More Jerusalem Gates

8/8/2011 7:41:27 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                                                                             Focus:  More Gates

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                                         Reference:  Various Scriptures

                Message of the verses:  It is not a practice of mine to miss any days in doing this Spiritual Diary, but yesterday was not the best of days for me, probably a day when I needed to do this more than ever but it did not get done so I like Paul “but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,

 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

                The Fountain Gate (Nehemiah 3:15):  “Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, the official of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He built it, covered it and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars, and the wall of the Pool of Shelah at the king’s garden as far as the steps that descend from the city of David.”

                The Fountain Gate was on the East wall and it was just north of the Dung Gate.  The pool that is mentioned in verse fifteen is the Pool of Siloam, the pool that Jesus told the blind beggar to wash in after He applied mud to his eyes.  This gate was also near the water tunnel that was built by King Hezekiah which was an important water supply for the city of David. 

                Let’s look at the spiritual meaning for this gate and some of the others by looking at a quote from Dr. Wiersbe, “In the Bible, water for drinking is a picture of the Holy Spirit of God (John 7:37-39), while water for washing is a picture of the Word of God (Ephesians 5:26; John 15:3).  Spiritually speaking, we have moved from the Valley Gate (humility) to the Dung Gate (cleansing) to the Fountain Gate (fullness of the Spirit).”

                The Water Gate (Nehemiah 3:26): “The temple servants living in Ophel made repairs as far as the front of the Water Gate toward the east and the projecting tower.”

                The Water Gate is not said to have been in need of repair.  This will be an important issue when the spiritual meaning for this gate is seen.  Jerusalem is one of the great cities of the world, and one of the differences between Jerusalem and other cities is that it is not built on a river.  When you think of cities like London, Paris, New York, New Orleans, Saint. Louis and others they are built by a river, not so with Jerusalem for they had to get their water supply by springs and channels.  One can still walk through the channels that King Hezekiah made today.

                Dr. Wiersbe point out the spiritual meaning by writing if the “Fountain Gate reminds us of the Spirit of God, the Water Gate reminds us of the Word of God.  In fact, it was at the Water Gate that Ezra and the priests conducted a great “Bible conference” and explained the Scriptures to the people (Nehemiah 8:1 and following).  That this gate is not said to have been repaired, as were the others, suggests that the Word of God stands forever and will not fail (Psalm 119:89; Matt. 24:35).  The Bible does not need to be repaired or improved.”

                 Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Before beginning this SD I was thinking about Hebrews 4:12, a verse that speaks of the importance of the Word of God and now I study about the Spirit of God and the Word of God as represented by two gates in Jerusalem.  Only God can do things like this.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       Trust that the Lord will continue the difficult times in my life to continue to teach me contentment.

8/8/2011 9:01:41 AM

Jerusalem Gates Part One

8/6/2011 8:09:24 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                                                                             Focus:  The places of work

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                                         Reference:  Various verses

                Message of the verses:    In the introduction of this fourth and last main point of this third chapter of both Nehemiah and “Be Determined” Dr. Wiersbe explains where and to which direction Nehemiah and his workers began the work, which was with the Sheep Gate and that was in the northeast corner of Jerusalem.  Towards the end of his introduction her writes:  “His primary purpose was to document for posterity and the official records the names and accomplishments of the people who worked on the wall.  Without straining the text, however, we can glean from this chapter some spiritual illustrations to encourage us in our own personal lives and ministries.”  So with that said I will begin the first sub-point of which is the Sheep Gate.

                The Sheep Gate (Nehemiah 3:1, 23).  “1 ¶  Then Eliashib the high priest arose with his brothers the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors. They consecrated the wall to the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel.  32  Between the upper room of the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants carried out repairs.”

                Some of us that live in the U.S. who are old enough to remember, may think that the most significant gate listed here would be the “Water Gate,” but that is not true for the believer, for the most important gate is the Sheep Gate.  The Sheep Gate was worked on by the priest, and is the only gate in Scripture that is identified as being sanctified, meaning dedicated to God in a special way.  Why?  Well this was the gate that was closest to the Temple of the Lord and it was the gate where all of the animals came into Jerusalem including the animals to be sacrificed to the Lord. 

