It would be nice if one could build without having to battle; If we could build relationships with out conflict. All of us face some kind of opposition in whatever we do. If we are to make progress, we cannot sit around and wait for a better day, because a better day is not coming. Many times we must make progress in the midst of adversity and resistance. Any one who is trying to establish something for God or lead a Godly life that is not facing opposition. We must learn that even though there is opposition that does not mean that God is opposed to us. We have to learn that the presence of opposition does not mean that we have done something wrong. When we begin to look for reasons for opposition, we quit working on what we are trying to do. This is exactly what the enemy wants. In our text Nehemiah shows us that it is possible to make progress and have revival in the face of opposing forces. Bro. Hughes tells us that we do not have to look for trouble; it will find us. It is how we respond and react to trouble that will define the outcome. If we lose our focus on our purpose and instead focus on our trouble, we will no succeed in accomplishing what God wants us to do. There are people in the world that will never cheer for our success. In fact, they lay in wait for our failures so that they can mock and ridicule. We must learn to not seek these people’s approval, and only seek approval from God. What we can learn from Nehemiah is that the best defense to this opposition is a good offence. Adversity and criticism will make us defensive. When this happens, we have lost our focus, and need to refocus on our goal. In our text when the enemy criticized the building of the wall, the people began to worry about their efforts. Nehemiah re-focused them on their task and pressed on with the building of the wall. We need to get to where are acting and reacting to the Holy Ghost, and not on what people are saying or doing. If we can learn the lessons from Nehemiah, we can have Revival in the midst of conflict.

Of all the blessings that we enjoy, sight is certainly one of the most important. Many wear contacts, glasses or have surgery to improve their eyesight. However, it is possible to have 20/20 vision but still not see life clearly. Life can take us down paths that bring us to the point that we cannot see the way out, or to be able to understand the purpose of what is going on. We can become overwhelmed with how life is looking at the moment. Life can often look bleak. When this happens, we must find our way to a place where our eyes can be opened to His purpose and allow us to see the world from a different perspective.

Jeremiah is called the weeping prophet. He ministered to a people that were not receptive to his message. He observed in Gods people a path that would take them down the road to destruction. He could not see that his ministry was doing any good. God directs Jeremiah to the potter’s house to give him a new vision. On the potter’s wheel Jeremiah sees a lump of clay in the process of becoming a new vessel. Something went wrong and the project became marred in the potter’s hand. The potter did not discard the clay; he simply crushed it down and started over. Jeremiah watched that marred vessel as it was was molded into a new vessel in the potter’s hand. All of our lives have marred features; lost opportunities, unrealized potential, weaknesses and defects. Our text show us that if we allow the potter to have His way, God can take a marred, broken, imperfect life and turn it into a new vessel. If we will just stay in His hands, and stay on the wheel, God can work it out.

Of all the blessings that we enjoy, sight is certainly one of the most important. Many wear contacts, glasses or have surgery to improve their eyesight. However, it is possible to have 20/20 vision but still not see life clearly. Life can take us down paths that bring us to the point that we cannot see the way out, or to be able to understand the purpose of what is going on. We can become overwhelmed with how life is looking at the moment. Life can often look bleak. When this happens, we must find our way to a place where our eyes can be opened to His purpose and allow us to see the world from a different perspective.

Jeremiah is called the weeping prophet. He ministered to a people that were not receptive to his message. He observed in Gods people a path that would take them down the road to destruction. He could not see that his ministry was doing any good. God directs Jeremiah to the potter’s house to give him a new vision. On the potter’s wheel Jeremiah sees a lump of clay in the process of becoming a new vessel. Something went wrong and the project became marred in the potter’s hand. The potter did not discard the clay; he simply crushed it down and started over. Jeremiah watched that marred vessel as it was was molded into a new vessel in the potter’s hand. All of our lives have marred features; lost opportunities, unrealized potential, weaknesses and defects. Our text show us that if we allow the potter to have His way, God can take a marred, broken, imperfect life and turn it into a new vessel. If we will just stay in His hands, and stay on the wheel, God can work it out.

Life can become heavy at times. So heavy, that many times we feel as if we cannot bear up under it. Life often overwhelms us beyond what we think is our ability to endure. At one time or another, all of us have said of our troubles: “This is killing me.” Bro. Hughes asks, “What do you do when life is killing you?” It is not hard to imagine that Paul was talking about life in our modern world. Godly people find life hard. We expect that wicked people to suffer in life. But when we observe good people going through storms while evil people prosper, some may question the reasons.

