Welcome to this week’s Companion Thought on the Minor Prophets. The prophet Amos gives us the well-known Scripture, “Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream.” I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard a lot of people quote this verse as a blessing, a picture of a time of unprecedented peace and abundance where God’s righteous kingdom will reign. But here’s something to consider. Throughout the gospel, we’re given the bad news first. Only afte

The 1993 romantic comedy Groundhog Day is about a weatherman who gets caught in a time loop while covering a Groundhog Day event in a small Pennsylvania town. And so, he is doomed to living that day over and over again and is powerless to stop it. When we read the books of the prophets, we get the same feeling as the weather man in the movie. God’s people are stuck in a repeating cycle of sin they can’t seem to get out of. That’s bad enough, but if we do what the prophets enc

The prophet Hosea is known for marrying a prostitute who breaks his heart—a story that reflects how our unfaithfulness grieves God and destroys families. As the tale unfolds, we’re given a multitude of insights into how we, as believers, are to respond in unfair and pressure situations. In Hosea 14:6, Hosea describes a believer as a person who carries a “fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.” Cedar is a type of tree that when cut has a warm, spicy aroma that is comforting. Plea

Welcome to Companion Thought, over the next few weeks we’ll take a short hike into the Scriptures using The Bible Companion as a guide. Book 8 (The Major prophets) and Book 9 (The Minor Prophets) recently released, so of course, I’ve been thinking a lot about these ancient storytellers We usually associate their writings with judgment. But these books are ultimately about hope. How to find it. How to live in it. You might be surprised to learn that messages of the prophets ar