Do you remember being challenged as a child? Double-dog dares, or God forbid the triple-dog dares with no backsies! God knows that desire in me keeps me going; it pushes me to do what I wouldn't allow in my comfort bubble at other times. It's that desire of being "the one" to have done that, or having accomplished that, or even to have just lived that.
Dead battery(jump-starters please)...
A young couple gave a message this morning at church. It was a great message that I needed more than I realized, at least until I found myself weeping, on my knees, at the alter. All the while not understanding what but knowing something had broken that had been strained under tension for far too long. The message that caused such reckoning? Repair the Breach!(At least that's my title for it) A powerful message about restoring the walls of our homes, our families, our lives. We, as God's children, joint heirs to the throne, and Christ's followers, are designed, but more like molded to do the impossible. This is where God's dare kicked in.
A Dream of dreams...
The passage they used? Nehemiah 1-6. An amazing passage of scripture about a nobody, or so he thought, that did the impossible because God chose him to. In order to keep from pasting 6 chapters the sum is that he rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem with only a handful of other families who half of the time could only work one handed, while carrying weapons with the other. Why is this important? It's not. Unless you want to change everything.
And the Lord spoke...
Fifty-two days it took Nehemiah to rebuild the walls in Jerusalem. Top to bottom, outside to inside, and brick by brick. In fifty-two days not only did Nehemiah rebuild the walls, but he also faced more in those few days than most do in a lifetime. He accomplished more as a Man of God than most cities do in a lifetime. Although he battled great things, his victory set the foundation for thousands of generations to come. Are you a generation changer? Let's try that again...are you, yes you, a generation changer?!
A challenge birthed...
Once I could pick myself up from the alter a clear message rang in my mind. What could I do in fifty-two days? These demons that seem to torment me day and night, would they leave? Would my marriage be better? Would the restoration begin or even be finished with my family(Both sides)? In fifty-two days what could happen? Could I change generations? Would I be marked as a Wall Builder? Whether it be committing to praying more everyday and working to fix the broken issues, or spending more time with your family doing things you normally wouldn't; or even weeping for God to reveal the broken walls in your life. It's time to repair the breach!
I quadruple-dog dare you(definitely no backsies)...
What can I do in fifty-two days? I can do everything! The walls of our homes(not physical)and lives are bombarded on a daily basis by outsiders, culture, the world, television, and the billion other things we allow to keep us from God; but what if they were all gone? Where could we be? What could we do? Who could we help? What could we say? How would we feel? If it took fifty-two days to re-do your broken walls would you do it? Will it be easy? Is reversing the natural spin of the earth easy?(probably not, unless you're God) It doesn't have to be easy, but it does require God. My generation, the generations past, and the generations to come are not just more groups of people to stumble across this planet groping through the dark. WE ARE WALL BUILDERS! We are designed, from the very core, to rebuild what was and is broken! Nehemiah worked from daylight to starlight. Dusk to Dawn. At night he stood watch as a guardsman. The scripture says for days he didn't lower his sword. Will you stand? Will YOU stand? For your family! For your church! For your generation! For your city! Your Nation! Your world! Will you stand, sword held high, declaring the victory of the rebuilt wall? Will you be a WALL BUILDER! Fifty-two day starts now! This generation, my family, my church, my LIFE changes today!
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