Ezra
How to Help People Repent
Few sorrows can match the heartache of knowing someone you care for is lost in sin. Christians can agonize over the proper way to deal with it, often coming up with vastly different answers. Sometimes the thought of a loved one being lost paralyzes people, keeping them from saying anything at all and sometimes even…
Read MoreGetting Things Done
Getting Things Done is the name (GTD for short) of a popular time management method based on a book of the same name written by David Allen. This book, and others like it, are popular in the business world as individuals try to do more work in less time with fewer distractions. This is a…
Read MoreSin: A Response
Have you noticed how much sin dominates the headlines today? Have you noticed how it is never called sin? Whether you turn to a news channel to hear the latest about some bombing, shooting, or beheading in the name of religion or to a website to read which celebrity is divorcing which other celebrity, you…
Read MoreA Revitalized Heart
After the Jews had spent seventy years in Babylon, their release from captivity by the hand of Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, lifted their spirits and gave them opportunity to demonstrate how much their hearts had changed. Led by Zerubbabel and with the backing of Cyrus, they began to rebuild the temple, but these…
Read MoreThe Power of Accusations
Not long after Zerubbabel led a contingent of Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem to begin rebuilding the temple, they encountered a challenge from those then inhabiting the land. Originally cozying up to Zerubbabel and the rest of Judah’s leadership, they quickly pivoted toward the role of adversary as soon as their overtures for inclusion were…
Read MoreMixed Emotions
The Jews’ return from captivity following the decree of Cyrus the Great provoked numerous emotions among the people, but none greater than those who experienced the return and gave their sweat and tears to the rebuilding effort in their homeland. Having first returned to dwell in their cities, they assembled in Jerusalem in the seventh…
Read MoreOpening the Heart
Although Cyrus the Great’s decree fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah (Isa. 44:28-45:1), making it possible for the captive Jews to return from the Babylonian captivity, those who chose to return faced a number of challenges. They were going home, but to a home devastated and destroyed by war and years of neglect. They were going…
Read MoreWhat It Takes to Get Things Done
The rise of Cyrus and his conquering of Babylon created an opportunity for the previously conquered people of Judah. Contrary to Babylon’s policy of forcing captured peoples to relocate and adapt to Babylonian culture, the Persians pursued a policy of tolerance, allowing people to live by their own traditions and culture as long as they…
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