Five things to do 
when God gives you 
a mission to accomplish

August 25, 2024 • Steve Marshall • Nehemiah 2

Retreat to status quo or move forward in
faith-filled risk?

August 18, 2024 • Steve Marshall • Nehemiah 2

“The average man doesn’t want to be free. He wants to be safe” (H.L. Mencken, 1926). Is that true in your life? Does a desire for a perceived safety get in the way of you being free to obey God’s call upon you to obey Him even with risk? What is risk? Risk is defined as “an action that exposes you to the possibility of loss or injury.” There is no way that we can avoid risks in this life on earth. Our pursuit of safety and security can be an endless fear-based pursuit fueled by selfishness. God calls us as His children, whom He cares for and loves, to move forward in this life with faith-filled risk taking for Christ. But we should do so knowing that to God there is no risk at all. God calls us to trust in Him, the One who takes no risks because He upholds everything by the word of His power (Heb. 1:3) as He works out His plan of redemption. No matter what "risk" we take for the Lord, nothing will separate us from the love God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:38-39). 

Do Your Burdens Lead To Anxiety or Action?

August 11, 2024 • Steve Marshall • Nehemiah 1

Do you find yourself completely immersed in anxiety and worry that makes it impossible to do anything productive? You may be at work trying to focus on tasks or at home trying to spend time with your family, but you find yourself unable to shake the thoughts in your heart and mind that consume you with worry and anxiety. Anxiety and worry can be life dominating and consuming. Many times it is very difficult to break through. What do you do? Look to Nehemiah as an example of how to move forward in God-empowered action to meet needs that He puts before us. Nehemiah let himself feel the burden and need of his people which led him to weep and mourn. But he did not stop there. He went to the Lord in prayer and fasting as he was committed to his daily job of being the cupbearer to the king. For about four months, Nehemiah showed up to work every day and did his secular job, not saying anything about the burden on his heart. He prayed and worked, prayed and worked, prayed and worked as he gave his burden to the “LORD God of heaven.”