Nehemiah chapter 4 verses 1 -7                 Nehemiah's   faith in God and his love for his people is impressive -- and this, in spite of hardship and opposition. Opposition from outside and discouragement from inside, yet the task of rebuilding the wall was complete in only fifty-two days.       There are some great lessons for us to learn from chapter four, beginning in the first three verses:       Here is this man, Sanballat, who heard about this band of Jews rebuilding the walls and he was angry. He ridiculed the Jews. He spoke to his associates and the army of Samaria, no doubt with a tone of ridicule and sarcasm: "What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble...?"  Tobiah agreed: "What they are building - if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones." Let's learn this: I

Why is it important to be an overcomer? Either you set the pace or others will set your pace. We can love each other but we also have to like each other.  You can’t be married to someone and say you love them and not like them.  Once the romance wears off, and real, everyday life sets in, you make a choice daily to like and love the person you chose to be married to. Perfect love casts out fear.  Nehemiah had to step out and pick up God’s love.  This didn’t take away the circumstances or difficulties, but God’s love helped Nehemiah overcome the fear he had. How do we tell who is a born-again Christian?  See the Book of Acts.  Christians have love one for another. The lifestyle choices we choose determines how we live.  Whom we choose to serve will impact our lives - either fear or faith. If we sow envy, bitterness, strife, fear we will reap this.  If we sow mercy, patience, peace and love we will reap this.  What we sow, determines what we will reap in our lives. A lot

Scripture References:  Nehemiah Chapter 1; Ezra Chapter 10 Walls.  They are important.  Why?  Walls give protection and security. Nehemiah had inquired about how the Jewish people were faring in Jerusalem and was saddened to learn that although much had been done, the walls were not.  This meant that the people were exposed, enemies could easily strike and those living in Jerusalem had no protection. Nehemiah went before God in fasting, weeping and prayer.  He confessed the sins of his people, family and self.  He asked God for guidance and  assistance to move forward with a plan.  Nehemiah is compassionate in his care about others although he lived in a good place.  This brings to our attention that we too, should have concern for how our brothers and sisters in the Lord are living?  Do they have what they need? Although buildings are NOT the Church, they are a representation to the community of who we are.  How we care for the property we are entrusted with will be an example