Lasso of Truth

Nehemiah 3-4

Chapter 3

The men worked together, each on his portion of the wall.

High priests, goldsmiths, perfumers, officials, daughters, servants, and merchants.

All working separately on their own section of the wall, yet for a common goal.  Such a cool picture of the Body of Christ.

v23 Each took a section, just in front of their house.

These people had been living with the rubble all around them.  But it took someone giving them a charge and a plan to do anything about it.

You can never be sure how God will use you.  When His tabernacle was built, He used the finest craftsmen, experts in their fields.  They had been honing their craft for a lifetime, and God used their natural and well-practiced talents for His own purpose.

But here, we see the opposite.  These men (and women!) were asked to set aside their natural talents and work together for a unified purpose.  It is very likely that the goldsmiths, perfumers, and officials had no experience in building walls or hauling stone. I'm not sure the high priests felt all that comfortable working next to the merchants, or women.

Sometimes God gives you a task that it feels like you were made for.  You look back on your life and realize that everything has been leading to this one moment. He has given you these talents, gifts, strengths for exactly the job ahead.  It all makes sense.

But it seems like more often, He asks us to "play to our weaknesses." It's counter-intuitive.  We feel ill-equipped to do do what He's asked.  It goes against our very nature to accept it. But God isn't bound by our nature.  He's Supernatural. He asks the tongue-tied woman to give a public testimony.  He asks the rich man to volunteer on a housing project. He asks a loner to start a people-centered ministry.  He asks the people-person to spend weeks alone writing a book.  Look at your own life.  I bet He's asked something of you that plays right to your weakness.  It can be overwhelming!  

But God has promised that what He starts, He finishes.  That you can do all things through Christ. And when you complete the task that plays to your weakness--maybe even your weakest--you don't struggle with pride. You know that it was all God's work, through you.

Chapter 4

v2 Mockers love an audience.

v4 Nehemiah's response is prayer. (And asking God's curse on his mockers!)  God can handle your angry words and your raw emotion.  You don't have to wait to go to Him until your heart is right and full of mercy.  He's the One who heals your heart.  Just go to Him.

v6 The people had a mind to work - determined.

v10 "We ourselves are unable to build the wall."  That moment when the thing God has asked you to do is literally more than you can handle.

v13 Once again, called to play to their weakness.  Each family tasked with defending their portion of the wall.

v14 DO NOT be afraid of them!  Remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

When the Powers of this world are pressing in--pornography, addiction, depression, slavery, abuse, exploitation, death--remember your God.  Remember who you are fighting for.  Make a list.  Name them.  And keep fighting. It's worth it.

v15 Return to the wall, each one to his work.

v20 Do your work.  Ready your weapons.  Make a plan to rally together.  When the time comes, "OUR GOD WILL FIGHT FOR US."

Look how Nehemiah, the cupbearer to the king, has changed in these few chapters, over the course of a few months.  He has become a labor-contractor, a people-manager, a public speaker, a RALLYING-CRYER.  God equips those He calls.

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I want to add to our list of prayer-types used by Nehemiah.  I'll start with the ones we found yesterday and tack on today's at the end.  This book is rocking my definition of prayer.

BESEECHING PRAYER - a prayer to pray when you are in desperate need--weeping and mourning. Sometimes you don't even have words.  Your tears are your prayers, and God hears every one.  (Nehemiah 1:4)

SCRIPTURAL PRAYER - remembering God's words and promises and speaking them back to God.  This is a prayer of thanksgiving, trust, and an act of faith.  I like to think God loves it when we remember His words and apply them to our lives, even in conversation with Him. (Nehemiah 1:8-9)

PRAYER OF ACTION - when you are about to do something that you cannot do without God's help.  Prayer for success in what you know God is leading you to do. If you like bold statements and beautiful words, this is a good time to pray those things! (Nehemiah 1:11)

SILENT PRAYER - prayer when you are in immediate need. There is no time for lengthy prayers full of descriptive beautiful words.  Maybe it's just a single word, "Help!" (Nehemiah 2:4)

PRAYER OF EXULTATION - proclaiming God's work in your life.  Making a statement that He is the reason for your success. In this instance, Nehemiah was just remembering that God's hand was on him, and that's why the king granted his request.  Not all prayers start with, "Dear God..." You can pray this prayer while writing in your journal, posting on Facebook, or talking with a friend. It's a prayer of testimony. (Nehemiah 2:8)

