General Audiences – Page 80

Series: Gated community living! Lessons from Nehemiah chapter 3

Hey there BCU Family!

As usual you have the option of listening to our podcast (click the BCU avatar below to listen), reading the notes or BOTH. In any case, we pray the podcast blesses you. If so, please thumbs up or leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy your study!

So…we have gotten a LOT of mileage out of a chapter that looked like it should be skipped! LOLOL! Just when you thought there was NOTHING else to talk about in Nehemiah 3, we have some interesting information here about the gates here.

gates-marked-1 — The ten very important gates of Nehemiah chap 3! Pic courtesy of FreeBibleImages.org

You really need your Bible as we’re going to skip through the chapter and talk through the importance of the gates that we rebuilt. Recall that they were burned by fire (Nehemiah 2:3) and with the wall, they needed replacing. The walls are for safety and protection and the gates keep the good in and the bad out. Let’s explore what these gates were and how they apply to us!

v1Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel.

The sheep gate is where the shepards brought in sheep and lambs that were brought in for sacrifice. Who is our Lamb? Jesus. Are we His people and the sheep of His pasture? (Psalm 100:3). Yes! Is Jesus the good Shepard? Doesn’t Jesus tell us He is the door and if we enter in, we are saved and find pasture? Did nor He lay down His life for the sheep? (Read John chapter 10 for these references). We can see how this gate directly points to Jesus!

v3But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.

This gate is where the fishermen brought their catches in to be sold. After we have been saved, we are fishers of men (Matthew 4:19). Something to think about here, when one goes fishing, you have to use bait. What bait are we using? The Word of God or our words? Any words at all? More importantly, do our lifestyles line up with the Word of God? Titus 2:12 says we should deny ungodliness, worldly lusts, LIVE soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. Your consistent Christ-like lifestyle is the “bait” the will draw people to Christ.

v6Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.

This represents the “old” or established way of salvation. Jesus made it plain. Repent. Be baptized every one in the name of Jesus and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:38). Moreover, once we are saved, we should LIVE life as Jesus commands. Where do you start? Luke 10:27 says to love God with all your heart, soul and strength and mind and love your neighbor as yourself. That’s the law in two commandments. If you love the Lord, as you seek to please Him you will not intentionally, willfully and consistently practice sinning. On top of that, if you love your neighbor as yourself, (and yes, you do love yourself–you take time to bathe, eat, etc., that’s love), you won’t practice doing anything wrong to others. The Word of God makes it plain–no loopholes or “new”alternatives for living God’s way. “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrew 13:8).

v13The valley gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits on the wall unto the dung gate.

There were several valleys surrounding Jerusalem and that reminds us that we will go through the valleys (tests, trials and tribulation) in this life. How do we conduct ourselves in the valley ? Some of these experiences can last for years. What are we doing in the valley? Who are we reaching? Who are we ministering to? How much prayer vs. complaining are we doing? While the valley experiences press you, the have a lesson (we need to ask God to show us what that is) and a purpose. “But the God of all grace, who has called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus after you have suffered awhile, make you perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you” (I Peter 5:10).

v14But the dung gate repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of Beth–haccerem; he built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.

This gate was where trash was dumped and burned. How does this apply to us? As we come out of the valley, and loading up on the Word, old ,tired, non Christ-like habits, attitudes and actions and thoughts are dumped or purged. Take away the dross from the silver and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer (Proverbs 25:4).

WHEW!!!! As we wrap up this podcast episode, we are reminded that God is awesome enough to speak to us in something as basic as a gate, yet leave us a powerful message and call to action. As we meditate on the Word, let’s work on applying what God said, so we can become more like Him. Amen? Amen!

Lord will, next time we are together, we’ll plan to go through the the remainder of the gates–you do NOT want to miss that!

Thank you so much for stopping by! If this was a blessing to you, please comment below and share it with someone–you’ll never know how the Lord may use you to encourage someone else! And if you have not done so, please like BlenCouragesU on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and Instagram! And PLEASE subscribe to the podcast on Stitcher Radio and iTunes. You’ve already done that? Then tell someone you love AND your enemy–I’m trusting they will soon become your friend! 🙂

Until we are together again, may God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you–and #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

10 Sep 201610 Sep 2016

BlenCouragesU10 Comments

Learning to take “no” for an answer.

Hey BCU Family,

I was asking the Lord what to chat about this week and the Matthew 7 came up in my heart. The Lord gave me this thought awhile back and impressed upon me to share it with you as a wonderful reminder that “no” can be a beautiful thing.

Let’s take a look at Matthew 7:7-11

v7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
v8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
v9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
v10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
v11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

While we should ask, seek and knock, focusing on verses 9 & 10, we have to ask God to help us discern if what we are asking, seeking and knocking for is not a stone or serpent. In our limited wisdom and knowledge, we see and desire many things! And while they may resemble bread or fish, it’s really a stone or serpent–we just can’t see it. Many times we ask, plead, beg, fast and pray for that something or someone that is NOT a good gift–and will bring us BIG trouble.

The earliest account of disobedience to God’s “no” is in Genesis 3. The highlights are the subtle serpent (hmm, see the correlation?) walked up to Eve and asked her about eating off the one tree God said NOT touch or eat from, lest they DIE. (translation: that was a clear “NO”). Naturally, the serpent discounted what God said, talked up the fruit and it’s benefits to the point where Eve ate it and gave some to Adam. Notice God did not take away the free will of Adam or Eve–they made the decision to disobey and had to suffer the consequences of overriding God’s “no”. Same thing for us–God tells us what we are to do and we can skip His will for ours, but there will be consequences. In the first couple’s case, the serpent (who used to walk) was cursed, now crawls on his belly and is an enemy of ours, Eve got us multiple sorrows, pain in conception and childbearing, along with husbands ruling over us, and Adam now had to work the ground in order to survive. Their consequences were passed down to us! Our decision making should be carefully considered as we do not know how we will effect our future or the futures of our families, friends and anyone we’d come in contact with!

