PEN ART - THE REFLECTIONS OF CHRIST IN NEHEMIAH - PART THREE

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

 In Nehemiah's day, the beginning of all the building started in a spot that was deemed the most important place in the wall.  The place was known as the wall around the Sheep Gate.  This gate, The Sheep Gate, represents Jesus, our Good Shepherd. 

This is the gate mentioned in John 5:2; the gate beside the pool of Bethesda.  It is the gate beside the pool with five porches, which could easily stand for five types of ministry. 

This is the gate where the sheep were washed and brought into the temple for sacrifice.  The first step to building up the walls in the body of Christ is salvation.  Salvation is obtained here at The Sheep Gate.  This is where salvation begins by opening the door where The Good Shepherd stands waiting on His sheep.   Here we are washed of our sins, just like the sheep in Nehemiah's day.   Jesus hears us, invites us, receives us and takes us and washes us clean. 

 The priest who offered up the sacrifices were required to live in this area.  They had to live next to The Sheep Gate.  They were there to minister to the people who came seeking salvation.   One priest was designated as the High Priest.

 

 In the days of  Nehemiah the High Priest's name was Eliashib. 

 "El" means "God." 

"Yashib" means "to go back." 

Reading backwards as the Hebrews do - we can hear a message even in the name of the high priest who worked at The Sheep Gate.  The message says "go back to God" - or REPENT.

So it is recorded by Nehemiah that the wall around the Sheep Gate was built by one whose names meant "repent." 

 This gate is the perfect Old Testament picture of the New Testament sacrifice of The Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. 

This gate shows us the cross.

Here at The Sheep Gate we are lead to think immediately of the prophet Isaiah's great words about Jesus; "as a sheep before the shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth."  (Isa. 53:7).  

 At the Sheep Gate of our lives there is a principle of death at work.  It is the death of the natural self.  It is the way we come to our own cross.  We are called to obey Christ, to follow Him and to walk with Him.  That means that some of our desires, some of our natural longings must be put to death.  Our old self must die and be buried under the water of The Sheep Gate.  That is the principle of the cross.  This is the example that Jesus gave for us as He too died and was buried.  He rose on the third day!

This Sheep Gate in our lives is a gate that must be kept in repair if we want to grow into a strong Christian.  We must die to ourselves and rise to live in Christ.  It is the gate where we leave behind the old man and put on the new man.  Like the sheep in the days of Nehemiah when they came to the pool, we go down in the water with our old sinful lives, dirty and unclean and we come out of the pool clean and made new.

 A gate is an opening.  The cross symbolized by this Sheep Gate, is an opening to God.  A beginning.  A beginning is an entrance to something completely new.  God makes all things new!

 On each side of the Sheep gate in the Holy City of Jerusalem the walls lead to two towers, one tower in each direction. 

The first tower is named "Meah."  "Meah" means "Hundred." 

The second tower is called The Tower of Hananeel - which means - "God is gracious and merciful."  "Hanan" means "gracious and merciful."  "El" means "God." 

Reading backwards as the Hebrews do, we have a message revealed in the walls around the Sheep Gate:  "God is gracious and merciful."

 Reading the gate and the wall by the meanings of the names of the places in the wall we come to see an Old Testament message with a New Testament meaning:  "The walls of Salvation built by one named "repentance" stands between two tall towers that say "God is gracious and merciful to hundreds."

 In the Old Testament, in the story of Nehemiah, there is a gate of sacrifice in the middle of a wall of salvation called The Sheep Gate that opens the way to God for mankind. 

This is beautiful picture that God has painted and hid within the walls of The Holy City for those with eyes to see. 

It is just like a thousand other Old Testament pictures of Christ that brings us hope. 

It is a reason to hold on to our belief in God and to cling to our faith in all circumstances; even when we appear to be as broken down as Nehemiah's walls.

COME AS A CHILD LESSON 141 - RESPECTING THE NAME OF GOD

RESPECTING THE NAME OF GOD

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

So we are still up on the mountain with Moses and God is still explaining the ten best ways for people to live.  