                Nehemiah begins and ends his writings on the gates with the Sheep Gate, and the Sheep Gate reminds us of the Lord Jesus Christ who was the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world.  He is also the “Alpha and the Omega”, the beginning and the end.  There are no bars and locks described on this gate for we can always come into the presence of the Lord through prayer, and lost sinners have access to Him at all times.

                The Old Gate (Nehemiah 3:6).  “6  Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate; they laid its beams and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars.”  This gate is probably in the Northwest corner of Jerusalem and their some students who identify it as the “Mishneh Gate” which is a word in Hebrew that means second or new quarter.  There is a paradox here for it is believed that the Old Gate leads into the new section of the city, that is in Nehemiah’s day it was the new section.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “But it is from the old that we derive the new; and if we abandon the old, there can be nothing new (see Jeremiah 6:16 and Matthew 13:52).  “Thus says the LORD, "Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, Where the good way is, and walk in it; And you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ’We will not walk in it.’”  “And Jesus said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.’”

                The Valley Gate (Nehemiah 3:13).  “13  Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They built it and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars, and a thousand cubits of the wall to the Refuse Gate.”

This gate is where Nehemiah began his tour of the city as seen in Nehemiah 2:13.  The location of this gate was at the southwest corner of Jerusalem and was around 500 yards from the dung gate.  This gate opened into the Valley of Hinnom.  The workers here not only repaired this gate or rebuilt it, but they worked on the nearly 1700 feet of the wall between this gate and the dung gate.

                Dr. Wiersbe writes “Every Christian needs a ‘valley gate,’ for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (1Peter 5:5-6).  It is only as we yield to Christ and serve others that we can truly enter into the fullness of the life He has for us (Philippians 2:1-22).”

                The Dung Gate (Nehemiah 3:14).  “14  Malchijah the son of Rechab, the official of the district of Beth-haccherem repaired the Refuse Gate. He built it and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars.”

                I could hardly wait to get to this gate.  The commentary on this from Dr. Wiersbe is interesting and sometimes when you are not looking forward to something it becomes something that you are glad you did and this may be the case here.  There is history of this gate as it is where King Manasseh had the children sacrificed to idols and it is where King Josiah had desecrated by turning it into a rubbish heap (2Kings 23:10)

                The gate is located in the southernmost tip of Jerusalem near the pool of Siloam and it was the main exit to the Valley of Hinnom where the city disposed of its garbage.  Jesus actually used this as a picture of Hell in Mark 9:44. 

                Here is the part of the commentary that I want to quote from Dr. Wiersbe and it makes the study of this gate profitable:  “The sanitary disposal of waste material is essential to the health of a city. This gate did not have a beautiful name, but it did perform an important service!  It reminds us that, like the city, each of us individually must get rid of whatever defiles us, or it may destroy us (2Cor. 7:1; 1John 1:9).  “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”  “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

                That is enough gates for one study but I will try and finish the gate study in the next SD.

                Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Like the Sheep Gate that represents the Lord Jesus Christ; everything in my life must begin and end with the Lord.  He has no locks and bars on Him so I can come to Him at anytime and for any problem that I am going through.  I must remember that I can also come to Him with the praise and worship that He only deserves and this can be done at any time of place, for He is only a prayer away.  One of the prayers that I pray is found in 1John 1:9; for there are many times I am in need of spiritual cleansing.  Psalm 139:23-24 is a good prayer for me to pray too as there are times when I know that I need cleansing but do not know from what.

My Steps of Fait for Today:

1.       Continue to learn contentment.

2.       Psalm 139:23-24

3.       1John 1:9

4.       Romans 12:1-2

5.       Ephesians 6:10-18

6.       Proverbs 3:5-6

8/6/2011 9:07:28 AM

THE PEOPLE IN THE WORK

8/5/2011 7:00:23 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                                                                                    Focus:  The people in the work

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                   Reference:  Various verses in chapter three of Nehemiah

                Message of the verses:  I am looking at a third main point in Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on the book of Nehemiah and as explained in a earlier SD his outline and commentary on chapter three of Nehemiah are a bit different than the pattern that he follows in his “Be” book series, as he generally follows the chapter verses and comments on either a section of verses or a verse by itself.  In today’s SD I will look at some of the people who were working on the wall of Jerusalem, different groups of people and individual people.  As it has been in the previous SD’s covering chapter three the commentary will lend itself to the church, and people who are in the church.  Dr. Wiersbe writes in the introduction to this third main point the following:  “As you get acquainted with the various people mentioned in Nehemiah 3, you will find yourself saying, ‘This is just like the church today!’  Circumstances change but human nature remains pretty much the same.”  With that said I will proceed with the first sub-point entitled “God uses all kinds of people.”

