Be my Alpha and Omega

“Lord, may everything we do begin with your inspiration, continue with your help, and reach perfection under your guidance.  We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son.”

This is the Opening Prayer for today, Thursday After Ash Wednesday.  This prayer delights my heart.  I make it mine because it exactly what I need.

I have very firm conviction today that God is the source of all inspiration and power.  I believe also very strongly that God is the first cause of everything.  The Bible repeats this lesson in many places and in various forms.  If God is the source of all inspiration and power and if I cannot cause anything good on my own, it makes sense to look up to God for His inspiration and power for all my needs.

“Without me, you can do nothing.”  Yes, Jesus.  I believe you.  Grant me the grace to seek your inspiration in everything.  Be always my Alpha and Omega in all things.

Renew within me a steadfast spirit

 "A clean heart create for me, God; renew within me a steadfast spirit. Do not drive me from before your face, nor take from me your holy spirit. Restore to me the gladness of your salvation; uphold me with a willing spirit." (Psalm 51: 12 - 14)

The above scripture is part of the Responsorial Psalm in the Liturgy of today, Ash Wednesday.  The Deacon who preached at the early 6.30 am Mass in my parish touched on it in his homily.  He advised the congregation to pray Psalm 51 everyday of this Lenten season.  At the end of his homily, he repeated the entire Psalm 51 slowly.

Earlier this morning when I read the Mass readings for today as part of my preparation for the Ash Wednesday liturgy, I was moved especially by the verses above.  I told my RCIA class a couple of weeks ago that every Christian should be armed with Psalm 51 ready to use it when the unthinkable happens.  The unthinkable is falling into mortal sin especially the type you imagined you could never do.  If that happens and you are not prepared, your situation could be similar to a man who fell into a deep river and does not know how to swim.  The Liturgy of the Hours of today describes Lent as the beginning of our spiritual warfare.  How appropriate this description is when we reflect on the Original Lent:  Jesus Christ’s 40 days in the desert.  During Lent, we find ourselves in the spiritual desert.   My most trying time in the entire year comes either during Lent or immediately after Lent.  How well I handle the crisis depends on how prepared I am.  How prepared I am depends on how well I use all the tools of grace which Holy Mother Church has constantly provided her children.  These are the tools of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

As we begin this holy and grace-filled season, I pray with David:

"A clean heart create for me, God; renew within me a steadfast spirit. Do not drive me from before your face, nor take from me your holy spirit. Restore to me the gladness of your salvation; uphold me with a willing spirit." (Psalm 51: 12 - 14)

Disordered Desires

“Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions^* that make war within your members?  You covet but do not possess. You kill and envy but you cannot obtain; you fight and wage war. You do not possess because you do not ask. You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” (James 4: 1-3)

Disordered desires are the root cause of lack of contentment, quarrels and ultimately war.  When we covet even a good desire, we cause it to be disordered.   Our desire whether good or bad become disordered when we tenaciously embrace it tightly  in hope or against all hope.  This attachment rouses the passion and causes the passion to make war within us. 

The remedy for disordered desire is detachment.   In prayer, we take our desires to God who alone is giver of all good things.  We come to God in prayer in faith asking the One who is both able and willing to grant us what is good for us.   Because we know that God is both able and willing to give us anything that is good for us, we can wait for whatever we ask for in prayer.  This is why Isaiah teaches that faith that is firm is also patient.

“Cast your care upon the LORD, who will give you support.  He will never allow the righteous to stumble.^”  (Psalm 55:23)

 “I would stay in the desert.^c9“I would soon find a shelter from the raging wind and storm.” (Psalm 55: 

Take up your cross and follow me

“He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said^* to them, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”  (Mark 8: 34)

First note who was summoned to hear this radical teaching.  Not just the disciples but the crowd.  The cross is at the very center of Christianity.  “‘In this sign, you shall conquer’” and the sign of the cross were visible to the future emperor Constantine and his entire army. Jesus asks anybody who wishes to follow Him to “take up his cross, and follow me.”

What is the cross for me?  The cross is not just a piece of wood or metal shaped in the form of a cross.  The cross means for me all the 7-War Zones elements:  Health, Family, Money, Job, Tools, Food, Future.  The soul of man may be severely tested in any or all of these.  Remember Job in the Bible?  We witnessed on television how Blessed John Paul II took up his cross of ill-health and followed Jesus.  Even non Christians were touched. 

