Alright, if you read chapter 3 you know exactly how boring it can be. A bunch of names we've never heard (and can't say if we tried) and a bunch of locations that don't mean much to us.
But let's be faithful in examining what this chapter offers. There is nothing in the Bible that was put there on accident. Sure, there are things that aren't interesting and may not be essential to our walk with God but our goal in this study is to learn to dive into scripture even when we don't feel like it.
Have you felt like it this week? Have you done it?
So often it is easy to use the excuse "I wasn't called to do this for God." We sometimes think we are above certain requirements in scripture whether we think it verbatim or not. Our actions betray our desires. What responsibilities have you been shrugging off lately?
Look at the kind of people who worked on the wall. Priests, Levites, city officials, people from other cities, daughters, sons, goldsmiths, etc. This wasn't Malchijah's Model Home Company or Zadok Wall Repair Corporation. It was a community of people who could have made excuses but decided that the work that needed to be done was important. Obviously, there was a little bit of self-interest in the task because it protected their city. But they could have said, "Ah, there's enough people working." And some of the people lived in different cities.
Don't be lazy. Prioritize. What have you been doing lately? What have you been reading? How has your prayer life been since camp? Did you expect that things would always be easy?
Unite with the body of believers. Take responsibility.
Will you admit that the waters around us have grown?
You better start swimming or you’ll sink like a stone
Do you stand with us or do we stand alone
It’s time that we stand up, enlist for the war
I’ve tasted battle and now I want more
I’ve known the truth and been cut to the core
But I’m back in the game now to even the score
And I mean to go out with both my guns blazing
Amazed at a God who’s so truly amazing
To triumph in battle as the spirit enables
Can’t turn back the clock but we can turn the tables
Friday, September 3, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Chapter 2 (faithful)
I'm sorry there was no post for last week. I sent emails out to those of you who get emails for this study and your responses-- for those of you who responded-- have been read and replied to. Your names and your concerns are in my prayers (as well as on a sticky note on my desk) and I will be asking you all how things are going as times goes on. Pray for one another. Pray for me. Pray for diligence.
This post is for the rest of Chapter 2.
I'll be honest, compared to the first three sections (I like giving each chapter a couple sections) this second half of chapter 2 requires a little more digging.
Nehemiah shows up on the scene in Jerusalem after a long journey (depending on the route-- and depending on which source of information you go by it was anywhere from 500 to 1,500 miles) and rests for three days. He then begins his research and plan for the rebuilding of the wall. Keep in mind, this was not the first time the walls had been attempted to be rebuilt. But each time before ended in failure with most of the rocks from the original wall still down in a ditch somewhere (literally).
But look at how Nehemiah accomplished his goal. We've already looked at his prayer life and we will remember that but not focus on it for this section.
Nehemiah isn't concerned with puffing himself up. He doesn't show up in Jerusalem and have a parade for himself or shoot off confetti or put "Vote Nehemiah" signs on people's lawns. Instead, he rests (v. 11) and then gets to work by himself (unless you count the "animal" with him [probably a mule according to Allistair Begg]).
He isn't ashamed to be about God's work by himself. He doesn't whine and say "If God would only give me some company or a friend I would be about his business." No, he gets to work and doesn't care. Why? Because God has placed that motivation in his heart and Nehemiah is faithful to carry that out even when difficulties come up.
2 Corinthians 5 tells us that we are compelled by the love of Christ. In fact, the verse that everyone misquotes "I can do all things..." is actually talking about keeping the right mindset and the right motivation even when things around us get ugly. That is being faithful.
We are part of the family of God. Nehemiah (after he has carefully planned out his objective and his challenges) rallies the Jews to one cause by reminding them of their unity. In verse 17 he starts a pep talk by saying "we" and "us" rather than "me" and "I". This isn't a false vanity trip to make them think they are terrific people. He does this to remind them that they are a unified body chosen by God. As ministers of God's glory we have to remember that it's not about who we are, it's about who God is. There will be times where we are called to minister and people won't notice it. Our gut instinct (truly, our fleshly visceral instinct) is to wonder why people aren't noticing us or praising us or commending us but we have to realize that we are either glorifying God or we are glorifying ourselves and there is really no way to do both. And God has designed it to be that way for a reason.
