8/12- Moved by the Demise of the Church

4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. (Nehemiah 1:4)

Thoughts: Nehemiah could have been easily indifferent to the demise of the people of God.  He, after all, was in the palace of the greatest king of the day.  He had one of the most well-paid jobs.  He was a cupbearer to the king- which archaeologists tell us was a high and enviable job.  Later Nehemiah would make a huge donation to the wall himself.  Jerusalem was about 500 miles away- and that was not by airplane or car- about a twenty day journey (by foot and camel).
      Instead, Nehemiah sat down and wept.  He sat down- probably becoming weak in the knees.  It is clear he was not apathetic but loved God, loved God's glory, and loved His church.  Clearly the faith was in a fragile place.  The people were not safe- with no wall.  The glory of God had shrunk through the fall of Jerusalem and her people.  He felt the pain deeply.  I am reminded of Jesus who felt the pain of the death of a friend- weeping at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35).  Sympathy and concern for the church is one of the marks of being a child of God.  Just as we would care for our own body when it is hurting or sick, so we should care for the Church of God- the body of Christ to which we belong- when the Church is in a bad place.
     I believe the church is in a bad place today in America.  While the church world-wide continues to grow, the church in America is shrinking.  Last year 4,000 churches closed their doors- only 1,000 were started across America.  In just my own denomination (2012 statistics) 86 churches closed and 21 merged; only six were started nationwide.
     But Nehemiah did not just weep- he also took a positive step.  He knew that he needed God's help, so he prayed.  He didn't just say a three second prayer- it was a prayer of fasting, weeping, and earnestly looking to God for help.  Apart from God we can do nothing- but with God all things are possible.  We will look more at one of Nehemiah's prayers recorded in chapter 1.  The first steps in any decision making venture for the believer is illustrated here: 1) ask the right questions; 2) see the real problem; 3) feel the pain of the problem; 4) Pray to God before you start planning and working.  

Prayer: Give me a heart for your people and your church, O God.  Help us in our time of need- build up your church- your kingdom once more.