Tag: Nehemiah

As In The Days of Nehemiah

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While in prayer this morning, I was thanking the Lord for our nation, for our President, and praying for Senators John McCain and Steve Scalise, asking the Lord for accelerated healing for both men. While praying in this context, the Lord spoke to me and said, “President Trump is like Nehemiah”. I was stunned by what I heard and even told the Lord, many have called him a Cyrus type figure based on Isaiah 45, but I have not heard that he is like a Nehemiah. The easy connection would be the “build that wall!” chant, which took off during the campaign, but that is not what God was referencing. I was sensing based on the opposition he is facing, that he is like a Nehemiah. Last night when the evening news reported Jared Kushner agreed to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee and Donald Jr. has yet to say if he will or not, my thought was, this family didn’t go into politics for fame, fortune or this kind of trouble, so why are they doing this? Then this morning the Lord said to me, because President Trump is like a Nehemiah.

In order for me to understand more clearly what the Lord is highlighting to me here, I had to go and read the book of Nehemiah and what I learned is that yes, truly we are living right now, as in the days of Nehemiah. With the glasses of President Trump as a Nehemiah type figure, I read the book and here are just a few of the verses that confirmed biblically for me what I heard God speaking to me in prayer. I encourage you to read the book as well and see if you see the same thing, or something different that can bring more clarity to what I believe God is seeking to show us in this season of history.

  1. Nehemiah got word that the remnant were in distress and reproach, the walls were broken down and the gates were burned. (The next step would have been the city being destroyed, if someone did not repair the protective boundaries)
  2. Nehemiah confessed that this was due to the sin of the people of the land, it was our own doing. (Chapter 1)
  3. Nehemiah requested he be sent to the city to observe the situation and help rebuild the walls.
  4. Sanballat (one meaning of his name is the moon god gives life) and Tobiah (possessed gold, Ammonite, verbally attacked Nehemiah, actively tried to stop the rebuilding of the walls) heard about Nehemiah and were very displeased because someone came to seek the welfare of the people.
  5. Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem (name means rain of destruction) mocked Nehemiah
  6. Nehemiah answered them saying, the God of heaven will give us success; we will arise and build! (Chapter 2)
  7. Eliashib, the high priest arose with other priests and built the sheep gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors.
  8. Priests, people and royal officials all helped rebuild the wall. It was a project so big that everyone got involved. (Chapter 3)
  9. When Sanballat heard they were rebuilding the wall, he became furious, very angry and mocked them.
  10. Sanballat spoke in the presence of his brothers (the moon god worshippers) and the wealthy men of Samaria.
  11. Nehemiah said, we built the wall, for the people had the mind to work.
  12. Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem (the Arab) and all their people conspired together to come and fight against the rebuilding of the wall and to cause a disturbance in it.
  13. But Nehemiah and the team prayed to our God and we set up guard day and night. (Nehemiah 4)
  14. The people cried out saying, we’re dying here because of the financial burdens being placed on us.
  15. Nehemiah went to the governing officials and said, give the people back all that belongs to them.
  16. The governing officials said, we will give it back and will require nothing from them.
  17. “I also shook out the front of my garment and said, “Thus may God shake out every man from his house and from his possessions who does not fulfill this promise; even thus may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said, “Amen!” And they praised the Lord. Then the people did according to this promise” (Nehemiah 5:13).
  18. “For twelve years, neither I nor my kinsmen have eaten the governor’s food allowance.15 But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people and took from them bread and wine besides forty shekels of silver; even their servants domineered the people. But I did not do so because of the fear of God” (Nehemiah 5:14-15).

I could go on in the book of Nehemiah and show you how what God said to me this morning is very accurate, but you will have to see it for yourself. I am not making a political statement for or against any party, I am not even interested in being involved in politics, but when God showed me this today, I felt compelled to share it with you for your consideration. I believe we as believers need to lay down our red, blue or other political glasses and see what the kingdom is doing, hear what the King of kings is saying, and align ourselves with him. For me it is important to know the season we are living in historically, so I can be aligned with what God is doing right now. Based on what I heard in prayer and what I see here in the book of Nehemiah, I concur with God, as in the days of Nehemiah, so it is for us in America.

