Feeling Forgotten?

Today's Reading: Nehemiah 7

Details, details. When my daughter was small and came home from school, I often asked her how her day was. She would then launch into the story of her day with excruciating details. I knew I was in trouble when her sentence started out, "You see, what happened was..." 

Nehemiah 7 reads about like that. Seventy-three verses and most of it is dedicated to listing people and numbers. The wall is completed, and Nehemiah appoints leaders. He also takes a census and sees that each family is returned back to their town.

By the end of the chapter, we find the population has totaled 42,360 plus their 7,337 servants and 245 singers. He even counted the 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys. And goes on to list the things that families contributed for the work.

That's a lot of details.Why would this chapter be right in the middle of Nehemiah? I mean, who really cares, right?

This type of passage always reminds me that God is a God of order. He attends to even the smallest detail and no one person, animal, or gift is unimportant to Him. And I take comfort in that because some days I feel like I'm not very important in the big wide world, or on the to-do list of the God of the universe. But right here, He is telling us that is not true. All the people and all the details matter to Him.

So where are you feeling forgotten today? Take some encouragement from the places in scripture where God shares minute details, and remember that He has not and will not forget you.

- Holly Barrett

Where did I leave that patience?

Today's Reading: Nehemiah 6:15-19

In this post on Nehemiah 3, we saw the building of the wall begin at the Sheep Gate and circle all the way around Jerusalem to end back up at the Sheep Gate. And here in the end of chapter 6, we see that it took them all of 52 days to complete the work.

52 days!?! Even with all the work to be done? Even with all the opposition they faced?

Yep. 52 days.

God started them out at one place, and brought them all the way around full circle back to the starting point, and they were finished. Just goes to show you what God can accomplish on His timetable.

I have friends who needed to sell their home and got an offer within days of the house going on the market. I've heard stories of people who had no plans to add to their family until faced with children who needed a home and then they had all the necessary paperwork fly through in a matter of days or weeks, rather than the months it normally takes. I know people who met and married the love of their life within just weeks and have remained married for years.

And then there are other stories...of people who have waited and waited and waited for a dream to come true. And who may have despaired that God was even listening anymore.

I wish I could give you all a reason why it happens that way. But only God knows that. The thing I do know is that God's timing is perfect. He is always working, whether we can see the work or not, and His timing is perfect. Furthermore, just as Nehemiah found, even our opposition will lose their confidence when God's work becomes apparent...regardless of how long it takes.

So whether it is 52 days, or weeks, or yes, even years, we can count on the fact that God is working. And that should bring us some comfort while we are waiting.

Now if I could just find where I left that patience at...

- Holly Barrett

The Rumor Mill

Today's Reading: Nehemiah 6:1-14

Have you ever been the subject of rumor or gossip? Regardless of whether the story being spread around is true or not, the fact that people would talk about it behind your back is just plain hurtful. Not to mention that often when the story gets back to you, it doesn't even remotely resemble the truth. Remember the old game we used to play, "Telephone"?

Nehemiah comes up against some more serious opposition in chapter 6. When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem, and the rest of the enemy gang heard that Nehemiah had rebuilt the wall, they requested a meeting with him. In fact they requested a meeting four times! And four times, Nehemiah said no.

Finally, Sanballat sends a sixth request in the form of an unsealed letter. In these days letters that were sent were usually sealed so that no one could open them along the way and discover the contents and so that the recipient would know the letter actually came from the sender. So isn't it just a little bit odd that Sanballat sent an unsealed letter to Nehemiah? Here's what the letter said, from verses 6-7,

"The word is out among the nations—and Geshem says it's true— that you and the Jews are planning to rebel. That's why you are rebuilding the wall. The word is that you want to be king and that you have appointed prophets to announce in Jerusalem, 'There's a king in Judah!' The king is going to be told all this—don't you think we should sit down and have a talk?"

Sanballat has taken one grain of truth - that the Israelites have rebuilt the wall - and turned it into several big lies (the Jews are planning to rebel, you want to be king, and you have anointed prophets in Jerusalem). He's even talked Geshem into corroborating his story. And he sent it in an unsealed letter so who knows how many people may have read it before Nehemiah?

