More from Nehemiah

Here are a few more things that I have learned from Nehemiah.

Nehemiah builds a stone wall and this reminded me of the importance of guarding our hearts. We should have a wall around our hearts. It shouldn’t be a wall that is unbreakable that won’t let anyone in, but a gate in which God has the key. In the temple of the Israelites, the Holy of Holies was the most inner place. Only the high priest could go in once a year, and this day was called the Day of Atonement. We should let God be the guardian of our hearts in such a way that He is the only one who should be able to enter the Holy of Holies of our hearts. We should open up to others as well, but that takes prayer and discernment from the Lord.

“Above all else guard your heart, for it is the well spring of life.” –Proverbs 4:23

When trouble came, Nehemiah had the builders using tools in one hand and weapons in the other hand. This reminds me that we need to be clothed in the armor of God as we are serving Him.

Belt of Truth: Just as the soldier had his loin belt to put on every day to keep his armor together, we must apply the Word of God to our lives on a daily basis or we will not be able to maintain our defenses. The belt was the first thing that the soldier put on.

Breastplate of Righteousness: When you walk in the righteousness of God, it is a weapon of defense against all those slanderous accusations, and outrageous strategies of the devil. The Bible declares that the heart of man is prone to be tempted according to Matthew 26:41. We are righteous in God's sight because of what Jesus has done for us. Right thinking and doing right are the part righteousness that we are to protect ourselves with.

Helmet of Salvation: The greatest battlefield is in our minds. This is the area that the enemy wants to attack the most. One key area he wants to damage is our assurance of salvation.

Sword of the Spirit: Our sword of the Spirit is the word of God. When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, Jesus quoted His Father's words and spoke them with authority. Consequently, each Word was like a sword-blow to Satan's head! God has given us the authority to use His words because we are all ambassadors of Christ.

Shield of Faith: In this verse, the Roman shield stands for the faith of the believer in the promises of God. The value of faith lies not in the person exercising it, but in the person whom the faith is in.

Feet Fitted: Offensively this peace will help you to stand with your feet planted firmly on the Word of God and stay there, unmoved by the devil's threats and lies. It will protect us when we walk through the rough places and keep us steady in the heat of a battle.

Love,
Amanda

Nehemiah's Prayer

I have been reading through the book of Nehemiah and I have been learning a lot from it.
Nehemiah prayed and truly relied upon God to help the wall get built.

Nehemiah’s Prayer:
"O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.
"Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.'
"They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man." –Nehemiah 1:4-11

Notice that he started out the prayer by PRAISING God, even through tough circumstances. It is easy to praise God when we are prospering, but so often when I am going through trials, I either get angry at him and yell or think that He is not with me. This reminds me that God is to be praised to matter what, because even when we change and our circumstances change, God does not. He is holy, loving, and merciful. He deserves our praise at all times. We praise God when we win. We praise God when we lose. Then, Nehemiah confessed sins. This reminds me that it is so important that we bow our hearts in humility towards God and talk to Him about our sin struggles. He loves us and wants to hear from us. Then, after Nehemiah has praised and confessed, he asks for God to help the people. Does this give us a model for prayer? I think so. Even in the Lord’s prayer, forgiveness and for God’s will to be done is prayed BEFORE anything is asked for.

How many times to I worry about everything, and if I am worrying, do I really trust God with my entire heart? Nehemiah truly sought out God and reading about his struggles is teaching me that I need to be praying more and stop trying to rely on my own strength.

I will write more about what I am learning from Nehemiah in the weeks to come.

Love,
Amanda

Fireflies and Stars

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." -Matthew 5:14-16

When night comes, the stars shine. When the sky is the darkest, the stars shine the brightest. Even if there are only a few in the sky, I notice them more than I notice the darkness, and I never cease to be amazed by this part of God's creation.

I think that fireflies are very pretty. There are more than 2,000 species of them. They come out at night and glow. Even when they are caught and trapped in a jar, they do not stop shining.

In the same way, remember that you are a light for God in a very dark world. I am a light for Him in South Africa, just as you are light for Him wherever you are. You do not have to cross the seas to be a missionary, you just have to see the cross. Wherever you are, you are a missionary. You have a ministry, and that ministry is your new life in Christ. Never stop letting God use you to be a light to those who are hurting and also remember to let others be a light for you as well. Just as stars shine the brightest in the darkest night, when life seems to be the most troublesome, people will notice God's love the most. If you feel trapped like a firefly, remember that God uses people in their weakest moments to testify to how powerful, merciful, and loving HE is, so do not for a second believe the lie that you are not able to minister to others, because through God's strength you can. He doesn't call the eqipped, He eqips the called. Just as there are many different types of fireflies, we are all different but all Christians have the same light of Christ within us and we are to be unified under the same God with the same task: the task of testifying to the Gospel of God's grace.

Love,
Amanda

Mountains

I have been learning lately that God is fully capable of moving mountains in our lives, and at other times He leaves them there so that we can climb over them and realize how strong HE is. Sometimes He makes a path so that we can walk straight through them, while at other times He brings us around them. He makes the path, but we must take the path. How many times we are on the other side, yet still cling to it, when we should be living in the victory of Christ?
I just made it through a long night and day. The all night prayer service was interesting. It was definitely out of comfort zone, but Jesus crossed cultural, political, and gender boundaries to bring the Good News to a lost world. We had a blessed time baking cookies today for the Valentine’s Day outreach, and it really was a beautiful picture of the body of Christ working together as we decorated cookies, cut out Bible verses and put the bags together.

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

Pressing On,
Amanda

Hello from South Africa!

I am currently homesick and not happy, but I am trying to remember that God calling me to South Africa is not about me, but about Him, doing work for His kingdom, and bringing Him glory. “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” -1 Corinthians 10:31 There are three stages of culture shock, the first one being the Honeymoon stage. The second one is called Loneliness in the Valley and I think immediately went to this one. Happiness is fleeting but there is an eternal joy that we have through Jesus Christ. Orientation was very challenging because we were not allowed to have contact with anyone in the States. I was very homesick, but God used that challenge to bring me closer to HIM! My entire life became a prayer walk and I spent time with Him several times a day, because I had to rely on Him. I am realizing how stubborn His children can be. Why does it take Him bringing us to our knees through trials for us to realize how much we need Him? I am now in Mafikeng and getting settled in with my missionaries. I am tired all of the time and EXTREMELY homesick, but God is blessing me with little moments of joy, such as feeding a Giraffe, watching FIVE people get saved at youth group, laughing about the strangest things with my partner, and hearing interesting stories from my supervisors. God uses these moments to remind me why I am here and to refresh my spirit. Trials are temporary, but God’s love is eternal, and God shows us His love through Jesus Christ, through drawing us near to Him when we are tempted, and in many other ways.
“Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own.” –Matthew 6:34
“Be wise in the way that you act towards outsiders. Make the most of every opportunity.” –Colossians 4:5
“Look at the nations and watch and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your day that you would not believe even if you were told.” –Habakkuk 1:5

Pressing On,
Amanda