Be a ninja when you minister. Don't worry about whether people will see you or notice you just focus on getting the job done effectively. Be faithful to your Savior.
True, there are verses that talk about shining in ways that people "see your good works" (e.g. Matthew 5:16) but it always comes back to doing it in a way that they glorify God rather than us. It's a narrow path to walk. It has to be. Be faithful.
If you are trying to serve God faithfully, then you are also engaged in spiritual warfare. Everything that tends to your victory is good. Everything that tends to your defeat is evil. If you can see that, it will make a great difference in how you fight the battle.
This post is for the rest of Chapter 2.
I'll be honest, compared to the first three sections (I like giving each chapter a couple sections) this second half of chapter 2 requires a little more digging.
Nehemiah shows up on the scene in Jerusalem after a long journey (depending on the route-- and depending on which source of information you go by it was anywhere from 500 to 1,500 miles) and rests for three days. He then begins his research and plan for the rebuilding of the wall. Keep in mind, this was not the first time the walls had been attempted to be rebuilt. But each time before ended in failure with most of the rocks from the original wall still down in a ditch somewhere (literally).
But look at how Nehemiah accomplished his goal. We've already looked at his prayer life and we will remember that but not focus on it for this section.
Nehemiah isn't concerned with puffing himself up. He doesn't show up in Jerusalem and have a parade for himself or shoot off confetti or put "Vote Nehemiah" signs on people's lawns. Instead, he rests (v. 11) and then gets to work by himself (unless you count the "animal" with him [probably a mule according to Allistair Begg]).
He isn't ashamed to be about God's work by himself. He doesn't whine and say "If God would only give me some company or a friend I would be about his business." No, he gets to work and doesn't care. Why? Because God has placed that motivation in his heart and Nehemiah is faithful to carry that out even when difficulties come up.
2 Corinthians 5 tells us that we are compelled by the love of Christ. In fact, the verse that everyone misquotes "I can do all things..." is actually talking about keeping the right mindset and the right motivation even when things around us get ugly. That is being faithful.
We are part of the family of God. Nehemiah (after he has carefully planned out his objective and his challenges) rallies the Jews to one cause by reminding them of their unity. In verse 17 he starts a pep talk by saying "we" and "us" rather than "me" and "I". This isn't a false vanity trip to make them think they are terrific people. He does this to remind them that they are a unified body chosen by God. As ministers of God's glory we have to remember that it's not about who we are, it's about who God is. There will be times where we are called to minister and people won't notice it. Our gut instinct (truly, our fleshly visceral instinct) is to wonder why people aren't noticing us or praising us or commending us but we have to realize that we are either glorifying God or we are glorifying ourselves and there is really no way to do both. And God has designed it to be that way for a reason.
Be a ninja when you minister. Don't worry about whether people will see you or notice you just focus on getting the job done effectively. Be faithful to your Savior.
True, there are verses that talk about shining in ways that people "see your good works" (e.g. Matthew 5:16) but it always comes back to doing it in a way that they glorify God rather than us. It's a narrow path to walk. It has to be. Be faithful.
If you are trying to serve God faithfully, then you are also engaged in spiritual warfare. Everything that tends to your victory is good. Everything that tends to your defeat is evil. If you can see that, it will make a great difference in how you fight the battle.
-James Mongomery Boice
Friday, August 6, 2010
Chapter 2 (provision)
The entire Bible is a history of God's providence.
Chapter 2 starts off several months after the close of chapter 1 (I think that was in an earlier post). In that time Nehemiah has been praying and planning what he will do about the destruction of Jerusalem. He realizes that prayer is essential (as we discussed in the last posting) but he also realizes that he has some responsibility of his own.
