Tag: Hope

What I’ve Learned…

Leave a comment

A little something different for you this morning. Yesterday’s post was the final post from one of the Minor Prophets for a little while. I have finally made it through all twelve of them. When I first started this journey last August with this post, I knew that I want to spend some time reading them closely because I hadn’t before. I figured it would take a few weeks at best. Here we are almost exactly a year later. For me it has been an enriching one and I hope that’s the case for you too. This morning I wanted to reflect with you for just a couple of minutes on what I have learned from it all.

Continue reading “What I’ve Learned…” →

Morning Musing: Malachi 1:1

Leave a comment

“A pronouncement: The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi.”
— ‭‭Malachi‬ ‭1:1‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

While it’s popular today to talk about eating dessert first, I am more of a save-the-best-for-last kind of guy. I’d rather slog through the tough stuff at the beginning so I can sit back and savor the best stuff with even more time to enjoy it. Well, as our journey through the minor prophets comes near to its end as we land on the final book of Malachi, we have saved the best for last. Here’s a little preview of coming attractions.

Continue reading “Morning Musing: Malachi 1:1” →

Digging in Deeper: Zechariah 14:11

Leave a comment

“People will live there, and never again will there be a curse of complete destruction. So Jerusalem will dwell in security.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Post-apocalyptic movies have had a pretty steady audience for several decades now. It’s a niche market, to be sure, but one that has been growing over the years. The reason for this is cultural. Our visions of the future are either hyper-technological or post-apocalyptic or both. Usually, if you push them far enough out, the more desolate picture wins. Visions of utopia have generally dried up. We are increasingly without hope as a people. What Zechariah reminds us of here, though, is that hope should never be given up on entirely.

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Zechariah 12:10

1 Comment

“Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at me whom they pierced. They will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for him as one weeps for a firstborn.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I used to love reading the comics. I’d make sure I got ahold of a copy of the newspaper every single day so I could see the latest from all of my favorite artists. I actually own the complete boxed set collections of both Calvin and Hobbes and The Far Side–two of my prized possessions. I’ve got my eye out for a similar collection of Get Fuzzy when it finally goes out of regular print. Another of my favorites was always Peanuts. Everyone loves Charlie Brown and Snoopy and the gang. He made popular an already common phrase: Good grief. I say all of that to ask this: Is it really?

Read the rest…

Morning Musing: Zechariah 9:9

Leave a comment

“Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you; he is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Yesterday we talked about the fact that a persecuted people rejoice at the notion of their enemies being conquered more and in ways that a people who have not known persecution don’t. God understands this and gave Israel a picture of His commitment to stand against their enemies. What we see here is the other side of the picture–the victory that will come. But, while the first part of chapter 9 may have been more for them than for us, the second half matters a whole lot more to us. Let’s talk about it.

Read the rest…