God’s Book of Life Is Your Name on the List? Chapter 2 in the book of Ezra overflows with names. We often skim it or may face the temptation to skip it altogether. Buried among this dizzying array of names is a sidenote that’s easy to miss, but...
Do You Seek God First for Healing When You Are Sick? Azariah, son of Oded, comes to Asa, King of Judah. The prophet tells the king, “If you see God, you’ll find him. If you walk away from him, he’ll walk away from you” (2 Chronicles 15:2). King...
Kingdom of Heaven or Kingdom of God? The phrase “the Kingdom of God” is synonymous with “the Kingdom of Heaven.” Some writers in the Bible simply prefer one over the other; it is not meant to designate two different concepts or kingdoms. ...
What Do We Do When God’s Commands No Longer Make Sense? Contrary to the Law of Moses King David Reassigns the Duties of the Levites In the book of Numbers, Moses details the assignments and responsibilities of the tribe of Levi, mentioning them...
How to Respond to Pain The obscure Old Testament character Jabez is only mentioned in two verses in the Bible. A reoccurring theme (if two verses can have a reoccurring theme) is pain. The birth of Jabez is marked by pain and his mom gives him a...
May I Have Your Attention Please? There’s a story in the Bible of Jesus instructing some fishermen to try fishing from the other side of the boat. Imagine that, a carpenter giving fishing lessons to commercial fishermen. The amazing thing is once...
Why Being a Watchman Is Serious Business People in positions of authority are liable if they don’t warn their charges of potential danger The thirty-third chapter of Ezekiel opens with some vague references to upcoming danger, a watchman, and...
When God Says Enough Despite God’s longstanding patience giving us time to shape up, judgement will eventually come The book of Ezekiel is an interesting one, packed with evocative prophetic imagery that portrays God’s power, patience, and...
Don’t Fight Against God Too many people fail to see God at work and instead oppose those who follow him into his new ways Jesus warns his followers what awaits them. First, they’ll get kicked out of their church and then people will kill them...
Four People Stripped of the Names God Gave Them In my last post, Three People Given a New Name by God, we looked at God renaming people to give them a new identity. Today we will consider the opposite: people whose names were changed in order to...
