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TRUST JESUS TODAY

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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Day and Night (07/10/14)
It came to pass, in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, King of Persia that Nehemiah, son of Hachaliah, received report of the plight of the Children of Israel who dwelt in Jerusalem. The Wall of the Holy City was broken down and the Gates thereof burned with Fire.

The Heart of Nehemiah was saddened and he Wept and Fasted before the God of Heaven many days. He prayed to Him that Keepeth Covenant and Mercy and confessed his Sins and the Sins of his father's house. Nehemiah pleaded for the God of Heaven to remember His People.

Now Nehemiah was the cupbearer of the King and he perceived his Sadness and inquired of him, 'Why is thy countenance Sad, seeing thou art not sick? This is nothing else but Sorrow of Heart.'

He was very Sore Afraid, 'Why should not my countenance be Sad, when the City, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the Gates thereof are consumed with Fire?'

The King asked, 'For what dost thou make request?'

Nehemiah prayed to the God of Heaven and responded to the King, 'If it please the King, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the City of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may Build it.'

The King replied 'For how long shall thy Journey be? And when wilt thou Return?'

With the Blessing of the King, Nehemiah journeyed to Jerusalem and there he surveyed the Damage.

After Nehemiah had fully assessed the Disrepair, he went unto the Rulers of the People of Jerusalem and told them of the Sadness of his Heart and the Blessing of the King. The Rulers said, 'Let us Rise up and Build.'

Thus the Rulers and all the Servants of God who dwelt in Jerusalem Rose up to Build. The Goldsmith, the Merchant, the Son of the Apothecary, the Priest, and the Keeper of the Gate all became Builders. Each man repaired a Gate or a Portion of the Wall. Together they laid Beams and set up Doors, Locks, and Bars to protect the Holy City.

While the Men of Israel worked to repair the Walls of the Holy City, their Enemies became Very Wroth and Mocked, 'What do these Feeble Jews? Will they fortify themselves? Will they revive the Stones out of the heaps of the Rubbish which are Burned?'

The People of Jerusalem prayed to the God of Heaven, 'Hear, O our God; for we are Despised: and turn their Reproach upon their own Head, and give them for a Prey in the land of captivity: and cover not their Iniquity, and let not their Sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to Anger before the Builders.'

With renewed Vigor they Built the Wall until it was Joined Together to the Half thereof. The people had a Mind to Work and made much Progress. However, the Enemies were Not Pleased with the Progress and the Stopping of the Breaches and conspired to fight against Jerusalem and Hinder the Work.

Therefore, they Set a Watch, Day and Night, and continued to Build the Wall. Now each Builder girded a Sword by His side in readiness to fight the Enemy. Each man Worked with one hand and with the other, he held a Weapon. They remembered that the Great and Terrible Lord was on their side and they fought for their brethren, sons, daughters, wives, and houses. And it came to pass that the Enemies knew that the God of Heaven had brought their Conspiracy to Naught.

Still, the Builders continued to Labor with a Weapon in one hand and one-half of the men held Spears from the Rising of the Morning until the Stars appeared.

********************************


As in the Days of Nehemiah, so it often is in the days of the Church of Christ. The report comes to us that the Walls of the Church have broken down and Her Defenses are low. A Man of God shares of the Sadness of his Heart before the King. The King gives his Blessing to Go and Repair. The summons goes out to Rise Up and Build. The Servants of the God of Heaven have a Mind to Work but the Enemy becomes Very Wroth and he Mocks, and Conspires. It is then time to Set a Watch, both Day and Night. Build with one hand and Wield a Weapon with the other from the Rising of the Morning until the Stars appear.

____________________________________________________________



Author's Note: This story was inspired by and taken from Nehemiah 1:1-4:23 KJV, with multiple direct quotes throughout the account.
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This article has been read 701 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Lollie Hofer 
07/19/14
I liked the flow of this piece. I think you've achieved your goal. Well done. And Amen to that last paragraph.
lynn gipson 
07/19/14
Very good writing here. I like your style. Keep writing...
Margaret Kearley
07/19/14
You outline and describe the wonderful story of Nehemiah well and then bring out a good application for our present day. Well done. Just a little red ink - watch out for use of upper and lower case letters and avoid over-capitalisation. Keep writing.
Jennifer Liang 
07/19/14
Having just studied Nehemiah this past year I knew it had a lot of direct quotes in it. Thanks for the clarification.
I liked the use of the topic to correlate today's time with the time of Nehemiah. I also had to look up the word "wroth" since it is not a word I have seen before. I do agree that you have used capitalization a little too much but other than that it was well written.
Joe Moreland
07/20/14
I love this piece. The Watch is one of my favorite stories in the Bible. I love that they prayed to the Lord their God, and set a watch. They didn't pray and then sit back and wait for God to take care of it. They didn't pray and Relax, they prayed and set a Watch. A good reminder that to serve God requires action, not only faith.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the capitalizations are part of the style you've chosen.

You're writing flows well and you did an excellent job of retelling one of the best stories in the Bible. Great job!
Graham Insley
07/20/14
I enjoyed this story and agree with you bringing its relevance into the present. It is an important spiritual message.

For me, the direct quotes were overdone and cause the story to loose originality. Like others I've studied this passage and felt at times I was simply reading a cut and paste.

I also dislike so much capitalization; which ends up spoiling those words which should be in capitals.

However, it must also be said that experimenting is a great way to learn and your writing skills still shine through.

This was an important message brought home in a well crafted way.

Blessings.
Bea Edwards 
07/20/14
I agree with some of the other commentators about the use of capitalization. Most of it seemed out of place in the context of the piece.

But the essence of your message is good.

Dee Kyalo
07/21/14
Nehemiah's story is one of my favorites and this article brings important and relevant reminders to the church and to individuals. Good job!
Jody Day 
07/21/14
Nice retelling of a great Bible story, and an insightful paragraph at the end. Nicely done!
C D Swanson 
07/21/14
Excellent job with this piece. I really enjoyed it and the way it was presented, well done!

I of course, enjoy any piece but especially Biblical referenced ones, and this one was truly enjoyable.

God Bless~
Judith Gayle Smith-Owens Vitouswykegardinerclark
07/22/14
Your closing paragraph summmed this wondrous brave story well. Thank you for reminding me that taking a stand for God is the only way to overcome our crumbling walls.
Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom 
07/23/14
I can feel your passion and desire to pass on your knowledge of the Bible with as many people as possible. I'll admit, I struggled a bit to see your personal touch in the story. I'd have enjoyed it more if you shared how this story has impacted your life in some ways. Another thing to consider is retelling it in modern English so that it would be easier for those not familiar with it to truly understand the wonderful message. It may just be me, but I wanted to share my thoughts . I felt like I was reading it directly from the Bible. I think you picked the perfect story for the topic. I did like the part after the stars and wished you had expounded more on that because I could see what you were saying. It's true that many of the ancient Bible stories are just as relevant today as they were then.
Larry Whittington
07/23/14
Jesus built the church so we know it is good. It is the people represented as being in the church that is the problem.

I liked the conclusion you arrived at and the OT illustration.

Keep writing and warning.