'Come, let us rebuild' Nehemiah's voice

"....The wall of Jerusalem is broken down and it gates have 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. 

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."

Selected verses from Nehemiah 1 and 2

Beautiful Jerusalem, capital city of the Kingdom of Israel. At its highest point in Solomon's time it housed both the temple and the palace. Even the queen of Sheba was amazed when she saw the magnificence that was Jerusalem. But Jerusalem was eventually conquered, her sons and daughters taken into exile. Now, the people are 'free' but what they saw when they returned home made them weep.

It is one thing never to have experienced good times, one can adapt. The one who was born blind does not see black or darkness, he sees nothing. The one who was not born blind curses the blackness, the nothing. He remembers the brilliance of the rainbow, blue clouds, green grass,  the redness of the earth. So it was with Nehemiah when he heard news from Jerusalem. From magnificence and opulence to broken walls and burnt gates.

Some of us can relate to this situation. There was a time that just the mention of his name brought a smile to your face but now something has broken. The business you've worked so hard to build seems to be in ruins. Broken relationships, broken dreams, ashes of what once was. We sit and weep for we remember how things once were. The past is not always painful, sometimes its beauty makes the present struggles that much hard to endure.  Jerusalem was once a beautiful place to live, work and play. Nigeria too (hmm).  

There is nothing wrong with crying but our response must never end there. Nehemiah mourned, fasted and prayed before the God of heaven and then he took action. Nehemiah is a 'type' for a godly leader. Not someone who professes to be a good leader, for a good leader does not need to say he is one. His works and posterity judge him for good or evil. Nehemiah's 'voice' was to rebuild the wall of Jeremiah. Walls are very important, even more so in Bible times. Walls speak of security and protection. To keep out what needs to stay out. 

It takes courage to rebuild anything. Sometimes its just easier to start from scratch.  But sometimes we don't have that option. To re-build means doing something again, there was a building, there was a business, there was a career, there was a marriage, there are children, but we need to re-build again. Go with God, find your voice. We will rebuild our lives, we will rebuild our nation. The walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt in record time because the people came together. Read the story a bit further, there was opposition at every turn (Sanballat and Tobiah) so there will be obstacles but we must develop a tenacity to rebuild our lives, against all odds.

Finding my voice, using it.

ZoeB

"If I perish, I perish"; Esther's voice

Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

Esther 4:15-16

When I read the Bible, I sometimes wonder about the person behind the words. I wonder if Esther ever felt scared when she proclaimed those words. Did she speak with 100% confidence or did she just say them to pacify her adopted father. The words sound so sure and so confident and yet I still wonder.

There was the law of the land, you do not go to the king without a summons. To do so was punishable by death except he stretched out his scepter to you. He hadn't sent for her in a month...he obviously must have been quite pre-occupied...hmm! Her first response to Mordecai was the law of the land, the facts of the case. Mordecai reminded her that she had a voice. That phrase 'for such a time as this' keeps reverberating in my head these days. What is it that God has assigned me to do 'for such a time as this.'

Esther didn't scream, she didn't shout but she did practice civil disobedience in stepping up to her husband the way she did. I believe in prayer and fasting, now more than ever. However, we can't end there. I believe that the beautiful master plan that played out in the last chapters of Esther was delivered to her as she was praying. It was divinely inspired. I believe that in prayer she found her voice, found the strength to what she had to do. Today we celebrate her but I want to go beyond that to emulate her.

I found it incredibly fascinating that although Esther was the main character, the words she actually spoke were few. It's not in how much you say but what you actually say. Not so much in how much we do but what we actually do. Her voice was to save her people, my voice may be to save my family, my church, my community, my nation. The most important thing is for me to find my voice and use it.

What about you?

Remain blessed.

ZoeB

Finding our voice..

I am not what you would call a bold person, not really what you would call a courageous person. However, I am beginning to realise how important it is for one to find their voice. There is a difference between voice and sound. A voice can express itself in a whisper or a scream. I wouldn't whisper if I realised my best friend was crossing the road without looking and a lorry was about to hit them. I wouldn't scream while having a conversation with her about some personal choices she had made.

We all have a voice, some people are more vocal than others. Some voices are oral, some are written. A voice that stands out to me is the hazy image I have of an Indian man in a white robe who felt it was right for his people to be independent of British rule. We all have a voice. God gave it to us. Our voice is our purpose, what we are here for. Whatever it is, find your voice and use it.


God bless.

ZoeB

The Wilderness Chronicles; Day 10

When the tempter speaks...

After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the son of God, tell these stones to become bread". Jesus answered, "It is written: Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' Matthew 4:2-4

My phone rings, the display unit shows 'Private number', I hesitate; I like knowing what to expect before I pick! "Hey dearie, please let me in, forgot my keys at work",I smile, check the door and let my sister/friend/neighbour in, I don't recognise the number but I know the voice. The voice determines the response, if I don't recognise the voice, the door does not open.

Jesus was hungry, the Bible acknowledges it and he hears a voice that tells him to turn stones to bread, it is in His power to do so for He has spent the last forty days in the wilderness in preparation for the ministry His father has given Him and yet through the cravings for food, He recognises this voice, it is not the Father, it is the tempter. It makes me wonder, why I do the things I do, when I do the things I do, am I listening to the Father or am I listening to the tempter?

Do I recognise the voice of God as clearly as I do my mum or dad's, for 2010 to be the best year yet I realise that I must first recognise the voice of the Lord and then heed it. Recognition comes with intimacy, sometimes I try to play pranks on my friends by pretending to be someone else on the phone but they see right through it because they know my voice. 2010 is about being led by the Holy Spirit, my sheep hear my voice and obey. What would have been the lot of Jesus if he had thought that the voice of the tempter was the voice of God and he obeyed!

So how do I recognise the voice of the tempter? Work hard on recognising the voice of 'real McCoy', bank workers are taught to identify genuine bills, there are too many counterfeits out there, energy is wasted learning about the fakes, focus on knowing the real article so much that warning signs ring when the fake stuff comes up. 2010 has to be a year of spending time with the Father, learning His ways, walking His paths. When the tempter speaks, speak the Word back to Him. The tempter is sly, he knows the Word so we must know even more of the Word, the voice of the Lord will never contravene the Word. When in doubt, pray and seek spiritual counsel but I want to cultivate an even deeper relationship with God so when He speaks it's the obeying bit I have to work on and not who is this?

We cannot be successful without hearing and following the voice of God. He speaks but am I listening? Help me Lord, I'm tuning my ears to the right frequency.

Remain blessed and highly favoured. 2010 is our year of 'The Lord has done this' and rise of the eagles, which includes you.