Book of Nehemiah: Post 2 "Clock-in and clock..."

Alright...so, I am reading periodically in Nehemiah and it has really blessed me. Let me preface everything I say with...I know nothing. Ok, got that out of the way...now may God teach all of us something that will impact our lives and help us change the World around us.

There are several things that will happen to all of us when we are doing God's work.

1) Opposition will come.
In Nehemiah 4:1 we see that Sanballat was very angry because he found out that the Jews were rebuilding the wall. So, he started taunting them and making fun of them to their faces! Then another guy chimed in with, "That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it." So, needless to say, the Jews are receiving lots of abuse and their peers are really making them feel a ton of pressure.

This happens in our lives all the time, for example "What do you mean you don't drink?" or "You could go out with him/her and you aren't, what's your problem?!?" or You can't change anything, you aren't popular enough, etc... The list goes on and on in our lives, we get made fun of for doing what God has called us to do. My question is...HOW DO YOU REACT?

2) Our Reaction is Key to our Effectiveness
I love Nehemiah 4:6, this is what it says, "At last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for the people had worked with enthusiasm!" After getting made fun of and mocked for doing God's work...THEY DID IT HARDER, FASTER, MORE DETERMINED THAN BEFORE! Peer pressure was NOT going to defeat these people...after all, they had a wall to rebuild! I am so encouraged by this passage...I cannot help but think how much of my life would be different and more effective if I reacted this way to opposition...what a testament to our great God and King for us to react with determination rather than defeat.

3) Being Overwhelmed does not mean you are headed in the wrong direction!

We have such a misconception of our God sometimes. We sometimes think that when we feel overwhelmed, we must be doing something wrong...the Jews felt all of their enemies oppressing them and felt that they would never finish the building. They were tired. But, did that mean that God's calling for them had changed? Did that ensure that they were headed in the wrong direction and should stop? Did it even mean that they were being disobedient? NO NO NO! Quick newsflash...God puts more on us that we can bear on our own all the time! BEING OVERWHELMED PROBABLY MEANS YOU ARE FOLLOWING GOD! When we feel overwhelmed as followers we must remember that in our flesh, yes...it is impossible, but with God all things are possible and if He says do it, I gotta do it. Period...end of discussion! We all have those "freak out" moments, especially when God calls us to do something that seems crazy...(like tell our classmates about Jesus, go on a mission trip, etc...) but we must do it! The great thing is...in the end, we will find contentment because we were doing what God called us to do!

Lastly, understand that it is a sin to worry...so be careful when you feel overwhelmed that you understand that God is there and worrying is pointless.

4) Work, Work, Work...you can sleep when your dead!

Now, obviously I say that "tongue-in-cheek" but I must remember that I am always "on the clock" with God...I don't check out, ever...my workday is never over. I may suck at my job sometimes, but it is still my job...GO AND TELL.

In conclusion, be encouraged when opposition comes...and in response, WORK HARDER. We have to stop being defeated by our peers...do as the Jews did in Nehemiah 4...DO WORK.

I WILL GO
Chase Culbertson

Book of Nehemiah: Post 1

First of all, I haven't blogged in a lonnnnnnnnng time...but I feel that this series of blogs can really help people. I started reading Nehemiah this morning and although I have read it before, God definitely took my train of thought in a different direction. I usually look at Old Testament Books and read them looking for their historical significance, with little spiritual lessons every once in a while. As a history major in college, I tend to find myself looking at these books that way far too often. However, this day was different...way different. I read the first two chapters of the Book of Nehemiah and God really started convicting me of some stuff...

1) I need to be broken by brokenness.

Now, I am talking about me being spiritually broken by people whose lives are in pieces. Instead of thinking to myself, well...'they shouldn't have made that decision' or 'that's what you get'...I need to think...'that could easily be me, but for the grace of God.' I am so guilty of this...so hardened to the troubles of high school kids...I let news of a pregnant girl or a guy who gets caught up in drugs and drops out of school not phase me anymore. It is sad that I have become that way and I could make hundreds of excuses, but there is no excuse for being anything but broken by the broken lives at TLH.

Nehemiah was devastated by what was happening to the people he loved...Am I devastated by what happens where God has called me?? What a convicting thought!

"When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven"
-Nehemiah 1:4

2) I must use my position for God's glory.

Nehemiah was a cupbearer for King Artaxerxes...that is a big deal. Nehemiah was a big deal in the Kingdom...but the only reason Nehemiah was in this position was so that God could use him to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

So...I began to ask myself why God allows me to teach, do mission work, work at FUSE (when I can), coach, sponsor The CHILL, and it became clear...TO REBUILD THE WALLS OF TLH...what a task we at TLH all share! This is a tough place, peer pressure is everywhere...both for students and teachers...yet God has called me there! This school is getting worse every single year...the kids begin partying younger and younger...hopelessness runs ramped here...the walls need to be rebuilt. I am not ready for what God wants to do in and through me...but I pray that come August I will be (please pray with me). This is not some emotional thing, this is about fact...the fact is...I have major work to do right where I am.

Nehemiah requests many things from the King in Chapter 2 and the King agrees to it because God was calling Nehemiah. We can stand in confidence when we are working for the Kingdom. We can ask for things that will help us and things we would like to have (see Nehemiah 2:8) like timber for a house, when we are doing the will of God. I am not a prosperity Gospel guy AT ALL...but in the case of Nehemiah, God granted him things he needed and wanted.

3) What seems impossible and hopeless is possible with God.

Before Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem there were probably few people who believed rebuilding the city walls was a possibility at all, maybe ever...but when Nehemiah arrived, hope was restored! This hope was restored because God sent someone to do the work...

I hope you see where I am a going with this because God dropped some bombs on me as I was reading...There is hope at TLH, there is hope at whatever school you attend, the family you live in, the village where you serve, the city God has called you to...BECAUSE YOU ARE THERE! What an incredible testimony of God's plan for our lives!! We are where we are on purpose!! With purpose!! FOR A PURPOSE!

Lets rebuild some walls where we live...after all, God put us there for that purpose.

I WILL GO.