What is your claim?

Reading: Nehemiah 1-3, Psalm 120, James 4, and 2 Peter 2

Scripture: Nehemiah 2:19-20, But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.”

Thoughts: In light of the political climate is most likely why this passage stood out to me today. The global pandemic being used for political gain, both sides fighting over who is elected and the reactions of those on both sides to the situation. God has given us things to stand up for and called us each to different aspects of the Great Commission. When these men came to Nehemiah it was not innocent question of, “why are you rebuilding this place?” but an accusatory, “are you against the king?” I have seen this even inside the Church Body where people do not see eye to eye and start fighting over a difference instead of coming together over the things we have in common. Just as when Nehemiah started rebuilding Jerusalem people joined and worked on different sections of the walls, we are all to be working to reach the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ not fighting over who is doing it right or accusing someone of serving the wrong king.  

Prayer: Father God you are the architect, you know every brick and every timber, you guide the use and how they work together. I lay my preferences at your feet and seek to work with whomever you bring me to. I thank you that you are working within me and leading me. I thank you that you continue to refine me and mold me as I walk with you. I thank you for my family. I thank you for your plans and that I get to be apart of it. I thank you for your provisions and blessings you have for us. I ask that you help me to walk in your plans and not hold contempt for those who are working a different portion of it.