Nehemiah and Ezra worked together to accomplish spiritual and practical reformation. When both infrastructures 
were completed they gathered all the people together and had a whole day of reading, praying and worshipping God (ch.8&9). The restoration process had begun. This process started with God and whilst they called on him they had great success. One of the spiritual weapons we have and must use often is that of corporate prayer. When the people of God gather together in one place and they are in one accord, God shows up, see Acts 2:1ff. This is because God honours his word, viz; “if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, pray, seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven heal their lands and forgive their sins” (2Chron 7:14). This is one of those if….then statements. And Ezra called the people to repentance in humility and prayer in sincerity and they all said amen or so let it be together. They would have remembered that the Psalmist had also reminded them that “when brothers lived together in unity, it is then that the Lord is bound by his words to command his blessings” (Psalm 133). Today if we remember to gather together in regular corporate prayer and praise, remember to honour the Lord with our substance, remember to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly before our God (Micah 6:8), then the Joy of the Lord will be our strength (Nehemiah 8:10) and we too will have great success in all that we do. Read Nehemiah 8 and meditate!
as we allow the joy of the Lord to be our strength
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Corporate Prayer, Foundations, Infrastructure, Submission, togetherness, unity
as we become the righteousness of God!
Nehemiah re-instituted the Laws of Moses as much as he could. Righteousness was being restored and the people of 
God had signed up to a new mandate. Everything we do starts with a thought and all of our actions are determined by our thought processes. So having the right thought process will result in the right actions. This was problem God faced when he delivered his people from bondage in Egypt. After 400 years of oppression, the oppressed loses hope and a sense of identity. They literally forget who they are, who they belong to or who they were meant to be. By getting them to take time out to be with the Lord, forming wholesome relationships and celebrating the festivals of the Lord, it was hoped that they would start the remembrance process. Nehemiah was indeed rebuilding a spiritual wall again, but this process of restoration would take a lot longer than the 52 days it took to build the physical wall. Today for us to rebuild the spiritual walls in our lives we need to understand and observe the festivals of the Lord and learn of their significance for all the people of God at our time in history. Since the first three feasts have already been fulfilled by the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, and with the wars, rumours of wars, earthquakes, diseases, tsunamis and nuclear contaminations occurring in so many different places, are we preparing for the feast of trumpets? God’s timing is always spot on, so like the Israelites who were preparing to leave Egypt, let us be ready with the right clothes on, the right attitude towards others and be in right relationships with our peers so that we are not left behind when he (Jesus) returns. Read Nehemiah 1:4-11 and pray like him.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Feasts of God, Justice, Last things, Mindest, Relationship, Repentance, Restoration, Righteouness
as we check them out before we let them in
Another major problem Nehemiah faced was that of inter-marriage with unbelievers. Now let me state from the offset 
that marrying people from other ethnic groups is not a problem, there is but one human race. The problem comes when the marriage occurs and there is no acceptance of Yahweh and one party continues to worship ‘other gods’. For Nehemiah the problem was so acute that it affected the community’s relationship with God. The person charged with taking the concerns of the people to God had allowed his grandson to marry the daughter of one of those people who vehemently opposed the building of the wall, Sanballat of Samaria. This was subsequent to the same priest Eliashib allowing another antagonist, Tobaih to rent a room in the temple and thus bring his idols right into the heart of where God’s presence was. The problem with inter-marrying was this, ‘which God took precedence at worship time’? We are faced with the same problems today. Boy meets girl, they fall in love get married and live happily ever after. However, if neither partner does their due diligence to determine who or what their perspective parents worship, we can have a recipe for disaster. This is why scripture tells us that we should not be unevenly yoked with unbelievers (1Cor 6:14). It does not matter how much you are in love, if you are not serving the same God the relationship will not last. Solomon and Samson tried it and it ended in tears for both of them. In fact Samson was blinded physically because of his love for a woman from the enemies of God.
