I like the way Nehemiah writes. Neh 7:5 says that “My God put into mine heart …”  He acknowledges where his good ideas came from.

7:2 It might have been thought that in giving his brother Hanani a position of authority that he was showing favouritisms. However this was not so. His brother was ‘faithful’. Nehemiah would have known this from close contact with his brother and so would be able t rely on him. We should take care that we do not think evil of our brethren just because they choose helpers from their own friends. It does not follow that favouritism is being shown. Like Nehemiah they may know their friends and family and therefore know that they can have confidence in them.

7:4 The seemingly casual comment that the ‘houses were not built’ shows to us that the focus was in building the walls of the city – a collective act – rather than the solitary and selfish act of providing a roof over their own heads. How often do we put what we see as our own ‘needs’ above the common good of the ecclesia?

7:2 The walls were being built in troublous times – against that background we are told that Hanani ‘feared God’. So when there are difficulties and good reason to be afraid of the problems and those that cause the problems it is best to ‘fear’ that is reverence God.

THE SPIRIT OF GRACE (v.2)

What a wonderful way in which Paul greats the brethren & sisters in Thessalonica. "Grace be unto you". Vines dictionary defines "grace" as - "the divine influence upon the heart and it's reflection in life."

Paul wishes the spirit of divine influence to touch all hearts to whom the Lord reaches out to, but it dosn't stop there. It must be reflected in our lives in everything we do. And so it should be with us. Let the divine influence enter into your heart today (by way of His word) - and let it reflect itself in everything you say or do.

THE SPIRIT OF GRACE (v.2)

What a wonderful way in which Paul greats the brethren & sisters in Thessalonica. "Grace be unto you". Vines dictionary defines "grace" as - "the divine influence upon the heart and it's reflection in life."

Paul wishes the spirit of divine influence to touch all hearts to whom the Lord reaches out to, but it dosn't stop there. It must be reflected in our lives in everything we do. And so it should be with us. Let the divine influence enter into your heart today (by way of His word) - and let it reflect itself in everything you say or do.

THE SPIRIT OF GRACE (v.2)

What a wonderful way in which Paul greats the brethren & sisters in Thessalonica. "Grace be unto you". Vines dictionary defines "grace" as - "the divine influence upon the heart and it's reflection in life."

Paul wishes the spirit of divine influence to touch all hearts to whom the Lord reaches out to, but it dosn't stop there. It must be reflected in our lives in everything we do. And so it should be with us. Let the divine influence enter into your heart today (by way of His word) - and let it reflect itself in everything you say or do.

7:5 When we are told that Nehemiah said ‘God put into my heart ...’ we should not immediately presume that God told him what to do in some mystical visionary way. Rather, from his reading of the Scriptures that he had he would have worked out what was required. Thus the motivation came from a willingness to accomplish the word of God. Likewise we cannot simply sit and wait for ‘the spirit to move us’. We have to, from our reading of Scripture, establish what the Father wants us to do and then do it.

Neh 7:63-65 - family records could not be found for some priests so Urim and Thummim (God's  decision) was used to determine if they were to be accepted as clean.

2:1 Day of the Lord cometh Zechariah 14:1
2:2 A day of darkness Amos 5:18
2:4 behind them ... desolate wilderness Zechariah 7:14
2:4 the appearance ... horses Revelation 9:7
2:5 Like ... chariots Revelation 9:9
2:6 faces ... gather blackness Nahum 2:10
2:10 earth shall quake Nahum 1:5
2:11 who can abide it Nahum 1:6
2:12 turn ye to me ... Deuteronomy 4:29 - 30
2:12 with fasting 2 Chronicles 20:3
2:13 gracious merciful ... Exodus 34:6
2:13 great kindness Exodus 34:6
2:15 sanctify a fast 2 Chronicles 20:3
2:17 where is their God Micah 7:10
2:17 thine heritage Micah 7:14
2:18 Then will the Lord be jealous Zechariah 1:14
2:19 corn ... wine ... oil Deuteronomy 11:14
2:23 former ... latter rain Hosea 6:3
2:24 floor ... full of wheat Amos 9:13
2:28 And ... whom the Lord shall call Acts 2:17
2:28 pour out my spirit Proverbs 1:23
2:31 The sun ... into blood Revelation 6:12
2:31 before the ... day of the Lord Malachi 4:5
2:31 - 32 sun dark moon blood Zion Jerusalem Isaiah 24:23
2:32 whosoever shall call ... saved Romans 10:13
2:32 whom the Lord shall call Acts 2:39

2:12 - 17 is a call, by the prophet, for repentance. His assurance is that if true repentance is shown then blessings will follow. Joel 2:18. Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people.
It is in the connection that the prophet reminds Israel of the attributes of their God as they were revealed at Mount Sinai to Moses by quoting the language from Exodus 34.

