rebuilding the walls of life

Rebuilding Broken Walls and Broken Lives Linda McCutcheon 0 Comments When cancer shows up on a routine medical visit. Or when an out of country vacation leads to a serious illness. Or when a spouse reveals they have been in a secret affair for months. What do you do when the devastatingly unexpected happens? “But you also said that no matter how far away we were, we could turn to you and start obeying your laws. Then you would bring us back to the place where you have chosen to be worshiped.” Nehemiah 1:9 (CEV) In the book of Nehemiah, we read that the Jews were in a similar predicament. Life had taken them by surprise: they had been attacked, taken captive, and had lost their homes. Some of them had escaped, but even in their freedom they still experienced heartache. They came back to a ruined city, to crumbled walls. They were disgraced. And they had no idea how to repair their city for safety and for dignity. God in His grace used the prophet Nehemiah to give the Jews hope again, and Nehemiah interceded on their behalf. They were in a mess — with no fixed address and no city to protect them. Plus, they had forgotten the miracles of the past. They had ignored God’s promises and had lost all hope. But Nehemiah stood in the gap. He prayed, “Please remember the promise you made to Moses. You told him that if we were unfaithful, you would scatter us among foreign nations. But you also said that no matter how far away we were, we could turn to you and start obeying your laws. Then you would bring us back to the place where you have chosen to be worshiped. Our Lord, I am praying for your servants...” (Nehemiah 1:8-10a, CEV). God was faithful then and He is still faithful today. The Jews needed a new perspective and a new start to re-build not only their homes, but also their lives. Maybe you can relate. Are you feeling like the people of Israel right now? Is life overwhelming and unbearable? A few years ago, I stood in a similar place as the Jews did. I needed to rebuild my world. I found myself with a broken marriage and a broken heart, and I began to look for another home, a new start, and a fresh perspective. I had to choose to either live in ruin or slowly rebuild my life, one brick at a time. Sometimes, you need to gain perspective on your situation, especially in the midst of tragedy, heartache, selfishness, or a sense of hopelessness. You need to reflect, to sit quietly, and to determine healthy changes in your personal life. This process allows you to re-build your character, acknowledging that you have worth in God’s eyes. Are you willing to ask God to fulfill His promise to refresh and rebuild your life? Or, maybe you are a Nehemiah who can help and intercede for others and encourage those in need. Once you take the step of obedience, He will help you move ahead. Because God is in the business of rebuilding broken lives. Nehemiah 6:16 says, “On the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, the wall was completely rebuilt. It had taken fifty-two days.” It happened to them, and it can happen to you, too! Tags: restoration Nehemiah Israel love-god Photo Credit: westpark Connect Discuss

shame and guilt

Question: "What does the Bible say about shame and regret?" Answer: Everyone experiences a certain amount of shame and regret over sins committed in the past. The Bible has much to say about shame and regret, and there are numerous examples of people in the Bible who experienced these negative feelings. Can you imagine the shame and regret Adam and Eve lived with after their sin? They spoiled the perfect creation God had made. Adam and Eve were in a perfect world, had perfect minds and bodies, and had perfectly close fellowship with God. When they chose to sin against God, all of God’s creation was made subject to sin’s effects, including disease, decay, death, and separation from God for eternity. Every human being afterward was born with a sin nature—the natural inclination to sin. Thankfully, God is sovereign, and He had a plan even then to redeem His world through His Son, Jesus Christ, and give mankind a choice for salvation and eternal life with Him. But Adam and Eve must have lived out their lives on earth with much regret over their loss of innocence and its associated blessings. We know they were ashamed at their nakedness (Genesis 3:10). They must have lived the rest of their lives in regret—after all, they remembered paradise. Another biblical example of shame and regret is the experience of the apostle Peter. John 13:37–38 describes the night of Christ’s betrayal. Right after the Passover meal, Peter tells Jesus that he would lay down his life for his Lord. Jesus responds by telling him that on that very night Peter would deny three times even knowing the Lord. Later that night, out of fear of losing his own life, Peter denied ever knowing Jesus (John 18:15–27; Matthew 26:31–35, 69–75). After Peter’s denial of Christ, “he went outside and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:62). Later, Peter was restored and grew in his faith, becoming one of the founding fathers of the early church. Peter did indeed “strengthen his brothers” after being forgiven, just as Jesus had foretold (Luke 22:32). While Peter must have lived with much shame and regret over his public denial of Christ, his deepened understanding of the person and work of Christ overcame his feelings of failure. He realized that he was forgiven by the grace of God, and he moved past his personal regret to feed Jesus’ sheep (John 21:17). The Bible teaches us that, when we confess our sins and have faith in Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection, we become children of God (John 1:12). We are cleansed from all our unrighteousness (Colossians 1:15–22), and our salvation is eternally secure (John 10:27–30; Hebrews 7:24–25). As we grow spiritually by spending time with God daily in prayer and reading His Word, we find ourselves loving and trusting Him more. We trust that God has cast our sins from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).Yes, we regret our past mistakes, but that is not our focus. We keep our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Paul put it this way: “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of [the goal]. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13–14). Shame and regret are part of what is behind us. We must learn to forget. Romans 8:1 is a great comfort to any believer who struggles with leftover feelings of shame and regret: “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” We are sinners, but we are justified. We have a shameful past, but we have a better future. We used to walk in foolishness and rebellion, but now we walk in newness of life (Titus 3:3–7; Romans 6:4). God has forgiven those sins we feel shame and regret over. We can move on. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Keith Green remembered

