Haggai, along with Zechariah, are unique among the prophets of the Old Testament because they are prophets of encouragement. The people of Israel were trying to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, just as God had commanded them to do, but for various reasons they were having trouble getting the job done. Haggai encourages them to keep obeying God even if what they're doing doesn't seem to be going very well.

Fear is a reality of life for us as humans. There is a good kind of fear, but there is also a debilitating kind of fear that paralyzes us. How to we, as Christians, deal with that kind of fear?

Zephaniah is similar to the other prophets of Israel, but the book has a few unique properties. The most amazing revelation of all is a picture of a God who sings over His people.

We like to live life with as much certainty as possible. However, the reality is that there is much in this life that is a mystery. That causes us to wonder where God is when bad things happen, and we end up living between faith and doubt.

Life is like walking on a tightrope. Once you step out on the tightrope, you are balancing between the starting place and where you want to end up. That means that we live life in the "in between." We receive great promises from God, but they haven't come to fruition, so we're living between the promise and the fulfillment. God has a purpose in the "in between." In fact, that's the place where we often encounter God in the most powerful ways.

In reading Habakkuk, we get to eavesdrop on a conversation between Habakkuk and God, during which Habakkuk asks God some very pointed questions, then God gives Habakkuk some very pointed answers. This conversation culminates in a beautiful prayer that was written to be sung in the temple.