A Fight Fed by Hope

Please welcome Kelsey Bacon to Daily Bible Blast. Kelsey will be writing each Thursday's devotion. She brings a young adult perspective to these daily reflections on God's Word and His love for each of us. 

Nehemiah 4:6-23

We hear all the time that Advent is a season of hope. Christmas is exciting, joyful, a time to celebrate. At first glance, this Nehemiah passage might not seem joyful and exciting. The Jews were having a rough time of rebuilding their city. They had adversaries who came against them. They felt like they had to be on the defense constantly. I bet they feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones. But reread this passage, and pay attention to the hope. Pay attention to verses like verse 9, “But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat,” and verse 15, “When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to our own work.” Nehemiah is telling the story of his people’s battle against their enemy, and how God was on their side.

In a season of hope and joy, the battle of the world still rages on. The enemy still tries to sneak in and attack. Sometimes it can feel, especially around this time of year, that everything is working against you. When we feel this way, we have to remember that God is on our side. And remember also that he equips us to fight back.

Nehemiah’s people worked with their tools in one hand and their weapons in the other. They were always ready to combat their enemy. God, through Christ, gives us the power to combat the enemy. Our weapons are prayer, Christian fellowship, his Word. Our weapons are quiet time with the Lord in a crazy busy season. Our weapons are kindness and generosity to those in need. This is a fight fed by hope—hope that God is doing his good and righteous work in our world, rebuilding brokenness.

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:13-14.

Reflection:

What redeeming work is God doing in your life right now?

What lies might the enemy be telling you to try and disrupt God’s work in you and how is God equipping you to stand up and fight in hope?

Comment below or email here to add to the conversation!

Don’t Ever Give Up!

To summarize this week in Nehemiah………………………………………

“We lose our way, we get back up again.

It’s never too late to get back up again.

Get up! Get up! You’re gonna shine again.

You may be knocked down, but not out forever.”

Listen to Get Back Up by: Toby Mac

Nehemiah never gave up. Time and time again he corrected, rebuked, and redirected the people in Jerusalem. He was insistent that “we will not neglect the house of our God.” Chapter 10.

As we remember we are just as human as those people in Jerusalem, and just as sinful, we must also be reminded that God is still the same as well. He is all forgiving, and that is very good news for us!

We are always in need of repentance, reform, and re-commitment. Change is possible, yet difficult. We tend to revert back to what has been the norm for us in the past even when we are the right track. It’s tiring to keep getting back up on that horse, and it’s exhausting to hang on for dear life and begin again with a humble heart, but it is always worth it.

We have an open invitation to turn to the Lord, trust in Him and try again. He will always welcome us back with open arms once we pry our heads out of the mouth of our predator!

Read/Listen to:  Nehemiah 13:6-12      Nehemiah 13:15-18   Nehemiah 13:22-27

Commitment - Not Neglect

Nehemiah 9:1-3, 32-38, 10:28-32, 39b

Neglect:

1. Fail to take care of someone. To fail to take care of someone when you are responsible for them

1b. Fail to take care of a place. To fail to take care of a place, for example a house or garden

 2. Fail to do something you should do.

 3. Fail to pay attention to something. To fail to pay attention to something such as an idea or a work of art

                             “We will not neglect the house of our God.”

                                              Nehemiah 10:39b

Fail is not a word or feeling any of us like, particularly when it refers to our own actions…… or lack of. Why then do we so often neglect our responsibilities as Christ followers to do what our God asks of us? Do we use the excuse that we are human, or place blame on others due to their lack of Christian behavior or a personality conflict? Perhaps because we know our Lord will forgive us, we get somewhat sloppy in our approach to life and then confess, reconcile, focus for a while, and eventually fall back again only to start the process over? How exhausting!

We beat ourselves and each other up when we forget how to focus our lives on God just as when the “chosen people” turned away from Him. There was sin, conflict and unrest.

Though our God is a righteous and forgiving God, we know that He will be more than delighted if we remain in his will rather than fading in and out. Why then do we do that? Well it’s hard! 

