You want real change?

Life feels like constant maintenance to me. My house requires attention, all of the time. Some is routine like keeping the water softener charged and the lawns mowed. There are things that have to be monitored and those that must be repaired.  I really like a clean house and enjoy the shine when it is done. But, within a few days it is in need of more attention, right?  

 We are always pushing back chaos, restoring, rebuilding.

After Judah was destroyed by Assyria, Jerusalem burnt, the Temple sacked – people concluded that the history of the Jewish people had concluded: except for those who recognized God’s promises. They hoped for a day when the mess would be cleaned up, the nation restored, the worship of the Lord renewed.  And, miraculously it was!  But, it did not happen without people who were willing to dream, sweat, and work.  God spoke to a Jewish man who was ‘cupbearer’ to the king in Babylon. "They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven." (Nehemiah 1:3-4, NIV)

Nehemiah felt the call to do something about his ruined homeland and took God’s invitation.  When he finally made the trip to a city he had never seen, he found piles of rubble. 

After a survey of the work, he gathered those who shared his vision. "Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me. They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work." (Nehemiah 2:17-18, NIV)  It was no walk in the park, but he got the job done.  What an inspiration!

So what is in need of attention around you?
What has God called you to restore?
Who needs you to be their ‘Nehemiah?’ 
If you want to lead your family to wholeness, be part of a church that is making a Kingdom difference, or even just live your own life in a way that honors the Lord, there are some pointers from the rebuilder of Jerusalem.

First- Gain God’s Vision!

He has a plan for your life. You are not a random blob of living organic matter existing for a few years in this universe.  You have a purpose.

Second- Assess the Challenges!

I am acquainted with a man who is busy all of the time, but his place is in disarray. Why? He does not understand the work that needs to be done so that he can prioritize and order his efforts.  You can work hard and accomplish next to nothing if you do not take time to understand the bigger picture.

Third- Gather resources!

Life is not a solo act, despite what you might have been told. The most lasting changes in us and in our world are done by teams of people whose combined efforts, empowered by God’s Spirit, are amazing. The right people, in the right place, equipped with the right tools, can move mountains.  Who’s on your team of life? What has God provided for you to do His will?  Ask for faith that will let you see beyond the  obvious.

Fourth- Get going!

The pithy wisdom of Proverbs includes this bit - "A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber." (Proverbs 6:10-11, NLT)  Today’s opportunities will not return tomorrow.  Are you doing something, making the effort, moving forward in spite of obstacles?

A life well-ordered and Christ-honoring does not just happen while we wait. Bodies, homes, organizations, systems, churches, buildings -  they all demand our best efforts to build and maintain them.  After all the effort, Nehemiah remember this important choice, too. "At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out from where they lived and were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps and lyres." (Nehemiah 12:27, NIV)

Remember to Celebrate and Give Thanks.

Are you a restorer, a builder,  creating a life of beauty for the glory of God?

The word from the Word is a favorite of mine. Take the promise and go change your world. "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21, NIV)

"What's love a second-hand emotion?"

Love!  A million songs are written about it. Every man, woman, and child craves it. Many don’t understand it. Some think it’s just about sex. Love makes us cry, fills us with longing, and can make life oh so sweet.  Christians talk a lot about love, don’t they?  Jesus did, too. Yet, for all our talk, authentic love remains the exception. Push us hard enough, disappoint us again, frustrate us and see if we remain loving by Paul’s definition - "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out." (1 Corinthians 13:4-6, NLT)

Jesus set the bar high for us in the way He wants us to love. “As I have loved you, love one another,” He said.  Yep, the standard is Jesus. Chew on that for a while. How did He love?

Remember when His friends were fighting about pecking order, “who’s first?”  Jesus got up from dinner, took off his shirt, grabbed a basin and towel, and did for them what none of them would do for each other; washing their feet. He took the place of the lowest household servant before them. After this living lesson in loving and humility, He said, "Since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you." (John 13:14-15, NLT)  It isn’t likely we will actually wash anybody’s feet today, but we will have the opportunity to show grace when someone treats us unfairly or unkindly. We will be presented with people who are thoughtless, even rude.  Serve them with kindness.

Love must be active. To make it just something for a song or a greeting card misses the point of the genuine article. Love sweats, bleeds, suffers, serves, gives, forgives – because that what Jesus does!

So how can we love that way?  It’s impossible, right? No, actually it isn’t.  “We love because He loved us first.”

I faced a situation yesterday involving yet another disappointment in the life of a person that I care for. His choice was foolish, inconvenient to me, and intentional. I was aggravated, but challenged by the truth and made a choice to confront, but not with harsh accusation, not with angry emotion. I prayed for the Spirit to make me gently loving, a person who tried to understand, but who was courageous in truth.  And, He did!  It was a small miracle, and should be, Lord helping me, the way I always act.

How about you?  Are you settled in faith, knowing the fact that God loves you?  The happiest Christians I know are those who are up to their elbows in selfless service, not fueled by duty, but an expression of love empowered! When they participate in the work of the Lord – serving their family, teaching kids, feeding the hungry, … whatever He calls and equips them to do, they embody Jesus.  What could be more rewarding ultimately?

