why should the work cease whilst I leave it and come down to you? (See Nehemiah 6:3)
I must be about my Father's business? (See Luke 2:49)
The Lord bids us, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" (1 Peter 5:8)
The book of Nehemiah relates how Nehemiah committed to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. He secured the aid of others, and they proceeded to be about God's business. The rebuilding project had at least two core foes, Sanballat, and Tobiah. They used various means in their demand to halt the development, and progress of the plan. They laughed at, and mocked Nehemiah, and his men. Lies were told, schemes were hatched, death threats were made, letters were written, lures were
attempted - all this they did in their rabid efforts to stop God's work.
What valuable lessons to be learned from the story of Nehemiah. Unquestionably, he gives an impressive example of attending unto the Lord without distraction. Nehemiah's soul was anchored on what God had commissioned him to do. Though the conflict was fierce, it was no match for the faithful servant of God who relied on sovereign assistance to ace the destined assignment. Nehemiah, the man of God, purposed to dismiss any obstruction opposed to the divine mission. He defeated all that was arranged against it.
What counts as so remarkable in this biblical book is the righteous perseverance of Nehemiah. He sought God's help steadfastly, and continually through supplicant prayer. He refused to allow himself to become distracted, or kept from the completion of the task. Every time the resistance came against the work, Nehemiah had an answer, a strategy, a method to overcome the plans of the enemies. He and his
people would not be deterred. They tenaciously clung to God, and the wall was rebuilt. Wise communion with the Lord enabled them to conquer through natural labor, and the skillful use of spiritual warfare.
The evil sources sought to annihilate instead our Lord rendered to them a crushing defeat. Again, God supplied proof that "I am the Lord." (See Leviticus 19:12)
Sandra Renee Hicks
By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. —Ephesians 2:8
Ayn Rand, an American philosopher who died in 1982, gathered a sizable following who read her books and attended her lectures. An avid individualist, she had this to say: “Now I see the free face of god and I raise this god over all the earth, this god who men have sought since men came into being, the god who will grant them joy and peace and pride. This god, this one word, I.” When asked if she believed in God, she answered, “This god is myself, I.” Egotism—faith in oneself—that’s what this philosopher believed in.
The apostle Paul bore witness to a trust that is exactly the opposite of that misplaced self-confidence. He declared, “[We] worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” (Phil. 3:3). He put his trust solely in Jesus Christ, who is God incarnate, the true God of love and mercy.
We read in the book of Ephesians, “By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (2:8).
Are we embracing the philosophy of egotism, which is really a confidence that will prove eternally self-destructive? Or have we, like Paul, embraced the self-sacrificing grace of Jesus Christ? — Vernon C. Grounds
By grace now I’m saved—Hallelujah!
Praise God, and through faith it’s been done;
Naught of myself, but believing
In the finished work of His Son. —Gladwin
We are saved not by what we do but by trusting what Christ has done.