So today, before you get hooked up, look up and ask for parental and divine guidance. Read Nehemiah 13:23-31.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Inter-marriage, Love, Order, Unevenly Yoked, unity, Worship
as we shut out distractions on our days with the Lord
To ensure that the Israelites did not get tempted to ignore the Sabbath, i.e. the day separated to the Lord, Nehemiah 
locked the gates to the city to shut out those who were selling their wares on the holy days. Those who do not understand the feasts and why they were implemented will wittingly or unwittingly violate them. It took just a few months being away from the people for them to violate the holy day of the Lord and the merchants did not want a second chance to sell to them(13:19ff). So what can we learn from this example today? Firstly, we need to protect the times we set aside to be with the Lord. Whether it is Friday, Saturday or Sunday, let us avoid distractions on those days and set it aside to worship the Lord. Secondly let us not be religious about the day, as Jesus said the day was made for man and not the other way around (Mark 2:27) i.e. you can reschedule. Finally, we are called to put God first in all that we do. This means that whatever talent we have we use it to bring glory to the Lord. So we glorify God if we are teaching in a school, working in a bank or putting parking tickets on cars as directed by the local authorities. Essentially we are to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all the things [you need] will be added to you also” (Matthew 6:33 paraphrased). If we fail to prioritise we will compromise. Read Matthew 6:25-34.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Glorify, Holy Days, Kingdon Principles, Seperation, Worship
as we bring back the feast of the Lord
We can get bogged down with work so much so that we make no time for the Lord. The majority of us have bills to pay, 
business to attend to and we need to find funds to make it happen. Unfortunately trying to make ends meet can become a never ending circle. We can end up living to work rather than working to live. This is what happened to the Israelites when they were in bondage, they worked from sun up to sunset, slept and then they were back on the job. The Lord changed this pattern and instituted the Sabbath. This was a day that people took off to be with their families in worship to the Lord. Suffice it to say that different people groups have added their own slant to the Sabbath. The Sabbath was a precursor for the feasts of the Lord. This was a time when God’s people would gather in worship of him and in remembrance of the great things he had done. They were instituted by the Lord and therefore should be acknowledged and kept. They all point to the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus and to his second coming (see Leviticus 23). So when Nehemiah is re-instituting the order of the Lord, he was getting the mindset of the people away from the treadmill and back towards what God ordered in the first place. The Lord wants his people to have true relationships with each other and to really care for one another. So when we meet to eat this allows us to be real and open. Today, let us take time out to celebrate God and have fellowship with each other. Read Nehemiah 13:15-22.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Feast of the Lord, Remembering, Rest, Sabbath, Time out, Work
as we protect the worshippers and intercessors and unblock our wells
One of the most difficult things that every believer faces is maintenance of their faith. Once our private life is ordered, 
that is, we are spending time with the Lord, reading his words and meditating on them, we can be tricked by the enemy. We must remember that from the creation narrative the most subtle of creatures was the serpent. It is still his job to subvert what God intended for us in the first place. In Nehemiah’s case, he went back to Susa to attend to the king’s business (13:6), since he was on a Sabbatical in Jerusalem bringing order to the house and to the city of God. In those days all travelling was done on horseback. So when he eventually got back to Jerusalem from Susa he found out that the person who was appointed to oversee the chambers was related to Tobiah and had moved out the vessels and provisions used to offer up sacrifices to God and rented the room to him. Having done all this work whilst fighting against the diabolical trinity of Sanballat, Tobaih and Geshem, it was being undone by an unsuspecting priest who was probably just helping out a cousin. It is evident that Eliashib the priest was just trying to help out his relative, however by not seeking advice from the man of God he brought one of the chief antagonists right into the centre of the house of God. Today as we build up our faith, it is imperative that we maintain it. Before we do anything, let us ask God about it first. Sometimes we may invite our families to stay with us and if we are ignorant of what they are involved in our ‘wells’ may be blocked up.
So what did Nehemiah do? He found out that the priests and singers had gone back ‘on the tools’, that is, they were in the field working instead of worshipping and interceding in the house of the Lord. So he ‘chucked’ out all of Tobaih’s things, cleansed the chambers and brought back the things of God into it (v.9). Is there anything or anyone you have brought into your house that is blocking up your well? Enquire from the Lord and when he gives you the answer, cleanse the house! Read 13:4-14.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Antagonist, Blindness, blocked Wells, Compalcency, Enquiring
as we build a spiritual wall around us
Once order is restored we must put first things first. Nehemiah tells us that Judah rejoiced over the Priests and the 
Levites who ministered (12:44b). It is interesting that Judah rejoiced or praised God. The meaning of Judah is “praise”. Judah was one of the tree tribes, along with Levi and Benjamin who did not rebel against Moses in worshipping the golden calf in the wilderness (Numbers 1:47ff). They worshipped the Lord instead. Let us look a bit into this. Jacob’s seven children with Leah had prophetic implications then and still do now. The first was called Reuben which means “behold” or to “look” in Hebrew. The second, Simeon means to “listen to”. The third, Levi means to be “Joined to” and the fourth “Judah” means “to praise”. After having four children Leah’s womb stops for a while. What are the significances for us today? Well firstly we must understand that God sees our hearts and knows our motives. Secondly he hears our cries and will listen to them. Thirdly he wants us to draw near to him so that he can lavish his blessings on us and lastly he wants us to praise him and to be ‘a praise’ for him. It was always God’s intention for us his people to Look to him, listen to him be joined to him and to praise him. When we fail to do this, we do not fulfil his prophetic purpose and declare his glory to the nations. Jesus was from the tribe of Judah and everything he did in his ministry brought glory and praise to God. Let us resolve that everything we do in our ministries will bring glory and praise to our God and will bring us near to him as his priests and kings (Exodus 19:6). Read Nehemiah 13:1-3.