Moses has already heard two very important commandments; “You shall have no other gods before Me ” and “You shall not build an idol or worship a graven image.”  God seems to be reminding Moses that He should be the ONE taking center stage in His people's lives, and that He should be the most important thing about our daily lives.  

God has miraculously brought the people out of a pagan culture and into a place where they can now follow Him with their whole hearts!  He is making it plain to them that everyone should always honor and revere Him as The One and Only God of Heaven and Earth.  Included in that act of worship (did you know that cheerfully obeying commandments can be considered a form of worship?)  would be the act of  honoring God’s Holy Name.  His name is sacred and very special.  It is the name above all names which is to be given all honor and glory and praise. 

If you stop and think about it you will realize that God could not have received His Holy name from anyone else but Himself.  He did not have parents to pick out his name as you and I did.  He chose it.  He chose His name with intention and finality.  He chose His name to be higher than any other name ever uttered under the heavens.  As a matter of fact, His name is so sacred that the ancient people would not even pronounce it out loud or write it down!  They were so afraid of saying it or writing it wrong!  So they chose to use a substitute that meant "for the name of God" in place of  the real name of God when they spoke and wrote.  They thought the only One worthy enough to pronounce God’s name out loud was God Himself.  Mere, human and unclean lips should not utter such a holy name! 

Strange as it sounds, we do the same thing in another way.  We say "God" for the name of God, which is given as the tetragrammation YHWH in Hebrew and frequently pronounced as Jehovah and Yahweh and written in most English editions of the Bible as "the Lord"  owing to the Jewish tradition of reading it as Adonai ("My Lord" ) out of respect. 

Moses, being more in tuned to the times than we are today, must have had a much deeper understanding of this concept when God began to explain that His Holy Name should never be taken in vain.  God had spoken His name to Moses at the burning bush.  Moses had been told to remove his shoes because he was standing on holy ground.  

Ancient Jewish legend has even taught that at the time God proclaimed “Thou shalt not take the name of God in vain”; the entire universe trembled!  The witnesses from below when Moses was on the mountain with God saw thunder and lightning and felt the earth quake.   The “trembling of the earth” would represent the powerfulness of this commandment and the reverent way that we should always be approaching the name of God.  It would emphasize the importance of such a time.  This statement given to Moses commanding the people to respect the name of God could possibly be interpreted to mean:  “Do not exploit my name!”

Just what does that mean anyway?  

What are people typically doing  today that exploits the name of God?
     

Different people and cultures seem to interpret this meaning in different ways. It is a topic that often comes up, even in social media discussions.  People participating in on-line discussions have a common expression that they often use called “OMG.”  It is out there like so many other popular acronyms used by our high-tech culture.  This particular acronym is tossed around a lot, and it is very offensive to many Christians because they perceive it to be taking the name of God in vain.  (Unless you are extremely southern like me and think the letters stand for “Oh my goodness!” ) 

Even if you think this little acronym means something else and DOES NOT take God’s name in vain; it is probably best not to offend people by using it.  It might be a good and righteous practise not to use this acronym simply out of respect for God and others.  This is just one small example of how this wide-ranged topic of respecting the Name of God can be interpreted.  There are a vast number of concepts to be considered when we think about the subject and how we can best respect the Holy Name of God. 

Perhaps God has even bigger concerns here than our occasional slip of the tongue (or the fingers if you are typing text.)    It might be wise to dig a bit deeper into this territory and consider that our words tend to always reveal the truth about who we are.  God makes sure to state that we should love Him with our whole heart just BEFORE He begins to give us the commandment not to take His name in vain.  If we ARE  loving God with our whole heart; we are more likely to be proclaiming good and worthy things concerning His name and most likely we will not be intentionally throwing His Holy Name into places where it does not belong. 

Have you ever noticed how the most serious moments of our lives are usually clothed in the form of vows that we take in the name of God?  

