Are You Committed To Make It Work?

Are You Committed To Make It Work?

Any Godly project takes work to maintain, are you willing to make it work? Today, we are finishing the book of Nehemiah with chapter 13. If you remember, Jerusalem was destroyed, GOD put it in Nehemiah's heart to build the wall. After starting the wall they faced severe opposition to the point of death. But, with much prayer and faith the wall was finished in 52 days.

The city was secure and now the people could focus their attention on GOD, and repair their relationship with HIM while building a city. Nehemiah must of saw that is was good, he accomplished what GOD had put in his heart to do, he left Jerusalem only to return some time later. Were things the same? Had they changed since he left..........

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Nehemiah was governor of Judah for two terms. Nehemiah was absent from Jerusalem for an undetermined amount of time, since he had to ask if he could return back (13:6-7) it was probably not the intention of King Artaxerxes to have him return. The text does not say that he returned as governor or just to take care of the circumstances concerning Tobiah.

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The men from Tyre (13:16) were merchants who traded throughout the Mediterranean world. There must have been a colony who had been permitted to operate outside the parameters of Jewish law.

Scripture

While this was taking place, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king. And after some time I asked leave of the king and came to Jerusalem, and I then discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, preparing for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber. Then I gave orders, and they cleansed the chambers, and I brought back there the vessels of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense. - Nehemiah 13:6-9

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Thought For the Day

Today, we are finishing with the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah has not just been a book on how to get things done, a wall built, a city started, or the thoughts of a great leader. Nehemiah has been a book on how to hear GOD's call for us to build something, how to launch that call, protect it, expect resistance from satan, and today, maintain that calling. Remember, Nehemiah was just an ordinary person like you or I. GOD called him to help rebuild HIS city.

GOD may put it in your heart to build anything, it does not have to be as spectacular as the Jerusalem wall. It could be a marriage, a friendship, a men's or women's group, a church, or a business.

I am sure that in your lifetime GOD is going to put it in your heart to build several things. Today, I wanted to take a look at how to maintain those things that you were called to build, and look to the next project GOD is calling you to.

In chapter 13 we see Nehemiah returning to the city that GOD put in his heart to build. It does not say how long Nehemiah was gone, but, I think it might of been a little too long. After Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem, I see several words in the NIV version that appear more than once; "I rebuked", "I warned", and "I Purified". The people/us are born sinful. It is very easy to fall back into those sinful patterns as Nehemiah found out when he returned and found them holding tithes from the Levites, corruption inside the Temple (Tobiah), and selling and buying on the Sabbath.

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Once you start a project and get it running, you have to maintain it. You can not walk away from it, and let it run by itself. If it is your marriage, it will take daily visits and lots of work. If it is a relationship with your son or daughter, it also might take a couple visits a week to keep an open and honest relationship. If it is a friendship that you have developed, it might take a cup of coffee every week to see how that person is doing.

If you are maintaining a business type project like a church or business, Nehemiah has great advise in Chapter 13:13

"I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a Levite named Pedaiah in charge of the storerooms and made Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, their assistant, because these men were considered trustworthy. They were made responsible for distributing the supplies to their brothers". 

Once your project is up and running, it will take time and effort to keep it maintained. It will not maintain itself. Budget time to keep the passion that GOD has put in your heart alive! Have a Blessed day and I hope to see you Tuesday when we start Esther! GOD Bless. :)

Closing Prayer

Dear JesusThank You Father for the words and heart of Nehemiah. Father I pray that I will keep the passion going in my life and that I will be open to any appointments that You place on my heart. I pray that I am able to drop what I need to be there where You want me.

I love You Father and I pray in Your Great Name, Amen.

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Nehemiah 13

It Takes Work - Nehemiah 13

Insight Into Scripture

Good Morning! I hope that you have had a restful weekend.Today, we are finishing the book of Nehemiah with chapter 13. If you remember, Jerusalem was destroyed, GOD put it in Nehemiah's heart to build the wall. After starting the wall they faced severe opposition to the point of death. But, with much prayer and faith the wall was finished in 52 days.

The city was secure and now the people could focus their attention on GOD, and repair their relationship with HIM while building a city. Nehemiah must of saw that is was good, he accomplished what GOD had put in his heart to do, he left Jerusalem only to return some time later. Were things the same? Had they changed since he left..........

