We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished. 12 But because our fathers had angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried away the people to Babylonia.
There are 8 million stories in the naked city. In 1948, the film about NYC, The Naked City, began with that line. That tells us something about us. We all have a story to tell. After the captivity, King Cyrus decreed that the temple would be rebuilt, which did not please everyone in his court. They asked the builders what they were doing. They answered with a story, a testimony of who God is, Creator and Judge, and who they were, disobedient people who deserved the punishment they received.
At some point, maybe today, someone will ask you what you are doing when they see you praying, or reading your Bible, or walking out of your church. Like the 8 million New Yorkers, you have a story to tell. You can tell them that God made heaven and earth but we rebelled and the Fall began. But God decreed that we would be ransomed by his Son, Jesus Christ. I am doing this because I believe in Jesus, that he died and rose again, and I follow him because he commands it. They may not like your answer but they can never say they never heard it.
Dear Lord, thank you for the story of your redemption of mankind. Help us to tell our story so others may know that Jesus is Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church