                In various verses of chapter three we find different kinds of people mentioned from priests in verse one and also verses 12-19, we see men and also women, (v-12), there were professional craftsmen as seen in verses 8 & 32, there were even people from outside the city verses 2, 5, 7.  On this job there was a place for all who came to do the work that is the people of Israel.

                “Leaders must set the example.”  Nehemiah 3:1 “1Then Eliashib the high priest arose with his brothers the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors. They consecrated the wall to the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel.”

               

                At this stage of the high priest’s life he was setting a good example as a leader by going out and doing manual labor which I am sure would help bring out other people as they saw his good example and the example of the priests.  We will run into some people who thought they were too good to work on this project, and yet we find in the Scriptures that Paul was a tent maker and Jesus was a carpenter, good examples to follow.  Latter in the life of Eliashib his grandson would marry a daughter of Sanballat and then his alliance would turn to the enemy.

                “ Some people will not work” Nehemiah 3:5 “5  Moreover, next to him the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not support the work of their masters.”  The Tekoites built in two places on the wall however their nobles refused to work.  I did mention this in the last point that there would be people who did not work.    The Tekoites lived outside of Jerusalem, so they came a ways to even do the work.

                “Some people do more work than others” Nehemiah 3:11, 19, 21, 24, 27, 30. 

“11 Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and the Tower of Furnaces.

“19 Next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, the official of Mizpah, repaired another section in front of the ascent of the armory at the Angle.

“21 After him Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz repaired another section, from the doorway of Eliashib’s house even as far as the end of his house.

“24 After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah as far as the Angle and as far as the corner.

“27 After them the Tekoites repaired another section in front of the great projecting tower and as far as the wall of Ophel.

“30 After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah carried out repairs in front of his own quarters.”

                The people who are listed in these verses asked for additional assignments when they finished the assignment that they were first given.  This is a good example, for these people were using their abilities to get the total job done, not just being satisfied with a little, they had more energy to continue on with the work.  Many of them were working close to their homes so they did not have to travel very far to work and by doing this they were protecting their homes.  This is a good example to follow for believers as they can do the work of the Lord in their neighborhoods.

                “Some people work harder than others” Nehemiah 3:20 “20 After him Baruch the son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the Angle to the doorway of the house of Eliashib the high priest.”  I looked up the word “zealously” in the Hebrew dictionary and in most cases the word is used in what would be a negative way like burning with anger, something along those lines, but in this case it means that Baruch had a lot of energy to burn, and he used that by doing more and more work.  Dr. Wiersbe points out a couple of verses that go along with this section:  Eccl. 9:10 “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.”  Eph. 6:5-8 “5  Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; 6  not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. 7  With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8  knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.”  The final verse he chose is a great verse and is found in Proverbs 8:9 and I want to use a couple of different translations  when I copy this verse:  “He also who is slack in his work Is brother to him who destroys” (NASB). “A lazy person is as bad as someone who destroys things” (NLT).  He who does not give his mind to his work is brother to him who makes destruction” (BBE).  “Slack habits and sloppy work are as bad as vandalism” (Message).

                Spiritual meaning for my life today:  In past SD’s I have mentioned what has become one of my favorite verse in the NT, which is Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  In verse nine Paul writes that we are not saved by works that is our good works, but then in verse ten he writes that God has already prepared our work in eternity past.

