English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

Acts 5:24-32 (English Standard Version)

24Now when(A) the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. 25And someone came and told them, "Look! The men whom you put in prison(B) are standing in the temple and teaching the people." 26Then(C) the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for(D) they were afraid of being stoned by the people.

27And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28saying,(E) "We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you(F) intend to bring this man’s blood upon us." 29But Peter and the apostles answered,(G) "We must obey God rather than men. 30(H) The God of our fathers(I) raised Jesus,(J) whom you killed by hanging him on(K) a tree. 31God exalted(L) him at his right hand as(M) Leader and(N) Savior,(O) to give(P) repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32And(Q) we are witnesses to these things, and(R) so is the Holy Spirit,(S) whom God has given to those who obey him."

This is the famous passage where Peter lays it out and says, "When it comes down to a difference between what God says and what man says.... I'm going with what God says!" It's better to obey God than man. Wow, stating that can really come with some great consequences. I fear sometimes that in the very near future we may have to make this choice more and more often. When I'm faced with this challenge will I be able to have the courage and backbone to say what Peter said? I guess I need to make sure I start right now. When I think about it, there are lots of ways I can make sure I obey God rather than man...maybe not with the same visible consequences. But when there are rules I need to follow, am I doing it because man told me to? Or because I want to obey God? Because, if I'm obeying man, when man's not looking, there's no reason to obey. But if I'm obeying God, he's always watching. I need to always obey.

Acts 3:12-26 (New King James Version)

12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. 16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
17 “Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before,[a] 21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. 22 For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’[b] 24 Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold[c] these days. 25 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’[d] 26 To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”


Peter remembered who he was and who he wasn't. It may have been easy to want to take credit for the healing, but he knew where the credit belonged.... with God. When God does great stuff in and through me and I need to be very careful to always point people back to the truth that HE is the only one who deserves credit!

New King James Version (NKJV)

Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
[NKJV at Thomas Nelson] [Thomas Nelson, Inc.]
Acts 2:14-21 (New King James Version)

Peter’s Sermon

14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 ‘ And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath:
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.
21 And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the LORD
Shall be saved.’[a]

Peter, true to his own exhortation to be ready in season and out to give an answer for the faith that is in you uses this perfect opportunity to stand up and proclaim the truth. Peter was ready to do what needed to be done at the time. This is a great example for me. I can't afford to not be right with God or not be in a place where I am not ready to speak for God. I never know when that opportunity will come. I need to be ready. Peter wasn't perfect, he certainly had failed his Lord not long before this by denying him, but the point is he got it right with the Lord and now had confidence to seize the opportunity and boldly speak for God. Usually when I am timid to speak for God it is because I am not right with Him. I need to stay right with Him so I am ready for the opportunities.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

Nehemiah 13:1-14 (English Standard Version)

Nehemiah 13

Nehemiah’s Final Reforms

¹On that day^A)">(A) they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people. And in it was found written^B)">(B) that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, ²for they did not meet the people of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them—yet our God turned the curse into a blessing. ³As soon as the people heard the law,^C)">(C) they separated from Israel all^D)">(D) those of foreign descent.

⁴Now before this,^E)">(E) Eliashib the priest, who^F)">(F) was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, and who was related to^G)">(G) Tobiah, ⁵prepared for Tobiah a large chamber where they had previously put the grain offering, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil,^H)">(H) which were given by commandment to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests. ⁶While this was taking place, I was not in Jerusalem, for^I)">(I) in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes^J)">(J) king of Babylon I went to the king. And after some time I asked leave of the king ⁷and came to Jerusalem, and I then discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah,^K)">(K) preparing for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. ⁸And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber. ⁹Then I gave orders, and they^L)">(L) cleansed the chambers, and I brought back there the vessels of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.

¹⁰I also found out that^M)">(M) the portions of the Levites had not been given to them, so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had fled each^N)">(N) to his field. ¹¹^O)">(O) So I confronted the officials and said,^P)">(P) "Why is the house of God forsaken?" And I gathered them together and set them in their stations. ¹²Then all Judah brought^Q)">(Q) the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. ¹³And^R)">(R) I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, and as their assistant Hanan the son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah,^S)">(S) for they were considered reliable, and their duty was to distribute to their brothers. ¹⁴^T)">(T) Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for his service.