Bringing the Bible Alive

Nehemiah was governor of Judah for two terms. Nehemiah was absent from Jerusalem for an undetermined amount of time, since he had to ask if he could return back (13:6-7) it was probably not the intention of King Artaxerxes to have him return. The text does not say that he returned as governor or just to take care of the circumstances concerning Tobiah.

The men from Tyre (13:16) were merchants who traded throughout the Mediterranean world. There must have been a colony who had been permitted to operate outside the parameters of Jewish law.

Scripture

6 While this was taking place, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king. And after some time I asked leave of the king 7 and came to Jerusalem, and I then discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, preparing for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. 8 And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber. 9 Then I gave orders, and they cleansed the chambers, and I brought back there the vessels of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense. - Nehemiah 13:6-9

Thought For the Day

Today, we are finishing with the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah has not just been a book on how to get things done, a wall built, a city started, or the thoughts of a great leader. Nehemiah has been a book on how to hear GOD's call for us to build something, how to launch that call, protect it, expect resistance from satan, and today, maintain that calling. Remember, Nehemiah was just an ordinary person like you or I. GOD called him to help rebuild HIS city.

GOD may put it in your heart to build anything, it does not have to be as spectacular as the Jerusalem wall. It could be a marriage, a friendship, a men's or women's group, a church, or a business.

I am sure that in your lifetime GOD is going to put it in your heart to build several things. Today, I wanted to take a look at how to maintain those things that you were called to build, and look to the next project GOD is calling you to.

In chapter 13 we see Nehemiah returning to the city that GOD put in his heart to build. It does not say how long Nehemiah was gone, but, I think it might of been a little too long. After Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem, I see several words in the NIV version that appear more than once; "I rebuked", "I warned", and "I Purified". The people/us are born sinful. It is very easy to fall back into those sinful patterns as Nehemiah found out when he returned and found them holding tithes from the Levites, corruption inside the Temple (Tobiah), and selling and buying on the Sabbath.

Once you start a project and get it running, you have to maintain it. You can not walk away from it, and let it run by itself. If it is your marriage, it will take daily visits and lots of work. If it is a relationship with your son or daughter, it also might take a couple visits a week to keep an open and honest relationship. If it is a friendship that you have developed, it might take a cup of coffee every week to see how that person is doing.

If you are maintaining a business type project like a church or business, Nehemiah has great advise in Chapter 13:13

"I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a Levite named Pedaiah in charge of the storerooms and made Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, their assistant, because these men were considered trustworthy. They were made responsible for distributing the supplies to their brothers".Once your project is up and running, it will take time and effort to keep it maintained. It will not maintain itself. Budget time to keep the passion that GOD has put in your heart alive! Have a Blessed day and I hope to see you Tuesday when we start Esther! GOD Bless. :)

Closing Prayer

Dear JesusThank You Father for the words and heart of Nehemiah. Father I pray that I will keep the passion going in my life and that I will be open to any appointments that You place on my heart. I pray that I am able to drop what I need to be there where You want me.

I love You Father and I pray in Your Great Name, Amen.

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Nehemiah 7-8

Open the Book! - Nehemiah 7-8

Insight Into Scripture

Good Morning! I am so happy that you have taken time out in your day to join me! Let's bring everyone up to speed.

After severe opposition, Nehemiah and company, through GOD's grace finished the wall in 52 amazing days. The city was secure, safe, and they were ready to start to build a community.

In chapter 7 Nehemiah lists all the men who returned back to the new city and their responsibilities. I know that these lists can be boring or dry at times, but GOD put these names in the Bible to honor them, so take some time to read over them, there are some neat names in there. At the end of chapter 7 we read how some families stepped up and gave tithes to jump start the city (7:70-72).

Chapter 8 tells how all 50,000 attended their first church service. The church service was lead by Ezra, see how these two books are intertwined? Ezra read from the Book of Moses, the Pentateuch (First 5 book of the Bible) and the people worshiped GOD.

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The tithes that were given by the heads of families to help start the city were 370 lbs of gold, and 2,220 lbs of silver. Close to 4 million dollars in today's world (7:70-72)The Water Gate where they gathered to worship was by theGihon Spring. This gave them access to water (8:1).Did you notice the humility of Nehemiah? This was his desire to start the city, through GOD he built the wall, which allowed the city to thrive. But, when it was time to teach the people he did not take that role, it was not his strength. A great example of humility!

