Get it Right
Nehemiah 11-13
Who is God? He gives the people cause for great joy, 12:43. He can turn curses into blessings. His love endures forever.
What does this mean for me? Give thanks to the Lord, celebrate his glory and provision. A relationship with the Lord does require sacrifice. Give generously. Give him your very best. Keep your community accountable, but remember Jesus words, “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?” (Mat 7:3)
I like Nehemiah, for he has a such a go get ‘em urge to serve the Lord. He wants to get it right. And it seems, back then, so necessary to get it right. Not by grace, but by strict adherence to the law did God look favorably on you and your family. Nehemiah’s reprimanding seems quite harsh to me in my “anything goes, be yourself” daily life. The God that sits with me each day, that knows the deepest motivations of my heart, that doesn’t require me to sacrifice animals nor build him a great temple keeps coming back. I still try to get it right more than I do get it right and he comes back. And if Nehemiah showed up on my shoulder wearing a pair of white wings he’d reprimand quite a bit. But Lord, you know what I need to hear and you find a way to share the truth with me. Keep me honest and tuned in, Lord. I want to meet you in heaven so that I can understand both your reprimanding and graceful sides Lord. As pastor Brewer said in church today, your discipline and your nurturing sides Lord.
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