Hey everyone.
In my first post about Nehemiah, I made reference to a Dave Pocta booklet on building the Youth and Family Ministry. The text I am going to talk about today was his starting point and it got me hooked on the study of Nehemiah and asking the questions needed to see this ministry grow. The text of the story is Nehemiah 2:11-18.
Nehemiah sets out to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. After arriving, he sets out during the night to assess the damage on the city. He examines the walls and the various gates that had lay in ruin for generations. After his examination, he pulls the leaders otgether and gives a no-nonsense assessment of their situation, saying "You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruin, and its gates have been burned with fire." Then he lays out the challenge: "Come let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace." (Neh. 2:17) Finally, he shows them how God had already been at work. (Neh. 2:18)
Three things Nehemiah does here to get the building process going. First, he examines the situation. Likewise, if we are looking to build a ministry or are only looking to build on our own spiritual house, we need to take a good honest look at where we are. What do we have? What do we need? Second, we need to be honest about the situation. It would not have helped Nehemiah or the people of Jerusalem one bit if he had said the things were looking good, when they weren't. Being that brutally honest with ourselves is not always easy, but at times it is needed. Nehemiah used words like "in ruins." "burned by fire," and "disgrace." Finally, he called on the people to help him rebuild the city. He would not be able to complete such a project alone.
Wisely Nehemiah finishes his challenge by explaining to these leaders what God had already done. We need a good no-nonsense assessment of our own situation, but if we leave it there and don't bring God's power into the picture, it becomes depressing, because all we are doing is looking at how inadequate we are. The complete picture shows what can be done through God's strength.
Notice at the end of verse 18, how the leaders responded. ""Let us start rebuilding." So they began this good work. So whatever it is that you are building, look at the situation honestly, get the help needed, look to God for help and start building.
Tom
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Saturday, April 6, 2013
A Man who Dares
Hey everyone.
It has been a busy week for the Hugheses. Wendy has been directing the musical at my school and Caleb is in it. The show is this weekend, so we have been very busy. They are doing Guys and Dolls. I saw it last night. It was very good. It was very cool seeing how my son has grown as a performer.
Any way, back to Nehemiah. In my two previous posts, I talked about Nehemiah and his prayer in chapter 1. In chapter 2 we see Nehemiah appearing before the king. The king asked him why he is so sad. He explains what has happened in Jerusalem, and they king asks him what he wants. Nehemiah utters a quick prayer and then is very bold. He wants to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild it. It is a bold request by a servant to the king, but the king grants it. but I want to focus on what happens next. Most people would have just been happy to be allowed to go on this journey, thanked the king and not asked for anything else. Not Nehemiah. Since God had worked this out for him, Nehemiah then asks for letters to the governors guaranteeing their safe passage. Then he asks for lumber from the royal park. Not only does he ask to go, he asks for materials from the king with which to accomplish his task.
Nehemiah makes some very daring requests. But understand that prior to this conversation with the king, Nehemiah had spend considerable time in prayer and fasting before the Lord. This post could be called A Man of Prayers, Part 3. It was his consistent prayer and relationship with God that prompted Nehemiah into such bold action. If you look at Neh. 2:8, after his requests are granted, Nehemiah acknowledges that it was the gracious hand of God at work. Then verse 9 says that the king also sent along army officers and cavalry. So you never know. Pray then be bold. Nehemiah got even more then he asked for. The gracious hand of God was truly at work for this man of prayer.
It has been a busy week for the Hugheses. Wendy has been directing the musical at my school and Caleb is in it. The show is this weekend, so we have been very busy. They are doing Guys and Dolls. I saw it last night. It was very good. It was very cool seeing how my son has grown as a performer.
Any way, back to Nehemiah. In my two previous posts, I talked about Nehemiah and his prayer in chapter 1. In chapter 2 we see Nehemiah appearing before the king. The king asked him why he is so sad. He explains what has happened in Jerusalem, and they king asks him what he wants. Nehemiah utters a quick prayer and then is very bold. He wants to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild it. It is a bold request by a servant to the king, but the king grants it. but I want to focus on what happens next. Most people would have just been happy to be allowed to go on this journey, thanked the king and not asked for anything else. Not Nehemiah. Since God had worked this out for him, Nehemiah then asks for letters to the governors guaranteeing their safe passage. Then he asks for lumber from the royal park. Not only does he ask to go, he asks for materials from the king with which to accomplish his task.
Nehemiah makes some very daring requests. But understand that prior to this conversation with the king, Nehemiah had spend considerable time in prayer and fasting before the Lord. This post could be called A Man of Prayers, Part 3. It was his consistent prayer and relationship with God that prompted Nehemiah into such bold action. If you look at Neh. 2:8, after his requests are granted, Nehemiah acknowledges that it was the gracious hand of God at work. Then verse 9 says that the king also sent along army officers and cavalry. So you never know. Pray then be bold. Nehemiah got even more then he asked for. The gracious hand of God was truly at work for this man of prayer.
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