Read Nehemiah 11:22-30

As Jerusalem celebrated the rebuilding of their city wall, they got loud. There were people from all around who could hear the Jews celebrating what God had done in their city. The Bible says that even people from far away could hear the shouting. Whenever God’s people celebrate the things that God does in their lives, other people notice…sometimes people that we’re not even close to.

You may not think that what you do in your life matters much when it comes to your relationship with God, but it does. It matters, first and foremost, because our relationship with God is the most important decision we make in our lives. Secondly, it matters because we make a much larger impact in the world than we could ever imagine.

Whenever we are a part of something great God is doing or when we celebrate the great things that God has given us in our lives, God uses those things to speak to the heart of people all around us. It might encourage a follower of Christ, challenge someone on the fence spiritually, or make someone uninterested in spiritual things take a second look at God.

Never underestimate your importance in making a huge impact for God. You never know how God is going to use you to speak into other people’s lives.

Action Step:
Easter is this Sunday, if you haven’t invited the people you’ve chosen to Easter at C3, yet, make plans to do so, now.

Today’s Prayer:
Pray for C3 as we prepare for Easter Sunday. Pray that God prepares the hearts of people to turn back to God or encounter Him in a unique way.

It’s catch up day for your daily reading. You should have read through Nehemiah 12:30.

Eggapalooza is this Saturday, and you won’t want to miss it. We have tons of prizes, over 20 thousand eggs, and will have a special fly over appearance by the Easter Bunny! Invite all your friends!

We also still need volunteers to help at Eggapalooza. If you’re interested, let us know.

Pray this week for our Eggapalooza outreach that we are able to put on a great community event to show God’s love to our area in a practical way. Also, pray for C3 this Sunday for the 7th and final week of Change Your World in 52 Days.

Read Nehemiah 11:22-30

At the dedication of the city walls, all the people gathered around and celebrated the work they had done. It wasn’t easy. They had to work very hard for long hours, there was the constant threat of opposition, and much more. But, the people of Jerusalem didn’t give up. They completed the rebuilding process, and, when they were done, they celebrated.

Too many times in our lives, we get so busy working toward some goal, that we forget sometimes to slow down and take a minute to celebrate all the good things that God has done in our lives. We become so obsessed with more or the next big thing that we forget to enjoy what God has given us now.

Action Step:
Make a list of things that you can celebrate today. It might be family, relationships, health, your work, something great God is doing in your life, or anything else. Even if you have had tough circumstances recently, make a list of the good things God has put in your life to celebrate.

Today’s Prayer:
Celebrate and thank God for the things He has put in your life. Thank Him for allowing you to accomplish the things that you’ve been able to accomplish. If you struggled coming up with a list of things to celebrate, ask God to show you the things you can celebrate in your life today.

Read Nehemiah 11:12-21

Among the group returning to Jerusalem were several priests who had returned to the city with Zerubbabel years before the city walls were rebuilt. This group of priests helped Zerubbabel rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem which had also been destroyed. While Nehemiah played a huge role in rebuilding the city of Jerusalem by rallying the people to rebuild the city walls, he was only one piece of the puzzle.

God used a number of people to rebuild Jerusalem. He used Nehemiah and all the people to rebuild the city walls, Zerubbabel in overseeing the process of rebuilding the temple, and Ezra who played a huge role in helping the city to turn back to God spiritually. While each of these people knew that the work they were doing was very important, they also realized that they were part of a bigger plan God was putting in place to rebuild the city.

Like Nehemiah, Zerubbabel, and Ezra, we all have a very important role in what God wants to do around us. But, we always need to remember that we are not alone. There are people all around us who are working hard to see God do great things around them as well. This means we need to slow down and encourage those people every now and then. Other times, it means we need to allow ourselves to be encouraged by other people. And, sometimes, like in the case of Nehemiah, it means working directly with other people to see God do even more amazing things in the world around us.

Action Step:
If you haven’t done so already, pick out a few people to invite to Easter at C3. If you have already picked some people out to invite, decide how and when you are going to invite them to C3.

Today’s Prayer:
Pray for the people who are going to be invited to church this Easter Sunday that God would help them be open to coming to church.

