Author: Rick Henderson

Rick Henderson is the Associate Pastor for Students.

Heavy

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 1:5-8  (day seven)

… and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. vs 7

Is your heart heavy this week? We grieve the loss of a young mother in our congregation to cancer. We grieve the loss of a young father who was assassinated for speaking his conservative (and often Christian) beliefs. There were murders in trains and shootings in schools. To make all this worse, social media has been wrought with division as people seek to make death political.

In the midst of the heaviness of death, there is a spark of life. There is a call being made to unification. There is a call being made to boldness. There is a call to kindness. There is a call to love.

For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. vs 8

Do you want to be useful in this call? For us to be effective in loving the world around us in such a time as this, we need to invite the Holy Spirit to instill in us a desire to increase all these qualities of a complete faith. If we increase in these things, we are promised Jesus will increase in us. If Jesus increases in Us, we are promised that Jesus will increase in the world.

Precious

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 1:1-4  (day seven)

For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises. vs 4

Precious; a word that derives an image in our minds. Maybe it takes you to a Precious Moment figurine, a precious jewel, or maybe if you are a Tolkien nerd like me, you hear the voice of Sméagol saying, “My precious!” The language is meant to draw an image. Even if Peter had no clue that we would connect the image to a fantasy fiction series, he clearly wanted us to see that God’s promises are immensely powerful and intensely personal. These are characteristics of God that He reveals to us in our faith and through His promises.

These promises are magnificent. When we see them come to fruition, we realize that it was greater than we ever could have dreamed. He is Immensely Powerful. Yet, like a jewel, much of the value is found in its rarity. He does not hand out promises like a politician trying to win favor with the people. He gives you a promise at the moment you need it so that He can show you How great He really is. He is Intensely Personal. You are precious to Him, and so His promises are precious to you.

Profane the Sabbath

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 13:15-22 (day seven)  

What is this evil thing you are doing, by profaning the sabbath day? vs 17

Many Christians will claim verses such as Romans 6:14 to attempt to diminish the importance of the Law, especially as it pertains to the Sabbath. Some may even go so far to say that Jesus abolished Sabbath laws. However, Jesus claimed to be Lord of the Sabbath in Mark 2:27-28 and said that the Sabbath was created for us. Though it may be true that we do not need to follow the Sabbath laws to the fervor by which the pharisees attempted to follow it, by no means is there anywhere in the Bible that would condone the abolishment of the Sabbath from our lives.

Why do we continue to profane the Sabbath day?

Working in youth ministry, I see the mistreatment of the Sabbath on full display. Baseball tournaments, musicals, and weekend trips have filled our parents’ schedules to the point that our most faithful students are attending Sunday morning worship and Bible study twice a month. What does that say about our less frequent attenders? We need to reclaim a Sabbath in our lives, not so that we might claim a better average attendance, but so that our people might find rest in the Lord, rest in each other, and rest from the world. This is why God ordained a Sabbath.

Everyone is Invited

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 12:40-47 (day seven)

God had given them great joy, even the women and children rejoiced. vs 43

This celebration was not reserved for select individuals or VIPs. It wasn’t even reserved for just men, as would be normal for such an occasion in these days. The joy of the Lord fell upon the entire assembly as intergenerational, multicultural, and gender diverse worship exploded across the land. That shouldn’t surprise us, because that is how Heaven is going to be!

I wouldn’t be a youth minister if I didn’t see the importance of youth being in age and gender specific groups for certain functions such as Bible study and accountability, but when it comes to worship, diversity in age, gender, and culture lends itself to joyful and Spirit filled worship. Everyone is invited and encouraged to worship as one body, and when we do, we see a glimpse of what Eternity will be like. Worship in Heaven isn’t siloed.

Cursed

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 10:28-30 (day seven)

… taking on themselves a curse … vs 29

Though they were taking on an oath to walk in God’s law, there was also a curse attached to the oath. If they failed to walk in the law of the Lord, they would fall back into the same cycle that has plagued these peoples since the beginning of their history. The Israelites abandon God, face punishment through foreign domination, cry out for help, and then are rescued by a judge, king, or prophet appointed by God who puts things back in order.

The curse is more of a promise from God. When we attempt to do things our way instead of God’s way, we will become more susceptible to corruption from the enemy. It is not that He chooses for us to be punished for our disobedience. Rather, our disobedience creates a disconnect between us and God that opens the door for further disobedience. It does not begin with full on abandonment of God. It is little choices of trying to do things our way that gets us in to trouble. We think we do not need God, and in turn attempt to become our own god. That is when the promise becomes a curse.

