Proverbs 4:25-27
King James Version
25 Let thine eyes look right on,
and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
26 Ponder the path of thy feet,
and let all thy ways be established.
27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left:
remove thy foot from evil.
When you are a child of GOD, a believer in JESUS, a faithful servant of CHRIST, and a student of the HOLY SPIRIT, you are focused.
You do not deviate, are not distracted, and thus, are not destroyed.
Much as CHRIST's enemy tries to attack you, every single time.
Just so you know, the devil has many devices.
But the born again has a mission, are powered by faith, and by our love for GOD.
Obedience to GOD's will is our DNA.
One great example of such focus is Nehemiah.
"Interestingly, he was cupbearer to Artaxerxes I.
Who happens to be the fifth king of kings to the Achaemenid Empire,
from 465 to December 424 BC.
This empire was also called "The First Persian Empire".
It was founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC.
You mean, Israel and Persia were once friends?"
-- "City in RUINS"
He was tasked with rebuilding Jerusalem.
It was a formidable task, but GOD wanted it done.
Of course, Nehemiah's enemies were in a rage when he was securing the walls of the city.
They aimed to put every block to his thinking, and rebuilding.
Here's what they did, and how Nehemiah responded.
Nehemiah 6:1-2
King James Version
6 Now it came to pass when Sanballat, and Tobiah,
and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies,
heard that I had builded the wall,
and that there was no breach left therein;
(though at that time I had not set up
the doors upon the gates;)
2 That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying,
Come, let us meet together
in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono.
But they thought to do me mischief.
Nehemiah's response:
Nehemiah 6:3
King James Version
3 And I sent messengers unto them, saying,
I am doing a great work,
so that I cannot come down:
why should the work cease, whilst I leave it,
and come down to you?
But his enemies wouldn't let up.
Nehemiah 6:4
King James Version
4 Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort;
and I answered them after the same manner.
Nehemiah 6:5-7
King James Version
5 Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner
the fifth time with an open letter in his hand;
6 Wherein was written,
It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith it,
that thou and the Jews think to rebel:
for which cause thou buildest the wall,
that thou mayest be their king, according to these words.
7 And thou hast also appointed prophets
to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying,
There is a king in Judah:
and now shall it be reported to the king
according to these words.
Come now therefore,
and let us take counsel together.
Nehemiah's response:
Nehemiah 6:8-9
King James Version
8 Then I sent unto him, saying,
There are no such things done as thou sayest,
but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.
9 For they all made us afraid, saying,
Their hands shall be weakened from the work,
that it be not done.
Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.
He was warned further.
Nehemiah 6:10
King James Version
10 Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah
the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel,
who was shut up; and he said,
Let us meet together in the house of God,
within the temple,
and let us shut the doors of the temple:
for they will come to slay thee;
yea, in the night will they come to slay thee.
Nehemiah's response:
Nehemiah 6:11
King James Version
11 And I said,
Should such a man as I flee?
and who is there, that, being as I am,
would go into the temple to save his life?
I will not go in.
His impression of the whole thing:
Nehemiah 6:12-13
King James Version
12 And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him;
but that he pronounced this prophecy against me:
for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
13 Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid,
and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter
for an evil report, that they might reproach me.
His prayer:
Nehemiah 6:14
King James Version
14 My God,
think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat
according to these their works,
and on the prophetess Noadiah,
and the rest of the prophets,
that would have put me in fear.
The result of his prayer, and unbending focus:
Nehemiah 6:15-16
King James Version
15 So the wall was finished
in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul,
in fifty and two days.
16 And it came to pass,
that when all our enemies heard thereof,
and all the heathen that were about us
saw these things,
they were much cast down in their own eyes:
for they perceived that this work
was wrought of our God.
The lesson that SPIRIT inspired me to give you from all these:
"FORTIFY your FORTRESSES
through FAITH and FOCUS."
GOD put it upon my heart on 22 January 2024 to write about Nehemiah, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
Here are the series of articles His HOLY SPIRIT inspired me to write then:
Israel is going through the same situation today.
She is being attacked and bullied, on all fronts.
But she stays on the path.
She knows GOD is with her.
Let us, born again workers, watchmen, and warriors, be like Nehemiah.
Let us not be distracted by things of the world.
Let us not be fearful of what people can do to us.
Let us not be cowed, or bullied, into giving up our faith.
Let us remain focused on CHRIST JESUS alone.
Colossians 3:1-4
King James Version
3 If ye then be risen with Christ,
seek those things which are above,
where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2 Set your affection on things above,
not on things on the earth.
3 For ye are dead, and your life
is hid with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear,
then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Related material:
Why you MUST turn to JESUS now!
Related video:
FURY As French Consulate CONFRONTED In Jerusalem - Here's What Happened (MK Ohad Tal)
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