“Time to rebuild”- chapter 21

Sometimes we don’t miss a voice until it goes silent. At the end of the Old Testament there is a period of 400 years often referred to as “the silent years.” Years without any prophets or leaders whose words or lives were recorded in Scripture. Years where there was no voice from God. But before the silence, three rebuilding projects were completed; God’s temple, God’s City, and God’s people. God used the lower story of three godly men to move His Upper Story forward. Our promise keeping God would set the stage for the coming of His promised Redeemer. His plan to restore His creation was about to take a giant leap forward. But first the rebuilding.

The first wave of returning exiles rebuilt the temple; the 2nd and 3rd waves under Ezra and Nehemiah rebuilt the walls around Jerusalem and the hearts of the people. Nehemiah’s desire was that they rebuild the wall around Jerusalem for protection. God’s greater desire was to rebuild the hearts of his people.

One hundred and forty years had passed since God’s people had assembled as a nation united. Reunited again, the first thing the people wanted was to hear The Word of God. They knew they needed to refocus on God and to re-center their lives on His Word. They wanted to align their lives with God’s Upper Story; they wanted to join Him in what He was doing and they wanted to do life with God, not apart from Him.

Ezra read the Scriptures, the Levites interpreted it. (Apparently, some people had loss their ability to understand the Hebrew language.) Levites formed small groups throughout the crowd making sure the people understood what was being read. “They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being said.”

This is what The Story is doing for us; it’s making God’s Word clear so we can understand what God is saying. The Story helps each of us to refocus on God and to re-center our lives on His Word; to align our lives with His Word; to join Him in what He’s doing and to do life with God, not apart from Him.

So Ezra read the Word of God to the people. When they heard God’s Word they were broken and repented; their hearts were broken over what they had been missing; they wept at not having heard God’s Word; and as they heard His Word they were deeply grieved by their past rebellion and disobedience. They heard the word. They understood the word. They obeyed the word. And God rebuilt His people.

You can hear God’s voice in the same way these people did; through his Word. God’s Word can and will rebuild your life. God’s Word can refocus your heart on God and re-center your life on His truth. Hear His voice and align your life with God’s Upper Story; join Him in what He was doing and do life with God, not apart from Him. It all begins with hearing His voice.

Malachi closes out the Old Testament with God’s message of warning and of promise. Malachi prophesied the return of the prophet Elijah as a sign of things to come. God had restored His people and protected His faithful remnant. He had protected Judah’s royal line in keeping his promise to David. God speaks His final words of warning and promise through Malachi, and then God was silent. These are His final words for 400 yrs. God’s people would not hear from Him again until the promised Elijah would step forth as God’s next messenger.

Malachi is the last person to speak before the close of the OT. He tells us that the next prophet who is going to speak for God is going to introduce us to the One they’re waiting for; the One who will provide the once and for all solution for getting us back to God. The next prophet, one like Elijah will introduce us to the Messiah. Malachi foretells that the next time God speaks (which will be 400 yrs. later) it will be through the lips of John the Baptist, the one who would prepare the way for Christ to come.

It’s time and you’re the one- chapter 20

There are times when a set of circumstances come together, and some people call it Coincidence, others might call luck it the roll of the dice, and others would say someone is behind the scenes pulling strings; A God incidence or divine providence.

If we only look at Esther’s life from her Lower Story we see a myriad of coincidences; but when we view her story from God’s Upper Story we see the hand of God providentially delivering His people and fulfilling His promises. Often when we look at our Lower Story we see coincidences, but when we view our life from God’s Upper Story we see God- incidents; God sovereignly orchestrating His plan; we see His providence.
Do you see your life as a Coincidence or God-incident?
Proverbs 16:33 tells us- “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.”NIV “We may throw the dice, but the LORD determines how they fall.” NLT

Our first takeaway from Esther is- God is still working even when we cannot see His plan; in the darkest hour, on the brink of ethnic cleansing and facing a potential death sentence for approaching the king, God’s plan of redemption continued. And you and I today can have confidence that through divorce, identity theft, cancer, or whatever, God is still working even if we can’t see His plan.

Oddly enough throughout the book of Esther you will never find the name of God mentioned. Not once. The book of Esther is the only book in the Bible where the name of God is never mentioned; but He is present and He is sovereignly working out His plan. God uses the faith and commitment of Esther and Mordecai to move His Upper Story forward.

Our 2nd takeaway from Esther is- God works with and through His people; seeing your life as part of God’s story; living each day knowing that your story fits in God’s Story.
Mordecai understood this and he and Esther lived it. Remember Mordecai’s immortal words to Esther?
“If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” Esther 4:14

Mordecai sees that Esther is not in the palace due to some random roll of the dice. God has an Upper Story, a plan to keep Israel alive, and he will do this one way or the other. His Upper Story cannot be thwarted. God has positioned Esther in an unlikely place for a Hebrew orphan girl, not because of her beauty, but because God wants to use her to accomplish his purpose for such a time as this.
It’s the time and she’s the one- and Esther gets it; she knows that God works with and through His people; she sees her life as part of God’s story.