Maintaining relationships is very challenging, yet our God is a relational God, and we are here to serve one another. Within marriages, families, communities, and far beyond, “to the ends of the earth” actually, we are given the responsibility to spread the Word and Love of our Savior. Let’s not fail to keep Him in the middle of all our relationships. Trust God with your heart and “He Will Restore.” 

Listen to: He Will Restore by Chris August

                                                                                             

Read/Listen to: Nehemiah 9:1-3

                           Nehemiah 9:32-38

                           Nehemiah 10:28-32

                           Nehemiah  10:39

The Walls are Rebuilt….Rejoice!

Nehemiah 8

"They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so the people could understand what was being read.” Nehemiah 8:8

What a gift, to have God’s book read to you, and then explained in a way that relates to your own life. It’s as though the Lord is speaking directly to you and you can make sense of the messages, and the words coming alive within you. That is what our God intended. His Word was written for US.

If you do not yet have the regular experience of feeling God’s word come alive within you when you attend a church service, I urge you to look further. The purpose of a sermon is to make God’s teaching clear and to show relevance to our daily lives just as Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Levites did. The same is true for any devoted Christ follower. Making God’s promises clear and understandable to those who do not know Him and helping them realize the importance and relevance of a relationship with God is a life saving act.

 

Though when we read and listen to God’s Word and reflect on our daily lives, we may become sad and even grieved because we know we are not always following his  commands and directives, Nehemiah reminds us; “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” God’s joy is to show grace and keep His promises. God rebuilds us through his Word. Attending worship service regularly and becoming part of a community of believers is important, but also vital is feeding ourselves through His word. Today, in this country, we can freely access God’s teachings within our own Bibles, so..... read, reflect, act, and rejoice.

The Joy Of The Lord Is Our Strength!

Read/Listen to: Nehemiah 8

Obstacles Everywhere!

Nehemiah 4: 1-3, 6-9, 14-15; 6:1-4, 15-16

 In the 70’s, the Steve Miller Band had a hit song called Jet Airliner. One of the lyric lines was, “You've got to go through hell before you get to heaven.” I recall revisiting that line in my head many times throughout this life, in an attempt to justify the difficulties I faced. There is no triumph without trial.

Nehemiah experienced this just as we do. Scorn and ridicule seemed to be constant. Scorn is the enemy’s oldest weapon. Ridicule needs no fact or argument. It is an attack on morale and breaks us down if we allow it to. Each time Nehemiah was faced with obstacles, his first response was prayer, then action.

Temptation to give up comes when we are at our weakest. Interruption, corruption, tragedy, ridicule, opposition and a host of other distractions are used by the evil one to disband our efforts to do good things for the Lord and to live our lives in accordance with the scriptures.

When faced with difficulties, and obstacles that seem too overwhelming to overcome, look to God for vindication. Soak up his word. Seek his wisdom. Then carry on with his works. It is far easier said than done, but as Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 15:10; “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” We cannot go it alone. It is by the grace of our God we can carry on through our struggles.

Jesus was human. He endured unbelievable and undeserved ridicule and physical torture. He went through what many would term “hell on earth.” Now he is in heaven. And because of what he did for us, we can go there too…when our trials are over.

Nehemiah 4

Nehemiah 6

Lead – Follow – Or Get Out of the Way!

Nehemiah 1: 11-18

It is comforting and inspiring when a strong, confident leader takes hold of a situation and stands firm regarding what needs to be done. Many of our country’s great leaders and doers were those who could instill this type of feeling in us. “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” J.F.K. “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” Ronald Reagan. “I have a dream!” Martin Luther King. Thank God for strong, insightful managers of this nation!

Nehemiah was this type of man. He was not bold or crass, but a sincere man of God on a mission, with the breath of the Lord at his back, filling his sails to continually remind him of his great mission.

Nehemiah demonstrated patience, wisdom and caution, yet was passionate. He may not have felt like a leader before the Lord put this burning on his heart to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, but as he listened and obeyed, his charge became clear and the leader in him evolved into something unstoppable.

