May the mumbling commence!
Do we pass the buck when it comes to wrong and sin? It is easy to do, but it is also wrong…
adding another wrong to the mix. Look at
Nehemiah and how he counts himself as one of the sinners in the people of
Judah. Read from Nehemiah chapter one:
In late autumn of the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes'
reign, I was at the fortress of Susa. Hanani,
one of my brothers, came to visit me with some other men who had just arrived
from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had survived the captivity and
about how things were going in Jerusalem.
They said to me, "Things are not going well for those who returned
to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of
Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been burned."
When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days
I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven. Then I said, "O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his
covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, listen
to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people
Israel. I
confess that we have sinned against
you. Yes, even my own family and I have
sinned! We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, laws, and
regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses.
Please remember what you told your servant
Moses: 'If you sin, I will scatter you among the nations. But if you return to me and obey my commands,
even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the
place I have chosen for my name to be honored.'
We are your servants, the people you rescued
by your great power and might. O Lord,
please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in
honoring you. Please grant me success
now as I go to ask the king for a great favor. Put it into his heart to be kind
to me." (Verses 1b-11a)
Nehemiah owns the disgrace as his own. He knows that he, too, is a part of the
problem. And he seeks the solution
through the Lord. Nehemiah is willing to
approach the king of Assyria unbidden.
He is willing to risk his life to restore the grace of Jerusalem and the
Temple. Wow!
It is men and women like this that make me want to keep
worshiping the Lord in the rightful way.
The Apostle Paul tells us in First Corinthians chapter fourteen that
this way is the way of order. Read it
below:
Well, my brothers and sisters, let's summarize what I am
saying. When
you meet, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special
revelation God has given, one will speak in an unknown language, while another
will interpret what is said. But everything
that is done must be useful to all and build them up in the Lord. No more than two or three should speak in an
unknown language. They must speak one at a time, and someone must be ready to interpret what they are saying. But if no one is present who can interpret,
they must be silent in your church meeting and speak in tongues to God
privately.
Let two or three prophesy, and let the
others evaluate what is said. But if
someone is prophesying and another person receives a revelation from the Lord,
the one who is speaking must stop. In
this way, all who prophesy will have a turn to speak, one after the other, so
that everyone will learn and be encouraged.
Remember that people who prophesy
are in control of their spirit and can wait their turn. For God is not
a God of disorder but of peace, as
in all the other churches. (Verses 26-33)
We have a God of peace, a God of order. Worship should number one glorify God and
number two build up the Body of Christ – the Church. Everyone who has a word of God on their heart
should be allowed to share, in turn.
Even as we wait on the Lord we also wait on one
another. Life, at times, seems to be
nothing but a long waiting game. Help us
to be patient and wait well. Help us to
learn and be encouraged.
Enough mumbling
for now…
Peace Out
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