For instance, when a couple marries they are said to be “given in matrimony under the name of God.”  Therefore; in a case where a person breaks their marriage vows, they could be considered to be taking the name of God in vain.  Most people never stop to consider this aspect of that situation.  It is bad enough that a person is in a sin; doing something very wrong, but adding taking God’s Name in vain to the equation gives it even more weight on the wrong side of the scales of justice. 

When a person goes to court to testify they are asked to put their hand on the Holy Bible and swear using the words “so help me God.”  This is to insure that they are telling the whole and honest truth.  To swear a lie would be to take the name of God in vain.   Usually a sin is a sin; is a sin, but in this case the sin grows!  Not only have you told a lie, you have misrepresented your honesty before God with your lie.   

Our high officials also take an oath in front of God to protect the citizens of our country.  This is to hold them accountable to the highest power that is in existence.  If they are not honest and not accountable to the people; they dishonor the name of God with their service. 

An oath taken under the name of God is a very serious thing!

The scriptures make it very plain that God does not condone perjury!  He will not take deliberate deceptions made in His name lightly. 

We are reminded in the holy scriptures to let our “yes” mean “yes” and our “no” mean “no.”  In other words; say what you mean and make sure it is true!  When we lie, as children of God (even when we are not under oath); we take His name in vain because He has written His name across our hearts and sealed us as His children.  We are to represent His ways through how we live out our lives.  God NEVER lies and He doesn’t want His name associated with lies that we tell either.  When you are a Christian the act of misrepresenting God is surely a sin; and it could be considered to be taking God’s name in vain.  Most people never give a thought to this.  How many little white lies have you told today?  Please don’t ask me to answer the same question!  We all are subconsciously guilty from time to time. 

 

Even though curse words are probably the shallow water in the whole over all flood of this deep, deep problem in our society; they too are to be considered.  We must guard against using curse words in our language because we are representatives of the One True God who lives within us.  

James 1:26 says:  “Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.”  Don’t let your mouth defile your witness as a child of God; that would be taking the name of God in vain and it would totally destroy any goodness of the testimony of your daily life.  It is good to let everything that comes out of our mouths be pleasing and acceptable before God.

Another common way we encounter the misuse of the name of God is when people twist the meaning of scriptures and use them to their own advantage in order to get their own way instead of conforming their lives and ways to the true meaning that God intended.  Using God’s power to get your own way is truly a sin.  This too would be a form of taking God's name in vain. 

   

The up-side of keeping this third commandment of God is the fact that it keeps truth in our lives.  Truth always leads to true justice and freedom.  This is what God wanted for the Israelites as He brought them out of a pagan culture and led them toward the land of promise.  We would all do well to take such a spiritual journey in our own lives.  Coming out of pagan ways brings us to the place of living inside God’s promises. 

We must continually be aware of the fact that to lie in the name of God is blasphemy.   We have so many good scriptures that can be used to bring us through these stormy waters whenever we are feeling unsure of what we want to say.  The three scriptures below are very useful to memorize and remember concerning our speech and actions as God’s representatives on this earth:

1.  Proverbs 10:32:  The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse.

2.  Colossians 3:8:  But now you must put them all away; anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

3.  Ephesians 4:29:  Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

These scriptures are very helpful; and focusing on the full meaning of this commandment is crucial to fully understanding their full meaning.  If all one needed to do to keep the third commandment was to avoid certain socially unacceptable words, it would be the easiest of all the commandments to keep.  This isn’t the case!  The meaning goes much further than that. 

It is possible that God could have been saying:  “Don’t speak for me; let me do my own speaking!”  

Have you ever been around someone who constantly states that “God told me to do this” and “God told me to do that” and then you come to realize that they are simply justifying reasons for their own desires and using the name of God to make you agree to it; or to make what they are doing wrong or selfishly or in greed sound holy?  This happens all the time.  

