When Nehemiah received news about the broken down state of Jerusalem, what did he do? He prayed and he planned, being proactive with the opportunities God gave him, and ready to go when the time was right. May God help us be proactive in all that He providentially gives us to do!

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/preach-the-word/id1449859151?mt=2

Whether it is written in the pages of the Bible, proclaimed through declarations of apostolic testimony, or supernaturally declared by God Himself, the gospel of Jesus Christ is the truth and we need to be reminded of it every day!

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/preach-the-word/id1449859151?mt=2

Sometimes there is no clean solution to sin. There is no easy way out. Such is the example at the end of the Book of Ezra. Human beings have no good solution to sin; thankfully, God does in Jesus Christ!

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/preach-the-word/id1449859151?mt=2

While Jesus in His divine power gives us all that we need to live this life for His glory, we are not excused from all personal responsibility when it comes to our own spiritual growth. There are certain things we can do to grow up in grace, growing in our spiritual fruitfulness. We can do them, so we should do them!

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/preach-the-word/id1449859151?mt=2

Ezra wasn’t one to brag, but he could have easily said the words, “mission accomplished.” When God gave him the opportunity to lead a group of his Jewish countrymen back from Babylon/Persia to their homeland in Israel, he did it. And God was the One who equipped him to do it all. What God calls us to do, God equips us to do…always.

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/preach-the-word/id1449859151?mt=2

As Peter opened his second letter, he wrote about knowing Jesus. There is nothing more important than knowing Jesus, nothing more foundational. All the promises contained in the Bible are out of reach for us, until/unless we know Jesus. But as we know Him and grow in our knowledge of Him, we find that He gives us all that we need.

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/preach-the-word/id1449859151?mt=2

When it comes to our ongoing fight against the devil, the apostle Peter understood that we have an enemy who hates us and who desires to see us fail. Thankfully, the Bible gives us a plan to fight him. God readily equips His people to resist the enemy, so we should resist him. Resist the devil, by standing firm in Christ!

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/preach-the-word/id1449859151?mt=2

Can God and politics go together? Yes! God regularly intervened in the political environment of His people, showing that nothing is outside His sovereign hand. We need not despair over geopolitics. Let us do the things God has given us to do, and trust God to take care of the rest.

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/preach-the-word/id1449859151?mt=2

As Peter starts to bring his first letter to a close, he reminds his readers that all Christians are accountable to our Lord Jesus, and all means “all.” Old and young, leaders and laity, all of us will face Jesus and one of the things He will look for is our humility.

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/preach-the-word/id1449859151?mt=2

The newly regathered people of Jerusalem went to work rebuilding the temple in Ezra 3, only to have their work quickly interrupted and shut down. Thankfully, God had a plan for His people, despite the opposition they faced. He would ensure that His work was done. He always does!

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/preach-the-word/id1449859151?mt=2