HIDDEN PRAYER - sometimes God places something on your heart that is too precious or fragile to talk about it.  It could be a hope or a dream.  A task that seems impossible. And idea that is still forming. A desire of your heart that you can't even speak out loud to Him, let alone to anyone else. But he knows it.  He put that desire in you. It's OK to have secrets that are just between you and Him. He's the Lover of your Soul.(Nehemiah 2:11)

PRAYER WITHOUT PREAMBLE - not what we think of as a "good Christian prayer." Sometimes But if you wait until your heart is "right" before you come to the throne, you may never get there.  But God can handle your angry words and your raw emotion. Is your heart full of hate, pain, frustration, revenge, and all-out RAGE? You don't have to wait. Tell Him. He knows your pain.  He hurts when you hurt.  He is the One who heals hearts.  Just go to Him.  He's your Dad.  See what He can do for you. And through you.  Nehemiah trusted God with even his ugly emotions, and we can too. (Nehemiah 4:4-5)

PRAYER OF DISCOURAGEMENT - this is the prayer you pray when you are drowning. I pray this way a lot as a mom.  Are you feeling out of your depth?  Is fear taking over? Is your life and responsibility literally more than you can handle?  Just praying this prayer has a way of fortifying you in a new way. Let the words, "I can't do this" remind you to lay your burdens at the feet of Jesus. You will be surprised how much lighter your heart feels when you stop carrying weight you were never meant to carry.  Lean in to your weakness, and let the strength of the Lord take over.  (Nehemiah 4:9-10)

PRAYER FOR FORTITUDE - when you see your friend sinking into despair. You know God is strong. You know He's going to see her through this hard time.  But maybe she just can't see even the smallest glimmer of light at the end of her dark tunnel. She's weary from the fight, and the only prayers she's capable of are in the form of her weary tears.  It's time for you to stand in the gap for her. It can be so hard to watch someone sink into spiritual mire. But the Truth about who God is, and who she is to Him, holds so much power over despair. "Do not be afraid. Remember God who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses...Our God will fight for you." Pray this on your own, but also speak these words in person, out loud. Let the truth wash over her. Be like Aaron to her, holding her weary arms up until her battle is over. (Nehemiah 4:14-20)

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Next time: Nehemiah 5-7

Nehemiah 1-2

Hey, y'all!  Before you start reading, I just want to say, "Hey," and introduce myself.  I'm a mom of 4 kids and the wife of a youth pastor.  And let me just tell you, I was not "born to" do either of those roles.  But God has called me to these things, and I'm learning to lean into my weaknesses.  Because that's where His awesome power takes over.

We're about to start reading through the Book of Nehemiah, and I'm putting my notes here on this blog.  I am not a Bible scholar.  I don't have a degree from a Seminary or even a bookshelf full of commentaries.  But I do have something even better.  Jesus says that when you accept Him as the leader of your life, you get the gift of the Holy Spirit, who is able to walk you through and explain to your heart things in Scripture that might have seemed impossible to understand before.  That's all I'm taking with me as I read through His Word.  And it's EVERYTHING.

So why don't you jump in with me and see what God has to teach us through Nehemiah...and leave me a note in the comments so I know you stopped by!

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Chapter 1

v2 Nehemiah is out of touch with this homeland, and when he hears the news of destruction, he is devastated.

v4 I've noticed as I've looked ahead that Nehemiah prays a lot.  A LOT. And I've started keeping a note of when and how he prays.  Here we see the beseeching prayer--a prayer to pray when you are in desperate need--weeping and mourning. Sometimes you don't even have words.  Your tears are your prayers, and God hears every one.

v6 "I and my father's house have sinned." 1st person. Taking responsibility for the sin, even though he wasn't directly guilty.  He is aligning himself with his people, even though he has been separated from them.  This is a beautiful example of empathy, and a picture of what Jesus does for us.  He doesn't point his finger and shake his fist at us.  He gets down in the pit, wraps us in His love, and feels our pain.  He stands between us and the Father.

v8 Scriptural prayer - remembering God's words and promises and speaking them back to God.  This is a prayer of thanksgiving, trust, and an act of faith.  I like to think God loves it when we remember His words and apply them to our lives, even in conversation with Him.

Chapter 2

v4 Silent prayer - prayer when you are in immediate need of help. There is no time for lengthy prayers full of descriptive beautiful words.  Sometimes it's just a single word, "help!"