And isn't that what we do sometimes? We hear some thing that has a small amount of truth in it and we share it with someone else. You know, "just so they can pray about it"..."or they can help us figure out how to handle the situation." And before you know it, that person has told someone in confidence, and that person has told someone in confidence, and on and on it goes.

What I love about Nehemiah in this chapter is his response. He simply tells them they have made up the story and that it is not true. And then he prays. Nehemiah knows that his work is more important than responding to every untruth spoken about him. So he asks God to not let Sanballat and Tobiah get away with their mischief and for his confidence to not be undermined (verse 14).

What about you? If you've been the subject of the rumor mill, how do you respond? Do you pray for God to work in the situation and then let Him handle it while you return to work?

If you have been the recipient of the latest stream from the rumor mill, do you pass it on down the line? Or do you stop it dead in its tracks and encourage others to do the same?

Let's encourage one another to follow Nehemiah's example before anyone else gets hurt...

- Holly Barrett

Correcting Injustice

Today's Reading: Nehemiah 5

We hear a lot about injustice in our world. There are all manner of websites and charities dedicated to educating and easing injustice. I don't suppose we should be surprised to find that there was injustice going on in Nehemiah's time too.

In chapter 5, Nehemiah finds out that the Jews are putting an undue financial burden on their very own countrymen. And he was very angry (verse 6). He doesn't shy away from confronting the perpetrators either. He confronts the nobles and officials and immediately demands that they stop this unrighteous behavior. Nehemiah says in verse 9, "What you are doing is not right. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies?" God knew what was going on and He didn't let it stay hidden long. 

The same is true in our world. God sees injustice as it is inflicted upon the poor and disenfranchised. He will not let that stay buried for long.

After confronting them, Nehemiah calls the people to accountability and obedience. He tells the nobles and officials to give back all the land and possessions they have taken from the people, as well as the interest they have charged too (verse 11). In this same way, God expects us to answer for injustice that we see and what our response is to it. Clearly we cannot solve every problem in the world. And I don't believe we are actually called to do that. But God does call us to look around in our sphere of influence and see where we can ease suffering. And then to go do it. It's not enough to say, "Oh, how terrible!" and not take some corrective action.

Finally Nehemiah finishes the chapter by talking about how he and his men behaved during his time as governor. They didn't eat the food allotted to the governor, they didn't tax the people, and they didn't lord their position over those under them. Nehemiah's example teaches us that God's people should lead the way in correcting injustice. It's not enough to talk about it. We have to step up to the plate and do what He calls us to do.

So where is God showing you injustice in your world? What is He asking you to do about it? When will you start?

- Holly Barrett

The Opposition Raises Its Ugly Head

Today's Reading: Nehemiah 4
 
Have you ever started a project and felt like everything that could go wrong did go wrong? I used to work for a company that embroidered shirts with company logos on them. Oftentimes we would have jobs of 600 shirts or 1000 hats and our machines would be running flat out to get finished on time.

On other days, we would have several jobs of just a dozen or so pieces to do and plenty of time to meet the customer's deadline.

Guess which one usually caused us the most problems? That's right...the smaller jobs. Those were the jobs that were priced higher so that you made money off of cranking up the machines to run a few pieces. But so many times we would end up barely breaking even because the wrong logo was sewn in the wrong location or in the wrong color or a machine decided to eat shirts that day. By the time we had finished the job, we wished we had never taken it!

I don't know if we were just too laid back with smaller jobs and so made more mistakes or if the machine demons were just out to get us on those jobs, but it sometimes seemed that the harder we worked, the worse the situation became.

Nehemiah is facing a similar dilemma in chapter 4. He has already faced some opposition, but now that the wall building has started in earnest, the opposition has really raised its ugly head! Sanballat and Tobiah first tried to discourage the Israelites by laughing at them and ridiculing their work. But the Israelites pressed on and built the wall to half its height (verse 6).

So Sanballat and Tobiah stepped up their game. They plotted to come and fight Jerusalem, and threatened to kill them all (verse 11).

