what should we be building?

I enjoyed Scott’s sermon about Nehemiah.  It captured so well the relationship between God and believers.  It is easy to shake our heads and how quickly the Israelites strayed from the covenant and began worshiping idols. And yet if we consider modern day equivalents, it is so much easier to see ourselves. How often do we commit to avoiding a sin, only to find ourselves immersed in it, sometimes seconds later?

            When Scott was talking about the list of things the Israelites had to do and not do, I thought about what God might say if He gave us that list today. What if it said things like “Though shalt not speed. Though shalt recycle every single piece of paper. Thou shalt not eat more than three cookies a day”? These examples may seem absurd, and yet there are many broad commandments in the New Testament we would be wise to think about in specific terms. What does it look like today to love your neighbor?

 Nehemiah took the time to reflect, and rolled up his sleeves to get to work.  Let us be like Nehemiah and complete the work God has laid out for us. What should we be building? What should we commit to avoiding? I don’t know of anyone who is tempted to build a golden calf, but we all have these subtle idols, internally or externally. We are going to mess up. We’re going to walk away from what God has promised. He is a faithful, steadfast husband waiting for His bride. He does not change. He does not love us less. Let us become quicker to see our idols, quicker to repent, and quicker to get back to God’s work. The world needs us.

Beth Kropf

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