Tag: thought

Nehemiah 4:10-14

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional, leadership, NehemiahLeave a comment

Nehemiah 4:10-14

There is something energizing about the beginning of an adventure or project. You start out with all kinds of energy and gusto ready to take on all the challenges that lie ahead. You know that it won’t always be easy sailing, but you are ready for whatever comes. There is a sense of what it could be like; how the world or at least you little corner of it, will be different when it’s all said and done. You are spurred on by hearing success stories of other people in other places and you ask yourself, “why not here? Why not now?” You set your hand to the work and it the motivation comes easy.

Then somewhere in the middle as things begin to take shape you realize that the finished product may look different than your dream. The days seem to get longer when there is hard work to do and shorter when there are deadlines to meet. You find yourself wondering if you should just quit. You have met the resistance! Resistance is that inward voice that tries to get you to throw in the towel early and quit. It’s the part of you that says that it can’t be done. It’s the part that says you have done enough. It’s the little voice that says you gave it a good run or somebody else can take it from here.

Lots of people fade out half way through because of that little internal voice of resistance. They quit early. They miss seeing the mission completed NOT because the enemy outside was too great, but because they gave ear to a voice from the inside that said to quit.

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In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.” At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, “You must return to us.” So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.” (Nehemiah 4:10-14 ESV)

As Nehemiah was finding out, sometimes the greatest obstacles to success don’t come from outside the walls the come from voices inside. The progress was challenged by the internal voices of resistance. The people were talking to one another wondering if they could really get the wall completed with the materials they had on hand. They were already half way there (Nehemiah 4:6) but they were struggling to see the vision of how the other half would come together.

So what do you do when it’s the voice inside telling you to quit? You remember God! Look again at verse Nehemiah 4:14. He doesn’t give a long drawn out speech about duty, or honor, or anything like that. He goes straight to the point. He says, “Remember the great and awe inspiring Lord.” In other words he reminds the people that they didn’t call themselves into this battle. They didn’t start the ruckus. They didn’t even attempt to rebuild the wall in their own strength. This is of the Lord! If God had lead them there he would lead them through.

I don’t know where you are in your fight against resistance but there is only one place to go when the voice inside your head telling you to quit becomes almost deafening. You have to take it to the one who called you to the task in the beginning. Take it to the Lord! Remind yourself of who He is, what He has done, and that if He has called you to this, it will be accomplished! Spend sometime today reflecting on who God is. One of the passages that helps me reflect on the mightiness of God is Psalm 115.

Nehemiah 4:9

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional, leadership, Nehemiah1 Comment

Nehemiah 4:9

I love what the book of Nehemiah teaches us about prayer. Some folks believe that when we pray and ask God for something that it ends there. So they will pray and ask God for a job, but they won’t put a resume out, attend a job fair, or even tell their friends they are looking. They expect the job to fall out of the sky. Granted sometimes God does work in incredibly miraculous ways, but most often prayer is a partnership. We pray and ask in faith and then we act in faith that God will do what He said He would do. So for the guy looking for the job, he prays and asks God for a job. Then acting in faith that God will provide, he goes and looks for the job that God is going to provide! Or the girl who prays for rain; She asks God for rain and then takes an umbrella with her. Both of these requests were in faith that God would answer, and both had a faith step to take.

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But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night. (Nehemiah 4:7-9 ESV)

When things get turned up around Jerusalem and the idle trash talk all the sudden turns into a serious threat Nehemiah and his people are prepared. The very first thing they do is pray. The next thing they do is set up a guard. This is where faith and action meet. They ask for God’s protection and then they diligently set up an alert system should they need to defend themselves. This is like bringing out the umbrella after asking for rain or putting in a job application after asking God for a job. This is faith that God will act.

It is not what you say, but what you do that matters (Nehemiah 4: 6)

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It is not what you say, but what you do that matters (Nehemiah 4: 6)

We just recently saw the 2016 summer Olympics. One of my favorite moments of the Olympics was when South African Swimmer Chad Le Clos’ taunted Michael Phelps. If you don’t know Michael Phelps has won lots of gold medals in swimming over the last several Olympics, he is the man to beat in the pool. It wasn’t just Le Clos’ shadow boxing in front of Phelps that brought a spark to the event it was some of the things he had said before everyone even got to Rio that made this an interesting rivalry. Le Clos’ was out to take down Phelps and his strategy involved trash talking and taunting.