Summer of Shaking

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Turn on your television, go to the mall, meet a friend for coffee, go to church, everywhere, everyone is aware this summer has been and continues to be a summer of shaking. Someone will let you know about the latest attack, whether in Kabul, Afghanistan, Baton Rogue, LA, Dallas, TX or Munich Germany. The attacks are seemingly more often, more publicized and more unexpected. Shopping malls, peaceful protest rallies, random traffic stops, you name it, something unexpected is happening in the least expected places. If the shootings were not enough, we have weather patterns bringing intense heat which is producing wildfires, droughts and evacuations. Let us not forget the mosquito’s and the many exposures of people who have been involved in corruption being brought to justice and not being brought to justice. This is a summer of shaking, can we agree on that?

Most would say, yes this summer has been shaking, and many are trying to explain what the shaking is for, what brought on the shaking and what is God doing with the shaking. Depending on your biblical worldview, the shaking could be the judgment of God on the nations; it could be the consequences for our sin; it could be the days of Noah, which usher in the second coming of Christ; or it could be something else. I would like to present to you a potential something else thought as to what has brought about this summer’s shaking. I, in no way am saying this is the final word on the subject, but I do believe it is a word on the subject of this summer’s shaking.

Last week I was reading through the book of Nehemiah and I stopped at a friend’s house for our children to play, while there I shared with her this revelation and she added insight to it, which confirmed to me, what I was sensing was more accurate than I first thought. So, here is what I think the summer of shaking is possibly about.

In the book of Nehemiah, we see that Nehemiah was cupbearer to the king and he got word about the condition of Jerusalem, so he asked the king for permission to leave his post as cupbearer and go to Jerusalem. Nehemiah’s request was granted and resources were sent from the king and his kingdom to help rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and repair its broken down gates. My first thought is that Jesus, the cupbearer to the King, our Father, has gone to His Father, by making intercession for us and the kingdom of God has released resources for the rebuilding of the walls and gates around nations. I believe the shaking we are experiencing this summer is because heaven has heard earth’s cry for help.

Once the kingdom Nehemiah worked for, agreed to resource the project to rebuild Jerusalem, Nehemiah and the people began to rebuild the walls and repair the gates. Not long after they started this project, Sanballat and Tobiah, began to mock, ridicule and sought to dissuade them from rebuilding, but Nehemiah and the team could not be persuaded otherwise. My second thought is, Dutch Sheets and the Appeal to Heaven team, along with Lou Engle and the Azusa Now team and the many Pastors and leaders who met in Washington, DC for the Call prayer rally, have been the ones, along with intercessors worldwide and prophetic voices like Lana Vawser, Cindy Jacobs, Doug Addison, Kris Vallaton, and many others who are not known to the public have kept building with their words, despite the enemies mocking and ridiculing.

Finally, Nehemiah 4:7-8 it says, “Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry, and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion.” I believe this is why we are having a summer of shaking, because we have been rebuilding the walls of protection around our nation and nations of the world. This rebuilding we have been doing in prayer and prophesying, has made the enemy very angry, because heaven has sent resources to help us build. I believe what we are seeing around us is evidence of the walls we are rebuilding and the gates we are repairing.

The final scene before the wall is built and the gates are repaired according to the book of Nehemiah is a company of people who can pray, prophesy (build) and can wield the sword (word warriors). I believe the word warriors are being released for the finishing of the rebuilding of the walls of protection around our nation and other nations of the world. The enemy is increasing his attacks, because he sees how much progress we have made on the walls and the gates. Jesus is our cupbearer, He drank the wine of the wrath of God, so we could be redeemed, revived and renewed. Keep praying, keep prophesying, keep speaking life, the evidence of an enemy in the summer of shaking is proof we are near completing the rebuilding of the walls and gates around our nation.