If the last locust invasion is to be when Christ returns, and when all nations fight against Jerusalem, isn’t there a great picture given here in Joel 2:4-11? In Joel 2:5 can we see aircraft? You can’t take a chariot on to the top of a mountain, but if you could it would sound just like an aeroplane. The point is emphasised when the word “leap” is seen to be mean “dance, skip or bound”. It’s a plane up in the air. Joel 2:8, the last part, probably means that armour plating will save the army tanks from attack, especially when “sword” is seen to be a “missile, dart or spear”. This sounds to me like modern missiles which are shot through the air. Joel 2:5 The army is “God’s army” in Joel 2:11 – just as He called Nebuchadnezzar “My servant” in Jer 25:9.

2:17     ‘thine heritage’ -  Mic 7:14 – speaks of Jerusalem which is to be laid waste by the Babylonians – though in Nahum’s day the Assyrians looked as if they would do it.

2:20 The removal of the ‘northern army’ may well be a reference to the deliverance from the Assyrians in the days of Hezekiah.

2:4-7The two phrases quoted in Revelation 9 highlight , along with quotations in chapter 1, that the invasion spoken of here is a basis for the events spoken of in Revelation 9

1:5 suffering for the kingdom. Being counted worthy to suffer was the sentiments of the apostles Acts 5:41.

2:3 'son of perdition' uses the language that Jesus uses to speak of Judas Iscariot in John 17:12 highlighting the seriousness of the doctrinal problems of the one spoken of.

1:3 Do we ever feel 'bound to give thanks' for our brethren and sisters? How often do we thank God for the brethren and sisters we have taught the gospel to? Or do we feel that we just do a job and that is all. The benefit, it seems is two fold. Angels rejoice over one sinner that repents (Luke 15:7,10) and that is there is joy in heaven. Also there should be joy in our hearts.

2:13 Paul continues the theme (from 1:3) of being bound to give thanks - this time because the election of the brethren was 'from the foundation of the world'

1:8 'Taking vengeance' quotes Isaiah 61:2 and so we see the return of Jesus will complete the quotation from Isaiah 61 which Jesus read in the synagogue at Nazareth (Luke 4:18)`

1:5 The tribulation is a 'manifest token of the righteous judgment of God' because God is going to judge the world. The persecution the brethren suffered was evidence that they deserved the judgment.

2:13 Some of us may struggle with God's foreknowledge and the Bible teaching of predestination. However there is a very psotive message to take away from the fact that God has chosen us from the foundation of the world to salvation. It is this. He wishes to give us everlasting life, the only person who can throw that away is oursleves.

1:12 The reason for praying for our brethren and sisters – see comment for May 20^{th this year – is that God and His son might be glorified. We do not pray for our brethren and sister because we like them, though doubtless we do like them, rather we are concerned for their salvation so that the Father and His son might be glorified.}

2:4 In speaking of one who ‘sitteth in the temple of God’ Paul is drawing language from Ezekiel’s description of Tyre – Eze 28:2

1:10 God and Jesus will only be glorified in those ‘saints’ who in this life work to manifest His glory now by imitating His attributes.

2:12 The condemnation of those who take pleasure in unrighteousness echoes Rom 1:32 but more importantly we see that God recognises that we are liable to be unrighteous. It is our attitude to what we do that is important to God.

GROWTH

Paul, Silas and Timothy thanked God for the believers at Thessalonica. The reason they were so thankful was "because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing." (2Thess 1:3)

I wonder if Paul, Silas and Timothy would have had the same thankfulness for us if they had heard about our faith and love? Would they have seen our faith and love growing?

Let's think back a year, ten years, or since we first gave our lives to the Lord. How much has our faith and love grown since then? How much has it grown recently? Sometimes we can find ourselves stuck in the routine of being a Christian, doing what needs to be done, but not really growing. We need to make sure we have consistent growth in both faith and love in our lives all the time. If we are find that we are becoming more exclusive in our Christain lives, we may find that we are feeding our faith but our love is dying. Or if we are full of compassion but the hope of the return of Christ is no longer a reality, then our love may be strong, but our faith needs some serious work.

Let's make sure our faith and love are works in progress, growing, no matter what stage we are at, to the glory of God.