Read Reflect After facing death in Asia, Paul traveled to Troas and then to Macedonia to proclaim the good news. We are reminded that travel was difficult in the first century notwithstanding the network of roads built by the Romans. Paul’s words reveal his commitment to his colleagues. He was unable to rest because of […]

Read Reflect The Middle East, it seems, has been a battleground for centuries. At the end of the seventh century B.C. three empires were vying for power: Egypt, Assyria and Babylonia. Israel stood seemingly helpless in the middle of it all. In 609 Israel’s king Josiah was killed at Megiddo as he attempted to prevent […]

Read Reflect Chapters 30-33 have been called “The Book of Consolation” because they speak of the restoration of the Jews. They would one day return to the Promised Land. Jeremiah sees something even more important in their future: a new relationship with their God, which he will describe in chapter 31. Chapter 30 is confusing […]

Read Reflect How well do you remember what happened after the death of Solomon? The kingdom of Israel split, with the northern part following its own kings, and the southern part, consisting of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, continuing David’s line. The name “Israel” (usually) refers to the northern kingdom, while the southern kingdom […]

Read Reflect After reading yesterday’s passage of hope and joy, we have one lingering fear. How do we know it won’t happen all over again and that history won’t repeat itself after Israel has returned to the Promised Land? With prophetic insight Jeremiah answers this question. This is the only place in the Old Testament […]

Read Reflect This passage ends with the thought, “You bless everyone who trusts you,” and the cool thing is, when you go back and re-read everything that came before it, you realize you’ve just been shown exactly what it looks like to be someone who trusts God, and what it means to be blessed by […]

Read Reflect I love reading just about anything that is written in a lively, interesting way. You can add intriguing documentaries to that list as well. Learning about a wide range of topics, discovering new things and expanding our knowledge is a quest that many of us enjoy, especially when it’s as easy as clicking […]