But Nehemiah did not cower to their threats. He prayed to God, stepped up the security, and encouraged the people. He said, "Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives, and your homes."

When the opposition heard this, they backed off again realizing that God was on the Israelites' side and had frustrated their plans (verse 15).

Where do you feel frustrated in the work God has asked you to do? Have you prayed about it, strengthened your efforts and sought encouragement from God's people? Nehemiah's leadership tells us that this plan works. So we have a choice...let the opposition keep on attacking us or turn to God and His people. Which plan will you try today?

- Holly Barrett

Extreme Makeover

Today's Reading: Nehemiah 3

I can hardly watch the show Extreme Home Makeover. By the end of each episode, I am a teary mess and it hardly seems worth it to put myself through that! But imagine if you were one of the remnant of Judah, living in this disgraceful state in Jerusalem and were now ready to begin building the wall. That would be so exciting...and I expect I would be a teary mess by the end of that work too!

Nehemiah 3 starts out with the actual building of the wall with the work beginning at the Sheep Gate. Throughout this chapter, we see the way Nehemiah lead the Israelites to rebuild the entire wall in such a short period of time. First we see that the people began working side-by-side on the wall. God's work may require many people with very specific tasks.

Verses five through seven show us that many different leaders are often required to finish a big project. But we also learn that God's leaders are always willing to help with the work.

In verses eight through 12, we see a description of many different callings of people to do the work. We see goldsmiths and perfume makers working outside their normal callings to finish their sections. Some of the workers worked in their own front or back yards! And even some women got involved as they helped the men finish their assigned section of wall, proving that God's workers sometimes seem like unlikely choices.

Rulers worked alongside their followers in verses 13 through 16. It is often easier to lead when working with your people...and it is certainly easier to follow a leader who is willing to work.

As the work progresses through verses 17-21, we see that working together accomplishes more work than can be done alone.

And finally as the chapter ends in verses 22-32, the work comes to a close through this collaborative effort. The good thing about collaboration is that it helps us to honor all who contribute to the work.

It was a big job. They started out at the Sheep Gate and worked all the way back around to the same Sheep Gate, bringing the job full circle and to a close. It reminds me of the work that God often does in our own lives. He is always trying to restore, redeem, and bring us back full circle to the beginning. Our very own Extreme Makeover.

Where is God working to bring you full circle today?

- Holly Barrett

Will Your Walls Stand Tall?

Today's Reading: Nehemiah 2:11-20

In this last half of Nehemiah 2, we are going to see Nehemiah's inspection of the walls of Jerusalem, his report to the officials, and the opposition he is beginning to face.

In verses 11 through 15, Nehemiah rests in Jerusalem for three days and then sets out at night to inspect the wall. It is important to be well-rested before we take on a large project. Nehemiah has traveled many miles from Susa to Jerusalem and he wisely decides to rest and get his bearings before jumping head first into the project. It's also interesting to note in these verses that he didn't tell anyone what he was doing as he inspected the wall, except for those men he needed to accompany him. Sometimes it is best to keep our own counsel while we are in the information-gathering phase of a project. Otherwise, we run the chance of speaking too quickly and without enough knowledge of what needs to be done.

Once all his information is together, Nehemiah presents his plan to the officials and gains their support in verses 17-18. Nehemiah wisely lays out the work to be done and reminds the officials of how God has already interceded to help bring this project together. We see here that God's words are usually the most persuasive and that His favor guarantees success.

And then comes the opposition! In verse 11, we were introduced to Sanballat and Tobiah who were "very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites." Now in verses 19-20, they are back and they brought some reinforcements in the form of Geshem the Arab. These three men mocked and ridiculed Nehemiah and accused him of rebelling against the king. Nehemiah again relies on God and claims success in God's name. Regardless of opposition, we can still claim victory if we are walking in God's will.

So how's the wall God has asked you to build faring? Did you get enough rest and gather enough information before starting to work? Do you feel His favor and are you claiming His victory by walking in His will while you work? If your wall is not standing tall, maybe it is time to start over before that wall comes tumbling down...