Read Nehemiah 11:15-36

As we learned in yesterday’s reading, after the Jews rebuilt the wall, they didn’t all just move back into Jerusalem. Some returned to where they were before they started rebuilding the wall and others relocated. They were Jewish people who lived inside the city walls as well as Jews who were scattered around the outskirts of the city. In this passage, we see that they were living in a number of different places and were carrying out many different duties. However, one thing is true, they were all contributing to what God wanted to do in and around Jerusalem and with His people.

Most of the time, we miss the big picture of what God is doing around us. We get so focused on what we’re doing, that we forget that God is not only working in our lives, but he is working in lives all around us.

He’s also working in other churches all around us. Churches shouldn’t be competing with each other, they should be celebrating with each other because we are all on the same team.

Action Step:
Find a family member or a friend who attends a different church. Ask them what God is doing at their church and celebrate with them.

Today’s Prayer:
Pray for the church of the individual who you talk to today. Also, pray for God to do big things this Easter season at C3 AND at the other area churches. Pray that God will use all of us to change our community for Him.

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Go to www.AroundC3.com/52days for more information about C3′s Change Your World in 52 Days Series and challenge.

Read Nehemiah 11:1-14

An odd thing happened once the temple walls were rebuilt, Nehemiah realized that there weren’t many people actually living inside the city walls once they had been rebuilt. Many of the Jews were not interested in living in the city because moving inside the walls meant that they would have to rebuilt their homes and reestablish their business – both of which would be a huge investment of time or money. They also knew that living in Jerusalem would require a stricter obedience to God’s world because of social pressure and living close to the temple.

In fact, there were only a few people from each tribe actually moved into the city once the walls were rebuilt. Nehemiah says that these individuals were commended by the people, and they were called leaders. They were leaders because they were willing to step out and do something that few others were willing to step out and do. They knew the effort that they were going to have to put in to rebuild their lives, and they knew the risk they were taking. This is what leaders do. They see the risk, they see the sacrifice, but they also see what the world can be if they step out and take a chance.

In order to truly change the world around us, we need to be willing to be leaders – people who see the risk and are willing to make the sacrifice by stepping out and taking a chance on something that they care about.

Action Step:
Make a quick list of things that you really felt like you should have done, but you didn’t because you were too afraid of the risks or you simply weren’t willing to make the sacrifice. Read through the list. How do each of those situations make you feel? What do you wish you could have done differently? Is there anything on the list you can do now?

Today’s Prayer:
Ask God to give you the courage to be a leader and be willing to step out, take risks, and sacrifice for the things He has put in your heart that you care deeply about.

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Go to www.AroundC3.com/52days for more information about C3′s Change Your World in 52 Days Series and challenge.

It’s catch up day for your daily reading. You should have read through Nehemiah 10:39.

OUTREACH THIS WEEKEND: We will be having a Gas Card Giveaway on Sunday at 12:15 p.m. after the 11:00 a.m. service. We will be going to local gas stations and passing out a $5 gas card and invites to Eggapalooza and our Easter services.

Pray for C3 this weekend as we have week 6 of Change Your World in 52 Days.

Read Nehemiah 10:28-39

“We assume the responsibility…” is a phrase that shows up several times throughout this passage. The Jewish people had not only rebuilt their city walls, but they had also turned back to God and were determined to change. They knew that, if they wanted things to be different, they would have to do things differently than they had been done before. They began to take responsibility for their actions.

It’s easy for us to blame all of our problems on other people or things outside of our control. We like to blame our parents, the government, our boss, our spouse, and pretty much anyone else we can think of for where we are.

Sometimes those things are true and sometimes they aren’t. But, there’s almost always something that we can do to help our situation. We can work to do something about it. Instead of sitting around and blaming other people about a situation, we need to begin to take responsibility for ourselves and take action. We need to simply do the things that God wants us to do in our lives.

Action Step:
What’s one area that you often place blame or make excuses that you can start taking responsibility and take action?

Today’s Prayer:
Pray for the last few outreach projects that C3 is going to be involved in over the weeks leading up to Easter. Pray that God will use C3 to make a positive impact on the tri-state.

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Go to www.AroundC3.com/52days for more information about C3′s Change Your World in 52 Days Series and challenge.