The Most Planets?

 

 

That’ll show you to snub Pluto! I mean, seriously, what did he ever do to you? He just floated through space all frozen and alone holding on to the only high light of his existence, being a planet. Then you just go and brush him off like you really have some kind of say in it anyway.

Now someone else is the big man on campus. No longer do we have the most planets. Now we find out we should have been counting every one we had. Well serves them right, I say.

Seriously though, another system has been found with more planets than we currently acknowledge, yet the study clearly finds none that are able to sustain life.

Why? Because we are chosen.

We are one tiny little spec in the grand scheme of things, and constantly reminded of that by the constant discoveries of even larger things.Yet we have been chosen, because only earth holds sentient life.

Again we ask, why? The answer is not as satisfying as the question I’ll warn you, and yet it is far greater.

God made it that way.

Oh, I know it sounds like a cop out, we ignore science and discovery for a religious catechism.  Well let me assure you that is not the case in this instance. I don’t find articles about the universe by accident. I am fascinated by space and God’s creation, but with every discovery one constant fact is presented to me over and over; with such a vast creation testifying to God’s awesome wonder, how much must He love us to make us the only ones?

People will keep looking, I sure hope they do, but as more discoveries are made we keep finding a bigger testimony to God with less and less indication of extraterrestrial life. Which leaves us only to realize that God made all of this because He has chosen us to love.

Peter knew some about being chosen.

¹ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

   To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, ² who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:

   Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

- 1 Peter 1:1-2 NIV

Peter wrote to God’s elect, His chosen. Sometimes Christians get bent out of shape over this idea. We tend to call it predestination or free will. We get so bent out of shape that the world can see us fighting over “being robots” or “God not knowing what will happen”. Of course neither is the case, they are simple straw men set up at extremes to make the other argument look stronger.

While I have no intentions of tackling the issue at large (I have done so in other formats and have no desire to do so again) I do wish to look at what Peter IS saying here.

Peter calls us God’s chosen people, strangers to this world, who were chosen because God knows everything that will happen, who have been chosen through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for a specific purpose.

There are a few things to focus on here. God has chosen us. I wish I could write an impression of how massive this very concept is. The God who can hold the universe in the palm of His hand and created it at a word, has chosen us. Wow.

We are strangers in this world. So fully chosen are we that He has moved us into His zip code. We no longer belong in this world because we are His. Our home is with Him.

This choosing is in line with what God knew would happen. God isn't surprised that we chose Him, in fact He died for everyone and offers every one His grace, He knows who will take up that offer.

For those of us who chose God, we in turn have been chosen to go through the sanctifying work of the Spirit. Now, lest we get it in our heads that this means God chose us to go to heaven and chose others to go to hell, let us look a little closer. Sanctification is a fancy way of referring to the continual process of being made holy. We are redeemed and then we start the sanctification process. We are not chosen through redemption. We are not chosen because God chose to redeem us (as opposed to not choosing others) we are chosen for a purpose because of God working in us to make us Holy.

What is that purpose? Obedience to Christ and the testimony of His blood. We are chosen, like God knew we would be and planed for, through being made Holy, for obedience to Christ and the sprinkling around of His blood. Else where it says to be salt and light. I think the idea is the same. Obviously we are not being made holy before we are forgiven and place is made in us for the Spirit to do His work. So what could sprinkling the blood mean?

Well, did the priests sprinkle the blood of the offerings to forgive the sins? No, the forgiveness came in the shedding of the blood. Once that blood was shed it was sprinkled around for the atoning of all. Do we sprinkle the grace of God in our lives around us? Does God’s forgiveness for sins splash out of our lives and coat those around us in crimson?

This is why we are chosen. We are chosen to become like Christ and share His forgiveness with the world. It is pretty awesome to be chosen, it is very intimidating to be chosen for a job. It is easy just to be chosen to be, but being chosen for a God sized task can be overwhelming. When you have been elected by God you have few options remaining. If you didn’t want the work, you shouldn’t have signed up for the job.

But if you live in harmony with your choosing? The promise is even more grace and an abundant peace.

So be a light…

#1 Reason You Can’t Lose Weight…

 

 

Yeah, I’m pretty sure the #1 reason you aren’t losing weight is that holidays like Easter come around and you stuff your face full of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, cream corn, baked beans, and rolls while snacking on chocolate….

