Building a Life of Faithfulness

The first home that Christine and I owned we had built. We bought a lot from a couple who became our neighbors and friends, hired a contractor who was recommended to us, chose a floor plan and then floor coverings and fixtures. Then we watched as the house was built.

The second home that we owned was also new when we moved in. We signed a contract to purchase it from the builder, a member of the congregation we had gone to Oklahoma to minister with, while the house was under construction. We made some alterations in the floor plan and again chose floor coverings and fixtures. The next time we saw the house, construction was complete and we moved in.

In both cases, we made decisions about the construction of the house and then it was built, or in the case of the second house, the building was completed. However, after moving in we still had to make each house a home by personalizing it with our own decorating and living in it everyday.

As we come to the second half of Nehemiah, he has completed the rebuilding of the walls. Now he and the people of Jerusalem have to turn the city into a place where they can live.

When Nehemiah 6 begins, the walls Nehemiah set out to rebuild have been completed, but the gates have not been set in place. When Nehemiah 7 begins, the gates have been set in place; the building project is complete. The chapter goes on to describe the heritage of the people who have returned to rebuild Jerusalem. It then sets the stage for the remaining chapters of the book which describe the spiritual development of the city. The pieces of that development include:

• A commitment to the Word of God—chapter 8. Ezra, the priest who had led a group of exiles back to Jerusalem fourteen years earlier, leads a public meeting at which he reads the law of Moses to the gathering, and the people commit to living by the law.
• A commitment to the greatness, goodness, and grace of God—chapter 9. After committing themselves to the law, the people of Jerusalem confess their sins for not having obeyed the law and recognize the God who has delivered their nation from trouble again and again.
• A commitment to obedience—chapter 10. The people then promise to obey even the hard parts of the law.

Just as Nehemiah had to build a nation that committed themselves to our great God and his Word and to obeying him, we need to do the same. When we have rebuilt our lives after being broken, we then need to build a life of faithfulness.

While the rebuilding is hard—as we have seen with Nehemiah and the opposition and problems he faced–so is building a life of faithfulness. There will always be constant temptation trying to pull us away from God, but we have resources available to us to help us maintain our commitment to him. The final chapters of Nehemiah will help us understand these resources.

If A Person Dies, Will He or She Live Again?

On Friday, August 1, I held Bev Kenworthy’s funeral at Westwood. Many of you who are reading this know Bev as well or better and longer than I do. Bev is an extraordinary woman. She is one of those rare saints that if you are privileged to get to know will bless your life in the most amazing ways. Let me share with you in printed form some of the thoughts that I will share at her funeral.

She was already on the top side of 70 when I first met her in 1996. During all the time that I have known her and much if not all of the time that some of you have known her, her eyesight was failing. During those first years that I knew her, someone would print word sheets in large letters every week for her of the songs we sang in church that Sunday because whether we were using hymnbooks or projecting the words she could not read them. Yet she wanted to participate in the worship service.

Bev very seldom missed church, and she read her Bible and devotional books and prayed with diligence. When she could no longer read, she had the Bible and her devotions read to her. As her health began to fail, she could not get to church any longer, but as long as she was at home and able to do so, she would still get dressed for church and watch church on TV. She told me the last time I took communion to her that on those Sundays she would squeeze the juice out of grapes and use crackers to prepare communion for herself. She asked that day if that was okay.

When you live like that, you can face up to the question that Job asked: If a person dies, will he or she live again? That may be the oldest recorded question. If you fail to ask Job’s question, you miss one of the greatest blessings of life. Understanding the answer to that question will enable you to understand three great things that God wants us to understand.

Understand the Gospel. The Apostle Paul summarizes the Gospel as the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. The Gospel is the action God took through Jesus to restore us to the life he created us for that we lost when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. Through Jesus’ death, the penalty for our sins has been paid. Through Jesus’ resurrection, death has been defeated, and we receive the gift of eternal life. So even, Job could say, “I know that my Redeemer lives…”

Understand Your Reward. After suffering a life of persecution for Christ, Paul was at the end of his life when he wrote 2 Timothy, and said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Therefore the Lord will give me the crown of righteousness. Bev had marked in one of her devotional books this statement: “Because Christ lives, death is not a tragedy but triumph.”

Understand Grief. We will still grieve Bev’s death; her family will grieve her death. We, however, do not grieve as the rest of the world does who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). We will experience, grief, pain, loss when a loved one dies, when a special person dies. But we grieve in hope and look forward to eternal life.