Rebuilding the Walls – part 3

One of my favorite animated movies is the Incredibles, and a great line of it was when the head superhero guy, Bob, said, “Sometimes I wish the world would just stay saved!”  My wife would echo that comment with one of her own…”Sometimes I wish the house/kids would just stay cleaned up!”

Managing a completed project takes a whole different skill set than initiating a project, and Nehemiah shows some real keys to maintaining the now completed walls of Jerusalem.

Appoint key leaders – 7:2 – Hanani was put in charge, “because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most men do.”

A game plan was created – (actually it was rediscovered) – 8:1-3 – Ezra the priest brought out the Book of the Law and read it to the people, and they listened attentively.

Restoration usually involves eating crow (there’s usually a reason that the walls were broken down…usually related to our mistakes) ; 9:32-38 – a)humble themselves, b) acknowledge God’s justice, c) willingly start over, d) commit to refocused pursuit of God with a reminder (alter, covenant, agreement, etc…)

Trust God to preserve what we create while pursuing Him; 13:14 – “remember me for this…and do not blot out what I  have so faithfully done for the house of my God…”

What restorations have you completed recently or are you working on now?  Guard yourself at completion to not settle for a great wall.  Take steps to insure it will last by appointing some good management, create a plan, deal with the root issues, and trust.  Praying for your walls to stand firm today!

Rebuilding the walls- Part 2

So, what’s it like having me call you out on my little blog here…saying you’ve got some broken down areas of your life?  Don’t worry…I’m right there with you.

What I hate about broken down walls is that it means there were once solid walls there…and now, because of neglect or destruction, they’re in some state of disrepair.  Oh and the gates being ‘burned’ seems pretty intentional to me.

So, my mental picture is the areas of my life that were once solid that are now in need of some repairs…like the good habits in my life – i.e. nutrition, exercise, spiritual disciplines, rest.  Plus I’ve got some areas that I have just torched…or allowed my friends, family, or foes to torch…like my schedule, or margin, or commitments to personal development.

The story continues in Nehemiah 3 & 4… So the guys get to work repairing the walls and rebuilding the gates and it’s pretty smooth at first.  Lots of volunteers, minimal foe intervention, and peole are cool putting their personal agendas on hold for the greater good.  But of course the foes show up…first by ridicule (“even if a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall!” and then they plotted an attack, so Nehemiah had to cross train the workers in building & soldiering.  Here’s some insights that I had…

3:14 – Malkijah is the man!  He got to repair the Dung Gate!  What a crappy job!

3:20 – Baruch apparently was a real type A kind of guy… Everyone else is working hard & steady…It says that he “zealously repaired” the wall.  Non-union job I guess!

3:30 – Hanun was pretty desperate for notoriety…everyone else just uses their name, or dad’s name, but he’s the “sixth son of Zalaph”.  Either he’s five generations away from anyone famous, or he has 5 slacker brothers that weren’t helping with the wall.

4:12 – I’m sure you have those people that are really worried about the possibilities that stall out the current progress just because of what ‘could’ happen.  These guys were really wearing out Nehemiah so he said, “they came and told us ten times, ‘Wherever you turn they will attack us!’   Like my wife some times… “I’ve told you ten times to pick up milk on your way home!!!”

4:20 – Trumpets Rock! – They were so spread out that he told everyone to gather together wherever the trumpet is sounded and God will fight for us.  Isn’t it interesting that they see the need, call in the troops, and then trust God to show up and fight for them???  If only I was that smart.

So, how’s the lineup going for rebuilders of your walls?  Are you zealously working or just wearing out your boss?  Do you call in the cavalry when you need them and then do you expect God to show up and fight for you?

I’ll be praying for your holy preparation & expectation…until part 3

Rebuilding the Wall; part 1

I was reading today in Nehemiah 1&2 about how he (Nehemiah) heard from his brother that the walls of Jerusalem (the homeland of Israel) was in ruins and the people still there were in trouble & disgrace.  He was SO burdened by this news that he ’sat down, cried, went without food, mourned & prayed to God about the issue.’  He confesses the sins of his people, reminded God about His promise to give that land to the people of Israel.

With that in mind, he set to work to do something about it.  He asked for safe passage clearance from the king and the resources to rebuild the walls and the King granted it, PLUS gave Nehemiah an army to keep him safe.    Which is incredible since he was only the cupbearer for the King!  (that’s right…the trusted taste-tester)

Here’s what gets me in this story… God’s talking to me about how we sometimes live for a long time with broken down walls or gates and just deal with it.  We have never asked…

What role we’ve played in the broken down areas?

How did the breakdown happen?

Who may be involved in helping us restore them?