The ancients used to do this with the names of their pagan gods.  They would say “Baal is going to send good weather” or “Zeus is going to get revenge on my enemies!”  God did not want his people using His name in such a casual and common way, as if they could decide what God would be thinking for the day!  The pagans made the name of their false gods seem common and ordinary.  The One True God wishes for His holy name to be used in relation to the extraordinary.  It should always proclaim the sacredness and holiness of Who He is.

And so we come to the end of the giving of the first three best ways to live.  They all portray how man should be relating to God.  God gave a very good explanation to Moses of how He wished to be treated by those whom He has chosen to love.  He desires to be revered, respected and honored.  He wants first place in our lives and our hearts.  This would be the groom's part of repeating the wedding vows of the covenant, and God is clearly stating his desire for the sacred relationship of the marriage covenant with Israel.   

We all must be careful to obey these first three commandments that draw us closer to God, especially the one discussed here today that states we are to treat the name of God with great respect and holiness.  

PEN ART - THE REFLECTION OF CHRIST IN NEHEMIAH-PART TWO

HAVE YOU FOUND YOUR PLACE IN THE WALL?

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

We have been pondering the following scripture passage found in Nehemiah 2:11-18:  

11 - So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days.  

12 - Then I arose in the night, and I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem, nor was there any animal with me except the one on which I rode.  

13 - And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and The Refuse Gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were burned with fire.

14-Then I went on to The Fountain Gate and to The King's Pool, but there was not room for the animal that was under me to pass.

15-So I went up in the night by the valley and viewed the wall;then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned.

16-And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; I had not yet told the Jews, the Priests, The Nobles, The Officials, or The Others Who Did the Work.

17- Then I said to them:  "You see the distress we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire.  Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach."

18-And I told them of the Hand of My God which had been good upon me and also of the king's words that he had spoken to me.  So they said, "Let us rise up and build."  Then they sat their hands to do this good work.

 After a very careful survey and a look at every detail of the walls and gates of Jerusalem; Nehemiah turns and reenters the valley through the same Valley Gate from which he came.  

Jesus Christ, now having ascended into heaven is sitting at the right hand of The Father.  He is there taking surveys; looking down at the walls of our lives.  He is examining us, talking with us, pointing out the things that He wishes us to see and do to those walls that surround His Church, His Bride.  

He sees how broken we are.  

He sees the decay and the rot of sin.  

He knows what shape we have let ourselves become, a shape unfit for protecting a righteous kingdom.  

Now is the time to hear what He is saying to the churches.

 Now is the time to listen and obey.  

He speaks of a vision of restoration, oh that our hearts might be willing to hear!

We must speak with Him now, this moment, while He is sitting in the place of Peace, because the day is coming when He will leave the place in the Heavens again and He will reenter this earth.  

He will walk again through the dark valley and through the earth full of forgiven sinners, those like you and me, those He willingly died for.   

When He begins to re-enter that Valley Gate again, there will be times on earth of trials and tribulations like there has never been before, or ever will be again.

Right now Christ is moving like Nehemiah as he was surveying the walls.  He is busy looking things over.  He is examining the situation.  He is listening to the voice of The Father.  He is asking God what SHOULD be on this earth.  He is thinking of restoration and new life in the midst of  all the rubble and chaos.

 In verse 16 Nehemiah says "The officials did not know where I had gone, or what I was doing, because as yet, I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work." 

In the same manner as Nehemiah with his few good men at his side; Jesus did not speak to the Pharisees and the religious rulers of His day.  He spoke only to his little band of followers, those earthy men who trusted in Him.  He revealed things to those who believed the truth He brought from heaven.  

Even today, as He speaks from Heaven, He doesn't always speak to the rulers and famous religious leaders, but often He speaks to the poor, the humble, the gentle, the common, loving people of God who are following His lead and listening to His voice in their lowly every day lives.  He reveals His truths to His faithful followers, the ones who stay with Him till the end through thick and thin and trials and tribulations; he continues to speak to the true ones that He has called.