Pray

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 9:1-3 (day seven)

Did you know that Nehemiah 9:5-38 is the longest recorded prayer in the Bible? There are songs and psalms that compare, but of the specific prayers in Scripture, none can top this Levitical confession. Yet, this prayer only takes about six and half minutes to read aloud in the english translation. If you have not read the prayer this week, go ahead and do so now.

Rejoice always;  pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

What does it mean to pray without ceasing if Scripture only exhibits short prayers? Praying without ceasing is next to impossible. Living your life in an attitude of prayer is entirely possible! Like a quiver full of arrows, we should be able to reach back shoot up a quick prayer at any moment of the day. God wants us to pray about all things little and big. Those arrow prayer will help us achieve an attitude of prayer in our daily life. “Prayer does not need to be long to be glorious and effective.” -Guzik

Hear and Understand

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 8:9-12 (day seven)

because they understood the words which had been made known to them. vs 12b

This was not the first time the Israelites had heard the laws from Scripture be told to them, but this was the first time they heard The Law in a way that touched them to the core.

As we wind down the summer, I reflect back on Impact Camp. Something special happens at camp where students hear and understand scripture on a level that touches them to the core. The speaker is saying the same thing that we tell them every week, the Holy Spirit is the same God, and their Bible is the same Bible. What makes camp so special? Separation, Saturation, and Expectation. They are separated from their normal pattern of life, saturated in Scripture all week, and they expect for God to do something big.

What if it wasn’t just camp? What if we saturated ourselves in Scripture all week? What if we were to walk into Sunday morning Bible Study and Worship with the same expectation as youth do for camp? What if it wasn’t just something we checked off the box? What if we really listened to understand the sermon instead of just hearing another word? Maybe we too will weep. Maybe we too will be filled with the joy of the Lord. Expect for God to do something Big!

What Are You Praying For?

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 6:10-19 (day seven)

So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. vs 15

Fifty two days. A feat that can only have been accomplished with divine supplementation. Yet, God did not physically assist in the building of this wall. The supplementation is a direct result of the supplication of Nehemiah. As has been stated in the vlog and other posts, Nehemiah spent 4 months in prayer before ever starting this project. He prayed for more than double the amount of time it took to build the wall. The fight began on his knees before the Lord, and God rewarded his supplication with wisdom and favor.

What are you praying for? We have a tendency to pray for the things that are directly in front of us, but what is coming down the line that you need to pray for now? If we wait until the moment is upon us to begin praying, we will miss out on valuable time to begin to fight. Even if you do not believe something is coming that you need to pray for, go ahead and get on your knees now, and ask the Lord to guide your steps. Imagine what the Lord will begin to do when we all our praying in unison for the future of our lives and His church. Revival is near!

Controlled Anger

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 5:6-13 (day seven)

I was very angry. vs 6a

Anger in and of itself is not sinful. Christ modeled this for us in clearing out the Temple and multiple times with the Pharisees. There are things in this world that break the heart of God, and for those things, we have a right to feel anger. Exploitation, injustice, unrepentant sin, idolatry. It is comforting to know that God condones controlled anger of such things. What God does not condone is a hasty response to anger. That is when anger becomes sinful.

Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding,
    but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly. Proverbs 14:29

Anger, when controlled and consulted, is an attribute of wisdom. In recent days I have seen much anger in the world. Some is warranted, some is driven by hate, most is not controlled. What about you? Have you been angry? How have you responded to anger?

One last word: This week I was watching Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood with my sons and a song came on that resonated with me, “If you feel so mad that you want to ROAR, take a deep breath, and count to four!” Nehemiah, followed this as he took a moment and consulted with himself (and the Lord). So how about for us, if you feel so mad that you want to ROAR, take a deep breath, and take it to the Lord!

Discouragement

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 4:1-8 (day seven)

Now it came about that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry and mocked the Jews. vs 1

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me!” Were you ever told that growing up? I understand that the people in my life that tried to get me to believe that really were trying to help, but that may be the biggest lie I was ever told. I have had broken bones. They healed. Yet, all it takes is one negative word and I tail spin into a funk of discouragement, connecting the dots of every other negative word anyone has ever said to me. The sting of words may not hurt as much as the broken bone, but the impact may last longer. Words can hurt!

Discouragement is the devise of the enemy. Quite the opposite of faith which believes the promises and love of God to be true. Faith is hope. Whereas discouragement feeds off negativity and allows us to forget the promises of God. Discouragement believes the worst.

Although it is the opposite of discouragement, faith is also the weapon against discouragement. Just like Nehemiah and the Israelites building the wall, we must press on believing and knowing the promises of God are true. Sticks and stones may break down the walls, but the Word of God has told me to trust in Him. His Word is stronger than any insult or stone that may come flying our way.