                Now work is what this particular SD has focused on and that is why I bring up this verse.  Before God created the earth or angels or anything there was a conversation between the members of the Trinity that mentioned the work that was planned for each believer to do that would glorify God.  There was also work discussed that the second Person of the godhead would accomplish in order for believers to be able to accomplish their work, which is the work of Jesus Christ on the cross to pay the price for my salvation.  The question arises as to how do I accomplish this work that God has prepared for me to do?  I think that the answer can be found in the 15^th chapter of John’s gospel where Jesus is speaking to His disciples about the Vine, the branches, and the Vinedresser, along with speaking about fruit, more fruit, and much fruit.  The work that God has prepared for me as a believer in Jesus Christ to do has to be done through the power of the Holy Spirit, and this can only be done as I stay close to the Vine, the Lord Jesus Christ.  There will be times when the Vinedresser, God the Father must do some cutting and pinching on me in order to make me more fruitful for the cause of Christ, and at that time it may be very hard on me, yet necessary.  I believe that I am going through one of those times with some circumstances in my life at this time and all I can say is that it is not pleasant, but I am sure necessary.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       Continue to stay close to the vine.

2.       Continue to learn contentment.

3.       Trust the Lord to work out all of the details of our leaving Kauai and going back to Ohio.  (A big one)

4.       Romans 12:1-2

5.       Ephesians 6:10-18 (necessary)   8/5/2011 8:30:02 AM

"The Pattern for the Work"

8/4/2011 7:23:53 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                                                                             Focus:  The pattern of the work

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                                         Reference:  Selected Scriptures

                Message of the verses:  Nehemiah can be identified as a man who planned what he worked and worked what he planned and that is an important part of who Nehemiah was, and also this quality makes him a good leader.

                As in yesterday’s SD there are actually no assigned verses for this SD, but it is good to remember that this is introduction material to the third chapter of Nehemiah.  In this third chapter we find that there are thirty-eight individual workers identified along with forty-two different groups.  There are many who are not mentioned who worked on this project and it is important to know that each of these people had a exact place to work that they were assigned to, and this too is another good example of a good leader who plans his work before he begins it.

                In his commentary on this section of his book Dr. Wiersbe compares the work that is done on these walls to the work that is a part of the Church and the comparison is eye opening.  In his commentary he quotes from the great evangelist D. L. Moody and I wish to quote these important words in this SD.  “A great many people have got a false idea about the church.  They have gat an idea that the church is a place to rest in…to get into a nice cushioned pew, and contribute to the charities, listen to the minister, and do their share to keep the church out of bankruptcy, is all they want.  The idea of work for them—actual work in the church—never enters their minds.”  Along with the Apostle Paul, D. L. Moody is another hero of mine. 

                In the book of 1Corinthians chapter twelve and fourteen the Apostle Paul compares the members of a church to the body.  Each member, like each part of the body, has a specific job to work at.  Not all of the members, like not all of the parts of the body are not “honorable” parts, but like in a human body all the parts are necessary for the function of the church, and all must work together for the glory of God just like all of these named and unnamed people in this third chapter of Nehemiah worked together for the glory of God.

                Here us a paragraph out of the twelfth chapter of 1Cor. that speaks of the human body compared to the body of Christ, the church:  “12 ¶  For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13  For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 14  For the body is not one member, but many. 15  If the foot says, "Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. 16  And if the ear says, "Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. 17  If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18  But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. 19  If they were all one member, where would the body be? 20  But now there are many members, but one body. 21  And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; or again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." 22  On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; 23  and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, 24  whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, 25  so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26  And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”

                Dr. Wiersbe writes that the word “build” is used six times in chapter three and its meaning is actually “rebuild.”  Many of the parts needed to accomplish this work on the walls were right there to just put back together.  The point he is making here comparing this work to the work of the church is that there are times when the church will get new ideas that are not too good when all they need to do is “rebuild” what they started on in the first place.

                There are many gates in the walls around the city of Jerusalem and if one wants to look at them they can “Google” Jerusalem gates and many websites will come up to chose from. 

