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.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
A Man of Prayers, Part 2
Hey everyone.
I want to continue to look at Nehemiah and his prayer life, because I think that we can learn a lot from it, not just about prayer, but about our relationship with God. (The commentary that I have been reading on Nehemiah, Be Determined, by Warren Wiersbe has been particularly helping to me in picking out some useful little from Nehemiah's prayer. I hope you find the insight useful as well.) We can really see how Nehemiah views God from his prayer. Remember, Nehemiah is praying in distress over the state of Jerusalem.
Let's look first at what Nehemiah calls God:
As his prayer continues, Nehemiah asks God to answer the prayers that he is lifting up before God both day and night. Nehemiah makes his requests to God and is consistent in it. Then he confesses his sin and the sins of his people. He takes responsibility before God and admits that the Israelites have really only received the scattering that their sins had deserved when they were carried off into captivity. But Nehemiah is apparently acquainted with God's word because he looks back to Deuteronomy where God promises that He will gather his people back from where they had been scattered if they repent. He closes his prayer with a request that God would give him success in the "presence of this man." Nehemiah recognized that the king could make good things happen for him, but that this blessing he sought ultimately came from God, not King Artaxerxes.
Tom
I want to continue to look at Nehemiah and his prayer life, because I think that we can learn a lot from it, not just about prayer, but about our relationship with God. (The commentary that I have been reading on Nehemiah, Be Determined, by Warren Wiersbe has been particularly helping to me in picking out some useful little from Nehemiah's prayer. I hope you find the insight useful as well.) We can really see how Nehemiah views God from his prayer. Remember, Nehemiah is praying in distress over the state of Jerusalem.
Let's look first at what Nehemiah calls God:
- "Lord" - He addresses God first as his lord and master. Nehemiah begins by recognizing that God is the one in charge and that he is merely a servant.
- "God of Heaven" - God is holy and is not of this world. He is greater that the false gods that have been fashioned by human hands and dwell on this Earth
- "Great and awesome God" - Our God is awe-inspiring just to contemplate. He is great and powerful and we all need his great power at work in us.
- "Who keeps his covenant" - God's word means something. If he says something, it is true. We have to believe it.
- "of love" God loves. In fact God is live (I John 4:8). He keeps his covenant, and his covenant is about love.
As his prayer continues, Nehemiah asks God to answer the prayers that he is lifting up before God both day and night. Nehemiah makes his requests to God and is consistent in it. Then he confesses his sin and the sins of his people. He takes responsibility before God and admits that the Israelites have really only received the scattering that their sins had deserved when they were carried off into captivity. But Nehemiah is apparently acquainted with God's word because he looks back to Deuteronomy where God promises that He will gather his people back from where they had been scattered if they repent. He closes his prayer with a request that God would give him success in the "presence of this man." Nehemiah recognized that the king could make good things happen for him, but that this blessing he sought ultimately came from God, not King Artaxerxes.
Tom
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
A Man of Prayers
Hey everyone.
I have just returned from my one athletic endeavor of the year, Bogota High School's annual Senior vs. Faculty basketball game. It was fun and we only lost by eight this year. I held my own with four points and ten rebounds. Not bad for a man of my age and relative physical condition.
Any way, I wanted to return to Nehemiah and see what else we can learn from him to help us build our spiritual lives and our ministries. Now to this point we have seen that Nehemiah really cares about God's people. His concern leads almost immediately to prayer. In fact we can see throughout the book of Nehemiah that he is indeed a man of prayer. As I study Nehemiah, I am reading a commentary called Be Determined, by Warren Wiersbe. Wiersbe states that the book of Nehemiah records twelve prayers altogether. That is an impressive number in a book that only has thirteen chapters. That is a rate of almost one prayer per chapter. It says something about Nehemiah - he understood the power and impact of prayer.
Perhaps he was familiar with Psalm 127:1, "Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain." He had something big and important to build and he was wise to turn to God to make things happen for him. In fact, this has brought about a conviction in me that I am foolish if I do not pray. And I do not want to be foolish. I recognize that I am not powerful enough, strong enough, cool enough or smart enough to build a dynamic ministry on my own power, but if I am not praying that is exactly what I am trying to do. So after studying this, I have committed myself to greater prayer, and God has indeed blessed it.
Tom
I have just returned from my one athletic endeavor of the year, Bogota High School's annual Senior vs. Faculty basketball game. It was fun and we only lost by eight this year. I held my own with four points and ten rebounds. Not bad for a man of my age and relative physical condition.