What makes the cross bearable is not the size or the form but Jesus Christ whom we follow voluntarily.  Jesus promises:

 “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,^* and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (Matthew 11: 28-30)

We labor and are burdened in life over: Health, Family, Money, Job, Tools, Food, Future issues.  As the catechumens are advised in the Rite of Acceptance, the Cross of Christ is the only answer.  

I like very much the prayer for the intercession of St. Josemaria Escriva reproduced below:

“O God, through the mediation of Mary our Mother, you granted your priest Saint Josemaria countless graces, choosing him as a most faithful instrument to found Opus Dei, a way of sanctification in daily work and in the fulfillment of the Christian’s ordinary duties.  Grant that I too may learn to turn all the circumstances and events of my life into occasions of loving you and serving the Church, the Pope and all souls with joy and simplicity, lighting up the pathways of this earth with faith and love.

Deign to grant me, through the intercession of Saint Josemaria, the favor of ….(make your request).  Amen”

He delivers me from all my fears

“I sought the Lord and he answers me and delivered me from all my fears.”  (Psalm 34: 4)

When I read the above scripture this morning, I said to myself, “Yap this is exactly what I need today.”  Yes, I need the Lord to deliver me once more from all my fears, worries and doubts.  Just about two weeks ago, I had a great faith moment.  I took my burdens to the Lord in prayer, He delivered me not only from my fears but He supplied my needs which caused the fears in the first place.   The Lord gave me jobs and the jobs gave me money and I was able to pay my bills.  Fears, worries and doubts were gone.  Now a few days without job have brought back the old fears, worries and doubts.  But this time I was prepared:

I will seek the Lord and He will answer me and deliver me from my new fears.  I will look to Him that I may be radiant with joy and my face may not blush with shame.  I know whom I trust.  “When the poor one called out, the Lord heard, and from all his distress he saved him.”  (Psalm 34:6)

Yes indeed, “The Lord hears the cry of the poor.”

Unless the Lord build the house..

“Unless the LORD build the house,

they labor in vain who build.

Unless the LORD guard the city,

in vain does the guard keep watch.

It is vain for you to rise early

and put off your rest at night,

To eat bread earned by hard toil—

all this God gives to his beloved in sleep.^”  (Psalm 127: 1-2)

This scripture brings me peace, joy and consolation every single time I read it.  I discovered it many years ago when I embarked on a building project.  I did not have sufficient resources to complete the work in a timely manner.  Then enters Psalm 127: 1-2.  It taught me a lesson I will never forget.  I use this lesson everyday even if it is expressed in different words.  Here are some of the variations of the same theme:

• ·         All inspiration and power come from God.
• ·         God is the giver of all good gifts.
• ·         God will complete the good work He started in me.
• ·         Victory does not come from horses but from the Lord,
• ·         Promotion does not come from east or west but from the Lord.
• ·         If the Lord opens a door, nobody can shut it.

How great it is to know that whatever the project, the work, the trial, God is the source of our strength.  If He is with us, it is accomplished.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your on your own perception.”  (Proverbs 3:5)

Do you still not understand?

“17 When he became aware of this he said to them, “Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear? And do you not remember,^f19when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?” They answered him, “Twelve.”20“When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?” They answered [him], “Seven.”21He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

Is there a note of impatience in the voice of Jesus as He fires one question after another to His “dull” students?  Nobody with experience of teaching will blame Jesus if He is impatient.  The lesson has been taught several times.  It has been reviewed again and again.  Practical demonstrations have been given more than once.  Then comes the moment of test and the students look blank.  While I understand Jesus seeming impatience, I also sympathize very much with the total lack of understanding of the lesson by the Apostles.  One constant struggle I bring to my prayer is this:

“Lord I believe your word that you are faithful.  I have deep experience of your faithfulness in my life.  I note it constantly in my diary.  I blog on it.  Why is it Lord that when I have a new crisis I always panic and forget the lessons that I have learned?” 

The Lord answers me:  “Do you still not understand?”

I reply:  Lord I understand but I forget when my faith is challenged.   Then I use the words in today’s Opening Prayer in the feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius:

“Open my heart to understand your teaching.”

The Fall of Solomon

“When Solomon was old his wives had turned his heart to follow other gods, and his heart was not entirely with the LORD, his God, as the heart of David his father had been.” (1 Kings 11:4)

Solomon is a man of many superlatives:  wisest man in the world, richest man, most powerful, etc, etc.  Yet he did not believe God when God warned him that foreign wives would betray his heart.  His fall from grace is tragic.  When I read this story this morning, I was sad.  I thought:  “If this could happen to Solomon, it could happen to anybody.”  St Paul warns us to work out our salvation in fear and trembling. 

