Day 361 Nehemiah Disgruntled with Same o, same o

The old testament readings end with Nehemiah, and his struggle to rebuild the temple, get the clergy and the people living in line with the holy traditions and scriptures of the past.

He returns and finds that the initial fervency has waned somewhat and the people returned to error of their former ways.

The past can be a good tutor but it can only be as good as those willing to pay attention and learn the lesson and hope to learn it - once!

Here are a few questions I found on the web to make the most out of adversity and use it to our long term benefit.

"In what ways have I dealt with adversity that were effective and ineffective?

How have my ways of dealing with adversity affected other people and me?

Have I accepted responsibility javascript:void(0)for my life's circumstances and the times that my actions have resulted in adversity?

What have my adversities taught me about my honesty, integrity, sense of personal responsibility, and my faith in other people and myself?

What have my adversities taught me about human nature and how the actions of other people tend to influence how I react to their behaviors?

How can I react to adversity in a way that will better allow me to grow wiser, more resilient, and more loving?

What is my personal faith that brings me the greatest strength in times of adversity?"

Trials bring greater depth the more we dig in and take lessons out!

Day 351 YHWH anoints who he wants to..

Psalm 144:14 & 15
There will be no breaching of walls,no going into captivity, no cry of distress in our streets. Blessed is the people of whom this is true;blessed is the people whose God is the LORD.

Sad to say this was not in Israel's future. They did go into captivity, there were cries of distress. But YHWH had a way back for them - after 70 years.

Our other reading is Ezra which is also mirrored in 2 Chronicles 36:22
Ezra1:1 "In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:....."

When God speaks he makes it happen, and in his own time.
He changes hearts and anoints those whom he chooses. We see YHWH working on Cyrus the king of Persia, someone who does not acknowledge him, yet Cyrus will be His instrument, his anointed. Isaiah 45 is an amazing read.

1 "This is what the LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him....."

As Christians we are prone to think that God just works through His people, like the Israelites/Jews we depreciate the influence of God in other people lives.

I think its safe to say, that we are prone to believe that God holds to our views of the world and its politics, and we bring more heat than light into our political conversations.

Whatever happens on the world stage God sees, and may be orchestrating solutions to problems we have no idea about, and working through people, we, in our ignorance, consider not worthy of God's influence.

Lets pray for our world leaders, all of them!

Day 350 The God who trains us

Psalm 144:2 Praise be to the LORD my Rock,who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.

The dexterity, complexity needed for the negotiations of life are numerous. Each relationship and encounter has its expectations and we need the skill to engage with each other. David's reign had many battles and wars. The skills of both Shepherd and Soldier were learned through the lessons of daily life.

Day 341 Today ! The here and now

Psalm 139
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

I wonder what God had originally had in store for me, for today, all that time ago?

day 339 the right timming

when is it the right time to do the right thing?
probably when its more convenient!!

day 337 Repetition is the essence of Remembering

Psalm 137
When life goes awry and seemingly back fires, we get our beliefs thrown in our faces like the Jews in captivity in Babylon we are encouraged to "get over it" and continue to proclaim God is good regardless, and proclaim it with joy.

Day 336 Path of Disgrace

Proverbs:15 A rod and a reprimand impart wisdom, but children left to themselves disgrace their mother.

What a neat "parenthood" comment.
It tells us how to impart wisdom and what the consequences are for the parent.

I think of Eli and how God judged him for not reprimanding his sons.
1Sam 13 For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons made themselves contemptible, and he failed to restrain them.

Samuel also didn't have a good role model of parenthood and his sons turned out much like Eli's.
1 Samuel 8: When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.

Day335 His love endures forever.

Psalm 136 the refrain is "His love endures forever".

Afghanistan
"His love endures forever".
Iraq
"His love endures forever".
Seattle
"His love endures forever".
Health Care
"His love endures forever".