In our text, Paul describes a time when he was at the point of saying “This is killing me.” He was so low that he “despaired for life.” This is not some casual Christian; we are talking about the apostle Paul. Paul was not a bad person, but he went through some trying situations that pressed him to the point of losing his will to live. So much was his burden that he expected and prepared to die. Then something happened. The bible does not say what, but God intervened and something resurrected in him. What he discovered during this time literally pulled him back from the brink of death. What did Paul discover when life was killing him? Bro. Hughes observes that Paul realized three things. 1) When life is killing you, go ahead and die. Don’t die to life, but die to self. Paul discovered that while dealing with his problems, he was relying on Paul, not God. He was trying to solve his problems without God. We try to fix things ourselves. We try to right all that is not working when we should turn it over to Him. We must die to ourselves, so that we can be totally dependent upon Him. 2) Paul changed his focus from his burdens to his blessings. He observed that God had saved, is saving, and would save in the future. 3) Finally, Paul recognized that no matter how weak his human hands might be, God’s hands still had a strong hold on him.

Life can become heavy at times. So heavy, that many times we feel as if we cannot bear up under it. Life often overwhelms us beyond what we think is our ability to endure. At one time or another, all of us have said of our troubles: “This is killing me.” Bro. Hughes asks, “What do you do when life is killing you?” It is not hard to imagine that Paul was talking about life in our modern world. Godly people find life hard. We expect that wicked people to suffer in life. But when we observe good people going through storms while evil people prosper, some may question the reasons.

In our text, Paul describes a time when he was at the point of saying “This is killing me.” He was so low that he “despaired for life.” This is not some casual Christian; we are talking about the apostle Paul. Paul was not a bad person, but he went through some trying situations that pressed him to the point of losing his will to live. So much was his burden that he expected and prepared to die. Then something happened. The bible does not say what, but God intervened and something resurrected in him. What he discovered during this time literally pulled him back from the brink of death. What did Paul discover when life was killing him? Bro. Hughes observes that Paul realized three things. 1) When life is killing you, go ahead and die. Don’t die to life, but die to self. Paul discovered that while dealing with his problems, he was relying on Paul, not God. He was trying to solve his problems without God. We try to fix things ourselves. We try to right all that is not working when we should turn it over to Him. We must die to ourselves, so that we can be totally dependent upon Him. 2) Paul changed his focus from his burdens to his blessings. He observed that God had saved, is saving, and would save in the future. 3) Finally, Paul recognized that no matter how weak his human hands might be, God’s hands still had a strong hold on him.

In chapter 17 of Luke, Jesus is discussing the future with the disciples. He ends with the sobering statement: “Remember Lot’s Wife.” We do not know much about her. She is introduced to us in the bible just before she disappears forever. It is significant that He calls us to remember a nameless woman. She is only known as Lot’s wife. Bro. Hughes asks what is so important about her that we should remember her. Jesus uses her as an example about what indecision can do in a life. The message of Lot’s wife is simple: People will be lost. Not everyone will be saved. She was on her way out to be saved from God’s wrath, but her action caused her to fall in the midst of her salvation. Her careless regard of the word of God illustrates that fundamental principle that God’s word means things. Her story tells us that He will save all those that want to be saved. No one that wants out will be left behind. When this woman should have been going out, she was going back. How many are going back today to an old life, to an old way? Lot’s wife exemplifies a weakness that is prevalent in too many people. When she should have been going out, she was too busy going back to what God was saving her from. When we go back and pick up things that God has delivered us from, they will have an even greater hold on us than they did before. Lot’s wife reminds us that we can go a long way and still be lost. Her story tells us that even with the best efforts of heaven, some will still be lost. Finally, the story of Lot’s wife tells us that a person can be lost even when connected to the right people. The bible refers to Lot as righteous. She was in the right place, connected to the right people and on the path to salvation, and yet fell short.

Though they are just three simple words, our text is a powerful reminder to us to remain focused on our journey to salvation.

In chapter 17 of Luke, Jesus is discussing the future with the disciples. He ends with the sobering statement: “Remember Lot’s Wife.” We do not know much about her. She is introduced to us in the bible just before she disappears forever. It is significant that He calls us to remember a nameless woman. She is only known as Lot’s wife. Bro. Hughes asks what is so important about her that we should remember her. Jesus uses her as an example about what indecision can do in a life. The message of Lot’s wife is simple: People will be lost. Not everyone will be saved. She was on her way out to be saved from God’s wrath, but her action caused her to fall in the midst of her salvation. Her careless regard of the word of God illustrates that fundamental principle that God’s word means things. Her story tells us that He will save all those that want to be saved. No one that wants out will be left behind. When this woman should have been going out, she was going back. How many are going back today to an old life, to an old way? Lot’s wife exemplifies a weakness that is prevalent in too many people. When she should have been going out, she was too busy going back to what God was saving her from. When we go back and pick up things that God has delivered us from, they will have an even greater hold on us than they did before. Lot’s wife reminds us that we can go a long way and still be lost. Her story tells us that even with the best efforts of heaven, some will still be lost. Finally, the story of Lot’s wife tells us that a person can be lost even when connected to the right people. The bible refers to Lot as righteous. She was in the right place, connected to the right people and on the path to salvation, and yet fell short.