Or maybe that’s just me. I hear for most it is ham….

Ah lack of self-control my old enemy. I know you well. Today we shall live in peace and with an ever expanding waistline I will continue to promise to fight you tomorrow. I will also complain regularly that it isn't working.

But seriously, we tend to make most holidays about food. A few make it about food and family. Even fewer focus on the actual meaning. I wanted to take a moment to do just that.

 

¹ After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

² There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴ The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

⁵ The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

⁸ So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

- Matthew 28:1-10

 

Seldom in our happy spring themed celebrations do we remember the grave yard or the violent revolution that we celebrate. Look at the violent language used here; violent earthquake, appearance like lightning, guards so afraid they shook and became like dead men. Three times in this small passage the women are referred to as being afraid.

This was not a pastel, white glowing, chipper experience. This was early dawn with long shadows and harsh sun in a grave yard, a violent earthquake tore through the ground, a grave was opened and a man that looked like lightning terrified hardened soldiers until they passed out, then he himself sat guard.

When Jesus marched out of the grave he did so in a violent revolution that tumbled the dominion of hell and the grave. The one inevitable and immovable expectation in life was done away with like yesterday’s garbage. Jesus rose from the grave, not called back by someone else, but of His own power; and the dominion of hell shattered.

It was this risen King, this revolutionary and destroyer of hell itself, this is who the women met and worshiped. Not some meek, sheep cuddling, placid white guy. They met the mighty King in His triumphant return.

Jesus has promised to celebrate that triumphant return with all of us one day. He will get the procession and praise that is due Him, and there will be no doubters left on that day.

THAT is why we celebrate Easter. No bunny can compare with our risen King, no basket of goodies or gluttonous meal can match the promise of His return.

Come Lord Jesus, please come…

 

 

All of Creation eagerly keeps watch for you my Lord and King, we await and serve.

Keep Pounding…

 

I love these stories of courage and character in sports. To me that is what sports are all about, the tales of courage, character, and victory that mirror the integrity we want built into our lives. There are so many messages delivered in professional sports, the unfortunate part is that many of them are negative messages.

It seems incredible how easy it is for negative messages to creep in things. Most often it happens by a very small compromise that starts a crumbling that just wont stop.

It amazes me how small it can start. I remember having a specific job where one day there was something happened I felt was wrong and I chose to complain. That complaining got a tad worse and eventually crumbled my attitude and hurt my testimony at that job. That has been quite some time ago, but I still have to maintain watch over that issue.

Nehemiah knew how to counter the “slow fade” of our testimony.

 

13:1 On that day they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people. And in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, 2 for they did not meet the people of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them—yet our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 As soon as the people heard the law, they separated from Israel all those of foreign descent.

Nehemiah 13:1-3 (ESV).

 

Nehemiah knew that the only way to counter slowly corrupting the work and testimony of God from the rebuilding is to go back to God’s word. From time to time we must be willing to look over our lives and judge the testimony we are showing by God’s standards and then radically reform what has crept in.

As you read the rest of the chapter Nehemiah did not subtly move things back to the correct way, he took dramatic action and made things right.

A Builder must check his work every once in a while and make drastic repairs where needed. Nehemiah recognized that the problems cropping up were the same things that had destroyed Israel in the first place, he had to change them and put measures in place to prevent the failures from creeping back in.

There really is not to much to being a Builder that is very easy and all of it is very important. Perhaps though we would recognize this behavior as one of the hardest to bring ourselves to do. If we remember to be intentional enough to check up on ourselves we often fail to be dramatic in our reforms.

Somethings you just have to work hard to keep up with…

Dust Devil From Mars!

 

Ok, so it might sound like a bad B-movie title for years gone by, but in reality this dirty twister is kicking up some dust on Mars.

 

It really is quite a striking photo and, I am sure, a very impressive show from the ground as well. While this one might not be much fun to tangle with I have always been rather fond of dust devils. The fairly tame cousins of the “twister”, dust devils seem a sudden burst of energy from the normally placid wind.

They seem spirited, whimsical, and fun to me.

I am sure you have seen people with this same tendency in their emotional status. They have sudden and random bursts of energy and joy and then kind of smooth out again.

Truth be told a high level of “happy energy” is hard for anyone to maintain over extended periods of time. Frankly, it is normal for our lives to have an ebb and flow to our emotions.

