The Blog

Read Ezekiel 41:1 through 43:27  I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory (Ezekiel 43:2). The Hebrew word ’owr, translated “radiant” in this passage, is defined as something that “becomes light, shines, and is used of the eyes …

Read Ezekiel 34:1 through 36:38 Years ago, nearly every family had at least one animal. A trader might have a camel. A merchant might have a donkey. A farmer might have an ox to plow, a goat for milk, and a few sheep for wool and meat. Some people herded large flocks, but nothing on a modern scale. Today, global …

Read Ezekiel 12:1 through 17:24 “Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it . . . even if these three men—Noah, Daniel and Job— were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign Lord” (Ezekiel 14:13–14). In Ezekiel’s day, most of the Israelites …

Read Ezekiel 1:1 through 4:17 At times people may feel imprisoned by circumstances and ask, “Where is God?” When turmoil shakes their faith, their minds reel with questions like, “Does God care? Does He have a plan? Will He help?” In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the …

Read Ezra 4:1 through 6:22; John 13:31 through 14:10 “The Bible says I have to love him; it doesn’t say I have to like him.” Sometimes Christians say this in an effort to allow themselves to continue holding grudges against others or to justify continuing to show a lack of love. The truth, however, is that if Christians can’t find …

Read Jeremiah 28:1 through 30:24 Jeremiah actually witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. He watched as thousands of his fellow citizens were taken into captivity by the cruel Babylonians. After they went into exile, Jeremiah sent a letter to the Babylonian captives. He told them their freedom wouldn’t come immediately, but after seventy years they would be able …

Read John 6:1 through 7:53 Legendary coach John Wooden of UCLA fame used to tell the story of how a basketball team is similar to a car. Some players were incredible engines, like many of the Hall of Fame players he coached. Others were like wheels, and still others were like lug nuts. They weren’t all the same. Each player …

Read John 4:1 through 5:47 One can only imagine the scandal in Jesus’ day. Here He was, a Jew, mingling with a Samaritan woman at a well. It went counter to the cultural norms of their times, and she told Him so. But Jesus didn’t always go where others thought He should go. He didn’t always behave like they thought …

Read Isaiah 58:1 through 66:24 The Messiah’s mission is proclaimed in Isaiah 61. Jesus quoted these words in Luke 4:18–19. The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from …

Read Isaiah 44:1 through 48:22 Isaiah began ministry in the year King Uzziah died, 739 BC. During Isaiah’s lifetime, Assyria was the main threat, not Babylon. No one had any idea that Jerusalem would be destroyed and its people hauled into captivity in Babylon. That would not happen for more than a century! Yet Isaiah prophesied that God would prepare …