“What is it going to take to get your attention?” This is the cry of many exasperated teachers once the disciplinary bag of tricks has been emptied. For some students, writing lines, staying in during recess, having to stay in detention after school, or even not being able to participate…

Was Isaiah peering through the mists of history to read from our modern headlines? No, the truth is even more chilling – that throughout history, godly societies tend, over time, to become less godly. Why is that? Well, people who are grateful to God for their salvation also tend to…

“Let Us Beat Our Swords into Plowshares.” That’s what the statue is called which stands at the UN headquarters in Manhattan. And that’s what the organizers of the United Nations thought they were doing in 1945. World War II was over, and the free nations of the world would unite…

“Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling” (Proverbs 16:18). That’s what Solomon wrote some 200 years before his descendent Uzziah reigned over Jerusalem. Now, in many ways Uzziah was a good king, seeking to do what was right in God’s sight (II Chronicles 26:4). And he was…

American society has not been this violently polarized since the era of the Vietnam war. Everyone seems to be angry these days – over sexuality and gender issues, over police policies and procedures, over the way racial minorities have been treated throughout our history. It’s easy to hate, especially when…

“Bad company corrupts good morals” (I Corinthians 15:33). That’s what Paul wrote, and was that ever true for King Joash. As long as his uncle Jehoiada was alive, Joash stayed on the straight and narrow. And that only made sense – after all, it was his aunt Jehosheba who had…

The leaders of God’s people had turned their backs on Him. King Ahab and Queen Jezebel had embraced the worship of the Canaanite god Baal, and neither the prophecies nor the miracles accomplished by the prophet Elijah had been able to discourage them. Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, had allowed his…

Bible Reading for July 2 – II Kings 5-8 The people of Samaria had hit bottom. The once powerful and wealthy city had been besieged by the Arameans for so long that the least desirable types of food and the smallest sources of fuel were considered priceless (II Kings 6:25)….

“Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me” (II Kings 2:9). That’s what Elisha asked when he knew that the prophet Elijah was about to be taken up into Heaven. But what was Elisha really requesting? What does it mean for a prophet to have the Spirit…

“No justice, no peace.” That’s the cry we’ve been hearing for weeks from marching protesters in our streets, if not from the violent looters who have followed in their wake. But that raises a legitimate question – who in our modern society is in need of justice? Psalm 82 gives…