The first chapter of Nehemiah ended with a single sentence:

Now I was cupbearer to the king.

In the second chapter we learn that the king must have liked Nehemah pretty well. The prophet states that he had not been said in the king's presence, yet the king knew that there was something wrong. And he cared enough to ask about it - and Nehemiah unloaded:

"Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?"

The king asked (Ellen's paraphrase), "so, what do you want me to do about it?" Nehemiah took time to pray and then asked the king to allow him to go rebuild Jerusalem.

Not only did the king let him go to rebuild Jerusalem, he sent him with letters that would let him pass through the lands safely, would let him get timber, and to build a house for Nehemiah to stay in, and sent him with officers of the army and horses! Why? Nehemiah tells us it was because, "the good hand of my God was upon me [Nehemiah]."

In the second part of the chapter, we find Nehemiah's enemies:

But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah, the Ammonite servant, heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.

Nehemiah went along on his way and inspected the walls, which were in a shambles. He made plans and gave a "pep talk".

Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision." And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me.

And the people were with him...

But not all...

But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah, the Ammonite servant, heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.

As Nehemiah's story continues, these guys show up again and again.

First, they make fun of him and his mission:

But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, "What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?

But Nehemiah continued in the Lord's work.

How does this apply us today?

Do you have a "mission"?  Something that the Lord has laid upon you?

Is there somebody who might jeer at you?

Is there any way that you feel like a "Nehemiah" today?

Today is the 10th International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted church.  There are parts of the world that I have no experience of, where Christians die for their faith.

Here is a list of countries where there are known human rights violations and/or severe discrimination against Christians.

This is my "beginning-ish" of November photo.

Down 2 1/2 pounds this week.

I said yesterday that the book of Nehemiah was written in first person; it's a book of determination and plotting, of steadfastness to God and intrigue. Because it's written in first person, I got into the first chapter and was reading it as a book read for "recreation".

Nehemiah is Scripture, and as with all Scripture, it is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

In chapter one we meet Nehemiah. He was in Susa, which still exists today in modern-day Iran. He would have come to Susa when the Jews were exiled, but he still had at least one brother in Jerusalem. "Certain men" came to Nehemiah from Jerusalem and Nehemiah asked them for a report.

"The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire."

Nehemiah wept - for days. He wept, and fasted and prayed...and repented. And He asked God for mercy.

"O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man."

Who was Nehemiah? He was the son of Hacaliah, brother of Hanani. He worked in the palace and was apparently on good terms with the king.

The first chapter concludes with a single line:

Now I was cupbearer to the king.

Winged sphinx from the palace of Darius the Great at Susa.

what does this mean to us?

Parts of Christianity are broken down.  Do we weep for the brokeness of Christianity?  Or do we seek to hide our heads in the sand with the make-believe story that things are "ok"?

In a time when false doctrine and false teachings abound, do we weep and seek to restore things to Biblical order?

How broken are we, for the brokeness of the body of Christ?

My lead teacher - Ann's mom was recently diagnosed with cancer and passed away Wednesday afternoon. Ann's aunt passed away yesterday. Even a strong Christian family is left reeling with a 1-2 punch like that. Saturday is the funeral, and it is also Ann's birthday. The family needs prayer.

Ann's parents are Christians and her dad requested that memorials be given to their denomination. This is becoming more common and (after a comment by coworker) I have a question.

If the denomination in question is not your own, do you (or would you) not to donate money in the name of a person who loved that denomination?

When my husband passed away, I did ask for donations to my church's youth group, for a specific project. While I didn't have this situation in mind (the not wanting to donate because of denominational differences), and while I realize that nobody would have told me that they were offended by the request, I do wonder, in hindsight, if that was the case.

Obviously, if it's a religion that is not Christian, it becomes a different question.

I'm in a women's Bible study and we're going through "Speaking Wisely" by Poppy Smith.  This week's topic was "gossip".  There was a lot of good material, but I think that "gossip" was not the point of the text.

The book of Nehemiah was written in first person - not usual for the Bible.  It's not a very long book, I'd encourage you all to sit down and read it from start to finish.  It was very encouraging at a time when I needed it.

It's not so much about gossip - although those who hated what Nehemiah was doing did use false reports to fight his work.  It's more about standing firm.

A lot of things were brought to mind and I'm going to be posting on it over a few days - right now - it's been a long day and I think I'm going to chill...

I want to be very clear that this post - in the end - is not about Ted Haggard. That subject has been booted around a lot. Some have sugggested methods and steps (protections) that should have been present in his life. Others have written that none of us should be surprised because any of us could be Haggard. Whatever his church and oversight folks do, I'd like to see it permeated with grace and mercy, with an eye toward repentence, followed by full restoration.

How could we have prevented this is the question that many people are trying to answer. Among Pentecostals, perhaps a better question is, more honestly, “why didn’t you see it” – for all of these apostles and prophets that claim to hear directly from God - this is a question that I have not seen addressed.

