A Project Renewed
Read: Ezra 6:1-12 Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt. (v. 3) The work of rebuilding the temple of God and the city of Jerusalem came to a screeching halt with the edict from King Artaxerxes. For years no progress was made, and inertia settled over the project. Then the word […]
A Pernicious Lie
Read: Ezra 4:17-24 Then the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem stopped. (v. 24) Alfred Lord Tennyson once wrote, “A lie that is half-truth is the darkest of all lies.” Certainly, it can be one of the most difficult to squelch. You can refute a blatant lie with the facts, but a […]
A Pattern of Opposition
Read: Ezra 4:1-16 Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build. (v. 4) The apostle Peter reminds us, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12). Still, we […]
A Place to Begin Again
Read: Ezra 3 The people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping. (v. 13) In many ways, we are still dealing with the impact of the Covid pandemic. While schools, churches, and businesses have reopened, we’ve found that some things will never return to what they once […]
A Proclamation from the King
Read: Ezra 1 The exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem. (v. 11) Exiles: those forced to leave their native country—banished from their homes against their will. For the Jews, exile began when, in 597 BC, Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judah, destroyed Jerusalem and took captives back to resettle throughout the Babylonian empire. This captivity was a […]
Keep Blooming
Read: Colossians 1:15-29 . . . Christ in you, the hope of glory. (v. 27) Our condo has a small piece of dirt, maybe 15 square feet, that’s ours to plant flowers in. My neighbors create breathtaking displays in their little gardens; mine is always an exercise in mediocrity. I have no gardening skills. Last summer I planted […]
Hope in Action
Read: Jeremiah 29:1-14 I know the plans I have for you . . . to give you a future and a hope. (v. 11) Delivering the word of the Lord didn’t make Jeremiah popular. He was beaten and arrested numerous times, put into stocks, and even thrown into a cistern. Despite that, his message after the worst had happened […]
Not Just Me and Jesus
Read: Romans 8:18-30 Who hopes for what he sees? (v. 24) It’s important that our faith and hope are personal. But it’s a mistake if our faith and hope are only personal. Christian hope is not just “I get to go to heaven when I die.” Christian hope is much larger than that. Our ultimate hope […]
Hope Dances!
Read: 1 Corinthians 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three. (v. 13) Theologians use the fancy word perichoresis to describe how the three persons of the Trinity relate to each other. A common definition of that complex word is, “A doctrine of reciprocal inherence.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t say things […]