The Book of Nehemiah: Post 7: Chapter 13.

Gosh, why does the book of Nehemiah have to end this way? If you have ever read Nehemiah 13, you know what I'm talking about...its a bit depressing. I read this chapter about a week ago...which was odd, here's the story...

I was asking and seeking God on some direction on what to read from His word...when I felt God calling me to Nehemiah 13. The odd thing was that I had just finished chapter 9 the day before and found it odd that God was pressing in on me to read the end of the story. I will be honest, I didn't remember the ending, I last read the Book of Nehemiah back in December of 2008, but it didn't take long to jog my memory. So, I read the end of the book...thought 'well, that sucks' then took a couple of days off of Nehemiah and came back and read the chapters that I had missed...which I blogged about yesterday. The story doesn't end the way we want it to...but it hit me...OUR STORY DOESN'T HAVE TO END THIS WAY! We can learn fromm this book and not make the same mistakes...we have all broken promises, probably even to God, but our broken promises do not have to be the end of our story like it was the end of this story...our book isn't completed yet! I am so encouraged by this sad story, strangely enough...but unless I learn from Chapter 13, I will end in tragedy too. So...here is what I learned and am learning from Chapter 13...

'When this passage of the Law was read (the passage about no Ammonite or Moabite being permitted to end the assembly of God), all those of foreign decent were immediately excluded from the assembly.' -Nehemiah 13:3

1) When this passage was read...they excluded foreigners from their meeting? How was it that they didn't know that beforehand?? They were not familiar with the Law of the Lord...that's how. Hmm...ring a bell with anyone but me?? Has anyone ever heard that ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it? Me too...in this case, the Israelites were breaking God's law! But, once they realized it, they repented...this is such a beautiful example of God's redemptive power. In my life, I must KNOW scripture, not in a 'bible drill' style, not a 'know of' style, but a 'KNOW' style.

2) In Nehemiah's absence, the church fell into disarray. The leaders neglected their roles and needs stopped being met! Was it Nehemiah's fault that the leaders stopped doing their jobs? I mean, he picked them, right? NO...Nehemiah is not at fault here...he was doing what God called him to do, it just didn't turn out the way Nehemiah wanted! In my life, I need to understand that no matter what happens, if I am following God, I am not at fault for the results...what a liberating thought!! GOD WILL RECEIVE GLORY...STOP PUTTING SO MUCH PRESSURE ON YOURSELF AND JUST FOLLOW HIM WHERE HE LEADS! Thank you Jesus!

3) Nehemiah revises his previous plans, he puts trustworthy people in place, but why didn't he do that before? I guess he didn't think about it...I think, because God didn't let him, God didn't put that thought in his mind. Wait...Am I saying that what happened in Chapter 13 is what God wanted?? Yes...I am. Here is what God is pressing in on me about as I read this part of the Chapter (vs. 13-14)...I have to stop beating myself up over apparent failures in ministry when I know I was following God...especially with The CHILL. For me to be a good leader and to rebuild the walls of TLH hand-in-hand with students...I must have complete confidence that wherever Jesus leads me, I need to go...with no fear of the outcome.

4) Nehemiah asked for God to remember him (vs. 22), to not let his work be done in vain...remember me O' God...please make my labor good for something, anything...The cry of Nehemiah here is the cry of every leader, pastor, everywhere...God remember me...

5) Sexual sin kills movements of God. (vs.23-29) The times in my life when I have been furthest from where I need to be spiritually is when I am struggling with some sort of sexual sin...The Israelites here are intermarrying with other races of people, who are not believers in the one True God...so, Nehemiah gets mad! Remember the promises from the previous blog post...hmm, they break EVERY SINGLE ONE in Chapter 13...EVERY ONE.

6) Lastly, history is a great teacher...in verse 26, Nehemiah says, "Wasn't this exactly what led King Solomon of Israel into Sin?" (marrying pagan peoples). How about David with Bathsheba, the list goes on and on...I must learn from history, both the history of others and my own history to become what God wants me to be in the present and future.

The Book of Nehemiah is awesome...read it.

OK...Subject Change.

I finished the book "Fight Clubs" by Jonathan Dodson this morning...Are you in a fight club? Actively fighting for the Gospel and against your sin?? Just go get this book and read it...its short and good.

God is planning something huge at TLH and I am so excited about being a little part of it...if you want to be involved with THE CHILL at T.L. Hanna or Westside, let me know...we will start meetings for next year in August and you do not want to miss it!

I WILL GO
Chase Culbertson