JULY 12, 2023 – Contagious Following

  July 12, 2023
  Daily Reading – Neh. 1-3 / Acts 13:1-28

 

 GOD’S WORD:

Nehemiah 3:1 Then 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.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        Watch a bunch of two-year-olds play for a while and you will notice something. There is often a toy in the middle of the room that has sat there for a long time, and not one child has shown any interest in it at all. Then, one of the two-year-olds finds it to be a fun toy to play with. The next thing you know, all the children want that toy. The toy has not changed from the time you walked into the room. What changed was that they saw someone else with it, and now they want it too. You might be saying, well that is just how two-year-olds are. I believe that is how most adults are too. It is sort of contagious following.

 

        Nehemiah is burdened with the idea that Jerusalem, and the people who relocated there, were not safe. The walls had been broken down and the gates were all burned with fire and destroyed. Twelve gates in all. What a daunting task for one man to take on. However, it would not be so challenging if he could get the others who were there to help him. Many of these people had been there for a while now. The gates and walls were lying in ruin. No one really did much to change that. That is until Nehemiah showed up with a burden for the city and a plan to rebuild it. He laid out a plan, explaining how if everyone built near their homes this could be done. Eliashib was the first to build. He led the way by building the Sheep-gate. Then, as if they all decided they were not going to be outdone, others joined in rebuilding Jerusalem. 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        What daunting task do you see in your church, or town. If you begin with prayer, asking God to lead you, you might find that once you start, there is a contagious following. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to pick up the toy in the middle of the room first.

 

What might God have you do?