I read somewhere that the two most important prayers in anyone's life are "Help Me" and "Thank you."

v8 "The good hand of God was on me." His success with the king wasn't about his diction or poise, his timing or his tact.  He gave all credit for his success to the Lord.  "Thank you"

v17-18 Nehemiah lays out his plan for the people.  Remember what Nehemiah's job was? He was the cupbearer to the king.  He wasn't a city planner or construction worker.  He didn't have expertise in contracting labor or even leading large groups of people.  Yet God asked him to do it.

v19 Mocking, accusing, insulting, despising.  Sanballat and Tobiah are the enemies of this project, and their voices are very much like our Enemy.  When you read about them in this story, try not to relate them too closely to people in your life, but rather the Enemy of your Soul.  I think it will change how you see them.  Sometimes it feels like our enemy is human, but that's a distraction from the powers that we are really fighting.

The things that Sanballat and Tobiah are saying against God's people and the project that GOD HIMSELF tasked them with, sound so much like the things Satan tries to wedge into our hearts, almost every day.  And our response to him should be the same:

"The God of Heaven will give us success."  The mockers had no portion, right, or memorial in this land.  Just as Satan has no claim on our hearts when we are redeemed by Christ.  He can mock, accuse, slander, insult, and discourage.  But we don't have to listen to those empty words.  The God of Heaven will give us success.

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Ahhh! Are you noticing how right off the bat this book is piercing through things that you are dealing with RIGHT NOW?  I love that about Scripture.  Before we go, I want to keep a running list of how and when Nehemiah uses prayer in his life.

BESEECHING PRAYER - a prayer to pray when you are in desperate need--weeping and mourning. Sometimes you don't even have words.  Your tears are your prayers, and God hears every one.  (Nehemiah 1:4)

SCRIPTURAL PRAYER - remembering God's words and promises and speaking them back to God.  This is a prayer of thanksgiving, trust, and an act of faith.  I like to think God loves it when we remember His words and apply them to our lives, even in conversation with Him. (Nehemiah 1:8-9)

PRAYER OF ACTION - when you are about to do something that you cannot do without God's help.  Prayer for success in what you know God is leading you to do. If you like bold statements and beautiful words, this is a good time to pray those things! (Nehemiah 1:11)

SILENT PRAYER - prayer when you are in immediate need. There is no time for lengthy prayers full of descriptive beautiful words.  Maybe it's just a single word, "Help!" (Nehemiah 2:4)

PRAYER OF EXULTATION - proclaiming God's work in your life.  Making a statement that He is the reason for your success. In this instance, Nehemiah was just remembering that God's hand was on him, and that's why the king granted his request.  Not all prayers start with, "Dear God..." You can pray this prayer while writing in your journal, posting on Facebook, or talking with a friend. It's a prayer of testimony. (Nehemiah 2:8)

HIDDEN PRAYER - sometimes God places something on your heart that is too precious or fragile to talk about it.  It could be a hope or a dream.  A task that seems impossible. And idea that is still forming. A desire of your heart that you can't even speak out loud to Him, let alone to anyone else. But he knows it.  He put that desire in you. It's OK to have secrets that are just between you and Him. He's the Lover of your Soul.(Nehemiah 2:11)

That's all I've found so far in this passage, but if I missed one, let me know!  I don't know about you, but I'm inspired to explore prayer on a deeper level.  The variety of ways to communicate with God are mounting up!

Next time: Nehemiah 3-4

The Bible Study Guilt Trip

Do you find it difficult to make time for your Bible Study?  I admit that I do.  I could get up earlier for time alone, but since I'm up at night with the baby, and up at 6:30 anyway to get Emma ready for school, any earlier seems daunting.  Experts will say that if you put your quiet time with the Lord first, everything else will fall into place.  And I know this is true.  On the days when I'm able to start with my Bible open, the rest of the day just flows in a way that could only be from Jesus. 

But what about when I'm not able to put it first?  Most days I'm able to find time between 9am and 11am, when the baby is in her swing, and Ethan is watching something on PBS. But the reason I'm starting with this subject today, is that sometimes I'm not able to find the time at all.  While I wrote my notes on chapters 20-22 in my journal almost two weeks ago, I'm only getting around to posting them today.  I have had two of the most frantic, non-stop, kids sick, dr's appointment, late night, husband out of town, husband home during the day (!), weeks of my life.  And I wasn't able to put my Bible study first.  Or even last most days. 

