Did you know the Bible mentions sparrows and swallows in the same breath — and that they carry two very different meanings in Hebrew? While the sparrow is a general word for any small bird pointing to God's watchful care over every living thing, the swallow has a unique Hebrew word used only twice in all of scripture. In this post we dig into what both birds symbolize, what Psalm 84 reveals about finding your home in God, and the surprising spiritual lessons hidden in the wings of a swallow.
Read MoreThe Force of Favor
Have you ever wondered why the universe seems to favor some people above others or why you keep going in circles no matter how hard you try? What if supernatural favor isn't random, but something you can actually partner with? In this post we explore the spiritual force of God's favor, why humility is the key that unlocks it, and how pride quietly causes it to evaporate. If you've been feeling like nothing is clicking, explore this blog post.
Read MoreJesus Prayed Alone
Jesus was the ultimate people person — surrounded by crowds, followed everywhere, with barely a moment to Himself. So why did He keep slipping away to pray alone? In this post we look at three specific passages where Jesus went to a solitary place to pray, what time of day He prayed, and the intentional, sometimes radical, steps He took to carve out time with the Father. If you've been struggling to find space for a consistent prayer life, Jesus' example will both challenge and encourage you.
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Adversity Matures our Love
Last year the Lord began speaking to me about this word, “surrender”. It was as if a sharp needle poked a raw, open wound. We all use the word “surrender”, and we sing about it and speak of it as if it is normal and simple, but this encounter I had with the Lord over it proved different. In essence, what the Lord was saying to me was, “you don’t know the first thing about ‘surrender’.”
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The Foxes that Spoil
The setting is a garden. The season is the end of winter. An interesting picture. This is a time of year our gardens are not trimmed or tended to, having just come out of the winter. It’s the beginning of the season when the sun has barely poked its head and out of the dead and barren surroundings, small, green tender plants beginning poking their heads above the surface. It can be quite deceiving actually, the changing of the seasons. On one hand, it looks as if winter is over and you begin to see signs of spring, but the final frost hasn’t quite come.
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The Power of Invitation
I have found that people offended with God mostly are hurt because they believe God isn’t paying attention to them, so as human nature is, we would prefer to reject others before they have the opportunity to reject us. Many people do this with God. It is a strategy of the enemy to sow seeds of doubt in us that God is not involved in our lives nor does He really care about us. Nothing could be further from the truth.
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Discovering His Trustworthiness
The opening chapter of the Song of Solomon reveals a facet of His character- a “face” of Jesus if you will, a tender-hearted shepherd. Getting to know Jesus in these different facets opens our eyes toward His character and His attributes in addition to forming a deeper relational bond to Him. The Shulamite begins by telling of her desire for her beloved and confessing her love and then we see that her love is directed toward this face, the shepherd.
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Journey into God's Heart
Why is it important to know the emotion of God towards humanity, specifically, toward me? Moreover, why does it matter to God that we are acquainted with His affection?
As a child I always desired to please my parents, in fact I am sure it is natural that children desire to know they are doing well and experience the joy of their parents toward them. For girls, usually its the approval of the Father that becomes a primary imparting of confidence in self worth and confidence to grow as a woman, and maybe for Song with their mothers it is similar; to feel the approval of your mother gives confidence in your success as a man.
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Reformation
Bringing about reformation takes a lot of administration. Chapter 13 of Nehemiah shows how important it is to have strong leadership in the area of administration. Are you an administrator? God has a big plan for you! God has made all the parts of the body, and we each need each other to continually reform and reform and keep the fire burning until the return of our Lord.
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The Power of Thanks
And it is commemoration day! The city, the temple, and the new establishment of the Jewish people is being established with Thanksgiving! That's right, choirs of thanksgiving!! Find out how you can renew your mind with thanksgiving and the hidden secret God gave us in His word.
Read MoreInhabit the Kingdom
Making the Kingdom your primary focus is step one. Once again Nehemiah's amazing administrative skills shine through as he now orchestrates where all the families of the land will dwell. One-tenth will have the honor of living within the city walls, in the heart of Jerusalem. The new kingdom is being established with God's heart, yet under the Persian government… can you imagine?
Read MoreALL OR NOTHING
When it was all said and done, Nehemiah gathers everyone together to put it in writing. All the people vowed from now on they would keep the Law of the Lord and take personal responsibility in the upholding of the spiritual foundations that had now been re-laid. This required everyone to be onboard, committed, ALL IN.
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THE SPIRIT & THE WORD
The Word is alive and active, powerful and spiritual. When we read the Word do we believe it will teach us, fill us, carry us and lead us in our day? We should! We should be leaving room for God to speak to us when we read the Word each day so it can launch us into the Spirit and guide us into times of repentance, renewal and reset.
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For the Love of the Word
NEHEMIAH Chapter 8 is the beginning of the spiritual revival and the people were renewed in their reverence for the scripture, worship, and understanding of the law, for starters. With every revival, there is always a "rebible"- that is, a heightened hunger and release of the Word of God.
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Trust the Process
There was a lot more to the rebuilding of the walls than building them. We are talking about administrating and entire city of people, getting them to work together, and having a plan that would ensure the future success of the protection of Jerusalem. How was Nehemiah going to be sure that these walls didn't get torn down again? He trusted the process even when he couldn’t see the full picture.
Read MoreConsistency
In Chapter six we see Nehemiah once again battling opposition. Gossip, attack on his character, his motives, false prophets... OH MY! The key to staying strong in the midst of accusation consistent focus. "Whatever God has called us to do, beware of being sidetracked with fruitless issues." - D.K. Campbell
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The Generous Leader
It’s funny how when there is something from the outside coming at you, you tend to band together and get over your differences pretty quickly. But, when there is little or no outside opposition, you start to see the small things right on the inside of your own home or family or community and even nit-pick things that really are not important.
In chapter 5 Nehemiah learns that the Jews were charging each other interest when lending to them, and this brought about a whole lot more findings…
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God Will Fight for You
This is probably the most significant and strategic passage in the book of Nehemiah for prayer strategy. In this chapter we not only see the leadership required for a unified corporate prayer strategy, but we learn about the enemy’s tactics.
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Do Something, Together
Nehemiah demonstrates how a leader needs to be actively involved. The “rubbish”, in Hebrew, it’s the only occurrence of this word. The next nearest translation means “rubble”, “dust”, “debris”. The picture in my mind is like what ground zero looked like after 911. There was so much, that it took so many, many people so long to clear it. I imagine the workers at the beginning full of strength and patriotism for their country. Then after months, and years, see the heaps upon heaps still staring at them in the face can feel like a dent has hardly been made.
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The Action of Watchmen
The watchmen in the book of Nehemiah demonstrate “action”. Their actions? They "prayed" and "stationed guards". This is a two-fold, double barrier strategy. While I am praying, you stand guard. There is a misconception that prayer, waiting or watching is “passive”, but that couldn’t any farther from the truth! Watching and praying is work. It is very active…
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