  Gates were there for the protection and the entrance and exit of the citizens of Jerusalem.  It is said in the Psalms “The LORD loves the gates of Zion More than all the other dwelling places of Jacob.”  This statement presents a question as to why it is that the Lord loves the gates of Jerusalem.  Protection of His people could be part of the answer.  John Mac Arthur expands on this answer from the note in his study Bible:  “Zion is a poetic description of Jerusalem, seemingly used by the OT writers when special spiritual and religious significance was being attached to the city.  Though God certainly loved other cities in Israel, He did not choose any of them to be His worship center (cf. Pss 122, 125, 132, 133).  The gates represent the access of the potential worshiper into the city where he could come into a special worshiping relationship with God.  The other cities in Israel were not chosen by God to be the place of His special dwelling.” 

                These gates locks and bars on them making it difficult for anyone outside to open the gates.  When we as believers are doing the work that the Lord has called us to do then we must make sure that the enemy does not have access to us in order to harm us or stop the work.  John warns his readers that they need to protect their work from the enemy or else they could lose the rewards from the work:  “Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.”

                Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There is a verse that I have been thinking about that is becoming very precious to me and that is Philippians 3:13 “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead”  As a believer I need to forget the things in my life that have caused me harm, I need to learn from them, but then move on.  Israel surely needed to learn from their captivity and why it came about, but they had to move on and part of that was rebuilding the walls to keep the enemies out.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       Trust that the Lord will give me the right words to say to the prisoners today, as it seems that He has given me a somewhat different message that I am to give to them since I prepared it a few days back.

2.       Trust that the Lord will give me the grace of not having problems with my IBS while I am speaking this afternoon.

3.       Continue to learn contentment.

4.       Trust the Lord to work out our exit plan from Kauai and part of that is the selling of our car.

8/4/2011 8:55:49 AM

"The Purpose of Work"

8/3/2011 6:11:13 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                                                                             Focus:  The purpose of work

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                                         Reference:  Various Scriptures

                Message of the verses:  I have mentioned many times in my SD’s that I follow the “Be Series” written by Dr. Warren Wiersbe, and in the next few days there will be actually no verses that have been in the pattern that I have been following.  Dr. Wiersbe explains some different aspects of “work” and then will move back into the book of Nehemiah.  He entitles this third chapter of “Be Determined” his commentary on Nehemiah, “Wall to Wall,” and it will cover the third chapter of Nehemiah.

                Dr. Wiersbe writes in the last part of his introduction for this chapter the key to understanding this chapter, as he usually does in all of the introductions of every chapter he writes.  “As you study this chapter, you will discover principles that apply to all human labor, especially the work of building the church.”

                So what is the purpose of work?  The purpose of work is to bring glory to God and this is something that Nehemiah knew, for the very reason that he came to Jerusalem was to bring glory to God.  There are verses in the OT especially that speak of Jerusalem as being very special to God and when Nehemiah got there he may have thought of some of these verses:  “Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion in the far north, The city of the great King” (Psalm 48:2).  Psalm 87:2 is another example “The LORD loves the gates of Zion More than all the other dwelling places of Jacob.”  When God spoke to Moses He told him that some day He would choose a place where one of the tribes of Israel would live to make a place for Him, and that place was Jerusalem.  The tribe was Judah and the first king of Israel to rule from Jerusalem was David to whom God covenanted with as the family in which He would bring the Messiah into.  In the NT book of Revelations at the end of the book we see that there will be a New Jerusalem that will be where believers will dwell after this present earth and present universe is destroyed.  The name Jerusalem is special to God and Nehemiah knew this and wanted to get the walls and gates repaired to bring glory to the Lord.

                In the book of Ephesians chapter two and verse ten we read “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  I have mentioned this verse in a few of my SD’s and it shows me that in eternity past the Lord prepared work for me to accomplish to His glory while I am on this earth, and this is true with all believers.  How do we accomplish this work?  We are connected to the Vine and the work “fruit” will be produced through us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

                The Words of Jesus in His high priestly prayer in John 17:4 are as follows “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.’”  If the Lord Jesus Christ says this about His work on earth bringing glory to God the work of the believer should also glorify God.

                Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It seems that before Nehemiah got to Jerusalem that the citizens were content with living in the city in the condition that it was in, and that condition was not good, and did not glorify the Lord.  I don’t want that to be true of me in my walk with the Lord for He deserves the best that I have and that is important to me.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       Bring glory to the Lord through the work that He has called me to do.