After five months of prayer Nehemiah puts his plan into action when Artaxerxes asks him why he is so sad in his presence (v. 2). As soon as the king asks that Nehemiah is given an opportunity to make a move. He could have thrown up his hands and say "I quit!" and stormed out. He could have been angry and vented to the king and gotten himself into a mess of things. He could have told the king what was wrong and waited for him to do something about it.
But Nehemiah is faithful and prepared. He puts it plainly and personally for the king without going overboard. Nehemiah draws Artaxerxes along a trail of question and answer and eventually gets permission to rebuild his city. Not only permission but also the blessing and the materials and the security of the king. We'll talk about that in a bit.
Throughout this whole exchange Nehemiah never loses focus on God. He is praying during the conversation (v. 4) and when things are finished he realizes it is only because of God's good grace (v. 8). How often, after we have done something good, do we praise ourselves more than God? We serve a sovereign God. How will we respond when things go right? How will we respond when things go wrong?
Nehemiah planned in the five months of prayer. In verses 7 and 8 he asks the king for wood to build the doors of the city and for safe passage through the Trans-Euphrates area (those people didn't like the Jews and had tried to stop Jerusalem from being rebuild already [Ezra 4:11-16]). How often do we think that God will do everything for us? God loves us like that but he also wants us to grow up. So often we follow the direction of our hearts and think that if it's God's will then it will work out. While parts of that are true we can't ignore our responsibility in life. If we have been praying for the salvation of a friend and see no progress the first place we should look is to see how well we are witnessing to them rather than ask why God hasn't spoken to them "out of the whirlwind". If we are praying for a good future spouse we can't be messing around with other options in our dating world and being irresponsible with our bodies. If we are asking God to bless our feet and our paths we have to be faithful to walk in His light and in His goodness.
How are you doing with God's provision? Are you faithful? Are you responsible? Does your life reflect your God? Do your choices reflect what God has for you? When you pray do you mean it and do you remember it? Be faithful.
Psalms 20
Chapter 2 starts off several months after the close of chapter 1 (I think that was in an earlier post). In that time Nehemiah has been praying and planning what he will do about the destruction of Jerusalem. He realizes that prayer is essential (as we discussed in the last posting) but he also realizes that he has some responsibility of his own.
After five months of prayer Nehemiah puts his plan into action when Artaxerxes asks him why he is so sad in his presence (v. 2). As soon as the king asks that Nehemiah is given an opportunity to make a move. He could have thrown up his hands and say "I quit!" and stormed out. He could have been angry and vented to the king and gotten himself into a mess of things. He could have told the king what was wrong and waited for him to do something about it.
But Nehemiah is faithful and prepared. He puts it plainly and personally for the king without going overboard. Nehemiah draws Artaxerxes along a trail of question and answer and eventually gets permission to rebuild his city. Not only permission but also the blessing and the materials and the security of the king. We'll talk about that in a bit.
Throughout this whole exchange Nehemiah never loses focus on God. He is praying during the conversation (v. 4) and when things are finished he realizes it is only because of God's good grace (v. 8). How often, after we have done something good, do we praise ourselves more than God? We serve a sovereign God. How will we respond when things go right? How will we respond when things go wrong?
Nehemiah planned in the five months of prayer. In verses 7 and 8 he asks the king for wood to build the doors of the city and for safe passage through the Trans-Euphrates area (those people didn't like the Jews and had tried to stop Jerusalem from being rebuild already [Ezra 4:11-16]). How often do we think that God will do everything for us? God loves us like that but he also wants us to grow up. So often we follow the direction of our hearts and think that if it's God's will then it will work out. While parts of that are true we can't ignore our responsibility in life. If we have been praying for the salvation of a friend and see no progress the first place we should look is to see how well we are witnessing to them rather than ask why God hasn't spoken to them "out of the whirlwind". If we are praying for a good future spouse we can't be messing around with other options in our dating world and being irresponsible with our bodies. If we are asking God to bless our feet and our paths we have to be faithful to walk in His light and in His goodness.
