My Birthday was yesterday and I am so thankful for all the texts, facebook messages, e-mails, etc...and also thankful for all my friends, family and former students that decided to come to hang out at the races last night, God has blessed me way beyond what I deserve...which brings us to Nehemiah.
In Nehemiah 9:33 it says, "Every time you punished us you were being just. We have sinned greatly and you gave us only what we deserved." Can I just say that I am thankful God hasn't given me what I deserve! Holy cow...I mean, aren't we all pretty thankful we don't get what we deserve!?! (Which is hell, by the way).
Anyway, I would like to talk about what God taught me today in Nehemiah chapters 8 and 9.
1) We must be unified.
For God's redemption to take place where we are, we need to be unified. In Chapter 8:1, the Israelite nation was unified by a common purpose. In my life, I need to seek unity with all believers. In regards to The Chill, I need to work with every Christian at TLH to try to help bring the School to Christ. When our purpose is full of disunity or without clarity, our effectiveness will be minimal. Let's unify this year to take the Gospel to our school (or wherever you are). There is strength in numbers. Lastly, I do not care what Church you go to...let's stop trying to change the school through our church and start trying to change it through our Savior. Inviting people to church or The Chill is awesome, but the reason they will actually go to your church or group is because they see the Savior living in you.
2) Why are you sad??
Verse 10 of Chapter 8 says "...Don't be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." As the Israelites heard and understood the Book of the Law, they cried...it doesn't tell us for sure why in the text, but I think it is because they understood how far from God's commands they had fallen. They realized the severity of their sins. They were heartbroken by how short they had fallen of the glory of their great and holy God. But Nehemiah said to them that the time for mourning is over, the wall is rebuilt and God is restoring His people! So, my question for all of us is...Why are you sad? We have the victory! We have a Savior that has redeemed us! Yeah, we have all screwed up and it is easy for all of us to focus on our failures...but God doesn't focus on our failures, so why should we!
3) The Story of our lives...Rebellion and Redemption
Chapter 9 starts with the people confessing their sins to God and then the Levites begin to pray...they start by praising God. They mention that He is the only God and in verse 8, says that He always keeps His word. Then, in verses 9-15, the Levite leaders started mentioning God's past faithfulness in the prayer. Verse 16 is back to rebellion of the Israelite nation...it continues through the rest of the chapter. God is faithful and delivers them, the people rebel against God, bad things happen, they cry out to God, he delivers...its the same ole story. One thing I learned from this passage is that God is faithful, we are not...so, in order for me to stay on the right track I need to remember Gods past faithfulness and walk in confidence knowing that God is bigger and better than anything my wandering heart may seek. I'm still working on this, but by the grace of God, I will continue to understand Him more. I started this post by talking about verse 33 of chapter 9...we do not want what we deserve, but whatever God decides to do is just. So, no matter what trials may come, I must walk in God's redemption, not Rebellion.
In conclusion, many of us are facing lots of temptations this summer...just like I teach my Defensive Backs in football...it only takes one mistake to cost us the game, it only takes one bad decision to cost us our testimony or even worse...our lives. Don't be an idiot this summer...your half-way there...stay strong (or become strong).
I WILL GO
Chase Culbertson
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