2.       Trust the Lord in the selling of our Mazda3.

3.       Trust the Lord to give me the words to say tomorrow at the Kauai Prison that will bring glory to the Lord.

4.       Continue to learn contentment.

8/3/2011 6:54:33 AM

               

The Challenge of the Leader

8/2/2011 6:20:54 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                                                                                             Focus:  Challenging

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                                         Reference:  Nehemiah 2:17-20

                Message of the verses:  “17  Then I said to them, "You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach." 18  I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king’s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, "Let us arise and build." So they put their hands to the good work. 19  But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard it, they mocked us and despised us and said, "What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?" 20  So I answered them and said to them, "The God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no portion, right or memorial in Jerusalem.’”

                I am really not sure why or how the commentary by Warren Wiersbe seems to have two names or perhaps it has only one name, but is longer than any of his other “Be” books.  At any rate when I looked it up online the first time I found the name of his book “Stand Firm in the Face of Opposition,” and now I find the book called “Be Determined,” and so I think when I make reference to it from now on in my SD I will refer to it as “Be Determined.”

                Today’s SD will finish the second chapter in both the book of Nehemiah, and also the commentary “Be Determined.”  I have been working on the last main point for three days now and today’s SD is the last sub-point under the main point “He had faith to challenge others.”  The challenging part is found in today’s SD, and this is an important part of being a good leader, no matter whether it is in business, the home or the Church.

                We left Nehemiah yesterday riding around Jerusalem at night with a few men surveying the ruins of Jerusalem’s walls and gates which he found in very bad shape.  In today’s SD Nehemiah makes a challenge to the men who rode with him, and that challenge is to build the walls and gates of Jerusalem and their answer to Nehemiah was “Let us arise and build.”  How did Nehemiah convince these men in such a short time to rebuild the walls and the gates of Jerusalem?  I think that the answer is found in verse eighteen where he speaks to them about the hand of his God and how it has been favorable to him by having the king give his permission and even supply the things needed to rebuild the walls and the gates as seen in chapter one. 

                The next part of this section shows how Nehemiah dealt with his enemies and also the enemies of the Lord.  After hearing of the plan that Nehemiah and these men had these enemies began to ridicule them, something that the enemy will do when there is nothing else to do thinking that by their ridicule they would be able to stop the work.  God had put the burden of rebuilding the walls and gates of Jerusalem in the heart of Nehemiah, and God had burdened him to pray for four months about this burden, and then God had moved in the king’s heart to actually be an answer to Nehemiah’s prayer by asking him why he was sad.  God has also moved in the heart of the king to approve Nehemiah’s leaving his job as cupbearer and go to Jerusalem to do this project and to supply Nehemiah with the necessary supplies to do this work.  So when Nehemiah runs into some ridicule from the enemies he handles it with confidence because the hand of his God was upon him and tells his enemies that the God of heaven will give us success and also tells them that they have no business in trying to help in this project.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “The stage is now set and the drama is about to begin.”  The drama of rebuilding the walls and gates will begin in chapter three and end in chapter six, but there will still be many more challenges for Nehemiah as governor and leader of Jerusalem. 

                Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There has been a struggle going on inside me and I believe that the struggle is from the enemy of my soul.  I truly believe that the Lord has sent Sandy and I to Kauai, and for a while I have had difficulty in figuring out why, for our job stopped after four months which was suppose to last for two years.  Late in the month of July a new job began on a different island, but it seems that this was not for us and so we have opted to return to Ohio and resume our lives there.  There is an obstacle in our path and that is the selling of our car, and this where the struggle is going on inside me.  We purchased a new car when we got here because it was cheaper in renting one and we thought we would be here for two years and then an older car for me to drive to work so Sandy would have a car to get around in.  At this time we put our van in Ohio on the market for a number of sound reasons.  A couple of weeks ago our older car sold and we were praising the Lord and yesterday the van was sold and so we were praising the Lord for that too.  After all of these wonderful blessings from the Lord I am still having some trouble in trusting the Lord for the sale of our new car and this is what is bothering me.  As I look at the life of Nehemiah seeing that he was doing the will of the Lord and was being patient for four months in waiting for an answer from the Lord and then getting it and going on with the work, and then having a struggle with the enemies of the Lord I see something similar and this give me confidence in the situation that I find myself in at this time.  I have a desire to be a good steward of the things that the Lord has entrusted me with and therefore do not want to sell my car back to the dealer at such a loss and believing that this would also bring glory to the Lord if we could sell this car at a little better price than the dealer wants to give us for it, I have a great desire to trust the Lord to work this out as He did the other cars. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       Trust the Lord to bring about the sale of our car as He did the others.