Sometimes, in certain situations, those swings can be several times in one day. For instance, Jenny and I can go from excitedly energetic about something to beaten in one afternoon. Almost in one hour.

I do think however we can train ourselves to have more bursts of happy energy than is “normal”. You can plan out activities that energize you, choose to be excited about little things until it infects you, or simply surround yourself with people who are excited in truth. All tend to help raise your spirits if you are open to it.

it can be vital to plan on raising your spirits once in a while.

40 So both choirs of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God, and I and half of the officials with me; 41 and the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets; 42 and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang with Jezrahiah as their leader. 43 And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.

Nehemiah 12:40-43 (ESV)

 

Nehemiah planned out times of rejoicing and worship. He knew that these would be instrumental in keeping the community focused and full of energy for the work.

Never let anyone tell you that being a Builder is easy or that the work is so fun you just always have the energy for it. Paul once said that he was poured out like a drink. I think that can be a pretty apt description. 

You must be intentional about times of praise, worship, and great joy. The Bible says that the joy of the Lord is our strength, without it our work will falter and we will give out before it is done.

Yes, I am saying that every once in a while you have got to party. God wants joyous people full of energy and life. What good would a testimony of tired zombies be? No, Jesus said He came to give us life, and that to it’s fullest.

Some times it takes a bit of work to build up joy and energy when we don’t “feel” like it. Just remember, feelings are not a good sense of reality. Our choices make up reality, not our feelings. So be intentional about bringing joy into your life and party once in a while. Revel in God’s awesome goodness and find His strength for the day.

It is a tad easy for me I guess, I have the best baby in the entire world to play with. THAT brings me great joy.

Russian Zombie Gun…

 

 

Ok all you doubters and haters, we are one step closer. Keep your pump-action ready and find some high ground. Seriously though, this will not help with the zombie mania that has taken many in our country. I must admit, a zombie apocalypse appeals to me as a guy for the simple urge to prove yourself strong, ready, capable, and to fight. All are pretty normal desires for a man, zombies aside.

In fact, it is pretty natural for any person to desire to overcome, survive, and defeat an enemy; any person. You might even say it is wired into us. For the most part we attempt to fill the desire with doing well at work, movies and video games, and for some extreme sports like paintball. It is simply part of being human.

The real challenge is what to do after you overcome. Notice how most of our dreams end at the great victory? It is tough to live in that victory. Especially when you feel more like a zombie than killing one!

While I do not think Jenny and I are in, the battle is done now what mode, I do feel more like a zombie than killing one. We literally pour ourselves out to exhaustion every day, and then wake up and have even higher expectations set for us, with seldom a break. The human body and mind were not made for such a schedule and yet we add emotional exhaustion on top of it all.

I feel overwhelmed by the idea of doing our job well, then you add striving to keep a strong relationship with my wife, be a good father, keeping the baby, and trying to do devotions and keep up a relationship with God. Most of the time I am surprised if I can string together coherent words let alone keep up with expectations.

I am sure if my main and only focus was the job I could get enough rest to survive long enough for a few days off and reset to do it again, but I refuse to compromise my relationship with God or my family. And so I feel like a zombie.

Living in the land given you can be tough, but you have to do it.

11:1 Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem. And the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem the holy city, while nine out of ten remained in the other towns. 2 And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem.

3 These are the chiefs of the province who lived in Jerusalem; but in the towns of Judah everyone lived on his property in their towns: Israel, the priests, the Levites, the temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon's servants.

Nehemiah 11:1-3 (ESV)

 

Nehemiah and the people of Israel have seen a great work completed, the people have refocused, celebrated, and taken inventory of the work left ahead of them. They have acknowledged the help of others and the work as God’s and now it is time to live in it.

Builders often struggle with this part of the task. As a Builder it is often easier to think of working than it is to live in what you have built. For example, church planters work very hard to build a church from the ground up. Once the church is built, however, they almost always tend to move on to another church plant. Why?

It is tough to settle for the long slow process of development. Rebuilding is an intense and temporary task with measurable goals and an easily seen end. To finish the wall, to build the church, to reconcile the family, to reconcile your marriage. The goal, the dream, is easily seen and focused on, but what about when it is achieved.

