What Do You Think of God?

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

A.W. Tozer

Is He an angry, old man upstairs peering down on you, ready to judge your every move? Is he some master architect or just some impersonal higher power? Maybe as Craig Groeschel suggests, you see Him as (1) An On Demand God who gives you whatever you want when demanded. (2) The Killjoy God who squeezes all the joy and fun out of life.(3) The Goosebumps God who must cater to the whims of your feelings. (4) The Heartless God who shows no love by allowing so many tragedies in the world.

That’s a different god than the God Nehemiah describes. The God of the Bible is a personal, powerful, and lovingly engaged Being. He delivered the Israelites from slavery by parting the Red Sea and leading them to the Promised Land. When they were hungry, God rained down bread from heaven. When they were thirsty, water flowed from a rock. God provided their every need.. Their clothes never wore out!

You would think Israel would be forever grateful. But instead, Nehemiah describes them as entitled, arrogant “stiff-necked” and rebellious. They failed to obey commands and forgot the miracles God performed among them.

God had every right to punish Israel, but instead, He showed them grace. Though there were consequences for their sin, God never abandoned them. He relentlessly pursued them with compassion, love, and protection. That’s the kind of father God is.

Israel’s story is our story. Even when we are sinful, God relentlessly pursues us, acting justly and faithfully. God is not scared of our mess. He meets us right in the middle of it. (He even changed my life.)

Hundreds of years after Nehemiah, God sends the greatest difference maker of all in Jesus. God chose these same Jewish people with their messy past to introduce the Savior of the world to the world. He truly is a gracious God! In light of all God has done, the only appropriate response is gratitude, worship and celebration!

Thomas Chisholm describes Nehemiah’s and my God most accurately:

“Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father.

There is no shadow of turning with Thee.

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not

As Thou has been Thou forever will be.”

 

Romans 5:6 – 8



Time to Move On

Why do we hold on to the past – experiences that have caused us great pain and suffering? Know this, the past may have shaped you, but it doesn’t define you. You can learn to let go of the past and move forward into the future God has planned for you. That’s the message Nehemiah and Ezra communicated to the people of Israel after they completed the wall and heard the reading of the Scriptures.

 
The people wept over how far they had walked away from God. Yes, the Word brings conviction.  Ezra, a teacher of the law, and Nehemiah, the governor, told them to move past their guilt and shame and accept the forgiveness of God. They weren’t giving the people permission to sin. Instead, they were redirecting the people’s attention: Stop focusing on how bad we are, and start focusing now on how great God is. Nothing could erase the past; but with repentant hearts, it was time to move on.
 
We are all broken. Like the Jewish people, we have fallen short of God’s standard and rebelled against Him. The good news for every believer is that Jesus made it possible to move past our guilt, shame and grief. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
 
We may not feel forgiven immediately, but we are. When Jesus forgives us, we are truly forgiven. Once we’ve confessed our sin to Jesus and repented, it’s time to stop grieving, embrace His love and move forward in His purpose for us. When

General feelings of worthlessness and shame are not the same as conviction, and these feelings are not from God. Romans 8:1 says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” When we trust that Jesus’ payment was enough, we receive abundant and everlasting grace.

Jesus really does love and forgive us. To be a difference maker, we must operate in Jesus’ strength, choosing His grace over our shame.
 
What shame and guilt are you carrying today? Surrender to Jesus, confess your sin,accept forgiveness and embrace His joy and move on. Remember: :The joy of the Lord is your strength.”
 


More Than a Number

 
Why do you suppose Nehemiah records so many names in his account of those returning to settle in Jerusalem? The names serve to focus our attention on the promises God made to His people. They remind the workers they are part of one special family of purpose. Perhaps most importantly, the names remind us that these were real people with real stories who made a real difference.
 
There is no doubt the Bible is full of numbers. In fact there’s a whole book called Numbers! God is not scared of numbers and neither should we be. Through the Gospels and Acts we read about the numbers involved in Jesus’s ministry, discipleship team, and the expansion of the early Church. 
 
Jesus reminds us of the importance of keeping record  when he  said in Matthew 18:12, “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the 99 others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?” This passage suggests that we are to care for His sheep. That means knowing the health and state of the flock.  How many are in the pasture? Is anyone missing? Does anyone need extra attention?
 