As they read God's Word and found stuff that was out of line with their life, they changed. No excuses, no rationalizations, just obedience. This is a great example I need to follow. When my life is not in synch with God's Word, I need to change

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

Nehemiah 8:13-9:3 (New International Version)

¹³ On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra the scribe to give attention to the words of the Law. ¹⁴ They found written in the Law, which the LORD had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live in booths during the feast of the seventh month ¹⁵ and that they should proclaim this word and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem: "Go out into the hill country and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, and from myrtles, palms and shade trees, to make booths"-as it is written. ^a]">[a]

¹⁶ So the people went out and brought back branches and built themselves booths on their own roofs, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God and in the square by the Water Gate and the one by the Gate of Ephraim. ¹⁷ The whole company that had returned from exile built booths and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great.

¹⁸ Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the feast for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly.

Nehemiah 9

The Israelites Confess Their Sins

¹ On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and having dust on their heads. ² Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the wickedness of their fathers. ³ They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the LORD their God.

Footnotes:

1. Nehemiah 8:15 See Lev. 23:37-40.

It is so cool to see that when people get back into God's Word and they start doing the things in there how great their lives become. So many times we think, "If I live my life by the Bible, it will be so boring and aweful." That's not the case at all. These people (like us many times) had no idea what the Bible said. But when they found out and started doing what it said, they had more fun than they had had in a long time!

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

Nehemiah 3:17-32 (English Standard Version)

17After him the Levites repaired: Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, repaired for his district. 18After him their brothers repaired: Bavvai the son of Henadad, ruler of half the district of Keilah. 19Next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory at^(A) the buttress.^[a] 20After him Baruch the son of Zabbai repaired another section from the buttress to the door of the house of^(B) Eliashib the high priest. 21After him^(C) Meremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired another section from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib. 22After him the priests, the men of^(D) the surrounding area, repaired. 23After them Benjamin and Hasshub repaired opposite their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah repaired beside his own house. 24After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah to the buttress 25and to^(E) the corner. Palal the son of Uzai repaired opposite the buttress and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king at^(F) the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh 26^(G) and the temple servants living on^(H) Ophel repaired to a point opposite^(I) the Water Gate on the east and the projecting tower. 27After him^(J) the Tekoites repaired another section opposite the great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel.

28Above^(K) the Horse Gate the priests repaired, each one opposite his own house. 29After them Zadok the son of Immer repaired opposite his own house. After him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, repaired. 30After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph repaired another section. After him^(L) Meshullam the son of Berechiah repaired opposite^(M) his chamber. 31After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, opposite the Muster Gate,^[b] and to the upper chamber of the corner. 32And between the upper chamber of the corner and^(N) the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants repaired.

Wow, at first glance at today's passage I was thinking how in the world am I going to apply this? But God is good and as I dug a little and looked in to a couple of friend's posts on this and also looked at the Quiet Time Commentary, I found a couple of great things. The first thing that struck me is that most of these people here who were doing work on the wall were doing work right near their house. I think this is another reminder from God (there have been several recently) that when doing His work, it starts at home. It starts in my home, then with the people right in my community. It's easy to think about the mass body of people in the world, but the problem with that is that it's easy to use that as an excuse. The mass body in the world has no individual face, it's easy to hide behind, not get my hands dirty, and really do nothing. But when I go to work for God right at home and right with the people in my community, then everything becomes real, not just theory. This is kind of hard since I just recently moved and am now in a brand new community. But God help me as I attempt to go to work for him right where I'm at

Nehemiah 2:1-8 (English Standard Version)

Nehemiah 2

Nehemiah Sent to Judah

1In the month of Nisan,^(A) in the twentieth year of King^(B) Artaxerxes, when wine was before him,^(C) I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. 2And the king said to me, "Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but^(D) sadness of the heart." Then I was very much afraid. 3I said to the king,^(E) "Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad,^(F) when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?" 4Then the king said to me, "What are you requesting?" So I prayed^(G) to the God of heaven. 5And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it." 6And the king said to me (^(H) the queen sitting beside him), "How long will you be gone, and when will you return?" So it pleased the king to send me^(I) when I had given him a time. 7And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, let letters be given me^(J) to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, 8and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of^(K) the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy." And the king granted me what I asked,^(L) for the good hand of my God was upon me.

I can't imagine the way Nehemiah felt when he was before the king. I'm sure in one sense he was scared to death. On the other hand, he knew what God wanted him to do and was willing to do whatever it took to obey. I need to have that kind of spirit. A lot of times, it's easy to get distracted from doing what God wants because it's hard or doing my own thing is easier. I've got to be willing to obey God even when it's hard.