Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Notes on Nehemiah

We just finished a look at Nehemiah 2:11-20 in our fourth installment of a series on Nehemiah. Since we are in the process of building our own facilities, it seems appropriate timing. We have also observed that there are applications ona personal level to be made as we face the challenge of rebuilding broken lives--our own, and those God allows us to influence and encourage.

Nehemiah's vision to rebuild the walls of Jjerusalem was "put in his heart" by God. In doing so, God touched his emotions--he wept when he knew of the city's plight and his people's disgrace; his intellect--he reasoned what the need was and thought about what he could do to respond to its urgency; his will--he decided to act, even though the task was formidable, because "God's gracious hand was upon him".

How often has God touched your heart with something you saw or heard. Perhaps it was a missionary's appeal, or a family in your neighborhood in crisis, or a church responsibility begging to be filled? And did you reason away how you could/should be involved? Did you intellectually grapple with the opportunity and God's purpose for you in meeting it? Many of us can respond affirmatively to these first two parts of the process. The ultimate question, however, is, did we act upon what we saw and felt, evaluated and examined...or did we walk away, ignoring the vision God sought to put in our hearts.

"God put the vision in Nehemiah's heart..." How are you acting upon what God has put in yours?

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