We should count people, because people count. If each one is precious to God, then each one should be precious to us. We all need to understand that  every number has a name, every name has a story, and every story matters to God. He really does care about people and so should we – those in the family of God as well as those far from home 
 
 


I’m Not Qualified

Have you ever felt like God wants to use you to do something significant and you hesitated? You asked “Why would God use me”?  Then you started to make excuses: “I don’t know enough Bible. I don’t have great talent. I still lose my temper every now and then. Believe me I occasionally have my doubts. Furthermore, I’m  no spiritual giant.”  But God doesn’t always use the strong, educated, influential or accomplished people to do His work.
 
When Nehemiah set off to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, he did so with a burdened heart. He was not a builder, a carpenter or mason. He had been the king’s cupbearer. The people of the city were broken and disorganized, in need of a leader who could show them what to do. During the reconstruction, Nehemiah became the leader who brought out their strengths. He organized the people, protected them, and pooled their resources so they could see each others’ strengths.
 
Once the walls had been rebuilt, Jerusalem needed new leaders—proper, permanent, capable leaders. And given what the Jewish people had gone through, their new leaders had to be strong. You would think Jerusalem’s next leader would be someone with a lengthy resume and accolades of all kinds. But instead, Nehemiah gave responsibility for the city to Hanani and Hananiah.
 
These men had no special qualifications for leadership, but they were perfect for the job. Hanani and Hananiah were virtuous, faithful, God-fearing men who could be trusted to carry out God’s work. Their agenda was God’s will, and that’s what it takes to be a difference maker. Leadership techniques change, and popularity can diminish, but integrity and reverence never go out of style.
 

“God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the CALLED!”

 

Read: Nehemiah 7  

          1 Corinthians 1:26-31
 


Teamwork on Display

“There is no limit to what can be accomplished if it doesn’t matter who gets the credit.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
 
Ken Blanchard said,” None of us is as smart as all of us.” How true!  Successful leaders know that no one can be the best at everything. But when we all combine our talents and skills, we can be the best at virtually anything. It was teamwork that got us to the moon.
 
As we read through the book of Nehemiah we can see the display and impact of teamwork. Chapter 3 puts teamwork on display in style. Forty-two teams of workers—thirty-eight named individuals and hundreds more unnamed—worked together to rebuild Jerusalem’s broken walls. The high priest and fellow priests did not consider manual labor beneath them. They pitched in, took the lead, and set the example for the people (vv. 1, 28).
 
The rulers, nobles, and city officials who could have ordered their servants to do the manual work, rolled up their sleeves and labored alongside the common people (vv. 9, 12, 17, 19). Craftsmen—goldsmiths and perfume makers who normally did artisan work—roughed it out under the hot sun (vv. 8, 31–32). Men and women worked side by side to accomplish their work (v. 12).
 
The word next (used twenty-six times in Nehemiah 3) gives us a picture of commitment, cooperation, harmony, and unity. Each group of workers knew where to work, understood their tasks, and expeditiously completed them. They understood the saying, “Teamwork makes the dream work.”  Nehemiah and his people demonstrated that when you have a common vision, connected with individual accomplishment, common people can achieve uncommon results.
 
The Bible urges us to pursue teamwork as a model of living out our faith in Jesus. “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24–25). We  are called to  meet together, work together, run together to finish the race set before us in winning style.
 
So, are you a team player in helping to build the Kingdom? What step can you take today to further the cause?
 
Read:  Nehemiah  3
            Hebrews 10:24-25
            Hebrews 12:1-3
 
 


Our New Sermon Series

Every new day, we make decisions about who we want to be. We make resolutions; we set goals. Often, these goals are focused on ourselves. Losing weight, saving money ;even the best goals are often inherently self-centered. Christ did not call us to live that way. To live the life God has for us, we must be willing to reject our own comfort for the good of others.
It’s not easy, and it sure isn’t comfortable. But when you deny yourself,God can do so much more.
 
When you serve more, you take less.
When you give more, you need less.
When you thank more, you want less.
When there’s more of God, you’re Selfless
 
Let’s discover how we can change our world during our New Series: Selfless  starting this weekend, Sunday, October 14.
 