That which could snare your heart will unless you are fully armed and vigilant.  There is no mercy for the slothful or the presumptuous. 

“The LORD became angry with Solomon, because his heart turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice” (1 Kings 11:9)

To him whom much is given much would be expected.  Much is given to Solomon:  wisdom, knowledge, power and wealth.  He had everything in superabundant proportions.  But he lacked only one thing.  He lacked a believing and obedient heart.  This is the great difference between him and his father David.  David trusted God in everything.  He was well aware of his human weakness.  Solomon was not.

The response to this scripture is:

“Blessed are they who observe what is right, who do always what is just.”  (Psalm 106: 3)

Do you notice the word “always”?  Always means that 99% will not be good enough.  99% of purity or honesty is not good enough.  What is needed is perseverance to the end, that is 100%.  Solomon persevered in the good way till he was old.

Stand your ground

“But Moses answered the people, “Do not fear! Stand your ground and see the victory the LORD will win for you today. For these Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you have only to keep still.” (Exodus 14: 13 – 14)

In Ephesians 6, St. Paul urges us to put on the full armor.  Nehemiah commands his fellow citizens rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem to be fully armed at all times.  The enemy may sneak in like the thief in the night.  Exodus 14: 13 – 14 is one of my treasured weapons of warfare.  I still remember the night I opened a Gordon bible in a hotel room and it fell to this passage.  I was in this midst of a professional crisis that could cost me my job.  I was very fearful.  The command, “Do not fear!” was very welcome.  What follows the command was music to my heart.  There is a promise of victory that will be brought about by the Lord.  Could this be true?  My enemies seemed formidable.  There was nothing I could do against them or even to protect myself.  But the promise of this powerful word of God finishes the job with:  “The LORD will fight for you; you have only to keep still.”  Strong faith is born in desperate circumstances.  My situation was desperate enough.  I decided to believe.  The Lord fought for me and I had such an unbelievable victory that people asked, “What happened? 

Victory comes from the Lord!

Today, I fight a different warfare.  The war is to have the peace of Christ reign over my health, family, money, job, tools, food and future.  I take two lessons from Exodus 14: 13-14:

1.       Do not fear.
2.        The Lord will fight for you.
3. I  surrender all the war zones to the Lord and keep still.  Victory comes from the Lord!

The reason for the pruning

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.  He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that dos he prunes so that it bears more fruit.”  (John 15: 1-2)

When I read the above scripture this morning, I remembered at once a scripture that has today become one of my favorites, James 1: 2-4:

“Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Now I know that the trials in James 1: 2-4 and the pruning in John 15: 1-2 are the same thing.   I have reason to be joyful when I face various trials. 

The Lord God is a Master Builder.  He is also a Master Teacher.  Look at this scripture in Psalm 144: 1-2:

“Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.” 

So trials and pruning are methods of training “my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.”

The end product of the pruning, trials and training is a person that “is perfect and complete, lacking in nothing”  and ready for everything, like Paul in 1 Corinthians 3: 10 who says “According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder…”  My guess is that it took a lot for Paul to get to this stage.

The Hubris of David

“The king therefore said to Joab and the leaders of the army who were with him, “Tour all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba and register the people, that I may know their number.”  (2 Samuel 24:2)

What was David thinking when he gave the above order to Joab?  To know the true population of Israel?  To know the population of taxable adults?  Very unlikely as the story will reveal.  David had reached the pinnacle of power.  He is a powerful king inside and outside of Israel.  Now he begins to think:  “I did it by my own strength.”  Because God loves David so dearly, God gave him a way of escape from this temptation through the prophetic utterance of Joab:

“But Joab replied to the king: “May the LORD your God increase the number of people a hundredfold for my lord the king to see it with his own eyes. But why does it please my lord to do a thing of this kind?” (2 Samuel 24:3)

But David would not listen:

“However, the king’s command prevailed over Joab and the leaders of the army, so they left the king’s presence in order to register the people of Israel.”  (2 Samuel 24: 4)

Then he realized what he has done:

“Afterward, however, David regretted having numbered the people. David said to the LORD: “I have sinned grievously in what I have done. Take away, LORD, your servant’s guilt, for I have acted very foolishly.”^* (2 Samuel 24: 10)

But sin had already been committed and the penalty of sin must be paid.

