From Rubble to Restorationنموونە

Accountability

There’s an old saying, “When the cat is away, the mice do play.” This is what happened with the people in Jerusalem once Nehemiah left to go back to Babylon. Before he left, the people had confessed their sins, made God their number one priority and were adhering to His commandments, as laid out in the Book of the Law of Moses.

When Nehemiah returned, he was dumbfounded at what he saw. First of all, one of the priests had let some guy keep his household goods in a storeroom of the temple. That would be like you storing your furniture and clothes in the baptismal at church. Seriously, who would do that? Temple workers stopped manning their posts and neglected their work. Merchants began selling fish and items on the Sabbath, a day that was to be holy. And finally, men were marrying foreign wives, something strictly forbidden.

Nehemiah came back to chaos and was furious! He knew that making small exceptions would become bigger ones later. The Israelites had a past full of backsliding all the way into full-on rebellion. The problem was that no one was keeping them accountable. People thought that slacking off wasn’t a big deal. No one was telling them what to do, so they figured they could get away with anything.

Accountability is key and Nehemiah had to do the hard thing and confront people when they had drifted away. We end Nehemiah's story and this plan on a bit of a downer note, only because Nehemiah is pleading to God to "Remember me for this, my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services." (v14). But what's strange to say is when I see passages like this, I am reminded of how we too easily can be like these people who were once close to God and then went astray. And it's for sinners like all of us that God sent his son Jesus to die on a cross for all of humanity.

We serve a risen Savior named Jesus Christ that cares more about our wholeness than our physical healing. Did you know that the word wholeness also means salvation? Without the forgiveness of sins, we are walking around in spiritual bondage. Jesus' death on the cross for our sins and his resurrection leads to the ultimate healing, no matter if your physical body is ever fully restored here on earth. Through his resurrection and the forgiveness of sins, we have an eternal home with our eternal bodies that will never fail us or need healing again.

As you heal, have you sought Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins? If you haven't asked Jesus to be the Lord of your life and to forgive your sins, we want to invite you to do that now. Say this simple prayer out loud and in your heart:

"Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and need your forgiveness. I believe you died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead. I trust you as my Lord and Savior. Please help me to daily surrender to your will. In Jesus' name, amen!"

Questions:

1. Have you asked Jesus to forgive you of your sins?

2. What does wholeness mean to you?

3. What is Jesus calling you to do?

If you prayed that prayer, please let us know! We’d love to hear from you! We have an amazing prayer team at HealingStrong that prays for each prayer request. Please email us at: prayerrequest@healingstrong.org And thank you so much for joining us in this study. We hope you were encouraged!

This plan was written by Cheryl Collins, a volunteer with HealingStrong, a non-profit organization of community groups designed to help those battling cancer and other diseases to rebuild the body, restore the soul, and refresh the spirit. We’re here to walk with you on any healing journey! Find us online at Healingstrong.org.

Looking for more HealingStrong Bible plans? https://healingstrong.org/bible-plans