What was really interesting was Phelps response. He just stared. It was a mean stare, no doubt, but it was just a stare. He didn’t say anything back. He didn’t engage in the trash talk. When it was his turn he just got in the pool and beat everyone to win another gold medal. You see Phelps knew something; you can talk all you want, but it’s what you actually do that matters.

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Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders. So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. (Nehemiah 4:4-6 ESV)

Nehemiah does something similar here. He has heard the trash talk from Sanballat and Tobiah. He has prayed to God. He knows he is on the right path. There is no reason to respond with words. The only reaction is with action. He, along with all the people of Jerusalem went right on rebuilding the wall. They didn’t have time to stop.  Shouting back wouldn’t have accomplished anything.

There will be those who come along who will attempt to discourage you from doing the Lord’s work. They will tell you all the ways you are doing it wrong and why it can’t be done. They are experts at trash talking. They will attempt to cause you to fear what they might do, using intimidation as a tactic. Remember though that when it comes to doing the Lord’s work that He will defend His name, we only need to put one foot in front of the other and keep on carrying out the mission.

After the two swimmers got in the pool and the race began someone’s camera caught a picture of the pair near the end. Phelps was winning and he was facing forward looking towards the finish wall. De Clos’ was behind looking across the lane watching Phelps win.

For me the pictures serves as a sober reminder that if Lord has given you something to do, do it with all your might and don’t waste time trash talking or trying to figure out what someone else is doing.

When Insults become cause for Intercession Nehemiah 4:4-5

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Nehemiah 4:4-5

Words sting. We like to pretend they don’t, but they do. They produce pain and they cause us to retaliate. This is how arguments are started. We feel slighted or disrespected and we launch an attack on the other person. We level our own arguments for their inferiority or impossible reasoning. We return fire. We even feel justified, after all, we didn’t fire the first shot… they did. We were only responding in kind.

But what if instead of fighting back and lashing out we simply looked up? What if we took all of our hurts, our stings, our brokenness from whatever someone had said and we put it in the Lord’s hands? How would our lives be different if we took insults and turned them into intercession? That is what Nehemiah does. He doesn’t answer these men for all the insults they have hurled at him or his people. Instead he takes it to God in prayer.

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Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders. (Nehemiah 4:4-5 ESV)

There is comfort in taking your wounds to God. You are asking Him to plead your case. You know that He sees things more clearly than you do and He will meter out justice. Sometimes we forget that when we are on mission with God that we are not the ones who will answer enemy insults, but that our enemies will answer to God for their insults. They have not only attempted to discredit the workers, but they have attempted to discredit the work of God and God is more than capable of taking up for Himself.

Here Nehemiah prays an “imprecatory” prayer. This is the kind of prayer that sounds like you really have it in for your enemies. But a couple of things should be noted. Who can judge Nehemiah’s enemies more justly than God? If Nehemiah’s enemies are in the wrong, should they not be punished? Nehemiah is asking for justice, not revenge.

These men don’t just insult Nehemiah, but by implication by insulting his people, they are insulting God and standing against His plans. He is bringing back and restoring His people from captivity, a resurrection of sorts. A restored wall is a sign of a God who can bring his people back from the edge of destruction. Sanballat and Tobiah stance places them squarely at odds with God because they are at odds with his people. Nehemiah simply asks God to turn their desires for his people back on their own heads.

Trash Talk Doesn’t Get to Define You (Nehemiah 4:1-4)

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Trash Talk (Nehemiah 4:1-4)

I love sports. I particularly enjoyed playing basketball and football in high school. One of the elements of playing sports was the inevitable trash talk. Somebody from one team or the other would feel the need to comment on how poorly the other team was about to perform. It served as a false bravado verbally building up the team doing the trash talking while attempting to psychologically undermine the other side.

If you think about it, trash talking didn’t have any real power. It was just talk, but some guys would let it get in their head. They would either get so mad that they couldn’t think straight or they would start to believe that they were going to lose. The only power that the trash talk could have was the power that those who heard it gave it.

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Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building–if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!” Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. (Nehemiah 4:1-4 ESV)

When the wall starts to get rebuilt it stirs up the enemies of Jerusalem and they the come surround the city and begin a campaign of trash talk. Trash talk is always the same it goes like this, “You can’t do that, because ________.”  The reason doesn’t even have to make sense, it’s just trash talk. Sanballat and Tobiah bring their trash talking A-game in an effort to stop the work on the wall.

