Divide and Conquer

[S] Nehemiah 7:66-69 --
The whole assembly together was 42,360, besides their male and their female servants, of whom there were 7,337; and they had 245 male and female singers. Their horses were 736; their mules, 245; their camels, 435; their donkeys, 6,720.

[O] The immeasurable task of rebuilding the fallen wall of Jerusalem was not accomplished by a chosen few but by everyone taking ownership of their small portions to completion.  At end of the day, it was close to 50,000 people collaborating under the leadership of Nehemiah, rebuilt the wall.  Even the animals used were over 8,000.

[A] In both of my personal life (family, work) and my ministry involvement have run across mountains of load and burden and as I reflect on Nehemiah's journey of managing his own mountains lay ahead of him, I am strengthened and my soul replenished to move forward by divide-and-conquering instead of trying to take them all on by myself.  It is going to take deeper and intimate devotion with Jesus every day as well as taking the highest priority items and work on them one by one, at my current point it is my family's needs.  Some parts of the walls of my family have crumpled down and need to do some restoration works.  There's been simply too much going on and so I need a time out to re-assess, restore, and rebound (move forward).

[P] Dear Jesus, thank You for prompting me to take a time out now to re-balance my responsibilities in life and the calling You have for me.  I want to move my fulcrum toward my family and as I do that please shower down Your glorious grace while allowing my sensitivity to Your voice so I would clearly see, hear, and follow Your ways.  In Your precious name.  Amen.

Together We Can Stand

[S] Judges 21:24-25 --
24  The sons of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and each one of them went out from there to his inheritance.  25  In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

[O] The people from eleven tribes of Israel joined forces to remove corruption within the House of God's people even if it meant going up against their own brothers from Benjamin.  It was a painful process where they sought the Lord's guidance repeatedly to make sure they are not doing this out of their justification and/or anger.  As verse 25 mentions, in those days there was no leader to rule the land which resulted in wide-spread of corruption; that is when God's people came together to deal with the situation at hand.  As I envision the "sons of Israel departing" (verse 24), I see a wonderful picture of the brothers shaking hands, giving each other hugs as they reaffirm their unity of hearts for the purposes of God's ministry.

[A] The era I live in now is not much different from the time of this passage where everyone is doing what is right in his own eyes and that makes it more challenging to stand up for God's values; but I'm encouraged that by standing together with other believers in Jesus Christ, we can uphold His values.  Through the small group ministry at our church I am praying that God would grant such a community of believers.

[P] Dear Father, please continue to build up Your people who will come together like the eleven tribes of Israel in the midst of our church.  We are fighting a good battle and we rely totally on You to lead us into victory as we continue to strive unity of our hearts denouncing all the schemes from our enemy.  In Your name.  Amen.

Just Like a Jigsaw Puzzle

[S] Hebrews 11:39-40 --
 ³⁹And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, ⁴⁰because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect. 
(NIV) ³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, ⁴⁰ since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

[O] One of the requirements of completing God's promises in the midst of our community is for us to unite and collaborate to connect our own pieces with one another.  Individually, I am unable to see or receive the promise because I will only retain a portion of that.  It is like each of us holding on to a piece of the jigsaw puzzle where with that piece alone (or even with a few more pieces next to it, until all pieces are placed in their proper positions) I will not see what the whole picture looks like.  There will be a lot of trial-and-errors, efforts of changing approaches to find that perfect spot for that unique piece of the puzzle, and frustrations at times to persevere on one piece at a time.  God's "better" plan is to get us working together in harmony for the purpose of seeing His promise come to its perfect fruition.

[A] Just like all jigsaw puzzle pieces are equally critical and significant in completing the puzzle, each one of us is equally precious to bringing forth God's promise of His saving grace and I need not forget that especially when involved in ministry at church.  We're all doing this as a same team to bring out His plan and this is a good principle I need to keep reminding myself.

[P] Dear Father, Your secret sauce of completing Your wonderful promise only when we unite is so simple and yet effective because that "forces" us to collaborate.  Please forgive my forgetfulness of this simple principle when I'm caught up with so many things going on causing me to think I can do it all or at least think I'm more important.  I humbly bow before You to take reign in my life so as I collaborate with other saints in the Lord, Your promise will bear much fruit.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

When I Feel All Alone Taking All the Beating

[S] Romans 11:4-5 --
 ⁴But what is the divine response to him? "I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE KNEE TO BAAL."  ⁵In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God's gracious choice.

[O] God responded to Isaiah's question (almost a complaint out of fear) of why he is left all alone as a fugitive.  Isaiah just didn't realize the bigger plan God had of preserving His people according to His grace.  Even though he could not see himself, Isaiah was reminded that there are 7k other men who have sustained their obedience to God despite the oppositions prevalent in that society.  God not only knows where he was but also did not leave him alone to carry on the bigger task of God by also preserving more men.  This begs the question of how will they network and find each other without having facebook.com but even there, God is bigger than facebook.com!

[A] I am going to lift up my pastor because at times being in the frontline receiving all the beating may make him feel like Isaiah.  I want to lift him up so he will be uplifted from God's provision of fulfilling His purpose by sending more men with the same heart and spirit.

[P] Dear Father, please let my pastor be soaked up by Your uplifting message of strength through other men sharing the same vision and purpose.  Please allow him to be protected from all the spiritual attacks and may his heart be filled with the hope that comes from You.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.