We Are Building Day By Day

On my desk there is a magazine, and on the front page is a picture of a large castle. The castle is surrounded by a deep moat and there are high walls and towers all round it. It must have been a safe place to take refuge from invading enemies. The city of Jerusalem once had high walls surrounding it but these walls were not good enough to stand up to the mighty armies that attacked the city more than 2500 years ago. The walls were all broken down.

When Nehemiah was appointed governor of the city he set about repairing much of the city that had been in ruins for a long time, especially the walls. "Come," he said, "Let's build the wall of Jerusalem." And that is what happened, and it gave the people a great sense of joy and security to see the city with good walls again.

The New Testament is full of references to building and builders, all of them telling us about either the church of Jesus Christ as a 'building' or else as each of us as builders, building our lives day by day. If we are wise builders we will have Jesus Christ as the very foundation of our lives. Then day by day we can build up our life of faith and trust in him by learning more of the Bible and applying it to the way we speak to people and act towards them. Our lives will become stronger as Christians so that we can stand up to the attacks of the devil.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, give me the courage of Nehemiah to build a strong Christian life. Amen.