180th Week, Nehemiah Intro - Chapter 3 (Click on Title for Video Intro)

-

Click on Title for video Intro


Monday, Easter Blessings
Luke 24 
Verse 53
Jane Jones

Verse 53:  "And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God." 

THOUGHT
Can you imagine how thrilled, excited and happy the disciples, the Mary's, and Jesus' family were when they heard the news about Jesus? The elation must have been awesome. I thought it perfect that they went to the temple, staying continually, praising God. What a great show of appreciation for what God had done through Jesus Christ. They felt the closest to God and Jesus in the temple. 

To sum it up, Luke's Gospel portrays Jesus as the perfect example of a life lived according to God's plan...as a child living in obedience to his parents and yet amazing the religious leaders in the temple; as an adult serving God and others through preaching and healing; and finally as a condemned man suffering without complaint. 

As believers living according to God's plan, we too should obey our Lord in every detail as we seek to restore people's bodies and souls to the health and salvation God has in store for them. If we want to know how to live a perfect life, we can look to Jesus as our example. 

PRAYER 
God, You are perfect. Jesus was perfect. Our goal is to strive to be like You and live a life like You. We pray that we will look to Jesus as our example. We thank You for the chance to ask for forgiveness for our imperfect ways. You are an awesome God, and You have shown us that through the life of Jesus. We love You, Jesus.  AMEN 


Tuesday, Nehemiah Introduction
Nehemiah Intro
Jane Jones

THOUGHT
Nehemiah’s life is an example of leadership and organization. Giving up a comfortable and wealthy position in Persia, he returned to the fractured homeland of his ancestors and rallied the people to rebuild Jerusalem’s wall. In the face of opposition, he used wise defense measures to care for the people and to keep the project moving. To accomplish more for the sake of God’s kingdom, we must pray, persevere, and sacrifice, as did Nehemiah.

Does God have a vision for us? Are there ‘walls’ that need to be built today? I couldn’t help but think literally about the walls of the church addition at Haddington New Testament Church of Jesus Christ in Jamaica. This addition for the children...is that a room that He wants me to put up the walls for? I think it is so clear at times that this is what I am to do. What holds me back? Am I afraid to step out in faith? Does it look like too large of a project? Why do I hesitate?

Does God have a vision for you? Are there ‘walls’ that need to be built today with you in mind? God still wants His people to be united and trained to do His work. In a small way we are doing that as a group in Jamaica. As we recognize deep needs in our world, God can give us the vision and desire to ‘build’. With that vision we can mobilize others to pray and put together an action plan. Are we truly doing all we can in Jamaica???

We are a work in progress.

PRAYER
Lord, lead the way to the walls we need to build. AMEN


Wednesday, Nehemiah Chapter 1
Nehemiah 1
Verse 4
Jane Jones

Verse 4:  When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of Heaven.

THOUGHT
Nehemiah fasted and prayed for several days, expressing his sorrow for Israel’s sin and his desire that Jerusalem would again come alive with the worship of the one true God. Nehemiah demonstrated the elements of effective prayer: (1)praise, (2)thanksgiving, (3)repentance, (4)specific request, and (5)commitment.

I’m not sure how you guys measure up, but I do okay with 1-4; but when I get to 5 that is when I start to get a little shaky.  Right now in my life, it is that commitment to my family and church in Jamaica that I’m pretty weak and come up short. I could be working harder and doing more. To me it seems like such a huge task of building that small room in the church, but with faith, hope, and trust in God the Bible tells us we can move mountains. So why can’t I build a small room onto a church?

PRAYER
Dear Lord, we praise You and thank You for ‘one day in the life’. May we live it committed to You.  AMEN


Thursday, Nehemiah Chapter 2
Nehemiah 2
Jane Jones

THOUGHT
Nehemiah was very much afraid in this chapter, he prayed continually for direction, he sought help from people who were able to help, and he was instrumental in seeking information that would be able to help.  Nehemiah was really quite a guy.

1) How many of us allow our fears to rule us, and make fear more powerful than God?
2) If we want to reach God with our emergency prayers, we need to take time to cultivate a strong relationship with God through times of in-depth prayer.
3) We should never be reluctant to ask those who are most able to help. They may be more interested and approachable than we think. God’s answers to prayer may come as a result of our asking others.
4) Do you acknowledge God as your power source and the giver of your gifts?
5) Check your information to make sure your idea will work and be realistic. Then you will be able to present your plan with confidence.

We learned a lot today. Nehemiah was no fool. He relied on the Lord.

PRAYER
Father God, we pray for strength to carry on each and every day.  Take our fear of the unknown away and give us security in our faith.  Help us to seek out direction from the people who would be the best help and who would know Jesus Christ as their Savior.  Give us direction in the book of Nehemiah.  In the Name of Jesus.  AMEN


Friday, Nehemiah Chapter 3
Nehemiah 3
Jeanie Boldt

THOUGHT
This chapter spoke of workers involved in building and repairing and fortifying the city walls. This was not just a small wall. It involved a large section of land around the city. The walls and gates were important for the protection of the people and the beauty of the city. It also served as a
means for trade and livelihood for the people. The gates were quite large and made of stone. They were actually gates that would open and close roads into the city. At times of peace the gates were hubs of activity while at times of unrest, they served as a military priority. 