How are you doing with God's provision? Are you faithful? Are you responsible? Does your life reflect your God? Do your choices reflect what God has for you? When you pray do you mean it and do you remember it? Be faithful.
Psalms 20
Friday, July 23, 2010
Chapter 1 (praying)
What commentaries or sermons are you using as you go through this study? What else are you studying in the between times of these posts? What do you remember from camp? What have you forgotten since then?
Feel free to comment on older posts as new ones are added. We will never exhaust all that can be said for scripture. But it's best to stay on top of things and comment when things are still being discussed.
In the second half of the chapter Nehemiah is praying. There are several prayers in the Old Testament that captivate me every time I read them (Solomon's prayer in 1 Kings 8, Daniel's in Daniel 9, David in Psalm 51). While this one isn't particularly as striking as those might be at first glance, the structure and the context of it are definitely worth studying.
"I often say my prayers but how often to I really pray my prayers?"
How important is prayer in leadership? If God is all powerful and sovereign why do we pray to ask God for things?
Nehemiah prays longer than it takes him to rebuild the wall. He starts praying in Chislev (the month that lines up with late November for us) and he doesn't leave until Nisan (April). That's more than five months of prayer. We find out later that it only takes fifty-two days to rebuild the wall. Was he wasting his time praying so much when there was work that needed to be done?
How often do we ignore the importance of being in God's word and His will by rushing into decisions without humbling ourselves before the Author and Perfecter first? Find some verses in the Bible that illustrate how important prayer is and share them in the comment box.
What is the purpose of prayer? Is there more than one?
Alright, last point. Has anyone ever heard of the acronym ACTS? It's for prayer. It's a memory guide to help people remember how to pray. It stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. Supplication is to ask for something humbly. Look at Nehemiah's prayer from verse 5 through verse 11. We find adoration in verse five, confession in verses 6-7, thanksgiving (thanking God for His promises) in verses 8 and 9, and finally his supplication in verse 11.
I challenge you to pray in earnest for seven days straight. It will require a sacrifice of fifteen minutes (give or take) of each day. Pray on your knees. Pray in adoration and confession and thanksgiving and supplication. We all have things on our hearts. How often do we leave them there and let them drag us down? Pray. For real. This is your challenge. If you forget for a day don't be tempted to forsake the challenge. Be faithful even when it's tough. That's what being faithful is. It will be tough. "Give unto the LORD the glory due His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness..." Psalms 29:2
"Our heavenly Father: Let us see Thy glory, if it must be from the shelter of the rock and from the protection of Thy covering hand. Whatever the cost to us of friends or goods or length of days let us know Thee as Thou are that we may adore Thee as we should." -A. W. Tozer
Feel free to comment on older posts as new ones are added. We will never exhaust all that can be said for scripture. But it's best to stay on top of things and comment when things are still being discussed.
In the second half of the chapter Nehemiah is praying. There are several prayers in the Old Testament that captivate me every time I read them (Solomon's prayer in 1 Kings 8, Daniel's in Daniel 9, David in Psalm 51). While this one isn't particularly as striking as those might be at first glance, the structure and the context of it are definitely worth studying.
"I often say my prayers but how often to I really pray my prayers?"
How important is prayer in leadership? If God is all powerful and sovereign why do we pray to ask God for things?
Nehemiah prays longer than it takes him to rebuild the wall. He starts praying in Chislev (the month that lines up with late November for us) and he doesn't leave until Nisan (April). That's more than five months of prayer. We find out later that it only takes fifty-two days to rebuild the wall. Was he wasting his time praying so much when there was work that needed to be done?
How often do we ignore the importance of being in God's word and His will by rushing into decisions without humbling ourselves before the Author and Perfecter first? Find some verses in the Bible that illustrate how important prayer is and share them in the comment box.
What is the purpose of prayer? Is there more than one?
