Some of God’s servants seem to have instant success. Others walk right into trouble. But God… Ezra’s task of sorting out the “holy seed” (Ezra 9:2) in the Israelite marriages—where “holy” doesn’t mean sinless, but separated from the nations for God’s purpose—was extremely difficult. It was compounded by the fact that it wasn’t just the common people who had […]
Read More… from April 9, 2025 — The Ministry Of Unscrambling
In Christian marriage, we don’t seek for our partner to meet our needs, but to share Christ’s bounty. Jesus called it “the doctrine of Balaam” (Rev 2:14). What was it, and why should it be an issue still in the Church Age? Marriage was the first divinely-ordained institution, and so the first attack-point of the enemy. The […]
This story about a missionary who died before arriving on the mission field is a good reminder that God is not limited by our circumstances in accomplishing His eternal purposes. […]
Balaam-like, Satan can’t curse God’s people, but he can turn the blessing of marriage into a battlefield. Do you recall Ezra’s purpose in coming back to Jerusalem? “Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel” (Ezra 7:10). And do you remember […]
We might think it goes without saying—”It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Gal 5:1, BSB)—but the Spirit thinks it needs to be said. This story about Grady, behind prison bars, reminds us that we’re no longer enslaved by our old ways; we’re freed to be God’s agents of supernatural change. […]
“O the sweet rest that’s prepared for the faithful Will be His blest and final, ‘Well done.’” —L.E. Campbell They broke camp at their rendezvous site by “the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem” (Ezra 8:31). Rather than ask the king for help, they had requested a security […]
I was a daydreamer. Watching a construction crew outside the school window, I could build a castle in the sky in the time it took them to lay a few bricks. Thus, the most common words of affirmation from my teacher were, “Pay attention!” I WAS paying attention—just about different things. As I matured, I […]
Commentators differ on the dollar value of the treasure to be transported, but all agree it was a lot! The four-month journey that lay before Ezra and his companions would not be easy. Marauders hid in the hills, waiting to rob the unsuspecting. And they were transporting a king’s ransom, “the silver, the gold, and the […]