Protection

Nehemiah wanted to rebuild the wall.

Nehemiah 2:17 Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace."

They started to rebuild and were ridiculed and plotted against.

Nehemiah 4:11 Also our enemies said, "Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work."

But what happened?

Nehemiah 4:9 But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.

and...

Nehemiah 4:13-15 Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows. After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes." When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work.

My Christian interpretation would go like this: Anytime we try to get back to God, to get closer to God, to strengthen our faith, to be more faithful, the enemy is going to try to stop it. We need to see the example set before us in Nehemiah and be on guard for the attack...being watchful, vigilant, and prayerful, while continuing to work diligently toward faithfulness.

Mismanaged to the nth degree...

Is it just me, or is the USA (mostly) run by a bunch of morons and populated (mostly) by the same?  The country is over 9 trillion dollars in debt!  The governments' answer for a slow down in the economy:  give everyone that filed a tax return a rebate check for 300-600 dollars?  What kind of answer is that?  Let's go deeper in debt?  Let's mismanage to even a greater degree?  Let's show the world what a complete bunch of idiots we are?  Oh my goodness.

Gas prices are too high.  What to do?  Oh, I know, let's do away with the gas tax at least temporarily?  Well, what are those taxes for?  Where does that money go...what does that money accomplish?  Where is that money going to come from if it doesn't come from those taxes?  Oh, I see, let's go further in debt...or rob Peter to pay Paul.  We'll pay back Peter later.  Good planning.

What plagues America that it has been reduced to a laughing stock?  Could it be that the whole political system is based on a popularity contest?  Could it be that anyone actually trying to deal with the real issues that the country faces has no real chance of ever being elected because changes of the magnitude necessary would require a complete restructuring of America and would likely impact just about everyone's current life style?  Is the problem now too big to address responsibly?  Must a new beginning be birthed from catastrophe?

My Christian Interpretation would be that countries rise to power and countries fall from grace.  What precedes the fall?  A distancing from God, and all things called holy.  A man reaps what he sows, and so does a country.

How old is the earth...

There are different Christian Interpretations of the age of the earth.  Some say the earth is 7- 10,000 years old.  Some say the earth is billions of years old.  If I am going to make a logical assumption, I'd guess the earth is in the billions.  If I am going strictly by faith, then it's a bit tougher, but still not impossible to come up with a number in the billions.  If you notice, the first verse of Genesis says this:

Gen 1:1 ¶  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

That whole 'in the beginning' thing is open to interpretation.  There is no morning and evening assigned to this particular creative act.  Therefore, I am not certain how long the earth existed before God created the 'light'.

Scheduling an appointment...

Ever wish you could make an appointment with the Lord God and have a nice sit down, face to face, two-way conversation?  I don't know about you, but I find myself needing guidance on a daily basis.  I so desire to make the 'right' choice, to do the 'right' thing, to say the 'right' thing, and I know, at times, that the only possible way I can be sure I am doing what is best, is if I could speak with God and have him direct me.  Yes, I pray.  Yes, I listen.  Yes, I read the Word.  Sometimes, though, I need more.  I need to be able to sit down and say "hey dad, I've got a dilemma.  What would you do in this situation?"  Then I need to hear His clear and precise response. 

Forgiveness...

I just finished watching the movie 'Into The Wild'.  It left an impression.  One thing really caught my ear.  To paraphrase, if you don't forgive, you can't love.  I thought how true.  They kind of cancel each other out, don't they?  You can't really love someone that you are holding something against.  In not forgiving, you reap the results.  Jesus said that if you didn't forgive men their trespasses, God would not forgive yours.  Now I think I get it.  After all, God is love, and he who lives in love lives in God and God in him.  If you aren't living in love, you might say that you are reaping the whole God not forgiving you in a way, because you are not able to walk in His presence in that state.  This comment by Jesus could well have been about the present, not necessarily judgement day.  There may be something huge here.  The keys to the kingdom.  What you bind on earth you bind in heaven.  What you loose on earth, will be loosed in heaven.

Everything that happens, happens for a reason...

When I first heard this comment, I thought of it in a positive light. In other words, everything that happens, happens according to God’s wisdom, will, and purposes. But then I thought of all the bad things that happen, and I know that statement can’t be a truism. What possible good reason could there be for rape, incest, murder, child abuse, etc? No, everything that happens does not happen for an underlying good reason or cause. Everything that happens does happen for a reason, it’s just not necessarily for a ‘good’ reason.  My Christian Interpretation would be that much of what happens, happens because of sin.

I do believe, though, that good can be a result of an evil or painful encounter in life (for those who believe), but evil cannot come from good. God is not the author of sin.

The wisdom of God...

Just a couple of examples of the wisdom and love of God. God says that we should not seek revenge. He says to leave that to Him (Romans 12:19…Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord). Someone might think that God loves to take revenge. My Christian interpretation would be that I don’t think so. God knows what revenge and vindictiveness feels like and what it does to a person and He wants to protect us from it. He knows that it is poison and asks you to hand it over to him…to rid yourselves of it...to cast your burdens on Him. In like manner, in the Old Testament God forbid the Israelites to eat fat (Leviticus 7:23…Say to the Israelites: ‘Do not eat any of the fat of cattle, sheep or goats’). The fat belonged to God. Why? Was it because God coveted the fat for Himself? Did God so love the fat of animals that He didn’t want to share it with us? Today we know that the fat of animals is not healthy. Once again, God was trying to protect us. This is the theme throughout the Word of God. Is not every commandment of God really an attempt by God to help us, to protect us, to bless us?