God is sovereign, He’s working even when I can’t see it and He works with and through His people; my story fits into His Story, He’s positioned me for His purposes.
Friend; It’s the time and you’re the one- live each day with this thought playing in your heart- “It’s the time and I’m the one”.
You may never be in a position where obeying God is a matter of life and death, like Esther. But for the Christ follower, each day is “for such a time as this”- You’re part of His royal family “for such a time as this”. Each day God wants to move His story forward by using you and your lower story. It’s the time and you’re the one.

Each day as your lower story unfolds realize that God is still working even when we cannot see His plan. Your lower story coincidences may well be Upper Story God- incidents. As His child, any time can be the time, so walk out each day realizing it’s time and you’re the one.

It’s the time and you’re the one; imagine the places you go and the things you do that can reflect Him and His love; the everyday ordinary people who you can reveal His redemptive plan to.
Imagine what can happen in our families, our neighborhoods, our workplace, our schools, our city, our nation, if we live each day realizing that “it’s the time and I’m the one”.

There are Some Things Worth Finishing- chapter 19

A few years ago we replaced the deck at our cottage and as we were hauling away the lumber I had this great idea. I could use some of the 2x6’s and 4x4’s to build a flower bed around the mailbox out by the road. I’m not real handy that way but I was excited. I could see what it would look like and how I could put it together so we could have this great flower bed and the mailbox would look great all summer. I sure was excited- at first. The lumber is still piled up alongside the garage. But this year…

A number of years ago we were in St. Paul MN and I saw an infomercial for a “cardio-glide”; the perfect piece of exercise equipment. It would work the heart, the lungs, the upper body, and the lower body. Wow, imagine what I’d look like in a few short weeks. Susan would be impressed, my friends would be amazed. I ordered it, it came, I got excited, I gave it a try. But now it’s in the basement with the ab roller and the stationary bike, and every once in awhile when I walk past them I get excited about jumping in and going after it- but…

We have a huge box full of pictures; pictures of our children and their lives when they were little. Years ago we took all these family pictures and put them in shoe boxes by year. We bought a set of new photo albums to put them in. We could see each album set aside for a specific series of years, or maybe an album for each child. We were excited and we still get excited about the idea every so often.

I have a collection of unfinished projects. There are some books and some repair projects. Things started but left unfinished. Do you finish everything you start? I imagine not. And to be honest, some things aren’t worth finishing.

But don’t think, even for a second, that you can put God in your collection of unfinished projects. For starters, he isn’t a “project.” Besides, he’s not going to sit on a shelf contentedly waiting for you to give him your attention once the kids are grown or the retirement is funded or other tasks are completed.

The Israelites learned that lesson the hard way. They returned from Babylonian captivity to rebuild the temple. They started strong but in time turned their attention to other endeavors. What was important to God became unimportant to them. Sixteen years passed without any work being done on the temple. So God allowed drought and downturns and difficulties to come upon them. And he said, “Give careful thought to your ways” (Haggai 1:5, 7).

God is either the main thing in your life or he is nothing. He is not simply one option among many; He’s not an app you can turn to on your i-life when you need Him. At the end of the day, each of us are responsible for our own schedule, our own priorities, our own relationship with God. Either God and His stuff is the main thing or my stuff becomes the main thing and His stuff remains in the basement.

C. S. Lewis wrote, “If we put first things first, we get the second things thrown in; but if we put second things first, we lose both the first and second things.”
It wasn’t original with him. Jesus said that the best way to live life is to keep His main thing the main thing. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God . . .” (Matthew 6:33).

The Jews eventually got back to God’s priorities and took part in one of the greatest works of heaven. You can too. There are some things worth finishing.

Chapter 18-There Will Be a Day When You Feel Like You “Fit”

Sometime after Adam and Eve committed their world-changing act of disobedience in the Garden of Eden, I can imagine Adam walking with his young sons Cain and Abel. They happen to pass by the ruins of the Garden of Eden. One of the boys asked their father, “What’s that?”
Adam replied, “Boys, that’s where your mother ate us out of house and home.”

A lot happens in Scripture following the time Adam and Eve took that bite of fruit that gave mankind perpetual indigestion. As a result, they attempted the first cover up. But since their leaf loincloths were not very practical, God sacrificed an animal to clothe them. The pair was banished from the Garden and began life anew as exiles away from their homeland.

It wasn’t the only time God’s people lived as exiles. They spent a few summers in Egypt. Then more wandering in the wilderness of Sinai. Later, the Babylonians captured the nation of Judah and deported its people to captivity. The first group deported included the young, elite men who would be trained as leaders. In that group were Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Shadrach, and Azariah. They were given the Babylonian names
of Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego. (If you decide to give your child a Babylonian name, you might try “Intobedwego.”)

While in exile these young men lived powerful, purposeful, prayer-filled lives. They remained on a diet that helped them find more energy than other workers. They prayed to their God when they were told not to. They were bold to do what was right regardless of the obstacles placed in their path. And they made a difference.

It may be difficult to put yourself in their shoes, but according to 1 Peter 2:11-12 those who follow God today are exiles too. Peter writes: “Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the Gentiles that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

You may have days when you just don’t seem to “fit” in this world and that’s a good thing. It’s simply because as a child of God you don’t. You were made to live with him. Until we are home in heaven, you and I are exiles. Until then, we have things to do. We can add some good to this life so that others can get a glimpse of God. We can make a difference.
According to Peter there will be a day God will “visit” us. That’s when the exile will end. And that’s when you and I will “fit.”