Any way, I wanted to return to Nehemiah and see what else we can learn from him to help us build our spiritual lives and our ministries. Now to this point we have seen that Nehemiah really cares about God's people. His concern leads almost immediately to prayer. In fact we can see throughout the book of Nehemiah that he is indeed a man of prayer. As I study Nehemiah, I am reading a commentary called Be Determined, by Warren Wiersbe. Wiersbe states that the book of Nehemiah records twelve prayers altogether. That is an impressive number in a book that only has thirteen chapters. That is a rate of almost one prayer per chapter. It says something about Nehemiah - he understood the power and impact of prayer.
Perhaps he was familiar with Psalm 127:1, "Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain." He had something big and important to build and he was wise to turn to God to make things happen for him. In fact, this has brought about a conviction in me that I am foolish if I do not pray. And I do not want to be foolish. I recognize that I am not powerful enough, strong enough, cool enough or smart enough to build a dynamic ministry on my own power, but if I am not praying that is exactly what I am trying to do. So after studying this, I have committed myself to greater prayer, and God has indeed blessed it.
Tom
Saturday, March 9, 2013
A Man Who Cares
Hey everyone, last time I wrote about Nehemiah and how he rebuilt the walls in eight weeks that had lay in ruin for over a hundred years. Now I want to start looking at Nehemiah and what he did to make this happen.
In the opening of the book, Nehemiah is in Susa, the capital of the Persian empire. He asks his brother Hanani about the condition of Jerusalem. Hanani had just come from there and reports three things about Jerusalem. First, the people there live in great trouble and disgrace. Second, the walls are broken down and third, the gates have burned with fire. After hearing this new, Nehemiah sits down and weeps.
Understand that Nehemiah had risen to an important position in the Persian government. It had been generations since the inhabitants of Jerusalem had been carried off into exile. Nehemiah was likely born in Persia, and it is possible that he had never been to Jerusalem. Yet when he hears this news he sits down and weeps and mourns for several days for his homeland. Even though he had attained a place of prominence in Susa, he did not consider Susa home, nor had he allowed his heart to be assimilated into the more dominant Persian culture. God's people lived in God's city unprotected, without walls or gates, and Nehemiah cared deeply. He mourned, fasted and prayed for several days. Do you think Nehemiah would have accomplished what he did had he not cared so much? I'm inclined to think that he would not. It was this concern that prompted everything that followed, the prayer, the hard work, everything.
As I examine Nehemiah and look at what he did that enabled him to rebuild the walls and gates of Jerusalem, I have to ask myself, "How much do I care?" Is my concern for God's people prompting me to pray? Is it motivating me to work hard? God has placed each one of us in a ministry. In my case, it is the Youth and Family Ministry. As a high school teacher, I walk the same hallways that our teenagers do, and I can say that our teens walk around in a culture where the spiritual walls have been broken down and the spiritual gates have been burned by fire. They need help to build their own spiritual walls and gates to have protection from the onslaught that the world is bringing at them. I feel the challenge of this and I want to help. I want to help our teens as individuals, and I want work alongside my co-builders to help make our ministry here in New Jersey great.
OK, so we can see Nehemiah begins with concern over the people of God and a burning desire to do fix the situation. So we will continue form here to see what his concern prompted him to do.
In the opening of the book, Nehemiah is in Susa, the capital of the Persian empire. He asks his brother Hanani about the condition of Jerusalem. Hanani had just come from there and reports three things about Jerusalem. First, the people there live in great trouble and disgrace. Second, the walls are broken down and third, the gates have burned with fire. After hearing this new, Nehemiah sits down and weeps.
Understand that Nehemiah had risen to an important position in the Persian government. It had been generations since the inhabitants of Jerusalem had been carried off into exile. Nehemiah was likely born in Persia, and it is possible that he had never been to Jerusalem. Yet when he hears this news he sits down and weeps and mourns for several days for his homeland. Even though he had attained a place of prominence in Susa, he did not consider Susa home, nor had he allowed his heart to be assimilated into the more dominant Persian culture. God's people lived in God's city unprotected, without walls or gates, and Nehemiah cared deeply. He mourned, fasted and prayed for several days. Do you think Nehemiah would have accomplished what he did had he not cared so much? I'm inclined to think that he would not. It was this concern that prompted everything that followed, the prayer, the hard work, everything.