Your family is brought back together, a great victory is won; now what? Well now comes the long slow and difficult process of living in that victory and learning how your family is going to interact, what ground rules to lay, how to build the relationships correctly, and, of course, the gradual process of actually carrying out those decisions.

Now you begin to see the difficulty of the task behind inhabiting the work? I believe that is why the men who chose to live in Jerusalem were esteemed and blessed by the people. It is easier to live in the comfort of what has been home to you for years and know that you won a great victory and it is over and done now.

But what would have happened it the wall had been rebuilt and no one remained in the city to being the long slow process of development? It would have simply been broken down again.

A Builder recognizes that the completion of one rebuilding project is only the beginning, if that work is not inhabited. If you do not flesh out and live that victory in your slow daily life, letting it develop in and around you, then it will all come crashing down again.

You will certainly need prayer, praise, and community in order to reorganize your daily life to fill in the rebuilt areas of your life.

Babies are really good at inhabiting their victories. They learn to recognize voices and faces and they search for them and rejoice in using the ability. They learn to eat and they explore it to the fullest. They learn to walk and crawling goes out the window. If only we could so easily let go of the way we used to function in our brokenness and so completely inhabit the rebuilding of our lives around Christ. Perhaps we would grow as fast as babies do.

576,000 Mile ‘64 Mercury…

 

 

That is seriously impressive. I have no idea how much attention to detail and maintenance it must have taken to get the car to run for 576,000 miles. I always just hope I can make it 200K miles. Apparently I dream small.

It always amazes me how often you have to come back to something and radically refocus on the main thing all over again. If you don’t you will often wish you had.

Through the process of trying to bring our family together, Jenny and I, have often found it easy to get distracted with frustrations. Constantly there was the temptation to lose focus and react from emotion. Every time we would have to catch our breath and come back to God praying that His will be done and that He see us through. Each time He did just that. Still we had to ask forgiveness for our lack of faith in the face of His proven track record.

Israel faced the same issue, except they hadn't refocused in time. They found themselves scattered among the nations and living in service to a foreign king. God had warned them time and time again and they chose to not listen. They simply would not maintain their relationship with Him.

So after Nehemiah led them to restoration of their security and testimony, after taking inventory and acknowledging the work of God, and after celebrating God’s work with those around the; they assembled as one. To gloat? Nope.

 

9:1 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads. 2 And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God. 4 On the stairs of the Levites stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani; and they cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God. 5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

6 “You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. 7 You are the Lord, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham. 8 You found his heart faithful before you, and made with him the covenant to give to his offspring the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite. And you have kept your promise, for you are righteous.

Nehemiah 9:1-8 (ESV)

 

The people gathered to worship God and confess their sin. The next two chapters are full of an amazingly transparent and heartfelt prayer. A prayer that recognizes God’s glory and lays out their sin. At the end of the prayer the people make a new covenant with God. They promised to submit to Him, obey His laws, and maintain their testimony.

They bound themselves to a radical commitment to maintaining the witness of God’s presence in their lives for the entire world to see.

Builders will inevitably come to the place where they must confess the past failures that brought them to a place of rebuilding their lives around Jesus. Not simply acknowledge to God that it happened. They need to publicly admit and turn around, away from those life styles. This is perhaps one of the most impactful testimonies a Builder has to offer.

You must be able to be transparent and do so without motivation for attention or sympathy; rather with the hope that God gets glory for where you were and where you are now.

However, if we are to make this public testimony then we must also make a commitment. Our testimony does not maintain itself. This is why Paul said fight the good fight and run the race as to win the prize. It takes a lot of intentional effort and commitment.

We worship God for who He is and for His love and mercy towards us and we couple that with the awesome power of our testimonies of His work and we will see people drawn to God. If we maintain that testimony then we will see skeptics won over in astonishment.

Because a Builder is always working to rebuild another area of their life around Christ, the idea of community involvement becomes even stronger. Look at the incredibly long list of names signed to that contract, and the great amount of people present for it’s commitment. A Builder needs accountability and support from his community of believers in order to continue working and maintain the testimony already established.

A work maintained, however, can become and impressive and beautiful thing.

 

It also places a significant piece of our lives at peace.

 

At this point I wanted to invite you, if you are facing a major event in your life that you feel has brought things down around your head. If you have read these posts and wish to comment, share your story, ask for prayer, or offer an opinion please feel free too.

