contract or no, I will not bow to any sponsor

At the end of nehemiah 9, the leaders of the people sign a "binding agreement" with God. This was a covenant promise which is more than a contract. A contract has conditions - "I'll do this if you do that, and if you don't do that then I don't have to do my part either". A covenant says "This is what I'm going to do. No matter what happens". It's a big deal that the people are signing this document making a covenant with God - am I in no matter what happens? Or will I drop out if I feel God isn't doing what I think He should be?

you're so vain...

nehemiah chapter 9

In a prayer that lasts for most of the 38 verses in chapter 9, it's not until verse 32 until the people mention their own problems. The vast majority of their prayer focuses on who God is and what He has done for them and their ancestors. My prayers are more likely to be a quick line about God's character and then a long list of problems.

The people recognised that their relationship with God was more about who God is and what He's done than it was about them and what they were doing. Yes, God is intimatley interested in my life, but my relationship with Him is more about how good He is and what He's done than it is about the immediate difficulties I think I'm facing.

The people were all aware of what God had done for their ancestors and a central part of Old Testament worship was remembering what God had done. I don't know much about the history of what God has done in my family or church, or ther church in the town, or the church in this country... I need to be active in telling the stories of what God has done, to encourage the people who come after me. Why is it that the parts of church history that end up being preserved are minutes of who was given responsibility for the flower rota at which meeting on what date, instead of the times when God changed someone's life?

celebrate good times, come on

Nehemiah chapter 8

Ezra reads the bible to the people and teaches and explains it to them with the result being that the people are convicted of their sin and weep. The interesting thing is that they were instructed not to - and they spent the day celebrating the Lord - by gathering together as a large group but also by eating together and giving to people that didn't have enough. No matter how many times I hear or even say that worship is a lifestyle, I still have room to learn about worshipping God in every aspect of my life.

The people then celebrate the feast of booths/tabernacles/tents by living in tents for a week to remember how God brought their ancestors out of Egypt. When I say I'm going to try and remember something, I mean I'm going to think about it quite hard, not live in a tent or build a heap of stones. Maybe that's why I forget a lot of what God has done!

opposition

Nehemiah encounters a lot of opposition throughout the rebuilding of the wall and, while he deals with it seriously, he refuses to let it distract him or the others from the task God's given them. Whether it's physical threats, a letter writing campaign or hiring false prophets, Nehemiah's attitude is summed up nicely by verse 9 in chapter 6 - "Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands. " Then he keeps working. Whatever it is that is opposing, Nehemiah prays and gets back to work, trusting God to deal with it.

building

nehemiah 3

Everybody's usually familiar of the fact that the church is like a body, with each person having different gifts etc. But Nehemiah 3 is an example of a situation where God has called everyone to perform the same task and everyone gets stuck in. The priests do some building (v28), some bloke and his daughters get involved (v12). the only black spot is in verse 5, where the Tekoites work, but their nobles wouldn't get their hands dirty. Did they think they were above the work? There wasn't exactly much to be proud about being a nobleman of a ruined city.

God might want anyone to get their hands dirty at any time - am I willing to listen?

prayer

Nehemiah chapter 1

Nehemiah's response to the news that Jerusalem and it's people were in a bad way is to weep, fast, mourn and pray hardcore. This wasn't brand new information to him - jerusalem had been wrecked for over 100 years, but he obviously felt a bit of God's heart for His people. He is cut to the heart about it and He's going to pray about it until something happens.

I'm aware that there are Christians and churches struggling, I'm aware that there are people lost and suffering all around me, and when I hear about somebody having a rough time I might pray a bit about it. But I don't often let it cut me to the heart. I don't ask God to give me a glimpse of how He feels about those people. I don't fast about it and pray until something changes. Praying once or twice isn't enough. I should be asking God to show me His heart for the people around me and would pray until God moves.