In verses 8:13-18 the people were celebrating The Feast of Booths or The Feast of Tabernacles.

Scripture

5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. 6 And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, "Amen, Amen," lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. - Nehemiah 8:5-6

Thought For the Day

I have heard, that the Bible is the most published book we have, but, on the flip side, it is the least read book we have. How SAD! We have this amazing gift from GOD, yet, most of us take it for granted. Take a look at how hungry the people were at Ezra's first church service.

They did not have publications of the Bible to hand out, they had to attend a gathering to hear the word of the LORD. When they heard the word they lifted up their hands in worship, then, fell face first to the dirt in humility. When they heard the word they were deeply convicted. Their dirt began to turn into mud. But, Ezra, the priests, and the Levites help the people see the grace, mercy, and forgiveness of GOD. Their sadness turned into joy and a celebration to GOD.

You have this amazing book that Ezra reads from (The first 5 books of the Bible). Plus you have 61 more amazing books! When was the last time you Opened the Book? A year? A month ago? Last week? Yesterday........ Never? If you want to have a relationship with the GOD of the universe, if you want to see HIM move powerfully in your life, it will NEVER happen if you do not Open the Book. Since I have started to read the Bible everyday.... twice a day, I have been blown away at the knowledge the Holy Spirit has given me. Once you experience a taste of GOD moving in your life, you are addicted. It is the most amazing experience you will ever experience.

If you are not on a reading program you can use ours in GODS411 website. If you can't find the time to read everything on the list, that is OK, read what you can. If you fall behind do not try and catch up with your reading, just jump to the current day. The point is to spend sometime in The Book...... Time with Jesus! If you do not have a Book. Please respond back to this message, it is a gift from GOD. No one should be denied this gift.

Have an awesome weekend, find some time to Open the Book, and I will see you Monday morning! - GOD BLESS!!! :)

Closing Prayer

Dear JesusI love You Father for allowing me to just be me and to have a real, loving relationship with the God of the universe. I pray Father that if there is someone out there that I can touch with Your words or just a shoulder to cry on, that You will send that person my way and I pray the Holy Spirit wil intervene and give me the right things to say. Thank You for Your guidance and love. In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.

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Nehemiah 4-6

The Trowel and the Sword - Nehemiah 4-6

Insight Into Scripture
Today, we are going to read chapters 4 through 6. To bring you up to speed with the story, the walls that were built to protect Jerusalem the city, the church, and the people was destroyed. The city was destroyed. Nehemiah and a band of believers that were called to rebuild the wall...... really the city, GOD's city.
Starting in Chapter 4 Nehemiah starts to have opposition, then in chapter 5 Nehemiah has to take care of an internal problem that came in the way. Chapter 6, Nehemiah saw more resistance to building the wall, even a threat to his life (6:10), but, towards the end of the chapter they finish the wall in 52 days (6:15).

Bringing the Bible AliveThroughout biblical times the sounding of the trumpet; or shofar, was used for signaling. In Nehemiah's case, if the shofar was blown, all the people would gather as one, for protection (4:18).
In biblical times people could not go into debt as we can today. They would sell their children into slavery to pay off their debt, hoping to redeem at a later time (5:1-19).
Nehemiah was a leader and business man, he was not a Levite or priest. It would have been wrong for him to go into the temple as he was told to do. He would be breaking a commandment of GOD (6:10)

Scripture
Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. 18 And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me. - Nehemiah 4:17-18 ESV

Thought For the Day
Charles Spurgeon wrote a book, The Sword and the Trowel. I am sure that you know what a sword looks like, but do you know what a trowel looks like? A trowel looks like a pointed spatula. It is a tool that is used while laying brick, it lays the cement between the bricks, it also smoothes and removes the extra cement...... it is used for building things.
So, maybe instead of calling this devotional The Trowel & the Sword, we could call it Build and Protect. Let's face it, life is work...... it is building things. Whether it is a family, business, friendship, church, marriage, savings account, retirement, you name it. your life is spent building things. Do you protect it?
If you are a Believer, you have an enemy! satan and his band of demons are REAL. They would love nothing more than to tear down ANYTHING that you have spent time building up. Nothing would bring them more joy then to see you discouraged, tired, hopeless, and ready to give up.
So, my question again, are you protecting what you are building? You might ask, how can I protect what I am building. First, without getting spiritual, I believe you need to use common sense. Do you trust the people you are working with? Have you researched your project? Are you making an effort to work on your marriage day by day? If you are dating, are your goals the same?
Second, is your spiritual life firmly planted in Jesus Christ? Are you in constant communication to Jesus all day long? Do you know your Bible? Remember when satan tried to destroy what Jesus was building? (His Church) satan tempted Jesus in the desert, how did Jesus respond? With Scripture!
I will leave you with a couple of closing thoughts that you can take today to think over. ~What are you building right now? Is it protected?~What has GOD called you to build? How can I defend it? These two thoughts should go hand in hand.
Have a very blessed day and we will see you Friday! God Bless - Jim

