READ: EZEKIEL 1; REVELATION 1 When you start reading the Bible, it doesn’t take long to realize there is some strange stuff in prophetic books like Revelation and Ezekiel, especially the visions about crazy creatures and symbols that seem bizarre in our contemporary context. Why are those things in the Bible if they’re hard to [...]

READ: ECCLESIASTES 4:9-12; JOHN 15:9-17 I used to own a rock tumbler, a machine that takes ordinary rocks and transforms them into polished, gemlike stones. The process would last for days, and the tumbler was so loud I had to keep it in the garage! After I put rocks and grit into the barrel with [...]

READ: PSALM 19:1-6; JOHN 1:1-14; COLOSSIANS 1:15-20 Have you ever gone to an art gallery? For a graphic design class I took this year, I went on a field trip to a large art gallery, and it got me thinking. Art can be difficult to understand at times, especially abstract art! However, as I learned [...]

READ: DEUTERONOMY 30:1-10; JEREMIAH 29:4-19; MATTHEW 28:18-20 Imagine being exiled from your home where you’ve lived all your life and forced to move to a faraway land…for seventy years. Would you panic? Complain? Would you keep your bags packed just in case you’re allowed to go home earlier? In the Bible, God warned His people, [...]

READ: JOB 2:11-13; 2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-7; 1 PETER 1:3-9 Have you ever tried to cheer someone up, only to accidentally make them more upset? I’ve had times when I wanted to help someone who wasn’t doing well mentally or physically, but when I tried to say something, I felt like I only made the situation [...]

READ: EZEKIEL 11:15-21; 39:21-29 "Where is God when there are wars and sicknesses? Where is God when my friends are hurting?" If you’ve asked these questions, you’re not alone. People have been wondering for thousands of years. One person who responded to these questions was Ezekiel, a messenger to God’s people, the Israelites. Ezekiel preached [...]

For a long time, people thought that Earth was the center of our solar system—until the late 1500s and early 1600s, when scientific advancements like the telescope proved that the sun is actually the center of our solar system. . It must have been strange to be living in that time, to grapple with the [...]

"If God is loving, why does He deal with sin so harshly?" It's a great question. Before we go on, let's remember that God is always the same, always keeps His promises, and is always good, even when we don't understand (Romans 11:33-35). . Judgement for sin may not seem nice, but it actually shows [...]

You win a contEsther The rain holds out long enough for you to go outside with your friends. You have a loving family. You get a good grade on a school assignment All those things could signal to others that you are “blessed.” Our world often associates blessing with being rich, comfortable, talented, successful, and [...]

I once watched a video that asked an unusual question: “What year of life tends to be the best?” Pretty deep, right? Not surprisingly, the video didn't come to a definite conclusion. Depending on what you think the answer is, you might either feel hopeless that the best of life is done, or disappointed when [...]