You may do so by leaving a comment here on the blog, or by sending me an e-mail at livingthez@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you and be whatever encouragement that I might be able to be.

Ford Fires It Up…

 

- From Yahoo News

 

Ford is posting big numbers, and did so without a government bail out. Ford stepped up to the plate and said, “It may not be easy but we are going to rebuild this thing and we aren't taking the easy way out.” They worked very hard and they kept focus. They took an inventory of their situation and brought in people, leaders and support, who could help them keep focused and shut out the voices of opposition around them and the rebuilt.

With a strong commitment to keeping focused Ford was able to pull back from the brink of bankruptcy.

They are a good example for me to follow. With all the talk of the lottery and such it is easy to dream about the easy way out. An easy job with few hours and immorally high pay, using debt to acquire all of the things we want or need, or simply just giving up before you see the reward.

Jenny and I need a new car. It would be so easy to just get the car loan and buy a new car, the one that we want. It would not be wise. We are trying to rebuild some sense of financial stability. So I spend hours perusing used vehicle adds and our financial situation trying to find the right car at the right price. It isn’t easy.

But boy will we celebrate when we get it.

Nehemiah recognized the importance of staying focused and celebrating progress.

8:1 And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. 2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. 3 And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. 4 And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand. 5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. 6 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 7 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. 8 They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

Nehemiah 8:1-8 (ESV)

 

Nehemiah has finished rebuilding the wall. He has made sure that the work is secured and supported. He has taken the time to step back and reassess the situation to see what still needs to be done, while acknowledging what others had done to help the work along.

Now Nehemiah goes back to the real focal point. God. His purpose was to rebuild Jerusalem as a way to rebuild God’s people and their testimony. So it is only natural and right to very poignantly bring their focus completely on God.

God deserves the credit for the work of a Builder, it is why we build. SO rightly when we see progress we take time to refocus on Him and worship Him.

This is not where Nehemiah left it, however. Nehemiah also knew the importance of celebration.

10 Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” 11 So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” 12 And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

13 On the second day the heads of fathers' houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the Law. 14 And they found it written in the Law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, 15 and that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem, “Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.” 16 So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim. 17 And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing. 18 And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule.

Nehemiah 8:10-18 (ESV)

 

It is absolutely vital to celebrate successes. Nehemiah knew this. It was an honor to God that Israel party because of what God had done. So for us, when God has brought the grace to finish one project or stage, we to bring glory to God by celebrating Him.

What a testimony for those around us! They know we have been working hard to do something they just don’t understand. Yet they see us partying hard because of what God has done? It will certainly make an impression I promise.

Notice what Ford is doing. All of their commercials are taking time to reach out to their customers and celebrate their new car with them. It is working too.

Builders can’t afford to fail in celebrating God, nor can we afford to fail to bring in those who have endured the work with us. If we are going to party, it needs to be a big one. Nehemiah even said to bring in those who weren't prepared. Can you imagine asking one of your voices of opposition to celebrate with you?

There is joy and strength in celebration…

Sea Monsters and Sturgeon…

 

 

I’ll admit, it does look kind of freaky. It wouldn’t be the first time that things simply weren't what they seemed.

Lord knows I get that idea. We set goals in our lives things we are working on, like bringing our family together, and then when a big step forward comes along we like to look at it and think, “Glad that is done, should be smooth sailing now.” Boy are we wrong.

The work is never done, not till we rest in heaven anyway. It’s like with Sammy, we see him learn to walk, then he is running down the halls and all I can think is man he is so grown up; and in this moment he is. Ask me in a few more months though, it will look very different.

Nehemiah gave us a good example of the importance of stepping back and taking an survey of what you are looking at.

4 The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt.

5 Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and I found written in it:

Nehemiah 7:4-5 (ESV)

 

Nehemiah finished the wall, but he did not simply kick back and say, “I’m done!” Rather he recognized the importance of stepping back and evaluating the situation. A Builder never has only one project, there are always tasks to tackle, we must have the ability to take an honest appraisal of the situation.

Secondly, Nehemiah recognized the importance of recognizing and celebrating with those involved in the work God had been doing. Verse 5 begins a long list of genealogies where Nehemiah recognizes the community. I have said it before, when we begin rebuilding our lives around Christ, we must do so in community. When we finish one stage, we must take time to celebrate with those who have helped, encouraged, and blessed. We must recognize them.

