What we do in life echoes in eternity

Day 3 (5-20-07) Today was another amazing day, I think by the end of this trip I will have said that for every day and truely mean it for every day. It's kinda hard not to have an amazing day in a place like this. Today we went to church, and even thought I didn't understand much, except for what was translated I felt God was there, and he had truely called me to Italy. They man who gave the serman today talked about Nehemiah, and specifically the first three chapters with a focus on chapter 3, which talks about him organizing the rebuilding of Jeresulem. He was so convicted that Jeresulem was the place where God was to dwell, that he was willing to do almost anything to make that city as holy as possible. In chapter three it talks specifically about how he went about rebuilding the city wall and the gates that are the enterences to the City. The most important of the two were the first two gates. The first was the sheep gate, and you might be wondering how this is important, but think about it from a biblical and theological point of view, we are constantly referred two as the Sheep and God is the shepard. Th man who spoke Giovanni, called this the gate of salvation, saying that this was the way that everyone first needed to enter the city, and once through this gate you could get to anywhere that you needed. He also talked about the second gate which was the fish gate, this I think is a little more clear as to the connection. Jesus called us to be fishers of men. And that is one of the most important things that Jesus teaches us and calls us to do. He also talked about how all of the labors that we do in the name of the lord, we are rebuilding the walls and the streets and the buildings of the new Jeresulem in heaven, and that all of our work goes into making it the most beautiful and godly city there could be. The thing that I like most about Nehemiah is his conviction, and his passion. I feel that this is very much the type of person that I am. If I were to use one word to describe myself it would be passionate. I think that this is a double edged sword and is my best and worst attribute. I think being passionate is one of the keys to life, and living a fruitful life, that is God focused and focused on what Jesus called us to do. But at the same time being so passionate sometimes causes me to jump into things before checking to spot my landing and making sure that I am going to land on solid ground. I feel that God is teaching me patience but at the same time allowing me to be as passionate as possible. I think that these next 5 weeks will be a beautiful opportunity to accomplish this task. "Conviction: Be sure that your feet are planted in the right place before you decide to stand firm."