What are the lessons of this story?  God had been with David in his entire crisis and had given him innumerable victories.  David himself composed psalms and songs in testimony to what God has done for him.  Yet he was tempted to believe that he did it by himself and could do it by himself again.  Nobody is above temptation.  David’s human weakness as this story illustrates is lust for grandeur.  He had also lust for flesh as we saw in the drama with Bathsheba.   But David’s greatest quality is to glorify God by his sins.  God is the Father of mercies and the God of all consolations who delights in showing His supreme power through forgiving the sinner.  David gives the Father this opportunity by his eloquent contrition.   O that we may learn this from David.

The Compassion of David

"The king was shaken, and went up to the room over the city gate and wept. He said as he wept, “My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son!” (2 Samuel 19: 1)

Everybody knows David as a man after God’s own heart.  Some also know him as the man who composed the Psalms.  Indeed, David has so many attributes.   In the above scripture, I see David in a light that I had not noticed before.  David is a man of deep compassion.  When Absalom embarked on an open rebellion against his father, he knew what would come to him if he failed.  That fate was expressed in this scripture:

"But the king asked the Cushite, “Is young Absalom all right?” The Cushite replied, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rebel against you with evil intent be as that young man!” (2 Samuel 18: 32)

Joab the army commander simply applied military justice to Absalom and executed him.  But David’s heart went out for a son who planned to topple and kill him.  It reminded me to the heart of God our Father.  No scripture brings out this lesson as clearly as the Parable of the Prodigal Son.  God loves us insanely.

The Crisis of David

"As David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, he wept without ceasing. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. All those who were with him also had their heads covered and were weeping as they went." (2 Samuel 15:30)

The conspiracy of Absalom presented David with a major crisis.  I read the narrative in the backdrop of a crisis.  I am deeply interested is seeing how David handled this major crisis.  First he wept and would not cease weeping.  Something would soon happen to convince him that he was facing a major crisis of faith.

"As King David was approaching Bahurim, there was a man coming out; he was of the same clan as the house of Saul, and his name was Shimei, son of Gera. He kept cursing as he came out,d 6 and throwing stones at David and at all King David’s officers, even though all the soldiers, including the royal guard, were on David’s right and on his left." (2 Samuel 16: 5-6)

Sometimes it takes two critical events happening back to back to make us pause and think.  First the rebellion of Absalom, then the open curse and abuse of Shimei made David realize that he was in a hot spot and that the Lord has a hand in this. 

David’s spiritual insight into the current situation is instructive to us:

"Suppose the LORD has told him to curse David; who then will dare to say, ‘Why are you doing this?’ Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants: “If my own son, who came forth from my loins, is seeking my life, how much more might this Benjaminite do so! Let him alone and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to. Perhaps the LORD will look upon my affliction and repay me with good for the curses he is uttering this day.”" (2 Samuel 16: 10 - 12)

The way David handled his major crisis taught me to put my very tiny crisis in perspective and trust completely in God.

Below is David’s prayerful response to his major crisis:

"A psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom. How many are my foes, LORD! How many rise against me! How many say of me, “There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah. But you, LORD, are a shield around me; my glory, you keep my head high. With my own voice I will call out to the LORD, and he will answer me from his holy mountain. Selah 6 I lie down and I fall asleep, [and] I will wake up, for the LORD sustains me. I do not fear, then, thousands of people arrayed against me on every side." (Psalm 3: 1-7)

Gift of His Presence

“Cast me not out from your presence and your Holy Spirit take not from me.”  (Psalm 51: 13)

After David committed adultery and murder to cover up the adultery, he prayed desperately with the words in Psalm 51.  Central to his wrenching prayer is the plea that God does not cast him from His presence and deprive him the anointing of the Holy Spirit.  Christians have come to realize that God’s presence in us and the gift of the Holy Spirit are linked.

God’s presence is sufficient for us in every circumstance.  If God is with us, we can endure anything.  We can accomplish any task.  God is the source of all inspiration and power.  His presence assures us of continuous flow of inspiration and power.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  (2 Corinthians 12: 9).   Rejoice when you consider yourself weak in any area or resource because you can call upon the sufficiency of God’s grace to come to fill you up.

God’s presence means sufficiency of God’s action in us at all times. 

