This is the Bible Book Club, the book of Nehemiah.

Welcome to the club.

Last time in chapter one of Nehemiah, he received a visit from his brother and heard that the exiles were in trouble.

He immediately perceived the problem.

The city of Jerusalem was at risk for attack, and that meant the people could be taken captive

and the rebuilt temple could be destroyed again. Nehemiah was so struck by the implication that

he mourned for days. His passion drove him to ponder and pray about what

should be done and who would do it. Considering his own strategic position as cup bearer to the king,

he came to the obvious conclusion. He needed to be willing to take responsibility should God

choose to open the door. And with this thought in mind,

Nehemiah prayed. Okay, everybody knows by now, I think hopefully that I love Nehemiah, if you

heard the last episode. And here's why. He was a man of purpose and strategy. He provided a pattern

for us to follow. And I love having a set of instructions. And that's kind of how

I think of him. He perceived the situation. He pondered the problem. He used passion to be a force.

He prayed for direction and favor. He patiently waited for opportunities. He methodically developed a

plan. And he persevered through opposition.

So in the last episode, we discussed how Nehemiah perceived, pondered, and prayed because he was so

passionate about God and his people. This was Nehemiah's heartwork, his motivation, what we talked about last week.

In this episode, we will read how Nehemiah patiently prepared and planned.

This is Nehemiah's mind at work.

This is his strategy kicking in.

And perhaps that is a point for us to consider already. The heart fuels the mind.

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