The Gates

As you read the book of Nehemiah, especially chapter 3, you discover that Jerusalem had lots of gates. some less prestigious than others and let’s face it most people could only name only a couple if they tried. Besides being part of a city’s protection against invaders, city gates were places of central activity in biblical times. It was at the city gates that important business transactions were made, court was convened, and public announcements were heralded.
 
When you look at the gates from a construction and strategic standpoint, there is no gate or wall that is more or less important. Sure, some might be more prestigious than others, I believe I would rather be working on the Fountain Gate than the Dung Gate, but all were important. If all of the gates were rebuilt, except one, Jerusalem would not be a safe city.  If one gate did not get rebuilt it would be open season on the inhabitant of Jerusalem. Their defenses would be worthless!
 
The same is true of the work of the church.  Sometimes the work we do might seem insignificant, but there is a huge purpose in it and can have eternal consequences. One thing we can be sure, Christ promised that “the gates of hell will not prevail” against the church.
 
Your Work Is Important!!
 
 


Your Little Bit Matters

Stephen Edgecombe |30 September, 2018| Devotional

We were not designed to bear burdens alone. When we see the brokenness in our communities and the world, the solutions seem overwhelming. A God-sized vision is simply too big for any one of us. The church’s mission—to go into all the world and make disciples—is too big for one person.  We need the help of others.

God gave Nehemiah a desire to see Jerusalem’s wall rebuilt, but Nehemiah did not complete the task on his own. Nehemiah 3 lists 43 different groups of people who helped to bring the wall to completion. The historian Josephus recorded the circumference of Jerusalem’s walls at about 4.5 miles. Other sources tell us the wall was 15 feet thick and perhaps 12 feet high. Rebuilding the wall was a big job.

The cooperation of the people in rebuilding the wall is a great example of how the church was designed to function. Some completed large sections of the wall while others made small repairs. Everyone shared the burden and together they finished the job. They were not professional builders; simply ordinary people willing to follow an extraordinary vision.

Paul reminds us that we all have a role in the church (Romans 12:4-8). When you’re tempted to wonder if your little bit matters, remember: You make a huge difference! We are all ordinary people with unique gifts. But when we’re using our gifts and working together, we can make a bigger difference than any one of us could do alone.

How can you use your unique gifts and talents to build the church?

Read: Nehemiah 3



Focus on Your WHY

Stephen Edgecombe | 29 September, 2018 | Devotional |
 
It is interesting that after Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he takes three more days to size things up before he speaks to the officials, the priests, and the nobles. When he does speak, he doesn’t speak only concerning “how” and “what.” He talks about “why.” (Nehemiah 2:17-18)
 
We live in a world, like Nehemiah, filled with constant distractions. Unlimited activities are floating around us at all times that can take our attention, and often the ones that scream the loudest win. An easy way to change your world is to focus (and stay focused) on your purpose – your “Why”.
 
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, an employee, a leader of a team or ministry, you want to tackle the WHY of your life and work.  Discovering the WHY injects passion into your work. And it’s those who start with WHY that has the ability to inspire those around them.  Nehemiah knew his WHY and inspired others to help fulfill the mission of building the wall.
 
Most people live their lives by focusing on what they have to do. The endless tasks continue to mount up, and we wonder why we never feel like we’re getting ahead. It seems like we’re sprinting on a treadmill just trying to keep up, and every task completed is quickly replaced by new ones. Life gets a lot simpler when we focus on why we do things. So when a new item comes across your plate, you need to ask “Why”?  Why do you attend church? Why do you give (or not give)? Why do you serve or not serve in a ministry? \
 
“The greatest tragedy in life is not death, but a life without a purpose.” ― Myles Munroe
 
 


Take Initiave

Stephen Edgecombe |25 September, 2018 |Devotional|
 
Have you ever met people who were filled with a ton of ideas but always leave the action to others?   Often many of them surely actionable but they lacked the initiative to act. They are the ones who say “somebody ought to do something” but just never think about the fact that they are somebody.
 
Nehemiah couldn’t imagine standing still when he heard of the broken walls. He had to act. He had a Popeye Moment – Something has to be done about the “broken down walls” and it might as well be me. That’s the essence of initiative Read more…


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