Here is a word from the Word. Of course you have read it before, often.  You have heard it at weddings, saw it printed on cards.  Still, spend some time with this paragraph today, and pray that as you are loved, you will love like this.

"What if I could speak all languages of humans and of angels?
 If I did not love others, I would be nothing more than a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
What if I could prophesy and understand all secrets and all knowledge?
And what if I had faith that moved mountains?

I would be nothing, unless I loved others.

What if I gave away all that I owned and let myself be burned alive?

I would gain nothing, unless I loved others.

Love is kind and patient, never jealous, boastful, proud, or rude. Love isn’t selfish or quick tempered. It doesn’t keep a record of wrongs that others do. Love rejoices in the truth, but not in evil. Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting. Love never fails!

Everyone who prophesies will stop, and unknown languages will no longer be spoken. All that we know will be forgotten. We don’t know everything, and our prophecies are not complete. But what is perfect will someday appear, and what isn’t perfect will then disappear. When we were children, we thought and reasoned as children do. But when we grew up, we quit our childish ways. Now all we can see of God is like a cloudy picture in a mirror. Later we will see him face to face.

We don’t know everything, but then we will, just as God completely understands us.
For now there are faith, hope, and love. But of these three, the greatest is love." (1 Corinthians 13, CEV)

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No Longer Slaves
(listen and worship)

You unravel me with a melody

You surround me with a song

Of deliverance from my enemies

Till all my fears are gone

I'm no longer a slave to fear

I am a child of God

I'm no longer a slave to fear

I am a child of God

From my Mother's womb

You have chosen me

Love has called my name

I've been born again into Your family

Your blood flows through my veins

You split the sea so I could walk right through it

My fears were drowned in perfect love

You rescued me so I could stand and sing

I am a child of God

Brian Johnson | Joel Case | Jonathan David Helser

© 2014 Bethel Music Publishing

CCLI License # 810055

Lord, how long must I wait?

Around the table several of us were engaged with a ministry task, wrestling ideas to find the right way forward.  Initially, I was convinced that we needed to ‘get going,’ getting started sooner rather than later. That is my default mode – act now!  But, collectively we sensed the Spirit’s wisdom asking us to take some time with the process, to listen longer, to wait on Him. It is the right choice.  

The Word urges all of us to learn patience, to value the processes that the Lord uses to shape us and to accomplish His will through us.  David’s inspired counsel is this - “Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.” (Ps 37:7, NLT)

This morning the Spirit whispered again to me about patience, about waiting for His to lead! I know the emotion of the Psalmist who asks the Lord, “How long … ?”  It is a question asked more than a dozen times in the Psalms. How long before You act to curb the wicked?  How long before You rescue me from this situation? How long before I see Your promise?  

Are you in one of those ‘between’ moments, anticipating what could be done but held back, perhaps even for reasons you cannot presently understand?  Know this with certainty! God wants His work done but His agenda may be quite different from ours.  Spiritual maturity arrives, over time, when we experience both success and failure, when we learn from our hasty conclusions and our better planned successes. God wants to ‘perfect’ us but He doesn’t do it with a wave of His hand, or in a single moment in prayer, or with a burst of revelation!  He leads us through life – trials, tests, struggles – lessons in character.  Understand when He asks you and me to be  'perfect' He is not looking for ‘flawless!’  His desire is maturity, completeness, being whole.

The writer of Hebrews prays this for us: "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." (Hebrews 13:20-21, KJV)  That word, perfect, in the first language of the New Testament was about being ‘put together, whole, fitting into the right place.’ 

Developing the character of Christ Jesus, becoming whole and mature,  is a life-long process which will find completion only at that moment when we make our transition into eternal life. In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul explains that "Now we know only a little, and even the gift of prophecy reveals little! But when the end comes, these special gifts will all disappear. It’s like this: When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child does. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now." (1 Corinthians 13:9-12, NLT)

There is real peace to be found when we patiently wait on the Lord.  I want to encourage you not to tire of working out the implications of God's salvation in your life.  Mastering the lessons of the Spirit-filled life is a life-long adventure that involves instruction, experience, and discipline.  If we grow impatient, if we try too hard in our own strength, we could give up which is why James encourages us "let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." (James 1:4, NKJV) The meaning comes through more clearly in The Message where we read, "don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way."

Here's a word from the Word for your meditation: "The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever— do not abandon the works of your hands." (Psalm 138:8, NIV)  Thank Him often today for that promise – “He will fulfill His purpose for you!”

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Build My Life

Worthy of ev'ry song we could ever sing

Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring

Worthy of ev'ry breath we could ever breathe

We live for You

Jesus the name above ev'ry other name

Jesus the only one who could ever save

Worthy of ev'ry breath we could ever breathe

We live for You

We live for You

Holy there is no one like You

There is none besides You

Open up my eyes in wonder and show me who You are

And fill me with Your heart

And lead me in Your love to those around me

I will build my life upon Your love

It is a firm foundation

I will put my trust in You alone

And I will not be shaken

Brett Younker | Karl Martin | Kirby Elizabeth Kaple | Matt Redman | Pat Barrett

© 2016 Martin, Karl Andrew (Admin. by Arkyard Music Services Limited)

Kaple Music (Admin. by Bethel Music Publishing)

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Housefires Sounds (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Bethel Music Publishing 

CCLI License # 810055