It Is Time To Reoccupy

Has anyone noticed that I have not recapped our Wednesday night Refresh Bible study in a while?  I did not recap the month of November because Bible Study Brother was holding down the fort for me.  Then when December arrived, a new series popped up on Wednesday nights- What He Said, What I Heard.  We get to see clips from the previous Sunday’s sermon and members share what they took away from the clips.  It is always refreshing to hear what others got out of the sermon.  It moves the sermon from the pulpit and into people’s everyday lives, and I am here for all of that.

Last night’s Refresh focused on Nehemiah 11.  The wall has been completed.  Renovations are a thing of the past.  The people have listened to the word of God.  They have worshipped.  And now it is time for them to reoccupy the holy city.  Which seems like a simple thing on the surface.  But I am going to say that it can really be one of the hardest things.

When you are living a jacked up life…when everything is out of whack…you have nothing to lose.  You have nothing.  So, with some effort, you can work on improving one area of your life.  Just baby steps.  Nothing major.  You are just giving it a try.  As you continue to grow and improve, you can step back and see the progress that you have made.  You know that you are not where you used to be but certainly not doing the best that you could possibly be doing.

The closer that you get to really living a holy life, the scarier that it can be.  See, you have come too far to go all the way back to ruins but now you have to decide if you are really going to occupy the holy life that you have been aiming for.  That can be uncomfortable.  Your flesh certainly does not want to concede living a holy life.  But the Holy Spirit inside of you will push you to reoccupy the space that you were made to live in.  Just like the children of Israel.  The work was finished and now it was time to move back home.

That is the push for you and me today.  We have to choose to reoccupy the spaces that God has carved out for us.  The holy spaces.  Do not all push past me in your excitement to get to work. LOL!  While it is great to hear good teaching, we also have to be willing to act on the knowledge that we receive.  We are not here just to be place holders and occupy space.  We were placed to occupy the land and be world changers.  Are you ready to reoccupy the holy spaces?  #wepreach