70 Now some of the heads of fathers' houses gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics of gold, 50 basins, 30 priests' garments and 500 minas of silver. 71 And some of the heads of fathers' houses gave into the treasury of the work 20,000 darics of gold and 2,200 minas of silver. 72 And what the rest of the people gave was 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas of silver, and 67 priests' garments.

73 So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all Israel, lived in their towns.

And when the seventh month had come, the people of Israel were in their towns.

Nehemiah 7:70-73 (ESV)

 

Lastly, Nehemiah recognized the contribution made by others. He acknowledge in an honest manner what he brought to the table, and how much of the work had been done by others. We don’t simply acknowledge that there is more yet to do, and thank those who have helped, we must also honestly look at how they helped so that we know how to wisely plan the next rebuilding project.

This reminds us of the importance of community, reveals the grand picture of God's hand at work, and gives us a good idea of what we have left to do.

Many people play a part in bringing a family together, many people need to be thanked, and because much still needs to be done to fill out that blessing, many are still needed for support.

There is beauty in a finished work, but there will be equal beauty in another project started. Never forget to enjoy a beautiful ending before starting the new work.

Beagle Security?

 

 

That may be the most adorable security system known to man. I promise I would not get upset at long lines at airport security if this little guy was the security agent. Beagles have always been one of my favorite dogs, way back to The Fox and The Hound.

Working at a children’s home you get used to thinking about security issues; are the doors locked, are the meds locked, are the razors locked, are the locks  locked, and on and on. You almost get to where you hate the idea of securing something because it is so much work.

I remember living out in Fries, VA. So far out in the country we almost never locked the door. Neither did almost anyone else. You stopped and talked to the neighbor when you saw each other coming home from a store or doing lawn work. You invited people over in large groups to enjoy a fire or a movie. You didn’t worry about who was going to do what or anything.

I know it sounds like a rose colored lie, but it really did exist.

As for today, security is key. Then again, it always has been key for our spiritual lives. The Bible tells us again and again to be self-controlled and alert. Basically, never slack up.

Even when his work was done Nehemiah did not let up.

7:1 Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, 2 I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many. 3 And I said to them, “Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot. And while they are still standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their guard posts and some in front of their own homes.”

Nehemiah 7:1-3 (ESV)

 

Nehemiah says that when the building was completely finished down to the last door knob it was time to put things in place. Immediately there were gate keepers found, singers, and Levites appointed. Security was put in place and celebration was arranged.

The entire work had been a testimony to God’s glory. The opposition was over come and the wall was built. There was no time to waste, security was put in place. However, we can never forget the importance of praising God for our progress. While the job may press on we must appoint times and people to join with us in singing praise to God over His good works in us. We must also appoint people in our lives to continue to cover us in prayer and encourage us on in Christ. Remember, Builders do their work in community and we must celebrate with our community and lean on them for continued support.

Nehemiah also put Hananiah in charge over Jerusalem. The work had been to bring security and a good testimony back to Jerusalem by rebuilding its wall. Now Nehemiah knew he would need someone to help him be accountable for keeping it that way. He chose two people. His brother, and a man he says is, “more faithful and God fearing than many.” Nehemiah chose people who knew him intimately and who put God first. They could call crap when they saw it and would always do so with God in mind first and foremost. Builder’s success depends on finding those men and women of accountability; even after you feel that the specific work you have been striving for is done. Especially then.

Finally Nehemiah gave the boundaries and guidelines by which to keep the work they had labored for safe. He also made sure those responsibilities were felt not just around the wall, but they hit home too. If we are to truly secure the work of God in our lives to build up situations and parts of our life around the image of Christ, then we must build strong and healthy boundaries and guidelines. We must set these guidelines clearly and specifically in our own situation as well as at home in our hearts.

Beauty seldom comes without work. We see the beauty of nature around us and wonder at it’s amazing simplicity and beauty. We seldom think about how much work it took. Parks don’t simply spring up from the ground, wherever man touches it takes work to keep us from destroying it, gardens require constant weeding, and even mountains and oceans took so much work from God almighty that He took a day to rest when He was done.

The beauty of His testimony in you will be something to see as well, but it will take work. Things like this don’t just happen…