Alright, last point. Has anyone ever heard of the acronym ACTS? It's for prayer. It's a memory guide to help people remember how to pray. It stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. Supplication is to ask for something humbly. Look at Nehemiah's prayer from verse 5 through verse 11. We find adoration in verse five, confession in verses 6-7, thanksgiving (thanking God for His promises) in verses 8 and 9, and finally his supplication in verse 11.
I challenge you to pray in earnest for seven days straight. It will require a sacrifice of fifteen minutes (give or take) of each day. Pray on your knees. Pray in adoration and confession and thanksgiving and supplication. We all have things on our hearts. How often do we leave them there and let them drag us down? Pray. For real. This is your challenge. If you forget for a day don't be tempted to forsake the challenge. Be faithful even when it's tough. That's what being faithful is. It will be tough. "Give unto the LORD the glory due His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness..." Psalms 29:2
"Our heavenly Father: Let us see Thy glory, if it must be from the shelter of the rock and from the protection of Thy covering hand. Whatever the cost to us of friends or goods or length of days let us know Thee as Thou are that we may adore Thee as we should." -A. W. Tozer
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Chapter 1 (introduction)
The questions are there to draw you in. The paragraphs before and after are not really answers but hopefully they frame the questions in ways that make you think. Read this and the passage in the Word and study your supplementary materials and then add to the discussion. Feel free to post as many comments as you need. Don't worry about length; it can be as long or as short as you want. Read and respond to what others write as well and pray for each other (and those who have quit) as this study goes on.
The study of the history leading up to the events here in the first Chapter is not only useful but also very interesting. The Old Testament is ignored too often. The Bible is a history of God's love. His provision. His justice. There is no other way to learn about who He is. There is no other way to learn about how He loves. No other way to learn about grace, truth, provision, justice. No other way to know Holy.
What is holiness?
Nehemiah takes place during the later part of the captivity after captives had already started to go back to their homeland. In fact, the first Chapter shows Nehemiah talking with his brother about how things are going in Judah (Jerusalem was in the Southern Kingdom of Judah). Nehemiah himself had responsibilities and a livelihood in Susa (some translations say Shushan). The city was a capital of the Babylonian empire and where Artaxerxes was staying (Artaxerxes is the son of Xerxes-- from '300'-- and the step-son of Esther) but Nehemiah had good standing with the king in the court. To be a cup-bearer in those days would be like being the head of security these days. His number one body-guard. He was in the know. He was in the money. He was in captivity but he was treated well.
Is God always sovereign?
It doesn't say how Nehemiah got the job of being the cup-bearer but if the answer to the above question is 'yes' (hint: it is) then we know that God had a plan for Nehemiah to be there. God is always working His purpose out. One thing that Begg mentioned in his sermons has to do with the first verse. Nehemiah was the son of Hacaliah (some guy who no one has any information on because this is the only time his name is mentioned in the Bible).
Who does God use?
What does our passion say about us? As Christians? As individuals? What are we devoted to? What breaks our heart? What does it mean to be faithful?
The study of the history leading up to the events here in the first Chapter is not only useful but also very interesting. The Old Testament is ignored too often. The Bible is a history of God's love. His provision. His justice. There is no other way to learn about who He is. There is no other way to learn about how He loves. No other way to learn about grace, truth, provision, justice. No other way to know Holy.
What is holiness?
Nehemiah takes place during the later part of the captivity after captives had already started to go back to their homeland. In fact, the first Chapter shows Nehemiah talking with his brother about how things are going in Judah (Jerusalem was in the Southern Kingdom of Judah). Nehemiah himself had responsibilities and a livelihood in Susa (some translations say Shushan). The city was a capital of the Babylonian empire and where Artaxerxes was staying (Artaxerxes is the son of Xerxes-- from '300'-- and the step-son of Esther) but Nehemiah had good standing with the king in the court. To be a cup-bearer in those days would be like being the head of security these days. His number one body-guard. He was in the know. He was in the money. He was in captivity but he was treated well.
Is God always sovereign?