What I have yet to see explored has been the silence (pre-scandal) of those who partnered with Haggard. This is not "guilt by association" - this is partnership.

This entire “Haggard tragedy” says as much about the Apostolic movement than it does about Ted Haggard.

A while ago I wrote a post called "Today's Prophets". I noted back in January that today's "prophets" seemed to specialize in telling people that which they want to hear...that everything is going to be good, that we’re going to lose weight, that we’re not going to be alone.

We don't hear from the "Nathans" - who looked at David and told him "YOU are the man."

I said, "It brings doubts to my mind when we only embrace the “prophet” that tells us the pretty things."

The question that I'll ask at the end of this post is, "why didn't they see?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~

There is a "prophet": Haggard did not operate in a vacuum. Does the name C. Peter Wagner sound familiar? It should; Peter Wagner is the president of Global Harvest Ministries, which designed especially, but not exclusively, to meet the needs of leaders who have become a part of the New Apostolic Reformation.

Here are some of Wagner's words concerning "prophets".

As noted in these Scriptures [here is the article], prophets play a key role in the life of the local church. They are responsible to declare the word of the Lord. Their declarations bring direction and clarity of the purpose of establishing the body of Christ...

It is imperative that the authenticity of a given prophetic ministry be tested at its very outset in a local church...

A keen ear is necessary to discern the spiritual climate in a church and the issues currently being faced. Prayer and fasting causes prophets to be perceptive to the direction in which God would have the church to proceed. How can prophets declare a "word," unless they have heard a "word" from God?

His[Jesus'] consistent ability to discern a matter and then accurately address it was based upon His intimate relationship with the Father

There is a partnership: What does C. Peter Wagner have to do with Ted Haggard?

A lot.

Let's focus on the "World Prayer Center".  This is a public relationship that is documented by the Wagner.  On the World Prayer Center website, it says:

The World Prayer Center was birthed in a vision given to Pastor Ted Haggard on Pikes Peak while praying and fasting in 1984 [...]

In the 1990's C. Peter Wagner coordinated the launch of AD2000- the largest prayer movement in the history of the church- that linked over 40 million intercessors from 120 nations in united prayer. During that time, the Wagners relocated to Colorado Springs joining the vision and mission to build the World Prayer Center.

On Wagner's website:

Global Harvest Ministries was born in 1991. Doris and Peter Wagner were the parents and Luis Bush was the midwife. Those were the early days of the AD2000 Movement [...]

Through AD2000 we met Ted Haggard, pastor of New Life Church, and Ted challenged us to move our Global Harvest offices from California to Colorado Springs (where Luis Bush also had his AD2000 office), and partner with him in establishing the World Prayer Center.

This is NOT "guilt by association" -  this is an outright parnership.  Haggard and Wagner are not in mere association with each other, they are partners in ministry, on the same campus.  Haggard invited Wagner to come to Colorado Springs, with the express intent of partnership.

So, what's the issue?

As I said in January, we have self-proclaimed "prophets" running around, telling people only what they want to hear.  With these "apostles" and "prophets" in partnership with Ted Haggard - why didn't they see?

A prophet should be able to discern a matter and then accurately address it.  If these prophets are real, if they are able to hear a word from God and speak truth into a person's life...

Why didn't they see?

I'm feeling very grateful for extra credit.

97% on the last lecture test.  I'm sitting at a shade under 86%, so with two more lecture tests and two more lab practicums, an "A" is attainable.

(Have I mentioned that I don't want to be a perfect student...I just want all "A's"?)

This one should be a no-brainer

Proposal 06-4
A proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit government from taking private property by eminent domain for certain private purposes

The proposed constitutional amendment would:

• Prohibit government from taking private property for transfer to another private individual or business for purposes of economic development or increasing tax revenue
• Provide that if an individual's principal residence is taken by government for public use, the individual must be paid at least 125% of property's fair market value
• Require government that takes a private property to demonstrate that the taking is for a public use; if taken to eliminate blight, require a higher standard of proof to demonstrate that the taking of the property is for a public use
• Preserve existing rights of property owners

I found this here...

1. Your rockstar name (pet & current street name): Simone Emerald

2. Your movie star name (grandfather / grandmother on your mom's side & your favorite candy): Rhea Ghiradelli

3. Your "Fly Guy / Girl" name (first initial of last name, first three letters of your middle name): F Rhe

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal): Pink Cat

5.YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born): Rhea Lapeer

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 2 letters of mom's maiden name and first 3 letters of the town you grew up in.) Freelcalap

7. SUPERHERO NAME: ("The", your favorite color, favorite drink): The Pink Espresso

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first name of both your grandfathers): Robert Schley

9. FUTURISTIC NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne and the name of your favorite shoes) Chanel Sneakers

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother/father's middle name) Joyce David