as we take serious our responsibilities
Whatever you are appointed to do, you should do it with all your heart. Nehemiah took time and effort to ensure that 
all the bases were covered. After finishing the work he re-established the priests and the signers and assigned them to offer praises up to God on a regular basis. For him as it should be for us, repentance, contrition and confession must precede restoration. The physical restoration is only an outward manifestation of what is going on inside. The hearts of the people was warm and joyous. So they praised and thanked God for remembering them in spite of their short-comings and rebellion. One thing we can learn from the journey that Nehemiah went on is that there is a divine order and when it is followed, God shows up powerfully. If He did it for Nehemiah and his colleagues, he can do it for us today.
Pray with me; Dear Heavenly Father, I have not done what you called me to do, but from today I ask for your forgiveness and for your mercy. And I pledge that I will try my best to read your words on a regular basis, talk to you in prayer and praise you even though I have not received the victory as yet. Father God, hear my heart-felt prayer as I come to you covered with the blood of Jesus and therefore righteous, in the mighty name of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit, amen. Read Nehemiah 12:44-47.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Effort, Order, Praise Culture, Protocol, Restoration, Trust
as we ask the question, can I ‘bind’ myself with an oath to follow the Lord?
It is one thing to make a confession a put all your faults on the table, but a completely different ball-game to cut a 
covenant that,’ you will endure a curse if you default on the agreement you’ve made.’ This was the case with Nehemiah and the returnees from exile. They argued that since God had been so good in allowing them to come back to his holy city; to build houses and live in them and to worship him in a place where the weight of his glory was evident, they would sign an agreement enacting a curse if they defaulted. Could you do such a thing? We are so fortunate that we live in the period of ‘grace’ since we are reminded that ‘grace was given to each of us as Christ apportioned it’ (Ephesians 4:7). However, are we to be so arrogant that we deceive ourselves and live in perpetual deception? No, God forbid! Since we are heirs and joint heirs with Jesus let us put away falsehood, remember the oath we took at baptism, ‘I will serve you until death’ and return to the Lord in repentance. It is only then that we will avoid the curses that await all those who turn their back on the king of glory. I want to be like Nehemiah and say to God, to the best of my ability I will serve you, keep your commandments and will remember to set aside one day every week to devote solely to worshipping you! And moreover, ‘I will not neglect your house O God’, Nehemiah 10:30b. Please read Nehemiah 10:37-39.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Agreement, Confession, Covenant, Grace, Mercy, Weight of Glory
as we speak the word of faith as positive confession
One of my favourite scripture verses is takes from Romans 10:17 where the apostle Paul says this: “So Faith comes 
from hearing, that is, hearing the good news about Christ.” (NLT) And our faith will rise when we speak the words of Christ to ourselves. When a child hears a word that tells them they can, they generally do. And we are no different from the little child. We need to hear positive affirming words. So speak the word of faith to bring hope into all and every situation you face!
We come to realise then, that there are two types of confession, positive and negative. One brings bad news and the other good news. When we hear any news it affects us. For example, when we hear that we have been successful in an examination, we are elated and want to tell all those close to us. Similarly, when we hear that we may be suffering from a malignant disease, we can become withdrawn and lose the will to live.
Today the word to live by is this; speak words of life repeatedly to yourself, print them out, stick them to your wall and recite them. Place your faith not in faith, but in the giver of life. That is in Christ Jesus. It is he who has the words of life; it is he whose words raises the dead, heals the sick and causes the lame to walk. He said ‘My words are Spirit and they are life’ (John 6:63). Nehemiah understood this principle and shared it with all his peers. Positive confession starts with praising God. “Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.” (Nehemiah 9:5b-6); and ends in the name of Jesus. Negative confession start with a moan and end with how hard ‘done by’ you feel. Words are indeed powerful, so you chose the ones you receive in your spirit. Read Nehemiah 10:28-39.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Belief, Breath of Life, Faith, Fear, Fearlessness, Transcendance, Words
Pastor Bell's Words To Live By 