CHRISTMAS 2017

Mathew 1:18-25 (Joseph) Luke 1:26-56( Mary and Elizabeth) Both Mary and Joseph it seems were descended from David Joseph, was engaged to Mary and she was pregnant We are told that he was a righteous man. (That is what God said about him) He considered putting her away secretly. This would have been merciful as he could have had her put to death (Remember the woman caught in adultery. She could be stoned to death) Joseph did as he was told and I think that took courage Can you imagine the gossip? Joseph, why are you marrying her? Have her put to death and get a much better righteous wife. I expect he had to bear the jibes as she would. He stood by her I also think Mary would have been afraid of what Joseph would do and what society around her would say and do. We tend to read the story of the angel appearing to Mary and telling her she would bare a child and we have reduced it to a nativity play that is like a Christmas card, it is all sweet and lovely. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN TERRIFYING FOR HER. WHAT SHE DID WAS SUBMIT TO GODS WILL All this had been revealed by Isaiah Isaiah7:14Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. Have you ever felt that you are doing Gods will, but you are afraid? I think that is how both of them were. To put is a good scots way, ABSOLUTELY BRICKING IT. We are not told anything about their families. She went to see her cousin Elizabeth. This would be out of the ordinary because,… • She was a much older woman and her husband was a priest • Elizabeth was legitimately pregnant whereas, by human terms, Mary wasn't • She was the wife of a priest and should disapprove of Mary's state However, this was no casual visit. Mary stayed with her for three months. Can you imagine the conversations they would have had about both of their forth coming children? Elizabeth would say, Zachariah saw an Angel and he could not believe what he was told and now he cannot speak until the baby is born. I am calling him John for the angel told him to call him John even though there is no one else in the family called that. Mary, Oh is that so, well, I saw the angel and I am calling mine Jesus. There is no one else in the family called that, but I am just doing as I am told. At least you can tell people your husband is the boy’s father. I dread going out for they must all be wondering. Both of my nieces were pregnant at the same time and one day as one of them was struggling to get her shoes on she said to her sister, Carolyn, do you find it hard to get your shoes on? These two ladies were in a similar situation as the boys would only have been up to six months apart. So there we have it, four people in extra ordinary situations Zachariah stuck dumb His wife who had been barren (and thus shamed) was pregnant Joseph engaged to a pregnant woman because God told him to. Mary pregnant by the Holy Spirit and probably shunned. What would we do in their shoes, or what if we knew them? Would we welcome them? We like to think we are understanding, and welcoming people, and I trust we strive to be, but how easy is it to JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER. How well do we trust God in frightening situations? I think we become far more dependent on prayer. Desperately looking for answers. I think that it is only when we are in the situation that we find out what our relationship with God is really like. We may be found wanting. It is easy to say that we are willing to be used by God, it is quite another to actually be used by God as it usually comes with a price. Are we willing to pay the price as all of those in the Christmas story did? We are like clay, to be moulded by God in the fashion God wants. Sometimes when we are going through difficult times we may not enjoy what God does. However, like all of them, we have to submit to Gods will. In the end, we will find his way is best. (Do we really have that much confidence in God?) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE.

