Nehemiah is a continuation of Ezra; in fact, in early Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, Ezra-Nehemiah was one book.
I find it refreshing as Nehemiah opens (but it is the case for all prophets) that we hear someone taking responsibility for his/her actions: "We have offended you deeply...." This is so hard for us to do, isn't it? Our first reaction is often to justify our actions (I did this because you did...) or to blame someone else (It wasn't me who caused this to happen.....). And here we see Nehemiah say: Yes, God, we have done wrong.
Admitting our lostness is the first step. And it is hard. Turning around is hard as well....but both these difficult steps lead us to our wellness. Just put one foot in front of the other.
1 Corinthians 12 is so important to our life together. Alone we can only do so much, but together---together we are the Body of Christ with many gifts and talents. Together---inspired by the Holy Spirit---utilizing our gifts---we can change and be changed. And we need each and every gift---we can not think there is one (or one person) we can do without. If we were to take this seriously, and urgently, what might change about how we speak and act today?
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