Friday - So the People Went Forth

Read: Nehemiah 8:13-18; James 1:22

Key Verse: "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." (James 1:22)

Here's where most stories would end. The people gathered, the people wept, the people rejoiced. What a day! But look at the second day: they came back. The service was over, but their hunger wasn't. And that tells us something: real revival doesn't end when the service is over. Real revival shows up on the second day. Anybody can get stirred in a service. The proof of what God did on Sunday is what you do on Monday.

When they dug back into the Book, they found a command, the Feast of Tabernacles, that had been sitting there neglected for a thousand years, "since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun" (Nehemiah 8:17). Through the judges, through the kings, through David and Solomon, it had never been kept like this.

And what did they do when they found it? Underline three words: "So the people went forth" (Nehemiah 8:16). They heard it. They understood it. They did it. Immediate obedience.
God didn't give us this Book just to inform us. He gave it to transform us. So here is the question this week has been building toward: Is there something in this Book you know God said... that you still haven't done? Maybe it's been sitting there a long time, like that feast. The Word of God has not finished its work in you until you obey it.

Reverence brings you to the Word. Joy rises from the Word. But obedience proves you believe the Word.

Reflect:
-           What is one specific thing God's Word has told you to do that remains undone?
-           What "second day" step will you take this week to keep the rebuilding going?