(REFLECTIONS ON Ezra 5:1-17) One of the most important aspects of our Christian faith is growth. Growth means that the focus isn’t on where you are now, or even where you hope to be one day, but that you are making progress each day and at the end of a certain period of time you are […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Ezra 4:1-24) 4 Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. 5 They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Ezra 3:1-13) Yes, it’s complicated. Life is complicated, our emotions are complicated, relationships are complicated, even our faith is complicated. Life is full of complications and that is why it is such a challenge to see eye to eye on things even if we are all seeing the same thing happening right in front […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Ezra 2:1-70) 61 And from among the priests: The descendants of Hobaiah, Hakkoz and Barzillai (a man who had married a daughter of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by that name). 62 These searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Ezra 1:1-11) I. QUICK RECAP In the Book of Jeremiah 29:10, the Lord said, “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.” II. THE LORD MOVES HEARTS 1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Titus 3:9-15) How much time do we spend thinking and talking about what we believe rather than moving forward and translating that into how we live out what we believe? In Ephesians 2:8-9, Paul writes, 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Titus 3:1-8) Sometimes all we need is an opportunity, a chance to start over again, to be freed from the past with hope for change. This is our opportunity in Christ. Paul writes to Titus in today’s Scripture, 3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Titus 2:11-15) “Just Say No” was an anti-drug campaign in the United States during the 80’s and 90’s. Through advertisements, children were taught to just say no to drugs. In today’s Scripture, Paul writes that the grace of God also teaches us to just say “No.” 11 For the grace of God has appeared […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Titus 2:1-10) We know that there is inequality in the world. We know that things happen on a daily basis that aren’t fair, that we wish were different, that we wish we could change. This is one of the challenges of living as Christians in a broken world. Yet, no matter how broken, imbalanced, […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Titus 1:10-16) I believe! Now what? How does our faith hold up over time? Are we growing in our knowledge of God and experiences with the Lord, or are we being pushed around by the winds and waves of the world? During Paul’s time, he also had to face the winds and waves of […]