"Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing." Psalm 100:2

I was cruising along through the opening chapters of Nehemiah this morning. You know, all about which guy from which family was repairing which part of the wall. In the middle of all these details, suddenly I was pulled up short by this sentence in chapter 3 verse 5: "...but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord." What a shame to be remembered as the ones who were not willing to do the Lord's work! In Judges 5:23 I read how one group of people were cursed because they were unwilling to help the Lord.

For the Christian, having a heart to help the Lord is really a key ingredient for serving Him. In Nehemiah, those that worked were commended. Some were more enthusiastic than others--3:24 Baruch earnestly repaired--but most of the workers just did their part. And why not serve? Is the work too hard or perhaps below your station in life? Are you too busy, too sick, too poor, too rich, too old, too young? If there is an excuse to be had, it can be found.

Oh the power of being willing! Malcom could have used his illness as an excuse to do nothing. But instead he was willing to serve and a soul was saved! There are some people in Taiwan at Dali Faith Baptist Church who were willing to step in when needed. The result is several souls have been saved and the church membership has grown!

Recently my 4-year old grandson, Spencer, asked me if he could help. I found something for him to throw in the trash for me. He took the trash and bounded away shouting, "Hallelujah! I get to help!" Yes! That's the spirit! Imagine the difference in this world if we all had a heart to serve.

A quick update: Malcom still needs prayer for the throat and mouth infection. Michael is responding to the treatments and may go home from the hospital soon. Thanks for serving the Lord by praying.