Carson Wentz, one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, challenged a group of FCA athletes to use their downtime for diving into the Bible. “Different things just continually jump out at me,” Wentz said. “I see the things I highlighted (in my Bible) when I was 18 and just what that meant to me then. It just challenges me. It’s why the Word is living and active and why the Bible says it’s living and active. It’s always going to communicate something to you, and God’s going to use different pieces of the Word to communicate and kind of wake you up a little bit.”

Nehemiah 7-8 – Biblical Revival

Wentz understood that spiritual renewal doesn’t come apart from God’s Word. Ezra’s role in Nehemiah was to restructure the Jewish community according to the laws of God. God used Ezra to ignite a great revival upon his return to Jerusalem (Ezra 7–10). The people gathered to hear Ezra teach them the commands of God’s revelation.

Ezra read the law at the Water Gate, demonstrating that the law was greater and more authoritative than the altar or its sacrifices. The people gathered at daybreak and listened attentively to the law for extended periods. Ezra 7:10 says the leader “set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.” This was the pattern of Ezra’s ministry. He was committed to studying and practicing God’s Word.

The Kingdom Coach and Athlete dedicate their lives to studying and practicing God’s Word. They live in obedience by practicing what they preach.

Bible Memory Verse – “‘…but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been banished were at the ends of the sky, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.’” Nehemiah 1:9  (LSB)