As I examine Nehemiah and look at what he did that enabled him to rebuild the walls and gates of Jerusalem, I have to ask myself, "How much do I care?" Is my concern for God's people prompting me to pray? Is it motivating me to work hard? God has placed each one of us in a ministry. In my case, it is the Youth and Family Ministry. As a high school teacher, I walk the same hallways that our teenagers do, and I can say that our teens walk around in a culture where the spiritual walls have been broken down and the spiritual gates have been burned by fire. They need help to build their own spiritual walls and gates to have protection from the onslaught that the world is bringing at them. I feel the challenge of this and I want to help. I want to help our teens as individuals, and I want work alongside my co-builders to help make our ministry here in New Jersey great.
OK, so we can see Nehemiah begins with concern over the people of God and a burning desire to do fix the situation. So we will continue form here to see what his concern prompted him to do.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Expert Builder
Hey everyone. It's President's Day, and I am off work for the week. Having a bit more time on my hands this week, you may hear from me a little more often.
In my last post, I finished up a six-part lesson about Samson. Having finished studying the book of Judges, I have now turned my attention to the book of Nehemiah. I want share with you briefly why I chose to study this particular book. My wife and I work alongside Ross Lippencott, Manami Kim and some other great disciples with the teens here in New Jersey. Together we are working to build a great ministry for our teens. With that in mind, I read a little booklet written by Dave Pocta on building Youth and Family Ministry. It was very good, and he talked about Nehemiah a lot. It inspired me to examine Nehemiah more closely to see what I can learn to more adeptly build the ministry God has placed me in.
I am learning valuable lessons that I want to share, and the truth is that we are all building something, whether it is a ministry, small group or just our relationship with God. We want to build well. Think about 1 Corinthians 3:10, "By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds." We are all building something. I would assume that we all want to build it well. Let's see what Nehemiah can teach us.
Now to understand what is going on in Nehemiah, we have to understand a few things. First, we need to know that Jerusalem had fallen to the Babylonians in 586 B.C., and many of the inhabitants of the city were carried off into exile. Later the Babylonians were defeated by the Persians, and in 538 B.C. the Persians allow some of the Israelites to return to Jerusalem. In 516 B.C. the temple is rebuilt in Jerusalem as recorded in Haggai, but the walls (the protection) of Jerusalem still lay in ruin. It is not until Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem in 445 B.C. that the walls are rebuilt. Think about this. Nehemiah comes along to fix something that had been broken for 141 years. Israelites had been back in Jerusalem for 107 years and had not rebuilt the walls. Three or four generations had come and gone and no one had fixed the problem. It appears that they had just accepted that the problem was too big to fix for generations, as if they were saying, "Well, that is just the way things are." I'm jumping ahead a little, but when Nehemiah comes along, he sets his mind to fix this problem, and completes the work in 52 days. (See Nehemiah 6:15) A determined man with a great relationship with God fixes a hundred year old problem in less than 8 weeks. I don't know about you, but I think Nehemiah might have some things to teach me, not only about building my ministry, but about fixing the 49 year old problems in my character. I hope you will join me on my journey.
In my last post, I finished up a six-part lesson about Samson. Having finished studying the book of Judges, I have now turned my attention to the book of Nehemiah. I want share with you briefly why I chose to study this particular book. My wife and I work alongside Ross Lippencott, Manami Kim and some other great disciples with the teens here in New Jersey. Together we are working to build a great ministry for our teens. With that in mind, I read a little booklet written by Dave Pocta on building Youth and Family Ministry. It was very good, and he talked about Nehemiah a lot. It inspired me to examine Nehemiah more closely to see what I can learn to more adeptly build the ministry God has placed me in.
I am learning valuable lessons that I want to share, and the truth is that we are all building something, whether it is a ministry, small group or just our relationship with God. We want to build well. Think about 1 Corinthians 3:10, "By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds." We are all building something. I would assume that we all want to build it well. Let's see what Nehemiah can teach us.
Now to understand what is going on in Nehemiah, we have to understand a few things. First, we need to know that Jerusalem had fallen to the Babylonians in 586 B.C., and many of the inhabitants of the city were carried off into exile. Later the Babylonians were defeated by the Persians, and in 538 B.C. the Persians allow some of the Israelites to return to Jerusalem. In 516 B.C. the temple is rebuilt in Jerusalem as recorded in Haggai, but the walls (the protection) of Jerusalem still lay in ruin. It is not until Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem in 445 B.C. that the walls are rebuilt. Think about this. Nehemiah comes along to fix something that had been broken for 141 years. Israelites had been back in Jerusalem for 107 years and had not rebuilt the walls. Three or four generations had come and gone and no one had fixed the problem. It appears that they had just accepted that the problem was too big to fix for generations, as if they were saying, "Well, that is just the way things are." I'm jumping ahead a little, but when Nehemiah comes along, he sets his mind to fix this problem, and completes the work in 52 days. (See Nehemiah 6:15) A determined man with a great relationship with God fixes a hundred year old problem in less than 8 weeks. I don't know about you, but I think Nehemiah might have some things to teach me, not only about building my ministry, but about fixing the 49 year old problems in my character. I hope you will join me on my journey.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Turning Strength into Weakness Part 6
Hey everyone. I'm gearing up for the team lock-in tonight. It's an awesome time. I get to help with the inflatable jousting, whatever that means. Can't wait.
