So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. —Nehemiah 6:15 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. —Psalm 33:6 The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.  But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. —Psalm 33:10-11 The wicked crave evil; their neighbors get no mercy from them. —Proverbs 21:10              When our Lord put it on the heart of Nehemiah to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem, there was opposition.  Surely, “wicked crave evil; their neighbors get no mercy from them.”  There were…

So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart. —Nehemiah 4:6 The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty. —Proverbs 21:8              We are to be diligent in the plans our Lord has for us.  Yes, truly, our prayer should be— “May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands” (Psalm 90:17).  Why would He not favor us in His work?  After all, “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good…

You were bought at a price… —I Corinthians 7:23 Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord. —Psalm 31:24              How valuable are you to God?  Consider what He has done for you— “You were bought at a price.” “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” —I Peter 1:18-19              Jesus, Eternal Son of God (John 1:1), equal with God (John 5:18) and truly, “He is the atoning sacrifice…

Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. —I Corinthians 6:9-11 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not…

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? —I Corinthians 5:1-2 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone…

This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. —I Corinthians 4:1-2 Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other. For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And…

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. —I Corinthians 3:5-9 So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or…

What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.  This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.   —I Corinthians 2:12-13 “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?”  But we have the mind of Christ. —I Corinthians 2:16 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not…

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God…   Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God….  It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” —I Corinthians 1:18, 24, 30-31              The message of the cross— “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was…

He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord, the God of Israel. —II Chronicles 36:13 The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? —Psalm 27:1 Which of the above verses describes you?  Are you— Or, are you— So, who are you looking to?  Yourself?  Or, the Lord?  “But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me” (Micah 7:7).  As Jesus said, “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have…