Leaders are not just dreamers, though it may start out that way. They may initially be followers or even just bystanders, until in the quiet and stillness they hear the voice of God. We can all be leaders in some way, as we think, plan and work toward taking action on what is placed on our heart to accomplish for the glory of God.

As God invites us to accomplish great things for Him, He challenges us not to go it alone. If we are in the lead, we are to take others along with us and light the way. If we are following, we are side by side with other followers doing the will of the Lord, perhaps leading within the group. And if we are standing out of the way, we should be holding out our hand, ready to be pulled in, and get to work!.

Nehemiah 2: 1-18 

Nehemiah 2:1-8 Prayer First

Perhaps it is best to read these 8 verses in Nehemiah, before going any further. It may sometimes seem as though we are backtracking or repeating as you read the Daily Bible Blast, however there is meaning and purpose in the progression. This link will bring you to the new BibleGateway.com. There you can read, or click the speaker button to simply listen to: Nehemiah 2: 1-8

 

With great respect to God and the king, Nehemiah made his request to go to Jerusalem. He did not immediately blurt out to King Artaxerxes the burden that was upon his heart when the king inquired. He instead "prayed to the Lord of heaven," and then replied to the king, beginning with "If it pleases the king...."

Nehemiah did not immediately flee from his responsibilities as the cup-bearer to the king, and return to Jerusalem to begin his plight as re-builder of the wall. Though he likely longed to arrive as quickly as possible to get the restructuring under way and protect his people, Nehemiah viewed all of his work as labor for the Lord as the bible calls us to do in Colossians 3:23. (NIV) “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as for the Lord….”

Nehemiah covered all of his bases so to speak. He prayed, sincerely summarized his dismay, and then requested permission to follow through with what he believed was his calling from God. “And because the gracious hand of God was upon me, the king granted my request.” Nehemiah 2:8

From there, the journey was difficult, but because Nehemiah took his time establishing a firm foundation before beginning his mission, he was able to comfortably carry on. He had the approval of the king, and the blessing of the Father.

Dear Lord, your love and grace are far beyond our understanding. We praise and worship you for being such a perfect and awesome God.Though through our imperfection we make mistakes and fall short of what we are called to be, please continue to be patient when we do not go to you first but instead attempt to change and fix things on our own. Nehemiah is an amazing example of how to prioritize and plan. May our hearts be reminded to turn to the ways of those like Nehemiah as we build and rebuild our own Jerusalem. Amen  

Nehemiah 1: 1-11

 A Wall Rebuilt, a Nation Revived

As we move forward on our quest through the book of Nehemiah, we will learn together about his many gifts, his heart for our Lord, and the leadership that evolved within him to bring about miraculous change and the return to faithfulness in Jerusalem and beyond. Most of this book is taken from Nehemiah’s own memoirs, so the insight is personal, and the account, very real.

Some background information is important at this time:

Nehemiah was serving as a royal official in the court of King Artaxerxes in Susas, the capital of the Persian Empire. He was a cupbearer to the King, which is a considerable responsibility, as he tasted the king’s food and wine before serving them to him. While serving the king, Nehemiah got word that though thousands of Jewish exiles returned to Judea, Jerusalem’s wall was still in ruins and the city remained exposed to danger. Nehemiah’s response to this information is the subject of the book of Nehemiah.

You will also hear of Ezra throughout the book of Nehemiah. He was a priest and teacher of the law, with a humble heart for the Lord. He led many Jewish exiles back to Israel. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are intricately related as you will see.

We will learn of the tremendous will of Nehemiah as we delve into his book. The pulse of this man’s devotion is constant and brisk, and the personality that shines through as we read and reflect on his words and actions, is nothing short of inspiring!

Please join us, as we learn of this devoted servant of God, and experience the zeal with which he peruses his goals in the face of scandalous irreverence in the name of the Lord!