The rebuilding of this huge project was quite an undertaking for Nehemiah. He organized teams of tribes and people who took a certain section and would work on that with their goal in mind while another team would do theirs. They all worked together including the leader himself side by side with the people.

I couldn’t help but think about our camping trip this weekend. Rory and I helped set up camp. When Heather and David got there, we set up their tent and prepared for fun, supper and campfire. We all came together during the storm and helped keep all of our things safe and dry. In the AM Heather, David and I broke camp and took all the wet things home where we unpacked them for drying. Rory got home from work to hang the tents by rope and then do the packing of them away when they were dry.  We all had our parts and did the job. The main thing is that there was a spirit of cooperation.

Now we can parallel this to the church also. There will be people of all kinds with all kinds of talents. They must find the area where they can serve the Lord the best and do it with the attitude of Christ. What great servants we would be to further His kingdom. We don’t have to build a huge wall. All we have to do is use our talents to glorify the Lord here for His Kingdom.

PRAYER
Father, thank You for the USA and the freedom that we have to worship and love You.  We lift up all those serving our nation right now and give You thanks for those who have dedicated their lives for the freedom that we so enjoy. We love being able to worship You in spirit and in safety.  Thank You for the lesson that Nehemiah demonstrated in this chapter. May we all be members of the Team of Jesus Christ and work for the Kingdom of God. Help us to recognize our talent and to use it for Your glory.  In the Name of Jesus.  AMEN







Comments

  1. Cathi WoellsApril 16, 2024 at 5:55 PM

    I found the building of the wall absolutely fascinating. I googled "Nehemiah's wall" and saw that the wall was not as big as future walls built around Jerusalem. Nehemiah's wall was built by people like you and me, and their families. They used the rubble that remained from the previous wall. Archeologists described it as unprofessional and hastily assembled. Yes, hastily in 50 some days and unprofessional because it was constructed by the citizens. Depending on the source you view, the wall today is 9' high but it was much higher in Nehemiah's day they say, as high as 40' some say. It was also 9' thick. That is some heavy construction for normal citizens. They were just stacking rock upon rock to make a wall. That's a mic drop to me!

    Can you imagine in today's world if we had to construct a wall around our apartment complex, in my situation, or around your housing development, maybe in your situations. As residents we would be given directions as to our shifts to work on the walls and protect the wall. Do you think in our society today we would have 100% buy-in like the Israelites did for the Nehemiah wall? In my personal opinion, I don't believe we would. That is another reason I find Nehemiah's wall absolutely fascinating, the buy-in of the people.

    I am amazed. Thank you, Jeanie, for bringing this to my attention.

    Thank you for reading.

    Cathi Woells

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

210th Week, Song of Songs Chapters 5-8 (Click on Title for Video Intro)

-
Image
  Click of Title for Video Intro Monday, Song of Songs Chapter 5 Song of Solomon 5  Jane Jones THOUGHT The Book of Song of Solomon is really a truly amazing, love story. Solomon was very much in love; and just the fact that it is in the Bible, I think is truly amazing. It is a for sure fact that God definitely wants love to be first and foremost in our lives, first of Him, secondly for our spouse, and thirdly for our children. Chapter 5 tells us about a bad dream that Solomon’s lover had. Part of it referred to reaching out to her lover in the night, and he was gone. It was like a nightmare to her.  I’m sure we have all experienced nightmares at one time or other about our marriages, partners, or children. No matter what the nightmare, we do wake up in the morning to find that things are okay. That God has not left or forsaken us. We all have been praying so often, so hard, and so much for the Ruden Family. Our hope was that their house would sell soon, that Alan would fi...
Read more

3rd Week, II Thessalonians

-
Image
Week Three, II Thessalonians  Monday, Introduction II Thessalonians Intro Jeanie Boldt THOUGHT This letter was written by Paul about 2 months after he had sent the first letter to Thessalonica. Many in the church were confused about the timing of Christ’s return. Many thought that He could come at any moment so they stopped working for the Lord and just waited. Adding fuel to the fire was the continued persecution of the church. Many felt that indeed this must be the “Day of the Lord”. Responding quickly, Paul sent a second letter to this young church. In it he gave further instruction concerning the second coming and the day of the Lord. The letter begins with Paul’s trademark greeting. He mentions their perseverance in spite of their persecution and trials and uses this situation to broach the subject of Christ’s return. Paul shared that at this time Christ will vindicate the righteous who endure and will punish the wicked. We are closer to Christ’s second coming than the Thessal...
Read more

201st Week, II Kings Chapters 5-9 (Click on the Title for Video Introduction)

-
Image
  Click on Title for Video Intro Monday, II Kings Chapter 5 II Kings 5 Verse 13 Jane Jones Verse 13:  But his servants caught up with him and said, “Father, if the prophet had asked you to do something hard and heroic, wouldn’t you have done it? So why not this simple ‘wash and be clean’?” THOUGHT Why do we think that everything great that comes from God is huge, impressive, hard and heroic? Obedience to God begins with humility. These first five chapters have been such great lessons on humility. We must believe that His way is better than our own. We may not always understand His ways of working, but by humbly obeying, we will receive His blessings. We must remember that (1)God’s ways are best; (2)God wants our obedience more than anything else;  (3)God can use anything to accomplish His purposes. The only thing that Naaman had to do to have his leprosy washed away is similar to what we must do to have our sin washed away -- humbly accept God’s mercy. We need to be humbl...
Read more