Read Revelation 21:1–27 Another year is about to come to a close. Has it been a good year for you, or one you are glad to see end? Sadly, we often wish our life away. Things will be better, we tell ourselves, when the children are in school, the mortgage on the house is paid in full, or the long-awaited …
A Royal Crossroads
Read Haggai 1:1 through 2:23 Have you ever felt like you were running hard but getting nowhere? Zerubbabel probably felt that way. He was governor in Jerusalem over the first wave of returnees from the Babylonian captivity. A rush of excitement had initiated the rebuilding of the temple, but opposition, economics, and fatigue had caused a halt to the construction. …
Bring Hope into Despair
Read Ezekiel 39:1 through 40:49 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile . . . (Ezekiel 40:1). It is easy to miss the important message hidden in this verse. God’s prophet was not exempt from the devastation that brought Israel to its knees and led them into captivity. I’d like to believe God’s children will escape the judgment He sends …
A Lesson in Humility
Read Ezekiel 29:1 through 32:32 Swelled with pride. A legend in his own mind. Too big for his britches. All these phrases describe Pharaoh Hophra, who had allowed his personal successes to go to his head (Ezekiel 29:3). Along the way, the pharaoh had mistakenly decided that he was the reason for his own success, that he was the reason …
Out of Darkness
Read Ezekiel 4:1 through 11:25 He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, ‘The Lord does not see us; the Lord has forsaken the land’” (Ezekiel 8:12). The elders of Israel pretended to worship God, …
The Source of Hope
Read Lamentations 1:1 through 5:22 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope . . . The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him (Lamentations 3:21,25). In boxing terms, the people were down for the count. But they were far from out. In the middle of this series …
Speak Up!
Read Jeremiah 38:1 through 40:16 Ebed-Melech went out of the palace and said to him, “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern, where he will starve to death when there is no longer any bread in the city” (Jeremiah 38:8,9). Upon hearing …
Moldable
Read Jeremiah 14:1 through 20:18 Geneva stood with her teenage daughter for a few moments while they watched a potter give a demonstration at the local craft show. He pumped his foot pedal, spun the platform, dipped his hand in a bowl of water, and used his fingers to shape the lump of clay he was working on. Soon he …
Words in Your Mouth
Read Jeremiah 1:1 through 3:25 “You took the words right out of my mouth.” You’ve said that, too, haven’t you? Just before you could voice a statement, someone else beat you to it. For the prophet Jeremiah, the scene was a little different. It wasn’t chance or a silly accident. It was the holy God choosing to voice truth through …
An Eternal Thirst
Read John 1:19 through 4:54 Jamie wanted to plant a flower garden. She purchased some colorful plants, planted them, and watered them generously. After several hot days, Jamie realized that she had not watered the flowers for some time and ran outside to check on their progress. Though not quite dead, most of the flowers had wilted and many blooms …