- Holly Barrett

Are you all prayed up?

Today's Reading: Nehemiah 2:1-10

As we continue our reading in Nehemiah today, chapter two opens four months after chapter one begins. Here's where we see the result of Nehemiah's prayer in chapter one and the result of prayers he prayed and plans he made over these four months.

When King Artaxerxes notices Nehemiah is sad, Nehemiah is prepared to tell his story. It was unusual for Nehemiah to show this emotion in front of the King...and equally unusual for Artaxerxes to care enough to ask. Kings aren't usually too concerned with what is going on with their servants and appearing before the King with a downcast countenance could mean severe consequences. Nehemiah wouldn't have been able to take that risk without praying about it first.

Nehemiah describes the scene in his homeland, and Artaxerxes immediately asks him what he wants. Answering this question is risky too because Artaxerxes could have laughed at Nehemiah's concerns or denied his requests. Nehemiah asks for three things: 1) permission to go to Jerusalem to repair the city, 2) letters of safe conduct, and 3) letters requesting building materials. Nehemiah was only able to make these requests because he was emboldened by his time of prayer. Artaxerxes granted these requests and threw in some army officers and cavalry for protection too!

And so Nehemiah sets out on his journey to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

Nehemiah risked his position by appearing sad in front of the King. He risked his life by making bold requests of the King. And he risked his reputation by following through with God's plan. At any place in this timeline, the King could have refused Nehemiah's request, banished him from the King's presence, or had him killed. But because he was all "prayed up," he really had nothing to fear.

Where is God calling you to take a risk for him? Are you prayed up enough to step out on faith and take a risk? Let's pray for God to show us where we need to step out and stand on the prayers we have been praying!

- Holly Barrett

The Rebuilding Begins with Prayer

Today's Reading: Nehemiah 1

Last year around this time, God got a hold of me with the book of Nehemiah. I read it and studied it and even ended up teaching it in the fall to the Journey class. For some reason, God just wouldn't let me get out of Nehemiah. It was an amazing time as I studied every word and looked for every nuance and nugget that God wanted me to see. I'm certainly not a Nehemiah expert! It was just a wonderful time to spend in this rich book and hopefully over the next few weeks, through Jeff's sermons and through this blog, we can all learn some more.

Nehemiah opens describing a scene where he learns the fate of his fellow Israelites and is heartbroken over what he hears. It seems the walls of Jerusalem are broken down, its gates have been burned, and the people are in great distress. Verse 4 gives us great insight into Nehemiah's character as a leader, "When I heard these things, I sat down and wept." You see, the heart of a leader starts with concern and compassion for the people he or she is leading. Nehemiah could have become angry or fearful...instead, his heart turned towards compassion for his people and he sat down to weep.

Then in verses 5-11, we read Nehemiah's prayer. First it is filled with praise and then confession. Why confession on behalf of the Israelites? Because confession restores our relationship with God.

Nehemiah then reminds God of His promises to Moses, that "even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name." God's past promises give us hope for the future. 

He finally ends with an impassioned plea for God to save His people, and a request for God's favor to be on himself. God can, does, and will intervene in our lives in response to our prayers.

We have much to learn from this book and it is interesting to me that the story begins with a prayer. I suspect that Nehemiah knew that whatever rebuilding needed to be done would begin with favor from the Father.

Is that where we need to be today? On our knees in prayer for God's people, confessing our sins, reminding ourselves of His promises, and praying for God's holy intervention in our lives?

There is probably not any better place to be...

 - Holly Barrett

A sight to see...

Today's Reading: Revelation 7:9-12

One of my favorite days of the year is Palm Sunday. At Providence Road, we invite all the children to come to the stage waving their palm fronds and singing Hosanna! It is too precious and the flash bulbs are nearly blinding as moms and dads and grandparents take tons of pictures. It's really quite a sight!

In today's reading John describes a perpetual Palm Sunday. He saw a great multitude, too numerous to count, standing before the throne, waving palm branches, and crying out, "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and unto the Lamb."