What do you say to yourself when you haven't opened your Bible that day?  Do you guilt trip? Do you justify? Do you shame yourself?  I've noticed that any of these options push the possibility of getting back into Scripture ever farther away.  On days (or weeks) like this, it's important to remember the spirit of the idea of "quiet time". It's not a homework assignment that we need to check off the list.  It's about abiding in Christ.  And we can do that while driving down the street, talking to our kids, and meditating on the Words that are already written on our hearts through memorization.  Don't worry about how "far behind" you are.  Just do your best to get back to it as soon as you can.  Even if all you can do today is open up that precious book and let it catch your tears of exhaustion. 

The Enemy, the Accuser, wants to separate you from God, and he'll use guilt, pride, shame, justification--anything he can to do that.  I've found the best defense for this in my life is to make goals, but to never make a reading schedule.  I try to never think about how behind I am. Because there is no such thing.  Every day I open my Bible and let it soak into my soul is progress.  And that's where I'm starting today.

Modern Psalm of Deliverance

**My goodness.  It has been almost a week since I posted the tips for writing a psalm.  This was such a serious process!  I had no idea that it would be so intense.  I was nervous at first, feeling like I couldn't start until I had a theme and knew where it was going.  Then I thought I needed to have a chunk of time to think, pray, and decide what area of life to write about.  When it came down to actually writing, none of these things had actually happened.  My thoughts were jumbled, I was running on three hours sleep, I was hurting from sending Emma to her first day of school, and because Esther wanted to nurse right when I resolved to start, I didn't even have both hands free!  (Did David deal with things like this?) So I read David's psalm of deliverance and decided to write about my own experience.  The terms are vague, because the details of my sin and redemption are not something I'm quite ready to display here.  Not yet, at least.  But I'm hoping that the truth of my rescue will still shine through, and that maybe someone else will identify with that.  I also tried not to edit too much.  A psalm is a prayer, and real often means raw.  I loved the process, plan to write more of these, and hope you'll try it out for yourself.**

A modern psalm of deliverance.

The Lord is my deliverer.  The Lord is my Salvation--my source of strength when I am weak.

I was sought out by my Enemy, but the Lord fought for me.

My Enemy stalked me like a beast in the wilderness.  But my God stood before me and struck him down.

Though I didn't yet know my Lord, He was already there.  He opened my eyes to His presence, and I saw his Light.

I saw the way He had laid out for me.  He showed me a future in His presence.

But my heart was filled with pride.  I wanted to set my own path.

I didn't know that the Beast was still behind me, waiting for me to fall.

He wanted to devour me.  His plan was to bury me alive.  I made my own path, and I followed it right into his plan.

I sank deep into darkness and shame. My God was there, but I shut my eyes to His light.

His love for me only caused me more shame.  His hand reached for me, but I pulled away.  I would not grasp it.

I wanted to rescue myself, but I sank deeper still. I tried to lift myself out of this pit, but the heaviness of my shame was too much to bear.

My enemy stood back and mocked.  He hurled insults at me as he watched me struggle.

He didn't have to stalk me now.  His insults were coming from my own mouth.

I heard the voice of my God, and I longed to stand in His presence again.

But my accuser's voice rang in my ears.  I was stained, ugly, not worthy to be saved.

In my misery I stopped struggling.  The enemy mocked; he had worn me down, and I was defenseless.  I let the darkness envelop me.

As I was being buried alive, I called out.  In my weakness, my voice was only a whisper. "Save me."

My rescue was swift and immediate. The Lord pulled me from the pit.

His redemption poured over me, and I could not hear anything but His voice.

My Enemy was defeated.  His insults continued, but I was not listening.  God's love drowned them out.

My God had delivered me.  The Lord is my deliverer.

 

 

A Modern Psalm - some resources

A few days a go I mentioned in my notes that I'd like to try writing a psalm.  I assumed that I wasn't the first person to have this idea, so I did a search on google.  Probably something like "how to write a psalm".  I was right!  I found several articles on the subject, so I started making some notes in my journal for a little guidance.