When Jesus Christ returns to earth, just as when Nehemiah turned around from following and surveying the destruction of the walls; one of the first things Jesus's eyes may see, will be the same picture that Nehemiah saw back in those days -  He may see Jerusalem lying in ruins.  

That Holy City that He loved will be destroyed and it will lie in ruins.  Jerusalem's gates may again be burned with fire, but Our Lord will turn to His people and say (just as Nehemiah said to his men)  "Come - let us rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace!"

 And "So they began the good work," in the days of Nehemiah - in the days of Christ, and so God's work continues in the days of our lives.  

What a beautiful picture of the face of Nehemiah, reflecting the face of Christ, in the hope of restoration of a Kingdom and a Nation.

 All this is amazing to think about and wonderful to look forward to; but how can we apply this story in a practical way to our own lives in this present age?

 Nehemiah put much prayer and thought into this work of God.  He only listened to what the Lord had to say, so he only did things the way the Lord wanted them to be done.  He told the people to start right where they were living.  They each were instructed to build the walls along the portion of the city that they lived the closest to.

Where are you living?  

How do you need to build?  

What walls are broken in your own life?  

You need only to look at your own front door to find the starting place you have in The Kingdom of God.  

Start today, right where you are living.  Follow the great instructor, Jesus Christ; and begin to repair the walls of your life.  

If every man in every city did this, the cities of our country would be healed.  

If every city did this the states of our country would be healed.  

If every state did this the country would be healed.  

If every country did this the world would be healed.  

If we want to repair the world it all has to start at each individual believer's front door.

What an inspiration for the church today.  This isn't a complicated and complex plan as many might think!  

We just have to start with our own place in the wall.  We live out a witness in our own homes and our own families, and our own neighborhoods.  We stand for God in our work places, and our social activities in the community.  

We simply have to start in the place where God has put us, and we can begin to grow out from our own home base.

Have you been waiting?  

Why?  

Jesus says "Come - Let us rebuild!"

PEN ART - THE REFLECTION OF CHRIST IN NEHEMIAH - PART ONE

(Written by:  Sheila Gail Landgraf)

There is hardly a story in the Old Testament that does not shadow the story of Jesus Christ.  We can see Christ in the stories of all of the ancient people of God; Moses, Abraham, Joshua, Joseph, David, and believe it or not - Nehemiah; that little minor prophet that people mistakenly find so boring.

 My Mother always told me; "if you think someone is boring it is because you do not know them very well."  So one day I got to know Nehemiah.  How surprised I was to find The Face of Christ revealed through his obscure personality.   It really hit me one day as I was reading the following scripture passage:

Nehemiah 2:  11-18
11-So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days.
12-Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me;  I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem, nor was there any animal with me except the one on which I rode.
13-And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and The Refuse Gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were burned with fire.
14-Then I went on to The Fountain Gate and to The King's Pool, but there was not room for the animal that was under me to pass.
15-So I went up in the night by the valley and viewed the wall;then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned.
16-And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; I had not yet told the Jews, the Priests, The Nobles,The Officials, or The Others Who Did the Work.
17- Then I said to them:  "You see the distress we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire.  Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach."
18-And I told them of the Hand of My God which had been good upon me and also of the king's words that he had spoken to me.  So they said, "Let us rise up and build."  Then they sat their hands to do this good work.

Nehemiah was a cupbearer to the king.  He got word that the walls of the city containing the temple where his ancestors had worshipped were destroyed and in need of restoration.  He spoke to the king and obtained permission to leave the king for a while in order to supervise and oversee the repairs to the walls of Jerusalem.  Nehemiah agreed to return to the king once the work was finished.

 Jesus Christ - The Greatest Cupbearer of All - had knowledge that the lives of the people of God had been destroyed by the enemy (satan), and He grieved to know that the people of God were in need of a great restoration.  He spoke to God The Father (The King of Heaven), and obtained permission for The Incarnation.  Changing from God to God in Man, (in comparison to Nehemiah changing from Royal Cupbearer to a common day-laborer), He left the Kingdom of Heaven for awhile to come to earth to oversee the restoration of a nation.  He promised God The Father, The King of Heaven, that he would return to The Kingdom once His work on earth was done.

