ICEMANforChrist

June Wildlife fills our life with joy and refreshment. Songbirds and birds of prey, squirrels and rabbits, butterflies and lightning bugs all carry a message worth discovering in early summer. Do we see and hear them, or do we overlook them, even despise them? Are they simply an annoyance, or do we come to know, love, and even serve these fellow creatures by providing protection and habitat? Nehemiah, Chapter 4, Verse 8 I made an inspection, then addressed these words to the nobles, the magistrates, and the rest of the people: “Do not fear them! Keep in mind the L ORD , who is great and to be feared , and fight for your kindred, your sons and daughters, your wives and your homes.” The final battle for the kingdom; like here in Nehemiah and the secular resistance to the rebuilding of a people dedicated to God will be through the family. Families must not live in fear. Do not let fear take hold of your families and communities. The enemies’ threats and attacks are imminen...

Nehemiah, Chapter 4, Verse 3 We prayed to our God and posted a watch against them day and night for fear of what they might do. Here this references the Jewish people as they attempt to rebuild their great nation and the enemies of Judah encircle them and poise to launch an attack against them. Sounds like the battle cry of the unbelieving secular media against the current administration in DC and those who are carrying their guns and their bibles who resist them. One wonders what the god of a secular media is. False Gods [1] The media view themselves as their own gods—masters of their own fates. Many of these self-made gods control our media. As gods, they want no competition. They reject the truth that God is God alone and that He will hold them accountable for mocking Him and His followers. Thus, the truth is hell to them, even before they get there. They express their hatred for God’s truth by heaping venom on anyone who declares the truth. They are rewriting America...

Nehemiah Nehemiah's a Hebrew cup-bearer to Artaxerxes, who allows him to return to Jerusalem to help set things in order and rebuild the city. Gentile leaders from different provinces (specifically, leaders of the Ammonites, Samaritans, and Arabs) try to derail the rebuilding project, but thanks to some military readiness, Nehemiah and his workers successfully speed-build the walls of the city. After this, Nehemiah reads the riot act to Israelite officials and nobles who have been oppressing the poor, charging ridiculous interest on loans, and forcing the people to pawn their land in order to eat. He successfully evades charges of rebellion against the Persian king drummed up by his enemies, and has Ezra give everyone a crash course on the Laws of Moses. The surviving Jews return from exile to repopulate Jerusalem, and Nehemiah—who's come back from a trip to the Persian capital in Susa—shapes up the backsliding Jews, breaks up more interfaith marriages, and sav...

Ezra [1] King Cyrus of Persia has just defeated the Babylonians. Inspired by God's spirit, he tells the Israelites that they can head home and rebuild their temple. He returns the sacred temple vessels stolen by the Babylonians and personally bankrolls the whole building project from his treasury. Zerubbabel and Jeshua the High Priest lead the people back and start laying down the foundations for a new Temple. But Israel's enemies are able to frustrate the building plans by getting the new Persian king Artaxerxes to order construction to a halt. Things stay that way until Darius comes to power in Persia. Two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, urge the Israelites to start building, so naturally the enemies of Israel again complain to the king and demand he check the records to see if Cyrus actually gave permission to build. But—when Darius finds Cyrus's original decree, he lets them start rebuilding. Ezra (earlier in time but not in the narrative) is sent by Art...

2 Chronicles, Chapter 32, Verse 7 “Be strong and steadfast; do not be afraid or dismayed because of the king of Assyria and all the horde coming with him, for there is more with us than with him. Of course the more of us is the power of the angels of God. Kings come and Kings go [1] ·          After taking over Israel, King Sennacherib of Assyria comes gunning for Hezekiah in Judah. ·          King Hezekiah immediately gets to work building up defenses in all the most important cities in Judah. He's a good strategic thinker, but he also has one thing that the Assyrians don't—God is on his side. ·          He tells the people of Judah not to worry because God will help them out. Sure, he didn't help Israel or any of the other countless nations the Assyrians have smashed to bits, but he's totally going to help Judah. ·     ...