Bible
Study: Nehemiah 2, 1 to 8. And Luke 9, 57 to 62.
The book
of Nehemiah is one of the books in the Bible that tells a truly human story;
one that virtually everyone living on planet earth can properly identify with. It
is a story of how an ‘ordinary’ cup-bearer rose to become a Governor, a builder
and a defender of lost heritage. It is a story of how one man’s deep trust in
God and prayerfulness catapulted an entire nation from laughing stock to mighty
force. It is a story of a man who refused to look back, a man who would not
allow discouragement prevent him from accomplishing that which God set his mind
to do.
We all can
identify with the characters in the story of Nehemiah. From the King who was
compassionate enough to notice his cup-bearer looking unusually sad to the elegant
Queen just sitting beside him making those ‘tiny’ suggestions, to the
cup-bearer whose heart was heavy as a result of the ruins of his fatherland. We
can see how one trained to take instructions suddenly became the one giving
instructions to the king asking for specific letters to be written for the
release of wood for the work and letters to be given to the Governors of the
region to allow work commence. Hmmmmm!
Nehemiah
represents a man who was called by God, yet had every reason to doubt himself,
had every force of discouragement but went along all the way to the end without
looking back. Nehemiah could have asked himself “Who am I to speak to the king?”
Nehemiah did not have previous training in building and constructions, he wasn’t
even in the army, neither was a high-profile government official but one thing
was that he did not LOOK BACK or LOOK DOWN on himself. He did not allow the
question of settling family issues come before his call. Note that this was the
problem with the man Jesus called in the Gospel passage. Jesus had to say to
him: “No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the
kingdom of God.”
Silence those
voices of discouragement today. Keep telling yourself “Yes, I can.” “Yes, I can.”
“Yes, I can.” People may say whatever they like about me but I know “Yes, I
can.” I may be a ‘no-body’ but I know that with God, I am somebody. This is
what Nehemiah was saying to himself as he went to the palace, this is what St.
Jerome was saying to himself when it took him eighteen long years to translate the
entire Bible from Hebrew and Aramaic to Latin.
We are
able to access the Bible in English today easily but just imagine what the
world would have been if somebody had not set out to translate it from its
original languages. For eighteen years, Jerome was indoors working day and
night, not sleeping much performing severe fasts that the world may read the
word of God.
St. Jerome
like Nehemiah was a busy person. They were not the type of people satisfied
with doing nothing, they worked hard and accomplished things for God’s kingdom.
Jerome who
was once a secretary to a reigning Pope was a man deeply committed to the
Scriptures. One of his favourite sayings which I guess you may have heard is
this: “Ignorance of the Scriptures is Ignorance of Christ.” He would also
saying: “The reading of Holy Scriptures should follow upon prayer, and prayer
in turn should follow reading.” Meaning that we should only read the Bible in
the context of prayer and prayer should normally lead to the study of the
Bible.
Read more
about St. Jerome at http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1154
Let us
pray:
Lord
Jesus, keep me busy for you. May I never be discouraged by challenges or
distractions of any kind as I give myself entire to the promotion of your
kingdom on earth. Use me in any way you wish regardless of my present status or
calling. Use me Lord. Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you.
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