Nehemiah 4:9 — “But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.”
At our Men’s Nights this year, we’ve been studying Nehemiah. He returns to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall — and immediately faces opposition. Enemies threaten, intimidate, and scheme. Nehemiah’s response is one of my favorites in all Scripture: “We prayed to our God and posted a guard.”
That’s it. Prayer and action. Dependence and responsibility. They didn’t choose between spiritual and practical. Instead, they did both. Some people only pray. Others only act. Faithful believers do both.
Jesus calls me to love people. He’s reminded me of what real love is over the past few weeks (in a powerful way).
After spending some time studying the definition of love (according to 1 Corinthians 13), it became clear to me. Love is far more than our experience of emotions or pleasant feelings. It is, in fact, ACTION.
The Apostle Paul used a compelling Greek word when he described love in Corinthians. That word was “agape.” Agape love is sacrificial, active, and far beyond words. Equally important, agape love is a determined act of will.
What is more, knowing what that kind of love is, the Bible teaches us that we are to “love with action” our fellow Christians. Not only them but also those who do not know Jesus as their Savior.
As we actively love the Lost, we also need to show compassion (Matthew 9:36). It’s crucial to always share the Gospel with them (John 3:16) and love them authentically (Matthew 23:37).
Jesus said in John 13:35: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” This week, ask yourself, “How is my ‘love’ life?”
All in all, do you sacrificially love your fellow Christians? How about actively loving the Lost around you with compassion and authenticity?
Proverbs 5:21-23 gives us a sober reminder: “For the Lord sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes.”
Think about the truth of that verse for a second. Without a doubt, we live in a world where it’s all too easy to curate a perfect image on social media. An absolutely perfect outward appearance. In fact, we edit our feeds and filter our photos. Along with that, we keep a smile on our faces and make our lives look picture-perfect. It happens not only online but also in real life. But, even if we fool our followers and neighbors, God isn’t deceived. He sees everything. Because of this, no filter, highlight reel, or act we put on for others can hide the truth from Him. We’ve exposed our motivations, mistakes, and struggles to the One who examines every step we take.
“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.” – Titus 3:4-8
