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Begin With Prayer
Read: Nehemiah 1
When the name Nehemiah from the Bible is mentioned, most people remember the rebuilding of the walls around Jerusalem. This was one of Nehemiah’s greatest callings and accomplishments for the Lord. He was a brilliant planner, organizer, and motivator for sure. But when Nehemiah sensed this call upon his life his first step was not to plan, organize, talk to the king, or begin his trip back to Jerusalem, it was to pray.
The first chapter of Nehemiah includes his prayer. He prayed for forgiveness, he offered praise and thanksgiving, and he committed himself to the Lord’s will. Only after a time of mourning, fasting, and praying did he have the courage to go to the king and ask if he could return to Jerusalem to help his people and rebuild the broken walls.
In our fast paced world we are often tempted to barrel straight ahead with what we think is the right direction. I wonder what would have happened if Nehemiah would have proceeded in that way? What if he did not take time to mourn for what happened, to fast and seek after God’s direction through prayer? Things might have ended up much differently for him and the people of Israel. Perhaps the king would not have been so willing to let him depart from Susa?
The first step for Christians should always be prayer. We need to make sure that our will aligns with God’s will. Yes, he placed something on our heart, but the entire plan and direction may come through many hours of prayer and discernment, not the first inclinations of our flesh.
Make It Personal: If your first temptation is to act, step back and think about the first step that Nehemiah took. Prayer and open communication with the Lord can open up many doors that human minds have not even considered. If you read the entire book of Nehemiah you will see that this is not a one time decision for Nehemiah; he often turned to the Lord in prayer and asked the Lord to remember him, to deal with his enemies, and to use him in only the way God desired. Hopefully that will be our approach as well.
Have a blessed week, Glen Rhodes
Recalibrating Normal
Read: 1 John 2:15-17
Parents are often good at saying “no” to their children. In fact, we probably focus too much on the negative things our children do rather than on the positive things they do. Let’s try to encourage them more in the days ahead. With that said, there are many things in our world and culture right now that need a loud and pronounced “no” from parents when they go against God’s Word, our faith, and God’s created order. If we do not speak up about the many things we see on television and in our culture how will our children know truth, morality, and God’s will?
John Stonestreet addressed these things in a recent Breakpoint Commentary. This is what he said, “More and more, Christian parents will need to get used to saying “no” to things that are widely normal in American life, and not just because of the obvious moral shifting happening all around us. Counter-cultural priorities reconfigured around restored loves, renewed loyalties, and redeemed liturgies will earn us some strange looks, especially when it comes to money, to stuff, and to time. The forces that shape most American families today aren’t centered around real needs, at least not spiritual needs. “Keeping up with the Joneses” and “perfecting leisure time” are much higher priorities for most of us than fostering and nurturing strong family bonds and bringing up kids who know and love Jesus.”
In the last part of his commentary he addressed how the pandemic has offered us new ways to look at what normal looks like in the days ahead. He said, “Covid caught all of us off guard, but unexpected challenges like it are wonderful opportunities to recalibrate. Now that the pandemic is subsiding, we may want to look carefully at whether or not “normal” is what we want to return to. Or if instead, we should rebuild the structures and habits that make a home a good place to land the next time the world throws us a curve.” These are good things to keep in mind in the days ahead when we often feel like we are living as strangers in a strange land. As John tells us in the scripture verses for this week, “Do not love the world or anything in the world… for everything in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, comes not from the Father but from the world.”
Make It Personal: How are you and your children being influenced by the moral shifting taking place in our culture these days? Don’t just turn them loose on devices, videos, and books, without conversing with them about the good, the moral, and the ways of God found in His Word. May we recalibrate our new normal to put God’s ways before the world’s ways.
Have a great week, Glen Rhodes
Proud Of Our Humility?
Read: James 1:12-18
How often do we claim as our own, that which is a gift from God? So often in life we get caught up in what we have achieved without giving God the credit He deserves. Pride is often a barrier in our spiritual growth. Paul W. Powell once said “Pride is so subtle that if we aren’t careful we’ll be proud of our humility. When this happens our goodness becomes badness and our virtues become vices.”
It is said that Alex Haley, the author of the book “Roots,” had an unusual picture hanging on his office wall at one time. It was a picture of a turtle on top of a fence post. When someone asked him why he had a picture like that, he said, “Well, every time I write something significant, every time I read my words & think that they are wonderful, & begin to feel proud of myself, I look at the turtle on top of the fence post & remember that he didn’t get there on his own. He had help.”
It most likely is not just a coincidence that the book of Proverbs has a lot to say about the affects of pride in our lives. In fact this book of the Bible that is sometimes referred to as “the sayings of the wise” has around thirty references to the dangers of it. Here is just a sampling of those. Proverbs 11:2 says, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” Proverbs 13:10 says, “Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.” Probably the best known of them all is Proverbs 16:18 that says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”
God does not want us to lack self-esteem and self-confidence! We are His children and that alone is enough to give us confidence to face each day. But God does want us to realize and acknowledge where our successes come from. In James 1:17-18 it says, “Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father who created all the lights in the heavens. He is always the same and never makes dark shadows by changing. He wanted us to be his own special people, and so he sent the true message to give us new birth.”
Make It Personal: Perhaps the next time we feel pride beginning to swell up within us we need to remember the turtle on the fencepost. We did not get here or there on our own!
Be a blessing this week, Glen Rhodes
Growing In God’s Call
Read: Ephesians 4:1-6
This past Sunday we looked at the life of Abraham in Genesis 12 and how he was called by God to leave his land and go to the land of Canaan where the Lord was calling him to. We also thought about how and to what God may be calling each of us to in life. It may change as we go through life and it just might transform everything we are and do in life. That is the story of former NFL Center Jason Brown whom I heard a story about this week.
Jason was one of the best Centers in the NFL in 2010. He was in the midst of a 5 year $37 million contract with the St. Louis Rams (highest paid center in the NFL at that time) when the Lord called him to something else. God called him to be a produce farmer in order to help those who are hungry and in need. When he told his agent about this calling he said that he was crazy but Jason quickly replied, “No I am not!” He was following God’s call and while that seemed crazy to some it made total sense to him. He left his $37 million NFL contract to start a 1,000 acre farm in Louisburg, North Carolina to share the love of Christ and aid in hunger relief in eastern North Carolina.
His farm is fittingly called First Fruits Farm. When Jason received this call on his life he had no experience with farming at all. But when the call came he began to research, watch videos, and talk to others about how to grow sweet potatoes, cucumbers and other produce items. Jason once said in an interview, “A life of greatness is a life of service.” When asked about all of the money he left in the NFL he simply said, “Love is the most wonderful currency you can have or give.”
There are many other stories like that of Jason’s. Stories of people hearing and answering a specific call that God placed on their lives despite the sacrifices or challenges that might come with those callings. As we talked about this past Sunday, sometimes it comes down to you and I making the choice to follow that call like Jason Brown did. In Ephesians 4:1 Paul writes, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”
Make It Personal: Each calling is different, some are large and others are small. But each calling on your life matters to God and to the people God is wanting to reach through you. Whatever, and whenever the call of God comes… Step out and find out what God is going to do in your life. You will be blessed because of it.
Have a great week, Glen Rhodes