BUILDERS OF THE KINGDOM
by Kathy Pegram

Let me ask you a question. Do you ever watch any sporting events where the announcers continually say that the player should do this, or he should have done that, or if it was me I would have done it this way? Those people drive me crazy! I usually end up saying, "If you know so much, why don't you go do it the yourself!"

Well, this is exactly how the church world has become. We have a lot of armchair quarterbacks, but very few players on the field. It's easy to sit on the sidelines and criticize, but how many have the guts to get out on the field and play in the Super Bowl for God? We want to talk about everything that is going on around us. We want to criticize the way things are handled. But, we don't want to involve ourselves. Nehemiah saw a problem. He not only saw a problem, he took steps to see what he could do about that problem. He saw that the walls and gates of Jerusalem needed to be rebuilt, so he got permission to go rebuild them. True, he ran into problems. There were people who tried to stop his work. He faced insults, threats and ridicule. The people working with him were growing tired, and some of them even grew afraid. But guess what Nehemiah did? He prayed, he encouraged, and he united his people. When he saw that his people were spread out along the wall, he devised a plan so that while half worked, the other half would stand guard. By following this plan, Nehemiah saw the walls rebuilt in 52 days. He didn't let the critics make him quit. He didn't let the bullies drive him away. He had a vision and he intended to see that vision come to fruition.

We as Christians need to help each other. There are times when some of us may be overcome with fear or weariness and we need others to look out for us. United a church will stand, but if Satan can cause division, he knows it won't be long before he will accomplish his goal to destroy that church. If we want to accomplish what Nehemiah did, we need to realize that we have to pray, persevere and sacrifice. Nehemiah was a leader. He didn't just run around stirring up everyone and then not doing anything. He saw a need, then he helped. I pray that we can do the same.

Love and Prayers,
Kathy