Nehemiah - Part 5a

Nehemiah 1:5-10

The man God uses is one who is conscientious and concerned. Nehemiah's concern led him to the next stage, compassion. Compassion then led to a conviction. The conviction is really a vision of something that God wants him to accomplish. How does one develop that conviction which results in a vision. You and I must remember that it is the Spirit of God that brings the conviction in our hearts, which in turn mushrooms into a God given vision. The spirit of God convicts a compassionate man by drawing a clear understanding of the following as shown in the prayer of Nehemiah:

1. A clear understanding of who God is. verse 5: O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands. The root of any vision stems from a clear knowledge of who God is. He is an awesome God. He is a great God. He keeps His covenants. A God who is Holy and who will not compromise his values. Nehemiah probably draw his inference from Deut 7:9 : Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. All the various names of God are built or founded upon this very nature of God. In spite of His holiness, in spite of His transcendent glory, in spite of His omnipotence, He still loves and keeps his covenant with people like you and me. What a wonderful God. What a thought that is beyond human comprehension. A person who comes to terms with this nature of God is well on his way to receiving a God given vision that will impact the family, the community, the nation and the nations for Christ.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"It is finished" - Jesus Christ

Image
John 19:30 - When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. It's Good Friday again. The world pauses and recollects the events that changed the course of history. For me it was a time to reflect on the finished work of our Lord on the cross. He paid the price for my redemption. But it dawned on me that Jesus, himself, had a task to do while on this earth, He was on a mission. There was a time frame. There was a script to follow. In military terms , there was an objective he had to capture. Anything short would have been a disaster. But towards the end, in spite of the agony at Gethsemane, the unfair trail, humiliating and torturous journey via Dalarosa, Jesus cried, "It is finished". What an achievement. What a fitting eulogy.  Jesus was faithful to His mission - Hebrew 3:2 Jesus was focused on His mission - Luke 9:51 Jesus finished His mission - John 19:30  Judas towards th
Read more

What a trip to Nepal

Image
I am sitting at the airport restaurant in Kathmandu, checked in and waiting for my departure to New Delhi and from there, onward to Singapore.  Just sipping and enjoying the Americano coffee and a slice of cheese cake as I reminiscent my last nine days in Nepal. It has been a incredibly tough trip but one filled with joy, great satisfaction and challenges. Tough because of the bad roads, tracks and mountain trekking that really tested my endurance and my back was sore.  Couple of knocks on the head as the vehicle danced to the tune of the undulating terrain. Days when I had terrible diarrhoea, running from one mountain toilet to another. Thank God I had Dr Mike Ong on this trip who is a medical doctor from Singapore, who attended to my condition. Times when we had to sleep on the cold floor with thin sheets of cloth, with rodents in the vicinity. Temperatures dropped to a low of 10-12 degrees centigrde in the nights. Eating the food offered by the villagers as we were up in the mounta
Read more

Devotion - Psalms 44: 6-7 - Its God who gives the victory

Image
Psalms 44:6-7 - I put no trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory; but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame. Any soldier will know that the basic weapon of warfare, in those days, were the bow and sword. Without which no soldier will not venture into the battle field. Even the famed Goliath was geared in full battle order when he faced David with the stones and the sling. Isn't it a paradox then that David, one of the finest soldiers Israel had ever produced, proclaims that its not the bow and the sword that gives the victory. Its is the Lord, Jehovah, that gives the victory. I don't think David is trying to say that we should not prepare ourselves for warfare. His concern is that we recognize that ultimately its the Lord that gives the victory. A few things we need to remember: Human efforts are necessary in the God-man partnership Human efforts alone does not guarantee God intended results Recognize that its God that always gives u
Read more