I think it’s at this point that it is helpful to realize that Sanballat and Tobiah don’t have Jerusalem’s best interest at heart.  They have a goal; make sure the people never get the wall built.  They don’t want to see the people as strong and independent. They want to exploit the people of Jerusalem and to do that they have to keep the wall from being built.

Along the way you will encounter some trash talk. It’s important to realize what it is, just talk. There are people out there who for whatever reason don’t want the peace of your city. They have an agenda that strikes against everything you will be working to do. They will trash talk. Don’t let it get in your head.

No Expert Builders Listed (Nehemiah 3:8,32)

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No Expert Builders Listed (Nehemiah 3:8,32)

Have you ever felt under-qualified for a task? Like maybe somebody has got to do something, but you can’t do it because the task is bigger than you or requires more knowledge or training than you have? I can’t imagine what it would have been like had the disciples known up front how Jesus would transform their lives and send them to the utter most parts of the earth with His gospel. Each one would have probably rejected the idea out of hand. No way they could do that, but they could and they would. A little time with Jesus shapes us not into the person we think we are, but into the person he has always intended us to be. As the old saying goes, “He doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called.”

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Rebuilding the wall in Nehemiah’s day was no exception. What I love most about Nehemiah chapter three is that while we hear about all the folks who put their hand to rebuilding the wall we don’t hear about any that are qualified. We don’t read word’s like carpenter, stone mason, architect, expert builder, or even handy man. Instead we read things like, priest, perfumer, goldsmiths, and merchants. These are the qualified builders who rebuilt the wall! No expert builders are present! God uses all sorts of people!

You may feel like you are in over your head or are playing in a bigger league than you should. You may think, “I’m just a teenager” or “I just don’t have the gifting. What can I do anyway?” The beauty of taking on a God sized task like reaching your neighborhood, school, or city is that God does all the heavy lifting. He puts us in proximity to others whose hearts are stirred and creates movement. In the end it is His call that qualifies you and no matter how good your resume gets, the call will be the only credentials you ever really needed.

Fight Anxiety with Faith in God, not Faith in You (Nehemiah 2:18-20)

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional, Nehemiah1 Comment

Anxiety can come into our lives though all sorts of avenues. One of the key ways it can creep in though facing opposition. We can hear the negative voices around us and begin to believe them. We can second guess our own thoughts, efforts and plans simply because of what someone else said. Often it is too easy to listen to the voices of the doubters, the haters, and the plain old enemies. So what do you do when you face anxiety because you have listened too much to the voices of your detractors?

Go back and you remember the vision. You remember the plans that were put in your heart, not by your own ambition or effort, but by almighty God himself. You remind yourself that if God is for it… does it matter whose voice is against it?

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And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work. Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work. But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.” (Nehemiah 2:16-20 ESV)

This is what Nehemiah does. When the contemporary leaders of the territories surrounding Jerusalem were pressing in on him, saying that they would get his permissions revoked and that he had no right to rebuild a wall (before a brick was even put on top of another). He didn’t appeal to his own courage, he didn’t appeal to his relationship to the king; he appealed to the will of almighty God. He knew God was in it and therefore it was going to happen. There was no room for anxiety.

So when you face opposition (and you will) be sure to press into God. For years I have been praying the Lord’s prayer (Matthew 6:9-11) as a way of helping me take the focus off the struggles in front of me and placing it on God’s plan and purpose for my life. If he has given you a vision or a dream to reach others, then be sure that He will deliver you, your job is to stay humble and stay close. Make sure that all along the way you are pointing others to the work that God will do and is doing. To take credit for it yourself to stumble and fall before you have reached the finish line.

Don’t Speak About Your Dreams Before You Have Surveyed Reality (Nehemiah 2:11-15)

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Have you ever met someone who was just an open sharer? Every time they opened their mouth they couldn’t help but share anything and everything that was going on in their life. This can be an especially bad condition for a dreamer. They will envision and imagine a brighter future, a better tomorrow, and get folks bought into the vision. But if they don’t have well laid plans; if they don’t have a structure in place, everything will fizzle out. It’s better for dreamers to hold their tongue sometime until they can get enough information to formulate a plan.