Well, what about a situation that’s not a clear “no” in the Bible? The Word of God has us covered there as well. Turn to Joshua chapter 9. Once again, I will not read the entire Scripture, (please read it when you get a chance), but the mighty Joshua who led the people after Moses passed away and winning all these battles with God’s help, lost a big battle this time.

The Gibonites, who had heard of Joshua and what the Lord was doing through him, were afraid and wanted “asylum”. So these crafty folks, who likely lived within a few miles from Joshua, dressed in old clothes, beat up shoes, brought moldy bread, old wineskins, saddled up and came to Joshua pretending to be ambassadors from a far country, who needed protection–in fact they insisted that Joshua went into a league or peace treaty with these them. While Joshua inquired some more (obviously he was not sure he believed them–that was likely the Lord saying “no”), he eventually made a peace treaty with these slick enemies! Joshua 9:14(b) says “…and [they] asked NOT counsel at the mouth of the Lord”.

The point here is we need to seek counsel from God on that thing that looks good or seems harmless–and be prepared to take “no” for an answer. Is it easy or pleasant to hear “no?” Do we like our requests to be denied? Do we skip away with glee after a “no”, especially when it’s something you really want–that ministry, job, car, house, opportunity, person? While it may hurt now, in many cases, we will see up the road that God protected us from being stoned or bitten. As we look back over our lives, how many of us can tell the Lord thank you for the “no”? I know I can! GLORYYYYYYYY!!!!!!

As we prepare to wrap up, going back to Matthew 7, please understand that we SHOULD ask, so it will be given, seek so we can find, and knock, so it shall be opened–no doubt there! Just know that if what we are seeking, asking or knocking for what is not a good gift, we accept that with His grace. We do not want to keep asking for that opportunity disguised as a stone, that job that’s more like a serpent, right? Remember in Matthew 7:11, Jesus says, that if we, being evil (fallible folks striving for perfection), know to give good gifts to our children (you would not give a six-year-old your car keys or let your pre-teen only eat goodies and sweets) then how much MORE shall your Father (who made everything, all of us, knows the end from the beginning, what the best plan is for our lives) which is in Heaven give GOOD things to them that ask Him? Let’s trust God and wait on the good stuff, BCU Family! What do you think? We want to hear from you!

Thank you SO much for tuning in! Please like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and Instagram! And PLEASE subscribe to the podcast on Stitcher Radio and iTunes. You’ve already done that? Then tell someone you love AND your enemy–I’m trusting they will soon become your friend! 🙂

Until we are together again, may God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you–and #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

3 Sep 201610 Apr 2018

BlenCouragesU1 Comment

What kind of worker are YOU?! Spotlight on Nehemiah’s work crew!

Hey there BCU Fam!

Welcome back to our Nehemiah study featuring chapter 3! We’ve covered chapter 1 and chapter 2 in weeks prior and to be honest, initially I started to glaze over this chapter, thinking it was like the genealogies in the Bible, you know the ones you skip over sometimes? In looking closer, though with God’s prodding there is some good info to be gleaned! Let’s dig right in! Continue reading “What kind of worker are YOU?! Spotlight on Nehemiah’s work crew!” →

27 Aug 201622 Oct 2016

BlenCouragesU2 Comments

A Stew, a Stew! My Kingdom for a Stew!

LOVE this! WELL SPOKEN! Read this and be blessed, BCU Family!

Reflections in The WORD

And Jacob [cooked stew]: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: and Esau said to Jacob, “Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red [stew]; for I am faint”…
And Jacob said, “Sell me this day thy birthright.”
And Esau said, “Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?”
And Jacob said, “Swear to me this day”; and he [swore] unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and [stew] of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.”~ Genesis 25:29-34

BIBLICAL BACKGROUND

The Birthright was the privilege to be the one through which God would enact/deliver the promise He had made to Abraham to establish a holy nation/people. As the firstborn son, Esau was to inherit The Birthright…

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26 Aug 201614 Sep 2016

BlenCouragesULeave a comment

Room A203: BCU Family–Let’s save some money! Couponing part 2!

Hey there BCU fam!

We’re back with part 2 of 2 of our series in couponing/saving money with our special guest and my friend, Carolina native Tesha Brown-King. This amazing woman of God, wife and mom and I have been “cyber-friends” for years! We were recently blessed to meet in real life last month and we got to talking about coupons–it fascinated me, family and I wanted to share! Hey. who doesn’t need financial encouragement?

FB_IMG_1469542797782 — Save your goodies for hard times or bless someone else!

Remember, when we talk finances, we talk stewardship and that IS a part of the Word of God. We are called to be good stewards or managers over ALL things that God has given us (jobs, family, talents, gifts, etc.) In reality, ALL that we have is God’s–we just manage it–and at some point, we will need to give an account of our work.
Plus who doesn’t like to save a little money? And who knows, maybe the money you save can go pay down debt, a special project at church, charity, towards a vacation fund, savings account–you have several possibilities! Click on the icon to hear the goodness, check below for info, let us know what questions/comments you have, thank you for tuning in and #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU