Nehemiah 11:1-2
1 Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem. And the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem the holy city, while nine out of ten remained in the other towns. 2 And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem.
All of chapter 11 of Nehemiah is devoted to a certain group of people moving from their homes in the countryside into the city of Jerusalem. You see, though the walls were built, the city needed people to live there in order to see to it that things were taken care of. Since Jerusalem was the city where the temple was, keeping it functioning was a way in which the people served the worship of God.
Recognize this fact: Sometimes God’s people need to change everything about their lives in order to serve him. The people in Nehemiah moved. They left their houses, they left their relatives, they left their careers, and they moved into Jerusalem in order to serve God. They knew that, for God’s city to be rightly taken care of, some people had to change everything in order to do that work.
Are you willing to set aside your comforts for the service of the Lord? What is going to be the number one priority in your household? You can either make your comfort number one, or you will make God’s service number one. This will be reflected in how you spend your time, how you spend your money, how you give of yourself and your energy to serve the Lord.
Pastor Travis Peterson 