Though they are just three simple words, our text is a powerful reminder to us to remain focused on our journey to salvation.

In our text, Nehemiah addresses Israel after years of Babylonian captivity. Israel is building walls around Jerusalem for protection. On a daily basis they were harassed for building walls by an enemy that wanted to destroy them. Nehemiah gives his brother the responsibility of opening the gates of the city, but stipulates that they not be opened until the sun burns hot each day. This means that on cloudy, foggy, or rainy days, the gates would not be opened at all. This stipulation had a potential affect on commerce and trade and other important aspects of daily life. Bro. Hughes asks, “Why was the time of the opening of the gates such a critical issue?” At that time, the walls around cities and the gates that granted access to them were critical for protection. Whoever kept the gates literally held the safety and security of the city in their hands. By making this stipulation, Nehemiah ensured that when the gates were opened, the people on the outside would be clearly visible. Those outside the gate could not hide in the shadows. By not opening the gates until the sun was well up ensured that all who waited outside were clearly visible and it could be determined if they posed a threat. There are some things in life that we must make the decision that are worth protecting. We cannot simply open the gates to everything without considering if it may be harmful. Our world has taken our safety mechanisms away. No longer are we shocked and embarrassed by behavior that not too many years ago would have caused shame and outrage. Our world has ridiculed our beliefs and standards to the point that many have allow the lines of right and wrong to become blurred and we have compromised ourselves in order to get along. Many have allowed things into their homes and lives that threaten the safety and security of our homes and families. The things that we let into our lives must be examined. Who is standing at the gate deciding who and what gets let in? If we want our homes to be happy and safe we have to guard the gate. We must guard the gates of our life to prevent these things from coming in and destroying us.

In our text, Nehemiah addresses Israel after years of Babylonian captivity. Israel is building walls around Jerusalem for protection. On a daily basis they were harassed for building walls by an enemy that wanted to destroy them. Nehemiah gives his brother the responsibility of opening the gates of the city, but stipulates that they not be opened until the sun burns hot each day. This means that on cloudy, foggy, or rainy days, the gates would not be opened at all. This stipulation had a potential affect on commerce and trade and other important aspects of daily life. Bro. Hughes asks, “Why was the time of the opening of the gates such a critical issue?” At that time, the walls around cities and the gates that granted access to them were critical for protection. Whoever kept the gates literally held the safety and security of the city in their hands. By making this stipulation, Nehemiah ensured that when the gates were opened, the people on the outside would be clearly visible. Those outside the gate could not hide in the shadows. By not opening the gates until the sun was well up ensured that all who waited outside were clearly visible and it could be determined if they posed a threat. There are some things in life that we must make the decision that are worth protecting. We cannot simply open the gates to everything without considering if it may be harmful. Our world has taken our safety mechanisms away. No longer are we shocked and embarrassed by behavior that not too many years ago would have caused shame and outrage. Our world has ridiculed our beliefs and standards to the point that many have allow the lines of right and wrong to become blurred and we have compromised ourselves in order to get along. Many have allowed things into their homes and lives that threaten the safety and security of our homes and families. The things that we let into our lives must be examined. Who is standing at the gate deciding who and what gets let in? If we want our homes to be happy and safe we have to guard the gate. We must guard the gates of our life to prevent these things from coming in and destroying us.

Bro. Hughes observes that many of the messages he preaches have to do with dealing with trouble. The reason is that all of us will encounter trying situations no matter who we are. We do not have to be a bad person for trouble come into our life. When we look at our world and the state of our society we quickly come to the conclusion that we are all in trouble. Trouble is everywhere and it is overwhelming. It floods our minds and thinking and overwhelms our emotions. In our text, Habakkuk was struggling with problems. He was puzzled and could not understand what God was doing and what He was allowing to happen to Israel. He could not understand how God would allow Israel to be threatened as it was. In such a state of mind Habakkuk went to pray. He sought to understand, he was looking for encouragement and he needed a word for his people from the Lord. He recalled that God had delivered Israel from great peril and danger in the past. If He did it once, He will do it again. No matter what it looks like right now, it is not over until God says it is over. Habakkuk offers his prayer, and in verse three God answers by moving. God is coming. He is coming to our problem. He has heard our prayer and He is coming. God’s power is greater than our problem. God is coming to where we are to address our problem and nothing is going to stop Him. Our unbelief, our doubt, our sin is not going to stop Him. By His coming he restates His profound interest in all of us. He cares about us. He loves His people. God is coming; That is a good word for a bad day.