The Israelites had been held in captivity by the Babylonians for over seventy years, exiled from their homes and the land God had given them. After decades of displacement and servitude to foreign kings, something remarkable happened. A rival king, Cyrus of Persia, captured the Babylonian territory, including Jerusalem. Then miraculously, he let the Israelites return home. We learn in the book of ...  Read More

When we click “buy” on our Amazon app, we expect our purchase to arrive in 2 days.  We want things fast, and we want it to be convenient.  If we’re not careful, we can take these same expectations into our relationship with God – expecting God to answer our prayers the way we want Him to and in our timing.  God has made it clear that He moves in and through our prayer life, but His ways are not ou...  Read More

You get a call about the accident and you rush down to the hospital.  As you enter the waiting room you see the worry and fear on the faces of family and friends.  You would do anything to comfort and bring peace, but what can you really do?  You try to conceal your shock at the news.  Your spouse was fired today.  You see the embarrassment and disappointment on their face.  What can you do when i...  Read More

Our world has been corrupted by sin.  One of the ways we experience this brokenness is with our physical body.  The older we get the more we feel our bodies breaking down.  Eventually our bodies will wear out and we will face death.  This is true for all of us.  And yet, God encourages to bring our need boldly before His throne.  He tells us to ask for grace and mercy in our time of need!  Though ...  Read More

Someone who has been empowered is someone who has been given authority.  A judge can issue a sentence, a police officer can make an arrest, a teacher can give a grade.  When we put our faith in Jesus, God the Holy Spirit came to dwell in us.  The Holy Spirit empowers us to live a godly and powerful life.  The Bible says, “For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a ...  Read More

We use the word “love” all the time!  We love people, we love the mountains, we love sleeping in, we love a good dinner.  But when we say the word “love” do we really understand what it means?  In 1 John 4:8 it says, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”  God doesn’t just show us love. God is love. Without Him, there is no love. God’s love changes us.  In Mark 12:30-31...  Read More