six prayer God always answers

Six Prayers God Always Answers Gary millar kre1wceg 1081c5aa30ceb603bc881140b9bbef46.jpg?ts=1511370879&ixlib=rails 2.1 Article by Gary Millar Professor, Queensland Theological College If you are like me, you probably find yourself more consistently confused or failing in prayer than in any other area in the Christian life. Why is that? Talking to the God who chose us, saved us, and sustains us should be the most natural and delightful thing in the world, shouldn’t it? Perhaps it should, but more often than not, it isn’t. We all know we should pray more. The guilt within reminds us. But if we are honest, we neither want to pray more, nor are we really convinced we need to. Why? Perhaps we don’t really understand what prayer is — or we’re prone to forget. Let God Speak First The most important thing to do when it comes to thinking about prayer is to let God speak. Our approach to prayer (and our practice) is often an amalgam of platitudes, folk religion, and basic biblical truths, rather than an exegetically rigorous and theologically rich account of the teaching of the Bible. When we actually look at what the Bible teaches about prayer, it is surprisingly simple: to pray is to ask God to do what he has promised to do through Christ. Cast All Your Cares The core of the gospel is that we have nothing, contribute nothing, bring nothing to God. Prayer, which is made possible by the gospel and shaped by the gospel, works the same way. God gives to us; we don’t give to God. We ask; he gives. Prayer depends on what he has done in us and for us, and on what he will do in us and for us. Jesus teaches us to pray and to freely ask our Father for the desires of our heart: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” (Luke 11:9–10) We can ask for whatever we want, knowing that God will not give us anything bad for us, but only what is good for us (Luke 11:11–13). The apostle Peter exhorts us, “[Cast] all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7) — all your anxieties, even your mundane and material ones. Don’t be afraid to ask him for anything, and don’t hold back any burdens from him. Six Prayers But our everyday expressions of need are not the burden of the New Testament when it comes to prayer. While Scripture encourages us to pray for all manner of things, God also clearly exhorts us to focus our prayer lives. God hears and answers every prayer, but there are a precious few to which he always says, “Yes.” The prayers always answered positively are the prayers which explicitly ask God to deliver on his promises to us. God will always say Yes when we ask him to do his work through his word. I have found at least six basic prayers God will always answer. 1. Glorify yourself through me. The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14). 2. Forgive me. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). 3. Reveal more of yourself to me. I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord (Jeremiah 31:33–34). 4. Give me wisdom. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him (James 1:5). 5. Strengthen me to obey you. As you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure (Philippians 2:12–13). 6. Spread your gospel to the lost. This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come (Matthew 24:14). How do we know God will answer these six prayers? Because he says he will in the first place, and then, even more, because these prayers sum up what God has promised to do through the gospel. This is what God has said he would most surely do. Ready to Answer If we want to grow and mature in prayer, we don’t need to set a timer. We don’t need to learn new contemplative methods, or build a prayer closet in the woods. But we do need to become better ask-ers. We need to realize that we are all walking disasters apart from grace, men and women who need God every step of every day. We would all make a shipwreck of our life and the lives of those around us if God did not intervene. The gospel yells at us, You are weak and sinful, flawed, and needy — but God is strong, gracious, and good — and ready to answer. Ask him to do what he has already promised to do for you. And keep praying, until that day when we won’t need to pray anymore from a distance, because we will see our great Promiser, Provider, and King face to face. Gary Millar serves as Principal of Queensland Theological College in Queensland, Australia. He teaches Old Testament, Biblical Theology, and Preaching, and has authored or contributed to several books. Gary is married to Fiona, and they have three daughters.