I found these extremely helpful and inspiring.  Here are a list of the links I used in the notes:

ProvenMen, HarvestTime, TheOneTrueFaith, BibleWise, NewSongsAndPsalms, LiesYoungWomenBelieve, Jim-Street, CloverSites, JesusWalk

You'll notice that several of these resources are in the kids and teens section, which I find telling.  And a little sad.  Times haven't changed much since David was criticised for being enthusiastic about his love for God.  He was looked down on for being silly, undignified, and maybe even childish.  But the truth is, he was just sold-out, head-over-heels-in-love with his Creator, and he didn't care who knew it.  He was obsessed with God the way kids are with their toys, or preteens with the latest boy band.

So dig deep.

Get in touch with your preteen self.

Read my notes.

Or click on the links.

Or just read our inspiration passage.

If it's not too personal (or even if it is!) leave it as a comment to share with others.

Write a psalm with me.

I'll share mine next time.

Anna

 

Pray for me

I thought I'd ask a quick prayer request from all of you following along with me.  I am having the hardest time settling into a routine and building habits in our new home.  Part of it is the impermanence of the place, along with the distance from our many responsibilities and loved ones.  (Most destinations are at least 30 minutes away.) 

Anyway, I am completely committed to finishing this journey through God's Word with you here on this blog, but my new life has made me very slow at it.  Please bear with me and pray that the Lord would help me order my days to accomplish everything He has inspired me to do. 

(I actually just finished an entire post detailing almost all of the books, activities, and endeavors I want to accomplish these next few months, but it was lost in cyber oblivion.  I guess that was Lord telling me to lay my burdens at His feet, not yours!)  Thank you for your continued support and encouragement.  I will get in touch with each of you soon.  Remember me in your prayers, and I'll do the same for you.

Love, Anna

Prayer Request

I just want to ask those of you who read this blog for some extra prayer for a friend.  My friend Amy lost her youngest this week to SIDS.  She was two months old, and the funeral service is Saturday at 2pm.  (Dallas time)  Would you please take a moment and lift her up in prayer?  I have put myself in her place hundreds of times this week, and still can't imagine how she will carry on.  So when you think of her, pray for strength, grace, peace, and rest. Thank you!

Anna

Prayer - a life line

I've been doing some more praying in color today.  My friend, Amanda W., after having a traumatic birthing experience to begin with, was rushed to emergency surgery when the blood vessel supplying the uterus burst.  She actually lost all of her blood over the next hour or so, and is currently still in the hospital awaiting the next white blood cell count.
 
One of the things that amazes me about the body of Christ is that we can pray in a real way for people that we don't even know.  Amanda is a believer, and the same Spirit that resides in you also lives in her!  So even if you have never met her, you are spiritually connected within the Body. I love that!  I am praying for many aspects of Amanda's life, but her biggest concerns are nursing and sleep.  I guess some things about motherhood are always the same, ICU or home birth!  Thanks so much for remembering her in your own prayers.

Praying in Color

My mom's family is really big.  She is the eldest of six girls, who each have families of their own.  So when we get together for Christmas, it is a big affair.  In fact, if you want to get a small taste of it, rent Dan in Real Life.  It amazed me how similar the movie family was to my own.  Anyway, that's getting off track.  Buying gifts for each member of the gang would be ridiculous, so we draw names. And over the years the gift exchange has become a huge fanfair of incredible hand-made gifts. 

A couple years ago I decided to make a quilt as my gift for my cousin, Ashley.  It was a huge project, and the hand-quilting took many hours of quiet, tedious stitching.  And I found myself spending much of that time thinking about the recipient of the gift.  She was at the doorstep of some significant life-changes, and there was a chance that this quilt would see her through some of those.  The end of high-school, her big sister's wedding, entering adulthood. And I started to pray for her during the process of finishing the quilt.  Not out loud, but silent, unspoken prayers that God would see her through these changes.  The repetitive task of the quilting freed my mind to consider all the areas of her life that might need prayer. 

I love the idea of using arts and crafts to initiate or sustain a prolonged prayer time, and apparently I'm not alone.  I just read a new book, Praying in Color, by Sybil MacBeth.  

 

The basic idea is that when you have a burden for someone, or even a whole list of people, you write their names on a sheet of paper, and spend time embellishing the page while meditating over them in prayer. I LOVE this idea.  In the book she makes some incredible observation about roadblocks and distractions that we often encounter during prayer.  The book as a whole is very inspiring and insightful, and I would recommend the book to anyone looking for a way to extend their intercessory prayer time.

Have you tried this?  How do you integrate your own talents or hobbies into prayer, worship, or service?