Pray the word with David Platt is a resource from Radical.net.

And thus begins a chapter that lists all kinds of different people's names who work in different

ways on rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem and its gates and its doors. And it's really

fascinating. When you read through it, now it can seem not so fascinating. This is one of those chapters

in the Bible. You see all these different people's names listed in these places that you don't even

recognize and you can think, okay, what does that have to do with my life? Well,

one, it's really important not just to come to the Bible with the first question centering on

yourself, myself, that I come to the Bible saying, what does this passage teach me about God?

And what does this passage teach about who we are as people made in the image of God? And

what does this passage teach about his purpose? What does this passage teach about what God is

doing in the world and God's purpose in my life? And how we need Jesus, how does this passage

help me understand who Jesus is and what Jesus is done? There's so many big questions to ask,

not just what does this have to do with my life today. But all that to come back to when you read

through this and you see all the different parts that different people played in building these

walls. And in what didn't seem like very spiritual work, like they're building walls, they're

repairing gates, they're doing this and that. But that's the beauty of what we see all throughout

the Bible is that it's all glorifying to God. It's not just the preaching of God's word that's

glorifying to God. It's the work that God's people do day in and day out. I wish we had time now

just to dive into kind of a theology of work, but I just want to encourage each one of you listening

to this right now, whatever your day holds. Or if you're listening to this at night, the day ahead

holds in work and school, like whatever we do, do it with all our heart. Colossians 3 says, because

we're working for the Lord, not for men. And whether we eat or drink, do whatever we do for the glory

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