It doesn't say how Nehemiah got the job of being the cup-bearer but if the answer to the above question is 'yes' (hint: it is) then we know that God had a plan for Nehemiah to be there. God is always working His purpose out. One thing that Begg mentioned in his sermons has to do with the first verse. Nehemiah was the son of Hacaliah (some guy who no one has any information on because this is the only time his name is mentioned in the Bible).
Who does God use?
What does our passion say about us? As Christians? As individuals? What are we devoted to? What breaks our heart? What does it mean to be faithful?
Monday, July 12, 2010
Role Call
We're going to get started but I want to know how many people have figured out how to find this blog. I want to be considerate of everyone having difficulty with the online stuff but I also want to get started on things.
Leave a comment after reading this and once we have enough people on board we can get started and those who are unable to start when we do will be able to catch up as we go.
Thanks.
Leave a comment after reading this and once we have enough people on board we can get started and those who are unable to start when we do will be able to catch up as we go.
Thanks.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Start Your Engines
Here is a copy of part of the email I sent to those of you who are signed up for the study. I include it here for those of you who haven't signed up but know about this URL. Know that emails will be used for the logistics and the blog will be used mostly for discussion and instruction. Feel free to post questions in your comments if they are designed to spark discussions. If they are more logistical questions feel free to email me. Here's the email:
Alright,
We're just about ready to get started with the study. Thank you for your patience.
I already mentioned the eSword and iTunes ways to get deeper into this study (both of which will require free software downloads) and I've been skimming the internet for easier ways to get commentaries and sermons for those of you who are hesitant to get either of those. Here is a link to a decent commentary that you don't have to download anything for. Just look it up online and read it straight from your browser if you want:
http://www.easyenglish.info/bible-commentary/nehemiah-lbw.htm
And the sermon audio by Allistair Begg can be downloaded without iTunes by going to this next link and clicking 'download audio' next to each sermon title. There are two volumes so for those of you who choose this method there might be more stuff to get later on. All these downloads are safe, free, and will take hardly any space at all.
http://www.truthforlife.org/resources/series/gods-work-gods-way-volume-1/
Again, the only things you really need is a Bible and diligence. The only reason I'm hawking these other resources is to allow those of you who have never used them to get used to them and to show you really how deep and interesting these studies can be. A lot of the resources we have today as students of the Word are much easier to acquire than they were ten years ago. And they're free instead of hundreds of dollars that they used to cost.
-----
Also, I created a profile that will be open to anyone who wants to use it to participate in the study but doesn't want to create a profile for themselves. It should be in the email I send you all and if you didn't receive the email let me know.
Start reading Nehemiah chapter 1 in order to be ready for us to start this week.
Peace.
Alright,
We're just about ready to get started with the study. Thank you for your patience.
I already mentioned the eSword and iTunes ways to get deeper into this study (both of which will require free software downloads) and I've been skimming the internet for easier ways to get commentaries and sermons for those of you who are hesitant to get either of those. Here is a link to a decent commentary that you don't have to download anything for. Just look it up online and read it straight from your browser if you want:
http://www.easyenglish.info/bible-commentary/nehemiah-lbw.htm
And the sermon audio by Allistair Begg can be downloaded without iTunes by going to this next link and clicking 'download audio' next to each sermon title. There are two volumes so for those of you who choose this method there might be more stuff to get later on. All these downloads are safe, free, and will take hardly any space at all.
http://www.truthforlife.org/resources/series/gods-work-gods-way-volume-1/
Again, the only things you really need is a Bible and diligence. The only reason I'm hawking these other resources is to allow those of you who have never used them to get used to them and to show you really how deep and interesting these studies can be. A lot of the resources we have today as students of the Word are much easier to acquire than they were ten years ago. And they're free instead of hundreds of dollars that they used to cost.
-----
Also, I created a profile that will be open to anyone who wants to use it to participate in the study but doesn't want to create a profile for themselves. It should be in the email I send you all and if you didn't receive the email let me know.
Start reading Nehemiah chapter 1 in order to be ready for us to start this week.
Peace.
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