Devotional Book For Tallahassee

For the past couple of weeks, I have dedicated myself to preparing a month long devotional book to address the specific needs of our Corps here in Tallahassee. It is a study on the book of Nehemiah, since we are attempting to change the entire face and structure of our church here in town. I'm going to post a couple of the entries on my blog just to see what people think. The corps will hopefully begin using it for the first week of July. Here's how the book starts off. (anyone requesting a copy please let me know, there's a limited suplpy) HAHA!

"Let The Re-building Begin!"

Scripture: "I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me. They replied, 'Let us start rebuilding.' So they began this good work."
- Nehemiah 2:18

There is no better story then the story of Nehemiah to reflect what is happening to the Tallahassee Corps right now. This book of the bible is littered with examples of leadership, vision, opposition, submission, perseverance, repentance and revival. Phew! That's a lot of themes for one little book! Let's have a short history lesson:
This book takes place during 445 BC and shows the third and final exile to Jerusalem. Zerrubabel (a great grandfather of Jesus) led the first return in 538 BC and Ezra led the second return in 458 BC. Thirteen years later a wealthy man by the name of (you guessed it) Nehemiah, felt God telling him to lead the third exile to Jerusalem and to rebuild the walls around that city. Why was rebuilding the wall so important you might ask?
The wall around Jerusalem represented more than just a structure. It acted as protection, as shelter and as a symbol of unity within that city. The wall provided a place for God's chosen people to grow spiritually together. Within those walls a place of prayer would exists and everyone within those walls would have the same beliefs about God and his direction. It was a special place, a place of God. Sounds like a church to me!
Nehemiah had been hearing people say that the wall could not be rebuilt, that the opposition was too strong and that the mess was too big. They just didn't know where to start.
God tugged at Nehemiah's heart and placed a passion inside of him to lead the movement back to Jerusalem. It wasn't easy, but he left his great paying job with the government and with permission from the King began leading the reconstruction of the wall.
You would think that Nehemiah would have no problem doing this and that everything would be a piece of cake. After all, it was God's plan. He actually ran into many trials and tribulations both outside of the city and inside of it, but he kept his cool. He addressed every problem in the same way. Nehemiah's pattern for success went a little like this.

Recognize the problem - Pray - Act

This is one of the things that made Nehemiah so incredible at leading and delegating. He would see the problems for what they really were and then he would take them to the Lord in prayer. After praying, he would take immediate action. His leadership, passion, obedience and consistency paid off in the end. Through God's strength they completed the "impossible" re-construction of the Jerusalem wall in 52 days!
Pray that God will lay His will upon your heart. If you are a member of this Corps, God has a purpose and a plan here for you! Pray that He will open your heart and give you a passion to rebuild the Salvation Army of Tallahassee. Maybe even in 52 days! You never know! It will not be easy, in fact Satan will find many ways to get us down but God is bigger than all things. Never forget that. Join us as we dive further in Nehemiah. Have a blessed day!