Don't be that guy 30 no,s from the apostle Paul

Don’t Be That Guy Thirty No’s in Paul’s Letters Author tony reinke.jpg?ts=1452019446&ixlib=rails 2.1 Article by Tony Reinke Senior writer, desiringGod.org We can invest the rest of our lives plunging deeper into the writings of the apostle Paul to get a better view of the glories of Christ to delight our souls. In Paul’s letters (as elsewhere in the Bible) we are told glorious indicatives of truth like Christ is the Creator and Sustainer (Colossians 1:16–17), who was incarnated and died as our propitiation (Romans 3:25), was raised from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3–4), and he inaugurated the new creation (Colossians 1:18), as he ascended to his sovereign throne (Colossians 3:1). And by faith we are united to him and his power! In Christ all of these truths of grace are ours (2 Corinthians 1:20). And these glorious truths feed our souls and give rise to all the manifold commands from God that bring focus and direction to our daily lives in the form of apostolic imperatives. Don’t Be [Blank] Amidst all the glorious indicatives, some 30 times Paul tells us “don’t be” certain people. Don’t be this guy; be that guy. Don’t be this gal; be that gal. And every time he tells us what not to be, he’s also pointing us to what we should be, based on who we are in Christ. Here’s my paraphrase of the full list: Don’t be strutting around arrogantly in life; learn to live in fear of God (Romans 11:20). Don’t be conformed to this age; be transformed by the renewing of your mind to know God’s will (Romans 12:2). Don’t be slack in serving Christ; serve the Lord enthusiastically (Romans 12:11). Don’t be arrogant around others; associate with the lowly (Romans 12:16). Don’t be conquered by evil; conquer evil with good (Romans 12:21). Don’t be indebted to one another; except in the love deficit toward one another (Romans 13:8). Don’t be divided by error; be united in the same conviction (1 Corinthians 1:10). Don’t be deceived about sexual sin; immorality damns souls (1 Corinthians 6:9). Don’t be a slave of man’s opinions; you are a slave of Christ (1 Corinthians 7:23). Don’t be flesh-driven idolaters; be Spirit-guided delighters who reject temptation by God’s grace (1 Corinthians 10:6–13). Don’t be overly concerned about your own good; seek the good of others (1 Corinthians 10:24). Don’t be childish in your thinking; be holy but wise about the workings of evil (1 Corinthians 14:20). Don’t be deceived about the influence your friends have on you; circle yourself with wise friends (1 Corinthians 15:33). Don’t be married to an unbeliever; find a spouse who lives in the light of Christ (2 Corinthians 6:14). Don’t be deceived by immediate gratification; sow wisely, knowing you’ll reap later (Galatians 6:7). Don’t be deceived by empty-headed arguments; God’s wrath is coming on the disobedient (Ephesians 5:6). Don’t be partners of those who live in the shadows of evil; walk as children of God in the light (Ephesians 5:7–9). Don’t be foolish about your life; understand God’s will (Ephesians 5:17). Don’t be drunk with alcohol; be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). Don’t be frightened by your opponents; stand firm in the God who will deliver you (Philippians 1:28). Don’t be conceited toward one another; in humility consider others as more important than yourselves (Philippians 2:3). Don’t be consumed with self-interest; be consumed with the interests of others (Philippians 2:4). Don’t be a worrier; be thankful in everything (Philippians 4:6). Don’t be bitter toward your wife; love and cherish her (Colossians 3:19). Don’t be driven by the lust-filled desires of the world; be driven by desires fitting of your redemption in Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:5). Don’t be duped by people who say Christ already returned; keep anticipating the day (2 Thessalonians 2:2). Don’t be quick to rebuke an older believer; encourage him like you would a father (1 Timothy 5:1). Don’t be too quick to appoint and anoint church leaders; keep yourself free from confirming people in sin as you pursue your own personal purity (1 Timothy 5:22). Don’t be ashamed of suffering for Christ; share in his suffering as you rely on the power of God (2 Timothy 1:8). Defined by What We Are In these dozens of ways, Paul paints the contours of the Christian life with darkened shadows of opposites — teaching us what to be by warning us what not to be. Again, the point of the list is not to find our Christian identity in what we’re not. Rather, our identity is rooted in what we are: united to our glorious Savior. Out of his work and power can we be told, “Don’t be that guy.” “Don’t be that gal.” And in these juxtapositions we better understand the will of God for our lives, as we live out of the power of Christ’s death and resurrection on our behalf. Tony Reinke (@tonyreinke) is senior writer for Desiring God and author of 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You (2017), John Newton on the Christian Life (2015), and Lit! A Christian Guide to Reading Books (2011). He hosts the Ask Pastor John podcast and lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and three children.

Amazing Love - Chris Tomlin (Lyrics)