“Cast me not out from your presence and your Holy Spirit take not from me.”  (Psalm 51: 13)

Enticement for the eyes

“From the roof he saw a woman bathing; she was very beautiful.”  (2 Samuel 11: 2)

What David saw from the roof of his palace one summer evening caused him grave trouble all his life.  When David got up from his siesta this evening, he did not intend to see what he saw.  He saw by  pure chance from the roof top a woman that was bathing in her courtyard.  This woman was oblivious that anybody was watching her.  It is a scene easy to imagine.  The woman was on the ground level and David was on the roof top of a multi storey building.  David’s problem started when he saw and lingered to see more.  Everybody occasionally sees what he never intended to see.  This is a fact of life and cannot be avoided. 

“For all that is in the world, sensual lust,^* enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world.” (1 John 2:16)

Things that entice the eyes will continue as long as man lives in this world.  Woe to one who succumbs to this enticement.  We are saved by Christ’s death and resurrection.  Our concupiscence wars against us all the same till the final breath.   The enticements or the lures are constantly searching for people with corresponding lust to jump into action.

Thanks be to Jesus Christ who has not left us without the means of working out our salvation in fears and trembling.  The Sacraments of the Church, the word of God and prayers are always available.

Name of Jesus Christ repeated billions of times a day

“ Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11)

In 1 Corinthians 1:2, Paul writes of “all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.”

I was knelling this morning during Mass when this thought occurred to me out of the blues. How many people call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ everyday and how many times a day is that Name repeated?    I followed up by asking myself:  How many times do I repeat this name every day?  I repeat the name of Jesus at least a hundred and fifty times a day and probably more.  I repeat the name of Jesus at least 60 times when I say the Holy Rosary.  The name of Jesus is the first word that I utter when I wake up.  I have had this habit for a very long time. 

Is it a coincidence that this question surfaced in my study of 1 Corinthians 1 this morning?   “How many times is Jesus Christ mentioned by in 1 Corinthians 1: 1 – 9?  Why do you think Paul uses this repetition in the opening of his letter?”  I answered thus:

9 times in 9 verses the name of Jesus is repeated.   Jesus Christ is the name by which we are saved.   The name of Jesus is the sweetest sound on earth.  Paul wants the name to be on the lips of the Corinthians all the time.  The Jesus prayer builds on this theme.  It is said that demons dread the name of Jesus.  We pray in the name of Jesus.   Any prayer made to the Father in the name of Jesus is promised to be answered.

People all over the world repeat the name of Jesus billion of times every day.   Think of the number of times the name is repeated in the Mass, in Rosary and other prayers always and everywhere in the world.    Millions of Rosaries are said every day all over the world.  Prayers rise up to the Father from millions of lips in the name of Jesus.   It makes Jesus Christ by far the most repeated and most popular name in the world.  No contest! Curiously enough, I googled the question of what is the most repeated name in the world before I started this Blog and found no answer.

No empty word

“For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”  (Deuteronomy 32:47)(NIV)

The word of God is a light to guide my feet in the Enterprise.  It is also food for my soul and a rich resource for my insatiable mind for truth.  But can the word put food on the table?

 

"When Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, he said to them, Take to heart all the words that I am giving in witness against you today, words you should command your children, that they may observe carefully every word of this law. " (Deuteronomy 32: 46)(NAB)

Why did I include Deuteronomy 32: 46 – 47 as my rhema in the Enterprise?

Delight in the Lord

“Find your delight in the LORD who will give you your heart's desire.” (Psalm 37:4)

God’s word is filled with sweet promises of the Father to His children.  I am fascinated with the above promise.

How do I find my delight in the Lord?  I yearn for the Lord to grant me my heart’s desires. 

I find my delight in the Father when I love the Son.  I delight in the Son when I keep His commandments.  He who loves the Father loves the Son.  He who loves the Son loves His mother.  I find my delight in the Lord when I love His word and dwell in it.  I love the Son when I love His body, the Church.

There is no one way to find my delight in the Lord.  But all these various ways add up to one big way: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all you soul, all your mind and all your strength.  Love you neighbor as yourself.  If you do this, you have fulfilled your part of the Covenant of Peace. 

A covenant is usually made up of two parts:  promise and fulfillment.  God promises that if I find my delight in Him, He will grant me my heart’s desires.  Now what are my heart’s desires?

My heart desires pardon for my sins, peace of heart, inspiration and power in my daily life; awareness of my purpose and means of pursuing it, protection from evils, enjoyment of the constant presence of God and provision for my daily necessities.   My heart also desires faith, patience, wisdom, humility, courage and a spirit of contentment and good health.