 Referencing the scriptures we see in the sequence of events that after a long and tiring journey Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem and felt compelled to stay in Jerusalem for three days and three nights before beginning the restoration of the walls.  Again, we glimpse a shadow of Christ spending three days and three nights in the grave before arising to restore the walls of salvation for the people of God.

 Nehemiah is quoted many times saying "I will arise and build."  Jesus Christ rose from the grave and began the work of building The Kingdom of God.  His one desire was to arise and build a nation of people with hearts for God.  

As the story progresses verse 12 speaks of Nehemiah setting out at night with a few good men at his side.  He notes "I had not told anyone what God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem."  This brings to mind the parallel of Jesus Christ setting out in the black night of a sin filled world with a few disciples at His side.  Jesus is quoted in The Gospel of John, Chapter 14, speaking to His disciples:  "And now I have told you before it comes, that when it comes to pass you may believe."  The few men surveying the walls of Jerusalem at night with Nehemiah were the first to see and understand his plan for restoration.  As these men walked through the ruins with him, Nehemiah prayed to God about the walls and sought God's help and guidance in this restoration.  The men at Nehemiah's side saw the "before" picture of the walls, a picture of wreck, ruin and devastation.  How patiently Nehemiah showed the "before" picture to these "few good men" knowing that when they saw the "after" picture of the restoration of the walls they would remember this day and give glory to God because they would come to believe in the God of Nehemiah during the whole process.  In walking with him, they saw how Nehemiah openly trusted in God and consulted with Him even before the first day of work for the plan of restoration.

 The disciples, living at the feet of Jesus, were the first to see His plan of restoration.  As they walked through life with Jesus they heard Him pray to God for help and guidance in the restoration of the world.  The disciples living and working with Jesus saw the "before" picture of mankind; a picture of brokenness, wreck, ruin, decay and devastation, so similar to Nehemiah's first glimpse of the walls of Jerusalem.

 Jesus wanted the disciples to see and understand how broken mankind had become.  He spoke of this while He was with them, so that in the day of His resurrection they would remember all that He had taught them and give glory to God and believe on The Name of Jesus.

 Moving on through the scripture passage, Nehemiah records something that seems insignificant at first.     He says in verse 12 "there were no animals with me, except the one I was riding on."   Considering the sacrifice of Jesus Christ makes this sentence much clearer to us.  All of a sudden this passage becomes very significant.  Of course there were no animals.  No animal sacrifice would have been sufficient.  Only the sacrifice of a perfect One, Jesus Christ, could restore us to God and recreate the kingdom that God had first created and planned for us from the foundation of the world.  There were no animals sufficient for the sacrifice that Jesus provided.  He came bringing His own precious life, and He rode into the city on the back of a donkey.  In this triumphant entry he rode the animal that signified peace, but the animal only bore him into the city, it could not replace Him as the sacrifice.  He rides into His own City as The King of Peace, but only a few faithful men recognized Him as Who He was, much like Nehemiah riding at night with his few good men.

Nehemiah comes on his horse to the Valley Gate.  Verse 13 states; "by night Nehemiah went out by the Valley Gate."  Many years into the future, beyond the days of Nehemiah, Jesus too goes through a valley gate.  He goes through The Valley Of The Shadow of Death, as mentioned in Psalm 23.  Nehemiah's horse is symbolic of war, much different from the donkey of peace.  Jesus was riding a donkey, He could not ride the horse of war through the Valley Gate.  He did not fight against the death that He knew awaited Him.  He laid down His life willingly without a fight.  So, we hear that "the horse could not pass through."  It was not the time for the horse of war.  Jesus walked to the cross and to a gruesome death.

