“If I get stoned and sing all night long, it’s a family tradition!” That’s what Hank Williams, Jr. sang, and he certainly followed in his famous father’s footsteps, both in great success as a singer and songwriter, and also in wrestling with addiction to drugs and alcohol. But all of…

If Psalm 85 is a plea for God to help His people as a whole, in today’s psalm, David asks God to be gracious to him as an individual. In fact, verses 8 and 10 remind us all that prayer should be our first response even to our most difficult…

What is your purpose in life? Many of us define ourselves by what we do for a living, and consequently have a hard time when we have to retire. Others consider their relationships as most important to them: they live to love and serve their family and their friends. Still…

They thought the worst was over. Yes, the Babylonians had captured the city of Jerusalem, and carried off about 3,000 of the Jews into exile. But the walls of the city were still strong, and the Temple was still standing. Zedekiah, son of Josiah was still sitting on the throne…

To say that Ezekiel’s actions were strange would be an understatement. Previous prophets like Jeremiah had used props in their preaching: pointing to a pot being fashioned on a wheel (Jeremiah 18:3-4) or breaking a ceramic vessel (Jeremiah 19:10). Jeremiah had even worn a sash or waistband and then hid…

“I had been in mourning for three weeks” (Daniel 10:2). But why? After all, by the this Daniel received this vision in the third year of Cyrus’ reign (Daniel 10:1), the people of Israel had already been given permission to return to Jerusalem. In fact, according to Ezra 3:8, it…

Where it comes to Bible study, it’s much easier to get caught up in the details than it is to keep the big picture in mind. And the same thing was true for Daniel. He had a dream that was as fascinating as it was frightening, a vision of four…

It seems that all of us Americans have reason to be frustrated with our Federal government these days. Some are incensed that the Supreme Court continues to stymie various policies of the present administration. Others are outraged that unelected bureaucrats continue to issue regulations that the people’s representatives have no…

Have you ever had a truly humbling experience? One of mine was 8th grade Algebra. Other academic subjects had always come easily to me, but not that one. For the first time, I seemed to be the dumbest kid in the class, missing a lot more of the homework problems…

How should Christians respond to an unjust, tyrannical government? In our increasingly polarized political climate, this is the question that all too many Americans ask, no matter who currently holds office. But a casual glance at history should put all of our breathless panic into perspective. For if you want…