In sacred scripture, we find God’s covenant of peace expressed in so many passages in scripture.  My favorite is Matthew 6: 33-34:

“But Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”  (Matthew 6:33)

Spiritual Warfare 3

"1 When it had been reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and our other enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and that there was no breach left in it (though up to that time I had not yet set up the doors in the gates), 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us hold council together at Chephirim in the plain of Ono.” They were planning to do me harm. 3 I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am engaged in a great enterprise and am unable to come down. Why should the work stop, while I leave it to come down to you?” 4 Four times they sent me this same proposal, and each time I gave the same reply. 5 Then, the fifth time, Sanballat sent me the same message by one of his servants, who bore an unsealed letter 6 containing this text: “Among the nations it has been reported—Gashmu is witness to this—that you and the Jews are planning a rebellion; that for this reason you are rebuilding the wall; and that you are to be their king. 7 Also, that you have set up prophets in Jerusalem to proclaim you king of Judah. Now, since matters like these will reach the ear of the king, come, let us hold council together.” 8 I sent him this answer: “Nothing of what you report is happening; rather, it is the invention of your own mind.” 9 They were all trying to intimidate us, thinking, “They will be discouraged from continuing with the work, and it will never be completed.” But instead, I then redoubled my efforts. 10 I went to the house of Shemaiah, son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his house, and he said: “Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple building; let us lock the doors of the temple. For they are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to kill you.” 11 My answer was: “A man like me take flight? Should a man like me enter the temple to save his life? I will not go!” 12 For on consideration, it was plain to me that God had not sent him; rather, because Tobiah and Sanballat had bribed him, he voiced this prophecy concerning me, 13 that I might act on it out of fear and commit this sin. Then they would have had a shameful story with which to discredit me. 14  Keep in mind Tobiah and Sanballat, my God, because of these things they did; keep in mind as well Noadiah the woman prophet and the other prophets who were trying to intimidate me. 15 The wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul; the work had taken fifty-two days. 16  When all our enemies had heard of this, and all the neighboring Gentiles round about had taken note of it, they were very discouraged, for they knew that it was with our God’s help that this work had been completed. " (Nehemiah 6: 1 - 16)

The Book of Nehemiah strikes me as a great book to study the tactics of spiritual warfare.  I note with admiration how Nehemiah handles his numerous enemies whose sole objective was to prevent the completion of the wall of Jerusalem.  First, they employed lies to delay the job.  When this does not work, they used threats.  Nehemiah has the wisdom and courage of God on his side.  He was able to discern the tactics of his opponents and had effective answers to them.  This is a book and lesson to remember if God gives us a task to perform.  Reading and meditating on the Book of Nehemiah will bring some godly insight and wisdom to help fulfill our task.

Eternal Vigilance

"From that time on, however, only half my work force took a hand in the work, while the other half, armed with spears, bucklers, bows, and breastplates, stood guard behind the whole house of Judah 11 as they rebuilt the wall. The load carriers, too, were armed; each worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other. 12 Every builder, while working, had a sword tied at his side. A trumpeter stood beside me, 13 for I had said to the nobles, the magistrates, and the rest of the people: “Our work is scattered and extensive, and we are widely separated from one another along the wall; 14 wherever you hear the trumpet sound, join us there; our God will fight with us.” 15 Thus we went on with the work, half with spears in hand, from daybreak till the stars came out. 16 At the same time I told the people to spend the nights inside Jerusalem, each with an attendant, so that they might serve as a guard by night and a working force by day. 17 Neither I, nor my kindred, nor any of my attendants, nor any of the bodyguard that accompanied me took off our clothes; everyone kept a weapon at hand." (Nehemiah 4: 10- - 17)

What was I thinking of when I included the above passage as one of the PL scriptures?  Was I thinking of the diligence of Nehemiah as a virtue that is worth emulating?  Was I attracted to his wisdom and leadership skills?  I cannot remember but I know how the passage strikes me here and now as I opened it to blog on it.  I remember instantly what Paul wrote to the Ephesians about the necessity of putting on the full armor in the battle for life:

"10 Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. 11 Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. 13 Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. 14 So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate,15 and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit. To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and supplication for all the holy ones 19 and also for me, that speech may be given me to open my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, so that I may have the courage to speak as I must." (Ephesians 6: 10 - 20)

Nehemiah 4: 10 – 17 foreshadows in practice the lessons that Paul teaches the Church in theory.  The Christian life is warfare between the forces of darkness and light.  It is a serious business.  We must be fully armed and fully prepared.