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

Welcome to the club.

Welcome to Season 16, the Book of Nehemiah.

If you just found us for the first time, know that we call this podcast the Bible Book Club, because the Bible is the number one selling book of all time.

It must be read and it is fascinating to discuss. And we make it easy for you to do both. We read and discuss and you download and listen wherever life takes you.

Walking, commuting, studying with friends, or

working around the house. Whatever you're doing, the Bible Book Club is there for you.

All right. Confession, Nehemiah is my favorite book, all-time faith. In fact, over a decade ago,

I wrote an entire book about parenting, drawing lessons from Nehemiah called The Passionate Mom.

Why do I love this book?

Because I want to live a strategically purposeful life for the Lord, just like Nehemiah.

He was a man of purpose and strategy, and he provided a pattern for us to follow.

Nehemiah didn't just love the Lord. He locked in on God's will

and tactically took action for the Lord. His story is in alliteration of the letter P. 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. He perceived, pondered, prayed, planned, prepared, and persevered. And add to the fact that he was

passionate and patient and well, you get the picture. When I face trials of any kind, when I have a job

that seems insurmountable, I put on my Nehemiah persona. What would Nehemiah do? In this book, we're going to find out,

and I hope it will impact your life as much as it has mine. We will see that things did not always

go the way Nehemiah would have liked, but no matter what happened, he performed well. He could

not control the outcome, but he could control his own performance.

...