Many sacrifices were offered on that joyous day, for God had given the people cause for great joy. The women and children also participated in the celebration, and the joy of the people of Jerusalem could be heard far away. Nehemiah 12:43 Nehemiah ordered everyone on the wall and up they came by the dozens. […]
Read MoreCategory Archives: Leadership
Holiness Precedes Happiness
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength. Proverbs 17:22 If happiness were a disease, none other would be more contagious. If you laugh often, if you’re making life fun, if you’re never very far from a smile, you’ll have no trouble encouraging people and making friends. People who […]
Read MoreKnown and Remembered by God
Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. Colossians 3:23–24 As Nehemiah’s surely was in Nehemiah 11, my mind is flooded with the faces […]
Read MoreThe Willing Unknowns
For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. Hebrews 6:10 There is another body of names and faces equally deserving of our praise. They are the lesser lights, the […]
Read MoreDare to Be Distinct
They solemnly promised to carefully follow all the commands, regulations, and decrees of the LORD our Lord . . . . “We promise together not to neglect the Temple of our God.” Nehemiah 10:29, 39 There are some very simple—but life-changing—principles that I glean from the verses in Nehemiah 10. The first is that serious […]
Read MoreFirst Things First
Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty. Proverbs 21:5 How difficult it is to find a person who thinks first and then acts! Most of us usually do the opposite. Equally difficult is helping people maintain proper priorities and to use time wisely. I admire Nehemiah because he […]
Read MoreA Prayer Checkup
Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 As we approach the topic of prayer, let’s begin with an assessment. Carefully […]
Read MoreNothing More Vital Than Prayer
“You alone are the LORD. You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve them all, and the angels of heaven worship you.” Nehemiah 9:6 Of all the disciplines a leader must maintain, nothing—let me repeat, nothing—is more vital to […]
Read MoreObedience and Genuine Joy
Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the LORD. Psalm 119:1 When we get beneath surface facts and start to traffic in the realm of in-depth truth, two things usually happen: we walk in greater obedience, and we discover genuine happiness. The leaders in Nehemiah’s day experienced both. They found written in […]
Read MoreThe Pursuit of Insight
Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment. Proverbs 9:10 Then on the second day the heads of fathers’ households of all the people, the priests, and the Levites were gathered to Ezra the scribe so that they might gain insight into the words of […]
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