Tonight was our first Sunday evening fellowship in our new building!!! It was so nice to see people seated comfortably instead of lining the walls and trying to hear from the back hallway. Brian spoke tonight from Ezekiel 11:30. Several things caught my attention.

• God could just put us in the battle and zap us with strength and courage when we need it, but God doesn't seem to work that way. He delights in shaping people through pain and suffering and the embracing of the cross. He wants to transform us into the image of his Son, yet how often to we shy away from anything that might involve pain and suffering?


• God cares about people, not just about the work. God spent more time preparing Nehemiah's heart than he did rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.


• God is looking for people to both stand in the gap and build up the wall--people who both pray/intercede and work. Nehemiah and his people both built the walls and stood armed for battle.

What about you? Has the Lord given you a burden for someone or someplace? Have you given him time to develop that burden? Are there areas of compromise in your life? Is there something the Lord is calling you to do (praying or/and action)? Do you allow God to infiltrate your private life with a burden or are you "a professional"?

One of the keys of life is always staying desperate for the Lord.