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“But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.(James 1:22)

In Nehemiah 13:10–14, Nehemiah faced a problem I’ll call the problem of financial fiasco. I like the way verse 10 begins: “I also discovered.” That tells me that he was looking. A leader keeps his eyes open! Nehemiah discovered something that was wrong:

Many sacrifices were offered on that joyous day, for God had given the people cause for great joy. The women and children also participated in the celebration, and the joy of the people of Jerusalem could be heard far away. (Nehemiah 12:43)

Nehemiah ordered everyone on the wall and up they came by the dozens. Ezra led the first choir, while Nehemiah directed the second choir; so we have Ezra on one side of the city’s wall and Nehemiah on the other side.

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength. (Proverbs 17:22)

If happiness were a disease, none other would be more contagious. If you laugh often, if you’re making life fun, if you’re never very far from a smile, you’ll have no trouble encouraging people and making friends. People who really enjoy life are always, always in demand.

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. (Colossians 3:23–24)

For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. (Hebrews 6:10)

There is another body of names and faces equally deserving of our praise. They are the lesser lights, the forgotten heroes, the unknowns, the “nobodies” who paved the way for the “somebodies.” Without these willing unknowns, no leader can ever carry out his or her calling. But how easy it is to forget them.

They solemnly promised to carefully follow all the commands, regulations, and decrees of the LORD our Lord....“We promise together not to neglect the Temple of our God.” (Nehemiah 10:29, 39)

There are some very simple—but life-changing—principles that I glean from the verses in Nehemiah 10. The first is that serious thought precedes any significant change. You never change areas of your life that have not been given serious thought. We need to schedule some quiet times in our lives, times for thinking and reflection.

Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty. (Proverbs 21:5)

How difficult it is to find a person who thinks first and then acts! Most of us usually do the opposite. Equally difficult is helping people maintain proper priorities and to use time wisely.