(REFLECTIONS ON EZEKIEL 25:8-17) When we think about someone stretching out their hand, what do we think of? Perhaps we think of someone stretching out their hand to help those that are in need. We can also imagine someone stretching out their hand in worship to receive blessings from God. It perhaps also makes us […]
(REFLECTIONS ON EZEKIEL 25:1-7) 1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face against the Ammonites and prophesy against them.” Judgement came against the people of God, but this isn’t the end of the story. Although it may make sense to us that God punished His own people, just as parents discipline their own […]
(REFLECTIONS ON EZEKIEL 24:15-27) When we read today’s Scripture, does it leave us in a state of shock? How could the Lord take away Ezekiel’s wife? How could the Lord then ask Ezekiel not to mourn for the dead and only groan quietly as if grumbling over this life changing event? Yet, we read that […]
(REFLECTIONS ON EZEKIEL 22) Although judgment was coming to Jerusalem, those that remained thought they were the fortunate ones, because they were not part of the initial group of exiles to Babylon. They thought that they were the remnant, the chosen ones that God would save, and it didn’t help things that there were false […]
29 December 2019. Revelation 21 (click to read). During the Christmas season we celebrate the good news that Jesus Christ is Emmanuel, “God with us.” The Gospel stories tell how God, in his great love for us, left heaven to come and be with us, to share our lives, and to change our world. But […]
22–28 December 2019. Revelation 14 (click to read). In 586 BC the Babylonian armies marched on Jerusalem and destroyed it. Years of suffering and centuries of rebuilding Jerusalem and its temple followed that. And then in the year 70 the Roman Empire marched on Jerusalem and destroyed it all over again. In the decades that […]
15–21 December 2019. Revelation 7 (click to read). When we worship Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords, of course we don’t mean that Christ is just our King and only our Lord. No, Christ is King and Lord over all people. People in all countries, all cultures, all religions, and all times […]
8–14 December 2019. Revelation 2:1–17 (click to read). The early chapters of the Book of Revelation share seven letters by the risen Christ written to seven different churches. In chapter 2:1–17 we find three of these letters. In the seminary I often teach our future pastors that the church has two “hands” or two core […]
1–7 December 2019. Esther 1–2 (click to read). The great church Reformer Martin Luther wished that the Book of Esther had never been written. Esther is a historical novel that raised a lot of difficulties for the Jewish community and even more problems for Christians. That’s because unlike many other Bible stories, the Book of […]
10–16 November 2019. Zechariah 10 (click to read). When things go wrong in our lives it’s not always easy to stay positive. Every day it feels like our troubles are getting worse, that our challenges are getting bigger, and that there’s no way out of our problems. When everything is going so badly it’s hard […]