Nehemiah 1: 1-11

A must-read for those who must lead

“The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.  Then I said to them, ‘You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire.  Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.’  I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me.  They replied, ‘Let us start rebuilding.’  So they began this good work.”  Nehemiah 2:16-18

Tucked away on a shelf in the Library of the Bible is a short story titled, “Nehemiah.”  An autobiographical account of the Jerusalem city wall restoration, “Nehemiah” can be found in the “history” aisle.  Pull it down, blow off the dust from its cover, and crack its binding.  For in the pages of this overlooked gem lie one of the best leadership stories you will ever read ... and some of the greatest leadership lessons you will ever glean.

In today’s lesson [Nehemiah 2:11-20 (NIV)], for instance, you will discover patience and discipline in performing a crucial situation analysis ... wisdom in communications timing ... inspiration of graspable, compelling vision ... and strength in declaring truth in the face of opposition.  All of this in just 10 verses!

Here are some other leadership topics you will discover in the story of Nehemiah, each one filled with an engaging blend of conceptual insight and practical application ...

Leadership prerequisite: a heart for God and a heart for people ... Nehemiah 1
Humility, integrity and wisdom before the authorities of this world ... Nehemiah 2
Establishing, tasking and empowering affinity teams ... Nehemiah 3
Responsiveness, readiness, and resolve in resisting opposition ... Nehemiah 4
Deliberation, confrontation and fairness in the face of internal injustice ... Nehemiah 5
Discernment, wisdom and steadfastness in the face of external treachery ... Nehemiah 6
Celebrating success (“... the joy of the Lord is your strength”) ... Nehemiah 7-8
Integrity: confession and repentance at the hearing of God's Word ... Nehemiah 9-10
Restoring God-centered community in the place of ruin ... Nehemiah 11-12
Purity: confronting the evil that inevitably seeks its way back into a revived people ... Nehemiah 13

On display throughout this book is a leader who was first submissive to his God and always proactive before God's people in wisdom, humility, clarity and strength.  There, too, is the proof of true leadership: a people flourishing.  For Nehemiah cared for God’s people in every way: spiritually, mentally and physically; against external opposition and from internal disobedience; in correction and in encouragement; in despair and in celebration.

Prior to Peter Drucker ... millennia before Jim Collins ... when no one had heard of a Clayton Christensen or a Ram Charan or any other leadership guru of our esteem, there was Nehemiah. 

He's a must-read for those who must lead.

Brick by Brick

The Babylonian exiles were returned to their home land after the prophesied time had passed. They returned in three groups. The first group was led by Zerubbabel, the second by Ezra and Nehemiah brought the final group back home. When Nehemiah returned he found his city defenseless; no walls to protect it from their enemies.

Nehemiah 1:5-6 (MSG)
 I said, "GOD, God-of-Heaven, the great and awesome God, loyal to his covenant and faithful to those who love him and obey his commands: Look at me, listen to me. Pay attention to this prayer of your servant that I'm praying day and night in intercession for your servants, the People of Israel, confessing the sins of the People of Israel. And I'm including myself, I and my ancestors, among those who have sinned against you. 

Nehemiah is a model of committed, God-honoring leadership. The Book of Nehemiah contains many useful lessons for today's leaders to learn. He saw the condition of the city and decided to do something about it. He was determined to help rebuild the city's fallen walls. To do this, he needed the blessing of the King. So, first he prayed.

Next he approached King Artaxerxes and asked for permission to go to Jerusalem and the king approved. Nehemiah organized this massive construction project, delegated various duties and assigned specific sections of the wall to his crews.

This story is one of challenge.  It is one of prayerful, faith driven passion. Nehemiah miraculously completed this project in 52 days. His enemies became even more fearful of him because they knew God was on their side for them to have accomplished this feat in such a short time.

Is there a 'project' God has placed on your heart?  Are you wrestling with a burden to right a wrong?  Follow Nehemiah's lead and pray first; seeking God's direction and His peace. Pour your heart out to God and ask specifically for your request to be answered. Then stand back and give God room to work. It will be amazing.

Nehemiah 1:1-11