2.       Continue to learn contentment and I believe that this struggle that I am facing is part of that learning for me.

3.       Romans 12:1-2

4.       Proverbs 3:5-6

5.       Ephesians 6:10-18

6.       Pray that the answers to my prayers would bring glory to the Lord.

7.       Trust the Lord to give Sandy a good time on her boat trip and keep her safe from harm.

8.       Trust the Lord to give me the words to say to the prisoners as I speak to them on Thursday and what is said by me will bring glory to His name.

8/2/2011 7:31:08 AM  

Nehemiah's Great Leadership Showing

8/1/2011 7:54:35 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                                                         Focus:  He had faith to challenge others PT-2

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                         Reference:  Nehemiah 2:11-16

                Message of the verses:  “11  So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days. 12  And I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. I did not tell anyone what my God was putting into my mind to do for Jerusalem and there was no animal with me except the animal on which I was riding. 13  So I went out at night by the Valley Gate in the direction of the Dragon’s Well and on to the Refuse Gate, inspecting the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were consumed by fire. 14  Then I passed on to the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was no place for my mount to pass. 15  So I went up at night by the ravine and inspected the wall. Then I entered the Valley Gate again and returned. 16  The officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; nor had I as yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials or the rest who did the work.”

                Dr. Wiersbe entitles this second sub-point “Investigation” and it covers the verses above.

                “Proverbs 18:13 He who gives an answer before he hears, It is folly and shame to him.”  This verse in Proverbs helps to describe what Nehemiah was doing riding around the city of Jerusalem at night.  It describes the reason that he was doing what he was doing.

                I had mentioned in an earlier SD that I had read a book by Church Swindoll that he wrote as a commentary on the book of Nehemiah, and the main point of his book was looking at Nehemiah as a leader, showing exactly what a good leader is made of and not that I am studying this book as a part of my devotions I am pleased to see that Dr. Wiersbe is bringing up this aspect of leadership in his commentary on Nehemiah.  There is no better place to learn about leadership than in the pages of Scripture, for when the Lord has something that He wants to do He will call a great leader to accomplish the plans that He has. 

                Nehemiah first of all was doing something that the Lord his God was putting into his mind and that was to go out at night when his enemies were sleeping and survey the situation that his brother had earlier reported to him, and see if his findings would concur with what he saw.  Nehemiah took a few trusted men with him in order to aid him, and this is another product of a good leader, that is to have trusted people around him.  What Nehemiah saw was exactly what he had been told about some six months earlier, and what he saw was not good, for the walls and gates were in bad shape and this was good for their enemies, but not good for the Jews living in Jerusalem.

                I wish to quote some things that I find interesting and helpful from Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on Nehemiah:  “Leaders are often awake when others are asleep, and working when others are resting.  Nehemiah didn’t want the enemy to know what he was doing, so he investigated the ruins by night.  A wise leader knows when to plan, when to speak, and when to work.

                “Leaders must not live in a dream world.  They must face facts honestly and accept the bad news as well as the good news.  Nehemiah saw more at night than the residents saw in the daylight, for he saw the potential as well as the good news.  Nehemiah saw more at night than the residents saw in the daylight, for he saw the potential as well as the problems. That’s what makes a leader!”

                Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I suppose that the things that is most on my heart after reading this passage was actually the passage in Proverbs.  My toes have been stepped on from this passage, and I guess that is a good thing.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       Continue to learn more about prayer and to make my prayers glorify the Lord.

2.       Trust that the Lord will continue to teach me contentment.

3.       Trust the Lord to glorify Himself in the selling of our Mazda3.       8/1/2011 9:02:01 AM