The importance of understanding our identity (Ezra 2:1-70)
Ezra 2:1-70 Trawling through meaningless names and numbers is admittedly tedious, so if you skipped most of the reading above, I don’t blame you. Even Bible devotionals tend to miss out this chapter assuming that its details have no relevance…
The unexpected ways of God (Ezra 1:1-11)
Ezra 1:1-11 In my twenties I was working at an English language school in Budapest but found that language teaching was not a very good fit and decided to leave. Having no idea what else to do, I felt quite…
Ezra-Nehemiah intro – When restoration is not a quick fix
There are times when we need to hear uplifting stories where everything ends well; despair is overcome by joy, illness by healing, loneliness by a deep and meaningful relationship. We want to know that such things are possible, that we…
What can we learn from God’s retribution? (Judg 9:50-57)
Judg 9:50-59 A few weeks ago, I mentioned a man who encouraged relatives and friends to put their money into his bank and then made off with the funds to build a comfortable life in the US (read it here).…
The long view that gives perspective (Judg 9:30-49)
Judg 9:30-49 In the wake of jubilation over the Allied victory in the Second World War came fear in the West in the late 1940s as people faced the economic hardship of re-building and the potential new threat from Soviet…
Does God do evil for the greater good? (Judg 9:22-29)
Judg 9:22-29 We tend to think of God as by definition good, and many, in fact, abandon Him because He does not live up to their idea of goodness. They cry for help and there is no answer. Their loved…
What do we choose: blessing or curse? (Judg 9:16-21)
Judg 9:16-21 During a gap year that I spent in Israel, a Jewish woman at a café struck up a conversation with me. She came from Poland and her father was a well-known rabbi in Eastern Europe who translated the…
Learning to see true reality (Judg 9:7-15)
Judg 9:7-15 I often wonder why certain things hold such an attraction for people that they cannot dispense with them. For each person who clings to activities or things, there will be another who feels no pull towards them. Thus,…
Who claims our allegiance? (Judg 9:1-6)
Judg 9:1-6 After WWII a man whose family was known to my father opened a bank in Hungary. The man convinced his siblings of the scheme, and they encouraged their relatives and friends in good faith to put their money…
What seeds do we sow? (Judg 8:28-35)
Judg 8:28-35 The house we are currently living in used to have a cactus at the end of a row of spider plants along the garage wall. When we moved in, that cactus was small, easy to care for and…