 The passage in Nehemiah's story mentions the Jackal Well, and the Dung Gate, and in almost the same breath; Nehemiah is pictured "examining the walls" of Jerusalem.   One can't help but to see Jesus in this act.  We see Him on the cross, examining our sins, taking them upon Himself, letting them become a weight laid upon Him that brings about His death and suffering.  The Dung Gate represents the dirt and filth of our sins that were laid upon Him.  

     Nehemiah looks around in the place where he is standing and observes the walls that are broken and the gates that are destroyed by fire.  Jesus on the cross looked around at the ugliness of mankind while He hung there for hours with all of us mocking and laughing and taking no pity on His suffering.  He sees the brokenness of our lives.  He sees the weak places in our walls.  He sees where we have fallen down and been divided.  It is so ugly that no one else could have bared to look upon it.   He gazes down from the cross with His eyes full of love.  He does what He must do while He is here in this moment of history.  He comes to us just as we are and looks straight into our ugliness and examines our hearts.  He does not see the ugliness.  He does not see the brokenness.  His eyes are special and full of mercy.  He sees like Nehemiah examining the walls, only what God originally intended to be.  He sees us as God first designed us.    

God gives Nehemiah a glimpse of how the walls will look when they are fulfilling their true purpose and design.  God gives him hope of the future of the walls of his beloved city returning to their original state of glory and majesty.

 When we can get a glimpse of hope from God, anything is possible.

In verse 14 Nehemiah begins to move toward the Fountain Gate and The King's Pool.  Here is a new turn of events.  Jesus came to a time of turning too.  In His Ascension, He rose up to Heaven and sent us The One He had promised, The Holy Spirit.

 The Fountain Gate of Nehemiah's time represented the refreshment of The Holy Spirit.  The water was known for its freshness, its clear, pure qualities.  Now Jesus has shown us the living waters of the fountain of heaven, where we can drink freely and be restored to life everlasting, just like the restoration of the walls around Jerusalem in the story of Nehemiah.

 Nehemiah mentions that animal that he was riding again;  "there was not enough room for any mount to get through."  At the Fountain Gate there is peace, the Peace of The Lord, and there is no need for the horse of war.  It is here that the horse of war must be left outside, because it cannot squeeze through into the heavenly places where war has been defeated.  Here at the Fountain Gate, many come seeking the waters.  It is a crowded place.  People are pushing and crowding to get nearer and nearer to Jesus and to the living Water that He brings.  Jesus waits patiently by the Fountain, waiting for each one who comes.  He will meet you there, if you just push on through the crowd and find him. 

Finally, Nehemiah turns back toward where he started.  After a very careful look at every detail of the walls, he turns and reenters the valley through the same Valley Gate.  Jesus Christ, having ascended into heaven is sitting at the right hand of The Father now.  He is there looking down at the walls of our lives.  He is examining us, talking with us, pointing out the things that He wishes us to see and do to those walls that surround His Church, His Bride.

  

PEN ART AND THIS IS FALL

AND THIS IS FALL

(Writing and photography by 

Sheila Gail Landgraf)

"It is the summer's great last heat, 
It is the fall's first chill:
They meet."  
(Sarah Morgan Bryan Piatt)

This old favorite verse of poetry reminds me that we are officially beginning the  Fall Season.   This lovely season always feels just a bit too short.  

I never grow tired of enjoying the time and every day feels like a fresh new gift from God. 

 Fall is my favorite season. 

The Irish love to say “Autumn days come quickly, like the running of a hound on the moor.”  

It is so true; one day you are standing in the heat of summer, and a few days later you begin to hear the snapping and cracking of the trees as they adjust to the cold and say hello to autumn.   You know it will not be long before “the frost is on the pumpkin.”   

Even the rain changes to a soaking kind of wet instead of a blowing pounding kind of wet.  Autumn rains can be soothing falling on the rooftops at night.  

You begin to smell smoke from wood stoves and fireplaces burning off the chill of their owner's houses.  

