follow Him wholeheartedly. It has to be an inward change…the rich young ruler did everything good on the outside, but his heart was not in the right place. He was not willing to follow Jesus with all of himself. A heart change of only wanting Jesus has to occur before you can follow Him. We are called to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength and all your mind” (Luke 10:27) Now, this is only possible with God’s help and surrender to Him. He will show you the way, He will not leave you hanging. Everything is possible with Him, living in and by His power every moment of everyday is possible.

“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says.” James 1:22

If you are a Christ-follower, do not just talk the good talk. . . walk the good walk. It is worth it. It is possible. Live by God’s power so He can be glorified and the world may come to know Him.

[Actions speak louder than words. Let your words and your life match up. you live what you truly believe. Let your life show that God's power is really working in you.]

rest in writers block

If you ever write, you know what it feels like to have writers block. It is not too much fun. I have had ideas of what to write about next…I have like 3 drafts that I never could finish. Then it kind of dawned on me. During this time, I have been so busy. . . and I came across this verse:

“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

Then I have heard this next verse on several occasions lately:

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Matt 11:28

Check this paraphrase out of this same passage in the Message:

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

One more:

Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you. 1 Peter 5:7

God wants me to slow down and go back to Him. . . directly. He wants me to listen. He cares for me, He wants to take care of me. He wants me to rest in His arms. . . His arms are always available. . . He will never leave or forsake us. . . He always has open arms for His children.

Walk with Jesus and let Him carry you through when you can’t seem to keep up. . .  learn from Him to live freely and lightly.

Take some time today to really refocus, really rest, and experience real renewal.

aroma

Do you like the smell of Play-doh? Some people I know just love it. . . and then I also know some people who hate it!

Play-doh has a very distinct smell. After you play with it your hands start to smell like it. The scent just sticks to you. If you encounter anyone else, they know you have been playing with it. The more that you play with the play-doh the more you start to smell like it. Wherever you go, you are going to smell like play-doh thus spreading the smell of play-doh. Now the fragrance is going to smell sweet to some and dreadful to others. It is up to the smeller if it is sweet or not.

Now, take a look at this verse . . . 

“Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume.” 2 Corinthians 2:15-16

Relate this to the play-doh. Look at the play-doh like Christ and the Bible. The more you dig into the Bible, the more you spend time with Christ, the more you are going to have the aroma of Christ. Wherever you go, people will just know by your “smell” that you are a Christ follower.

This Christ-like fragrance is going to be a sweet aroma to other Christians because it reminds them of the victory of the Cross and life filled with hope. However, to the non-Christians the fragrance will be a disgusting odor reminding them of death and doom.

When spreading the Good News of Christ, some people will catch your scent and it will be pleasing to their senses…however to some it will make them scrunch their nose.

Let our sweet aroma of Christ permeate the ends of the earth.

Get your hands in the Word and smell like Jesus.

live and learn…learn to live.

I am just overwhelmed by God at the moment. His love, His grace, His provision, His answers, His holiness, His satisfaction…just Him alone. Many times I cannot even put into words how God is working in my life (but I am going to try).

So many times I have tried to live satisfying the desires of my heart with earthly things. . . and it always leaves me still wanting more. God has been saying to me for a long time that I need to learn to be completely and wholeheartedly satisfied in Him. And this past week…I learned. A group of my friends and I were fasting and let me tell ya, at first I was kind of skeptical. How was I going to go 5 days without food? Oh but this is where the awesome part starts. As I began to depend on God for ALL my needs…He fulfilled. Every time I wanted to fulfill my own desire (my grumbling stomach) God was faithful to fill me. I began to rely on God for every single thing in my life and really began to know what it truly meant to be satisfied by God. He rocked my world. What I thought was impossible, He showed was possible with Him (Luke 1:37).  I cried out to Him, He answered specific prayers. I prayed for guidance and He immediately directed my steps. His presence is just evermore present in my life. God alone is all that I need…nothing else in this world can satisfy me like Him. Needless to say it was one of the best weeks. I finally learned what God had been nudging in my heart for a long time. I feel like I can really live now and really live in Him more than ever. I am ready for God to show me even more on how I can be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16).

You live and you learn…but once you learn you can live again.

“The Lord always keeps His promises; He is gracious in all He does. The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads. The eyes of all look to You in hope; You give them their food as they need it. When You open your hand, You satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in everything He does; He is filled with kindness. The Lord is close to all who call on Him, yes, to all who call on Him in truth. He grants the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cries for help and rescues them.” Psalm 145:13-19

I encourage you to let God completely and truly satisfy you. You will be amazed by what happens in your life. . .

“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” -John Piper

eyes on eyes off

Throughout this past week I have really had time to think. Things that have been popping up in my head revolve around the power of God and how we can obtain the same power when trusting in Him. First though, I have come to find out that I need to be completely satisfied by the Lord alone.

The LORD upholds all who fall,
         And raises up all who are bowed down.
 The eyes of all look expectantly to You,
         And You give them their food in due season.
 You open Your hand
         And satisfy the desire of every living thing. 
 The LORD is righteous in all His ways,
         Gracious in all His works.
 The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,
         To all who call upon Him in truth.
 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
         He also will hear their cry and save them.    Psalm 145:14-19

Once I am satisfied and fulfilled by God I can more easily trust Him  Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
   don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
   he’s the one who will keep you on track.

This is not an easy one time thing to do. I daily have to be satisfied by the Lord and trust Him completely. This takes me to Matthew 14…

Matthew 14 is the passage where Jesus’ disciples are in the boat with a storm and Jesus comes walking on water towards them… and then Peter steps out of the boat to go walk to Jesus. Peter had his eyes completely focused on Jesus when he started towards him…and he was walking on water! But then all of a sudden Peter realized the circumstances around him and saw the raging sea. He took his eyes off of Jesus and began to sink… Peter looked back to Jesus and cried to Him… Save me! Jesus IMMEDIATELY reached out His hand to save Peter from drowning.

You know what…Peter was completely alright walking on water- (with God’s power!) – when he had his eyes focused on Christ…but when he looked at the circumstances around him he began to sink and slip away from Jesus. He allowed his circumstances to overwhelm him and not let the power of Christ dwell within him. So then he cried out for Jesus to save him- and what gets me is Jesus immediately saved him. Jesus didn’t allow Peter to drown or he didn’t wait a couple of minutes to teach him a lesson or anything—it was immediate. Peter cried help and Jesus was there to pull him out of his circumstance. Peter needed Jesus.

We are such in need of a Savior…the circumstances of life can overwhelm us if we are not focused on Christ. When we are focused on Christ then we have such a connection with Him and use His power that is within us to accomplish the impossible…but once we lose focus…we lose that power and we drown. As long as we recognize we need Jesus we can be saved.

So how about we trust Jesus enough that we don’t take our eyes off of Him. He can take care of our circumstances and at the same time we are being filled with His presence. That connection with Jesus will be like nothing we have ever felt…and once we have that- we cannot let doubt overwhelm us and allow ourselves to take our eyes of Jesus. Let’s keep our eyes on Him no matter what…no matter what. – however if we do slip and start to drown- do not wait to cry out for help- cry out to be saved before you get underwater. . . cry out to be saved and never go back down.

Keep your eyes on Christ.

…He is the source of satisfaction.