As I was reading this in my favorite study Bible, I found notes from some lesson or the other that I'd heard in the past. I didn't mark down who said it, but it was probably from a Beth Moore lesson as my Bible is filled with pearls of wisdom from her teaching. This note was about verse 9 and the phrase, "from every nation, tribe, people, and language." The note said that the word translated as nation refers to people set apart according to location, customs and laws.

The word translated as tribe means set apart by blood lines tracing to common ancestors.

The word translated as people means set apart by various common bonds of a society.

The word translated as language means set apart by different languages.

So every possible division of humans (nationality, ethnicity, country, or language) will be done away with. There will be no more prejudice. No more hate. No more preference. No more connection based on the physical bonds we have as humans. Just all of us together.

We will then be bound by our common belief in and love for God and the Lamb. And nothing will be more important to us than falling down to worship.

Now that really will be a sight to see...

- Holly Barrett

We Bow Down

Today's Reading: Revelation 5:11-14

Did you enjoy Jeff's sermon on Revelation this past Sunday? That blackboard was amazing, wasn't it?

Like I mentioned in Sunday's post, I can hardly imagine what the throne room of heaven is actually going to look like. But I don't suppose it really matters, as long as I get to see it!

What is intriguing to me about today's reading is in verse 13, "Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing..." I don't know about you, but I love me some singing! That's not even the most intriguing part to me though. What is really fascinating to me is the little phrase "every creature."

Not some. Not a few. Not most.

Every.

The lesson for me is that I can bow down to the authority of the Father today or I can do it in the end. One way or the other, I am going to bow down and declare the honor, glory, and power of the Lamb. I can choose to do it now, or I can wait and let Him choose it for me. Something tells me though that if I wait until I don't have a choice, it might not be such a joyful occasion.

So I think I'll do it today...and every day, until Jesus comes again. Then I'll really be able to enjoy all that singing.

- Holly Barrett

Picturing the Throne Room of Heaven

Today's Reading: Revelation 4

Have you ever imagined what the throne room of God will look like? I like to look at houses and how they are designed and decorated, so I've wondered what this place that Jesus has gone to prepare for us will look like. However, when I've pictured entering that throne room, somehow I haven't pictured the surroundings. I've been so enthralled at the idea of seeing God on His throne and Jesus at His right hand, that the other details seemed to fade into the background.

In Revelation 4, John describes it like this:

...there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.

In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings.

Heaven may not look exactly like this, but if it does, how could we miss these details? Imagine the beauty and splendor, if you can. I don't think even John's inspired words are doing it justice!

Then again, the details may be irrelevant once we are finally there. John goes on to say that the creatures never stop saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who is, and was, and is to come." And the 24 elders fall before the throne, cast their crowns at the feet of Jesus, and proclaim, "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

And perhaps that is the true essence of John's description anyway...that our attention will be riveted on that which truly matters. We will be in the presence of the living God...and Jesus, our personal Savior and brother. In the blink of an eye, everything else will, in fact, fade into the background. And we will simply be where we belong. Face down in worship before our King.

I can hardly wait to get there!

- Holly Barrett

The one where justice prevails.

Today's Reading: 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10

As I sat at my desk this morning reading today's scripture, I thought about all the movies I've enjoyed where good wins out in the end. Don't you just love a story that ends with the bad guy getting what's coming to him? It's great to root for the guy who is being persecuted and seeing the tables turned on the persecutor at the end. That's just what God promises in today's reading. Paul tells the Thessalonians that they will be counted worthy for their suffering. He assures them, "God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled..." The blessed assurance is that we will have relief and the enemy will get what is coming to him.

Some days we just want God's justice to hurry up, don't we? There are days that I wake up and tell God that in my estimation, today would be a great day for Jesus to return and for the devil to get his due. But even though we don't get to know the exact date that will happen, Paul does go on to say, "This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels."

And on those days when I'm wishing God would hurry up, I'm also wishing I knew when it was all going to happen...and how. But since we don't get to know that, I'm grateful for the glimpse that we have.

Jesus is coming back...from heaven...in blazing fire...and with an army of angels. And God's justice will prevail.

Amen.

- Holly Barrett