The sky becomes busier with the sights and sounds of birds migrating to a warmer place for the winter.  If you live in one spot long enough you will come to recognize the birds that have fall flight patterns through your area.  They light in ponds to rest and you know it is a sign of Fall.  So is the apple harvest, with its lovely rolling hillsides full of apple crates just brimming over with luscious fruit.        

It seems as if the trees enjoy taking turns changing their colors.  

The poplars like to go first, then the maples, then the others follow suit until they all stand vividly together, as if dressed for some elaborate banquet that we all have suddenly stumbled upon.  They  wave and invite us to their dance and we feel so honored to be their guest.  

Delicious fall recipes are spread on tables across the land, using the bountiful pumpkins, nuts, maple sugar and apples.  It is a feast for the table and a feast for the eyes as well.  Everything has a festive flavor.

Local fall customs come out to play.  Football teams and small town festivals and carnivals.  

Do you have a favorite thing about Fall that you find yourself doing or seeing or looking forward to that let’s you know for sure the season has truly arrived in your heart as well as the calendar?  

My list is full of so many things; I doubt I could even name them all.  

The fall foliage color tops my list of favorite things. My camera will get no rest during this season.  Fall is heaven to a photographer.  I love capturing the color and I love capturing the festive community events.  Each festival seems to bring a new work of art, a fresh way to recognize the beauty of the local people against the landscapes they call "home."  

My artistic soul is captured by the way the sun shines this time of the year. Technically this is called the Autumnal Equinox, but I would rather have the same 'kindred spirit' as Anne Shirley from Ann of Green Gables and make up a much better name.  I want to label this lovely autumn sunshine “The Dance of The Sun Through A Swirling Pool of Colors.”   Even those words seem not justified by the actual beauty presented.  

The word equinox comes from the Latin words “equal night.”  I like to turn that definition toward the positive in my mind and think of this season as a time of “equal light.”  At any rate, the slanted sun crosses the celestial equator and the temperatures begin to drop.  Slowly the days start to get shorter than the nights, but the hours of slanted sun daylight that we do have to enjoy are dazzling with vivid and brilliant colors and delightfully crisp air.   This all tends to make the earlier evenings seem more peaceful and relaxing.  

Fall is especially beautiful in the South as the sprawling mountainous landscapes silently explode with red, yellow and orange flames.  The leaves begin to jump off the trees and from your car windows you see people raking their yards.  Children take turns jumping into the leaf piles, until their parents take note and begin to teach them how to rake too.  

Football season totally occupies the locals of the land, and college towns create and cater to all types of personalities that best present their beloved teams.   Enthusiasm runs rampant.  Whole towns are dressed in team colors on certain days.   People bring out their sweaters and hoodies and warm socks.  They roast marshmallows and tail-gate and carve pumpkins and fill vases with flowers of rust, yellow, purple and orange.  Door fronts across the nation become much friendlier.  Friendly scarecrows appear everywhere.  Yards are full of busy squirrels scampering around trying to hurry up and finish storing their food for the winter.  If you simply watch the behavior of the animals and the plants, you will know that Fall is in progress.

Poetic love songs tend to happen during this season more than other seasons.  Tired poets are refreshed and inspired again.   Artists bring their canvases out of storage, to capture the beauty of the moments that will quickly fade and never be again.  Chefs inventing new soups are glad of the chance to turn from the challenging meals of summer to the more creative yet traditional meals of Fall.  School children suddenly seem to be on display everywhere you go, with their books and lunch pails and hair ribbons and flannel shirts.  Yellow buses bring traffic to a creeping halt as if to say “step aside, this is our season.”   Goblins and ghouls roam the streets evidently looking for food and are soon favored with sweet sticky candy apples and candy corn and chocolate. 

It is a time of great thankfulness and a time to share the bounty of the gifts that God grants to us in abundance.  It is a time for families to gather together and share the harvest that comes from loving one another.

The magic is everywhere. 

This is Fall.