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So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned.  (Nehemiah 2:11-15 ESV)

Nehemiah comes to the city and rather than announcing right off the bat that he is there to rebuild the wall, he takes a few days to get to know the city. He takes a few men by the stealth of night to inspect the wall. He knows in general that the wall must be rebuilt; now he needs to see specifically where it is weak and what must be done. Again, Nehemiah isn’t just a dreamer, he is a doer and it shows up in his resolve not to let the cat out of the bag until he knows for sure what he is up against.

You may feel compelled to make a gospel impact in your school and neighborhood, but declaring that you will isn’t the same as actually doing it. Sometimes it is good to bring a few like-minded individuals in to survey the situation and plan accordingly than it is to go fully loaded with just your passion and ego. You might want to bring folks like parents, teachers, youth pastors, etc into your dream and see if they can help show you what you might need to do.

You may need to bring a few Christian neighbors in or see what other Christians are doing on your campus. Clarify the needs around you. Too often we go on mission trips or into situations to “help” others and we assume we know what the needs are and too often we “help” meet a smaller need while ignoring a larger need. Find out about your school, neighborhood, etc.

Is it God’s Will for Me to Face Opposition? (Nehemiah 2:10)

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I had a conversation with a friend one day who was discouraged by some of the circumstances in his life. He thought God had called him to participate in a certain ministry. We reached a point in our conversation where I finally asked him why he was so discouraged. He shared that if it was God’s will for him to be a part of that particular ministry, why was it so hard? In particular, he wanted to know why even seemingly good people wouldn’t jump on board and help.

I understood his thoughts. I’ve been there before. In our culture we have watched so many fairytale movies where everything works out perfectly in the end. We imagine that if God is in something, it will be like that. We are puzzled when we meet opposition. We are discouraged that even though we have prayed and know we are on the right track that forces quickly rise against us.

I was sure to counsel this young man that most often when we are in the center of God’s will, we will face opposition. I pointed him to the cross of Jesus and shared. No one on earth ever walked a path more perfectly, yet faced so much opposition (Hebrews 12:4). Following God’s plan leads us through opposition, not around it, or over it.

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But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.(Nehemiah 2:10 ESV)

 

The story of Nehemiah was turning into a fairytale; he seemed to be getting everything he wanted. He had a dream, he had a plan, he had permission, but now he faced opposition. Finally on the road to rebuild a wall, before he even enters the city, the governors of the surrounding land marshal their minds together and let him know of their displeasure. He doesn’t slow down, he knows he is in the right; he has God on his side, what can opposition mean, other than this is a moment where God will shine the most.

If you plan to effectively reach those in your school and community around you, you must know that you will face opposition, don’t be surprised by it, be ready for it, have your heart prepared in prayer and face it.

Differences That Don’t Divide (Nehemiah 2:9)

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I have two friends who have a disagreement about how to handle a headache. One will get a headache and muscle through it, use a cold rag, essential oils, anything they can before they would ever attempt to take an over-the-counter pain medicine. The other will have a headache and pop an over-the-counter pain medicine right on the spot. They both insist the other is wrong in how to treat a headache. One accuses the other of being too quick to take medicine, the other one accuses them of suffering needlessly when God has provided medicine… Who is wrong and who is right?

I try to convince them that even though they are addressing the same issue (headaches) two different ways that the other person doesn’t have to be wrong. They can still love God just as much as they do, have the same amount of faith, etc. One just trusts that the over-the-counter pain medicine is evidence of God’s grace and the other prefers different means. Too often we as Christians can fight over non-essentials and make a big deal out of something that isn’t a sin or lack of faith, but is simply just a different approach.

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Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen.  (Nehemiah 2:9 ESV)

The occurrences of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah happen pretty closely together. Indeed they used to be considered one book. Ezra was embarrassed to ask for a military escort when he went back to Jerusalem because He had made a big deal about how great his God was (Ezra 8:22).  So Ezra went and made it safely without a military escort, yet when Nehemiah went to Jerusalem he went with a military escort (Nehemiah 2:9). Both had a genuine faith. One believed God would provide without a military escort, the other believed the escort was God’s provision. What we know is that both men had a deep faith and a calling from God.

Nehemiah would end up working with some of the men who returned with Ezra. It was important that though they saw God’s provision in different ways that they trust each other when it came to the task of building a wall.  The body of Christ is too often divided and fractured today not by essential doctrines, but by preferences and differences.