Creating opportunities for Scripture to come alive (Neh 8:13-18)
Neh 8:13-18 Who hasn’t experienced the joy when our circumstances or an event brought home to us the meaning of a passage in new ways? Suddenly we realised the significance of what we read so that a dry portion of…
The best remedy for remorse (Neh 8:9-12)
Neh 8:9-12 A friend of mine hates birthdays. Every year reminds her of the passing of time, of the fact that she is still single at 45 when she longs to be married. Birthdays for her are a time to…
Helpful principles in reading Scripture (Neh 8:1-8)
Neh 8:1-8 Once I visited a church, where instead of the Bible reading, a re-imagined story of the prodigal son (in this case a prodigal daughter in a modern context) was recounted. The preacher then talked about parenting and the…
What makes the difference between success and failure? (Neh 6:15-7:5)
Neh 6:15-19; 7:1-5 Despite badgering, opposition, tactics to frighten the workers, discredit their leader and forcibly stop the project, the breaches have been filled and the Jerusalem wall now stands, less than two months after the project began (Neh 6:15).…
Keeping our focus in doing God’s will (Neh 6:1-14)
Neh 6:1-14 When I was teaching Introduction to the Old Testament at Bible college/seminary, I used to set weekly exercises for my students with Bible readings and comprehension questions to build up their Bible knowledge. Some students complained that their…
Why cultivating generosity matters (Neh 5:14-19)
Neh 5:14-19 Thinking of generosity, numerous examples spring to mind when Christians helped and supported me. When I was a volunteer in a Christian youth hostel in Israel, my money was stolen early on, and the manager reimbursed me from…
Choosing generosity over greed (Neh 5:1-13)
Neh 5:1-13 Last year, I heard the wife of a pastor brag about the material blessings they have received including a new luxury car gifted by an anonymous donor. The church this couple leads believes that God blesses people of…
Learning to overcome discouragement and other obstacles (Neh 4:6-23)
Neh 4:6-23 Professional long-distance runners are sometimes asked what the hardest portion of a run is. The answer varies, of course, since each part has its particular difficulties. Frequently though, somewhere past the mid-point is seen as mentally the most…
The best answer to ridicule (Neh 4:1-5)
Neh 4:1-5 Years ago, I worked as a volunteer at a Christian youth hostel in Israel. One of the team, when he first arrived, became affectionately known as ‘the man with the iron’ because he asked for an iron for…
How to work together well for the common good? (Nehemiah 3)
Neh 3:1-32 On an elders’ retreat that I was a part of, we had a speaker talking about leadership. He described how his son, a pastor, was about to choose a co-pastor. Our speaker’s question to him was whether he,…