"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." Mt 5:11,12.
"And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name." Acts 5:41.
There are many today suffering or being persecuted around the world for their beliefs. Christians in those parts have learned how to live under such repressive systems & take it patiently; actually there's not much else that they can do. In the West, we barely get a sense of this now as generally Judeo-Christian principles are well established, though even these are constantly eroded, as we see it affecting education, discipline, removal of Christian values & teaching in favour of atheistic/humanistic based teachings. We easily & quickly complain that 'our faith is being attacked' when society has had to fall in line with recent governmental restrictions. I wonder how these same folk will handle some real 'attacks to their faith' as Satan goes into higher gear with his thrusts into our already compromised governmental mentality & systems. How will Christians behave & live in an increasingly anti-christian society?
Would our response be as the Lord encouraged his disciples: to rejoice in their sufferings & persecutions - to rejoice & be exceeding glad for their heavenly reward would be great? Or will we complain with more gusto? Maybe to consider some of the other believers' suffering today might help us get a better perspective for today & preparation for tomorrow.
Thank you Mark for that reminder from Neh 4:14: "Be not afraid - remember the Lord".
In life there are people that will hate on us, and will oppose us no matter what. But it says on verse 14 : "Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.".. And to only put our trust in the Lord, while we continue to do our work on what is needed to be done. Amen. Let anyone who oppose us fall... We trust you oh Lord.. verse 4: "Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity:"
Verse 8~This shows how wicked these men really were. The building of the wall did not cause harm to them, but they hated Jehovah God and his people so they sought to put a stop to things without just cause.
The devil has eaten into Sanballat, Tobiah and their ilk. How dare they to prevent the work of the Lord. Happily, Nehemiah and his people made ample preparations to counter the Sanballat group. We should not be bothered about the antics of evil ones. All that is important is for us to keep our eyes on the ball, working for the Lord and victory is sure.
Comment*Today leaders should emulate this chapter by commit all their ways and policies to almighty father, to seek his face before executing policy on God,s people.
Determination is the key to Christian victory. Despite the enemies ' tactics criticism v.4, intimidation v.10 and physical threads v.8 a determined Christian know how to respond to situations prayer v.9,strategizing v.13 16 . this is relevant to the church today, as it was during Nehemiah 's time.
I believe that once to get to the reason that cause the people to have a mind to work. We will find the solution to the problem we face as Pastors in our church 's today.
We must all work together concerning the Church,every aspect of the body is equally important to complete the build, evil will come upon the church in one form or another. We must ernestly contend for the faith which once was ,to the pulling down of strong holds...I see HIS FAVOR IS UPON US. JESUS CHRIST THE SAME YESTERDAY TODAY AND FOR EVER ...
The Lord God is a God of order and keeps his promises, He gave Nehemiah that burden to build the walls of Jerusalem and did not disappoint them by giving them the focus,zeal and unity to labour together. And that 's the leaders of today should ask of the Lord to help them in everything they do. It has been a blessing to me.
Never has the plan to do good ever succeed without implantation of malice, discord and contempt from the forces led by the master rebel. In all occassions, THE LORD GOD allows the rebels ample time to cook up and execute mischief according to the ability of their dark forces. Fortunately, the extent and manner of punishment or correction eventually meted upon such dark forces is usually deserving, appropriate and complete.
the Lord is the master builder, we are the appointed labourers, but while building we are armed with sword of the Spirit, and protected with the shield of faith, so keep on duilding.
Nehemiah 4 3 7 Teaches that the Devil uses different forces to mock as the word goes that foxes are small mammal to push the walls down Evil forces are unified daily to undermine the work of God
As a believer this verse is explaining the unity christians should have when they work for the Lord.. We should have the same mind to work for the Lord in HIs ministry. Whatever He commands to do.
Nehemiah 4:6 is teaching on the value of oneness & unity. If we work jointly we will achieve much and the enemies like Tobias & Samballat cannot penetrate to stop God's project in our lives.
"And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name." Acts 5:41.
There are many today suffering or being persecuted around the world for their beliefs. Christians in those parts have learned how to live under such repressive systems & take it patiently; actually there's not much else that they can do. In the West, we barely get a sense of this now as generally Judeo-Christian principles are well established, though even these are constantly eroded, as we see it affecting education, discipline, removal of Christian values & teaching in favour of atheistic/humanistic based teachings. We easily & quickly complain that 'our faith is being attacked' when society has had to fall in line with recent governmental restrictions. I wonder how these same folk will handle some real 'attacks to their faith' as Satan goes into higher gear with his thrusts into our already compromised governmental mentality & systems. How will Christians behave & live in an increasingly anti-christian society?
Would our response be as the Lord encouraged his disciples: to rejoice in their sufferings & persecutions - to rejoice & be exceeding glad for their heavenly reward would be great? Or will we complain with more gusto? Maybe to consider some of the other believers' suffering today might help us get a better perspective for today & preparation for tomorrow.
Thank you Mark for that reminder from Neh 4:14: "Be not afraid - remember the Lord".
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