Any way, I thought I would take the time to finish up my thoughts on Samson this morning. Last time we looked at Samson he had pushed the pillars of the temple of Dagon down on hundreds of Philistines as well as himself. What I want to do is now look back at his life and compare the life that was with the life that could have been.
All the way back in Judges 13, when the angel first appeared to Samson's mother, he said that Samson would be the one who "will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines." Samson was the Chosen One. He was selected by God to lead the way in throwing off the yoke of the Philistines. Now to be fair, he did begin this process and the angel did say that he would "take the lead" in this process. So he began a work that took a couple of generations to finish. After Samson came Saul and David, still fighting the Philistines. But imagine if Samson had not been so easily entangled by his sins, appetites and weaknesses. (Look at Hebrews 12:1-2) Imagine if Samson had not been such a lone wolf, instead having great spiritual relationships and really leading the people into battle. Perhaps he could have led the nation into victory in just one generation. Samson did some really cool things, but for a number of reasons, he was not what he could have been. He did not listen to advice. He did not seem to have any real friends to help him. He did not take his vows to God very seriously. An attractive women could get him to behave rather stupidly. He seemed to forget where the power really came from (God) and believed too strongly in his own strength. So near the end he gave the enemies of God an opportunity to rejoice. Had he been true to his vows, serious about his relationship with God, open to advice and not so given to his appetites, this would have been a completely different story. That is why I have entitled this "turning strength into weakness." That is what Samson did. God had given him much strength, but in many cases it was his weaknesses that prevailed. Compare that to Paul in II Corinthians 12:7-10, where God gave him weakness and turned it into strength.
So now apply. We all have dreams, things that we would like to see God accomplish in our lives. Are we doing things that can make those dreams reality? Or are we making the same kinds of mistakes that Samson made? To be sure, we all have weaknesses. We always will. But, the question is, are we allowing God turn these weaknesses into strength, or are we allowing the strengths God has given us to become weakness?
Any way, I thought I would take the time to finish up my thoughts on Samson this morning. Last time we looked at Samson he had pushed the pillars of the temple of Dagon down on hundreds of Philistines as well as himself. What I want to do is now look back at his life and compare the life that was with the life that could have been.
All the way back in Judges 13, when the angel first appeared to Samson's mother, he said that Samson would be the one who "will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines." Samson was the Chosen One. He was selected by God to lead the way in throwing off the yoke of the Philistines. Now to be fair, he did begin this process and the angel did say that he would "take the lead" in this process. So he began a work that took a couple of generations to finish. After Samson came Saul and David, still fighting the Philistines. But imagine if Samson had not been so easily entangled by his sins, appetites and weaknesses. (Look at Hebrews 12:1-2) Imagine if Samson had not been such a lone wolf, instead having great spiritual relationships and really leading the people into battle. Perhaps he could have led the nation into victory in just one generation. Samson did some really cool things, but for a number of reasons, he was not what he could have been. He did not listen to advice. He did not seem to have any real friends to help him. He did not take his vows to God very seriously. An attractive women could get him to behave rather stupidly. He seemed to forget where the power really came from (God) and believed too strongly in his own strength. So near the end he gave the enemies of God an opportunity to rejoice. Had he been true to his vows, serious about his relationship with God, open to advice and not so given to his appetites, this would have been a completely different story. That is why I have entitled this "turning strength into weakness." That is what Samson did. God had given him much strength, but in many cases it was his weaknesses that prevailed. Compare that to Paul in II Corinthians 12:7-10, where God gave him weakness and turned it into strength.
So now apply. We all have dreams, things that we would like to see God accomplish in our lives. Are we doing things that can make those dreams reality? Or are we making the same kinds of mistakes that Samson made? To be sure, we all have weaknesses. We always will. But, the question is, are we allowing God turn these weaknesses into strength, or are we allowing the strengths God has given us to become weakness?
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