The longest chapter in the Bible begins with one simple word: blessed. Not busy. Not successful. Not comfortable. Blessed. Psalm 119 opens with a promise, a path to true and lasting joy: "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord." (Psalm 119:1) Right away, the psalmist invites us …
Ezra stood at the river Ahava, scanning the faces of the exiles gathered for the journey home. The camp stretched along the water’s edge—families packing their belongings, priests murmuring in quiet conversation. It should have been a triumphant moment. But something was wrong. He counted. Then counted again. His heart sank. There were no Levites. …
Life is full of journeys—some expected, some unwanted, all uncertain. We move forward, not always knowing what’s ahead, but hoping for strength to get there. Ezra understood this well. He wasn’t a king or a warrior. He was a scribe, a student of God’s law. Yet God chose him to lead exiles back to Jerusalem, …
"And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia." —Ezra 6:14 They …
Continue reading When God Confirms What You Knew, but Everyone Else Forgot (Ezra 6)
A Good Word 