Closing Prayer
Dear Jesus
Father of love, peace, grace, kindness and forgiveness, just to name a few, thank You for Your words and Your teachings. Father I pray that I can continue to grow in You. I pray that I can seek Your help and hear Your voice and be there for those around me. Please give me the strength Father to carry on through my day and protect what is dear to me. Help me to never be discouraged.
I love You and I pray in Your Name, Amen

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Nehemiah 1-3

It All Starts With Prayer - Nehemiah 1-3

Insight Into Scripture

Boy, I love the book of Nehemiah! Nehemiah was an amazing leader. Let me start and give you a little background on the book.Ezra and Nehemiah were orginally written as one book.The time that is was written was 446 BC.Jerusalem had been attacked by the Babaloyins, the city was DESTROYED; like New Orleans. Nehemiah was just an ordinary guy, doing an ordinary job, like you or I, but he allowed GOD to open his heart up and make a huge difference.The time is winter......

Bringing the Bible Alive

As we read the Bible, it always seems so far away, does it not? But, the situations, and the people are a lot like us today.

Take Nehemiah for example, they were a people living in a bad time, their city has just been destroyed as some of our cites are destroyed by situations beyond our control. The people back then were looking for the coming of a Messiah, as we are today. Nehemiah was just an ordinary person, just like you or I, but, he opened up his heart to GOD as we should. GOD used him to accomplish an amazing task, as GOD could do in us.

So, next time that you think the Bible was sooooo long ago, really look at it, I am sure you will see things and realize were not much different.

Scripture

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. 5 Then I said:"O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house, have committed against you. 7 We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.

8 "Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, 9 but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.'

10 "They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. 11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man." - Nehemiah 1:4-11 NIV

Thought For the Day

Now, that I have given you the historical facts of Nehemiah, let me give you the heart of Nehemiah.

Nehemiah is not just another book of the Bible, it is a personal journal of Nehemiah, we need to read it such. It is not just about rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, it is rebuilding a city, a home. This is GOD's home here on earth, it was the city that HE was going to set apart and set as an example for all mankind to see.

When Nehemiah heard of the news of Jerusalem (1:3) he broke down and wept, mourned, and fasted. Nehemiah was not saddened for a couple of days, he was saddened and troubled for 3 to 4 months. But, the news that Nehemiah heard was 141 years old! This would be like us getting upset over the news that President Abraham Lincoln died...... it was old news. That is how much Nehemiah cared about the city!

Now, that we have looked at the heart of Nehemiah, let's look at how he handled the task of rebuilding the city....... He PRAYED. The first thing he did is drop to his knees and PRAY. Not just any prayer, but, a heart filled with love, prayer. In his prayer, Nehemiah exalts GOD, asks to be heard, confesses his and the sins of his people (Notice how he did not put the blame on anyone). Quotes scripture from the promises that GOD had made his servant Moses in Deuteronomy. Then asks GOD to give him success..... what a prayer!

When you are facing a task..... any task. What do you do first? I would have to say that I would start to plan it out, get everything lined up. I think that we all can learn from Nehemiah and how he approached his task, and how he approached GOD in prayer. Let me put a little "Food for thought" in you mind. Nehemiah/GOD accomplished in 52 DAYS..... DAYS what others tried to accomplish for 141 years. Do you think prayer works?

Closing Prayer

Dear Jesus

Amen for prayer Father. I pray a simple prayer Father. I pray that we can all learn to just pray a simple prayer, not fancy words or thoughts, just love and words that we would ask from a friend sitting right in front of us. Father I pray that we can all just speak to You with an open heart and mind and casual words, words simply to our Father.

I love You and I pray in Your Great Name,

Amen

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